Colony of Gabon
The Colony of Gabon was a French colony in Africa that existed from 1906 to 1946. It later became an overseas territory.
French conquest
Gabon had its first contact with Europeans around 1472.[1] Under the reign of Henry the Navigator, two Portuguese sailors, João de Santarém and Pedro Escobar discovered the Komo estuary. They named this land Gabao because of the shape of the coast at the level of the estuary which made them think of a Caban. From the 16th century, a trade was set up with Gabonese populations of the coast. Ivory, tropical timber, or rubber were exchanged for powder, guns, alcohol, or glass beads. These European goods were soon exchanged for captives, intended to swell the workforce of the New World. The first French arrived on the coast in 1515. They founded their first permanent establishment in 1765. While the local populations had regular contacts with various European nations (Portugal, France, the Netherlands, United Kingdom), the French skillfully seized Gabon by signing treaties with coastal chiefs from 1839. Gabon therefore became a French possession, with a permanent installation and the construction of Fort d'Aumale in 1843. In 1848, 46 captives freed from the ship the Elizia were landed in Gabon. It is the foundation of Libreville under its current name. Then dependent on Gorée, Gabon was attached in 1859 to a new group: the French Settlements of the Gold Coast and Gabon, of which Libreville was the capital[2]. In 1886, Gabon was regrouped in Gabon-Congo, a territory whose capital was Libreville. It was renamed the French Congo in 1891. The separation between the two colonies took place in 1906[3]. Gabon was attached to French Equatorial Africa. Gabon remained at the beginning of the 20th century a territory that was isolated and controlled in a very light way by the colonial administration[4]. Inland explorations took place with Compiègne and Brazza, but the French administrative staff was insufficient to effectively control this territory, which was mainly covered with forest[5].
Revolts and "Pacification"
Several revolts against the colonial administration punctuated the history of Gabon at the beginning of the 20th century. Emane Ntole, Fang chief of Nseghe village, rebelled against the colonial administration following conflicts over trade in the region and also the decision to move his village to set up factories. He waged a fierce struggle against the French colonizer from 1896 to 1902, where he surrendered after being betrayed by his parents-in-law. The Tsogho de la Ngounié rose up in 1904 against the abuses of concessionary companies and the poll tax. The fighting did not stop until 1908 when Mbombé, leader of the revolt, was arrested. The Punu revolt began in 1906 with Chief Mavurulu Nyonda Makita at its head. As with the Tsogho, the abuses of the concessionary companies were the main reason for the revolt. After the capture of his family by the French, Mavurulu Nyonda Makita surrendered in 1909. The Fangs of northern Gabon began to rise up in 1907 and called themselves "Binzima" (soldier in Fang). After several years of clashes, negotiations between the French and the insurgents made it possible to preserve the lives of the prisoners. The military administration was replaced by a civilian administration except in Mitzic, epicenter of the revolt.
First World War
A portion of territory had been ceded to German Kamerun in 1911. One of France's first objectives in this region was to retake the Neukamerun. Allied with the Belgians and the British, the French colonial troops took part in the Cameroon campaign. Mitzic's column, made up of three companies, encountered strong German resistance in September 1914 but finally took Oyem and Bitam in June and July 1915.
Between two wars
The interwar period in Gabon saw the birth of a certain number of political movements beginning to question French colonization, racial discrimination, or the abuses of the colonial administration. In 1922, the Gabonese Youth movement was founded by Laurent Antchouey and Louis Bigmann. It welcomed personalities such as Léon Mba or Benoît Ogoula Iquaqua. With its monthly "L'écho Gabonais" then "La Voix Coloniale", Jeunesse Gabonaise contributed to disseminating an anti-colonialist ideology among the population. Léon Mba stood out during this period by his articles in L'Echo Gabonais. Appointed Canton chief, he was accused in 1931 of the murder of two young women and was deported to Oubangui-Chari. His sentence (3 years in prison and 10 years in exile) seems very low for such a crime. It is commonly accepted that he was sanctioned for his political activities and that the criminal record concerning him was surely empty. He was joined in Oubangui-Chari by Benoît Ogoula Iquaqua, judged mad and accused of disturbing public order in 1932. The political activity of the 1930s was characterized by identity issues and the birth of several ethnocultural movements. In 1933, Métis unhappy with their status created the Métis association, with the main goal of promoting the education of underprivileged members of their group. A movement, Mutuelle Gabonaise was created by evolved blacks in response to oppose the privileges granted to half-breeds by the colonial administration. The Métis obtained in 1936 a decree of the governor granting them a special status and the creation in 1943 of a circle of the Métis. The Métis question remained very significant in Gabon during the colonial period. In 1936, a Mpongwè committee was created to defend the land rights of this people, in particular the first occupant of Libreville. A Fang committee was created in 1938 with the aim of defending the interests of the Fangs of Gabon before the colonial administration.
Second World War
Fighting during the Second World War took place on Gabonese territory. They took place between the troops of Vichy and those of Free France. After the rally of Chad, administered by Felix Eboué, the Free French Forces were working to take the rest of the AEF and Cameroon. Gabon was attacked by land and sea at the end of October 1940. Mitzic was taken by the Free French. On November 9, 1940, two Vichy ships were sunk. After fierce fighting, the Vichy forces surrendered. The surrender of Port-Gentil followed on November 12.
Post-War Political Developments
As in many colonies in Africa, World War II acted in Gabon as a catalyst for the formation of nationalist movements. In 1946, the constitution of the Fourth Republic was adopted. Gabon was no longer formally a colony but an overseas territory within the French Union. The right to vote was granted to all the inhabitants of the territory but the principle of the double college remained for the composition of the territorial assembly. Several political parties were created. In 1945, the African Democratic Party of Paul Gondjout was born. It was the turn of the Gabonese Mixed Committee to be founded in 1946 by Léon Mba on the basis of the Fang Committee. The Social Democratic Union of Gabon, inspired by the UDSR of François Mitterrand, was also created in 1946 by Jean-Hilaire Aubame. The latter won the legislative elections of 1946, becoming the first Gabonese deputy at the Palais Bourbon. The first territorial assembly was elected in 1952. Men like Paul Gondjout and Paul Marie Yembit entered. The heads of the two main formations Mba and Aubame also had their headquarters. In 1954, Mba and Gondjout merged their two political formations to create the Gabonese Democratic Bloc. Mba was elected in 1956 to the Town Hall of Libreville. The 1957 elections were those which designated the first Governing Council. A BDG Majority emerged. Paul Gondjout was elected chairman of the assembly, Mba was Vice-Chairman of the Board. A consensus government was formed with 7 posts for the BDG and 4 for the UDSG. In 1958, while the Constitution of the Fifth Republic was put to the vote, the two main formations, the BDG and the UDSG supported the “YES”. Only the Gabonese National Unity Party (PUNGa) supported the “NO”. The YES won at 92.6% and Gabon entered the French Community.
Towards independence
In October 1958, the Governor, Louis Sanmarco, was mandated by the Gabonese government council to announce to the French government its desire to accede to the status of a French department as provided for in the constitution. He received a negative response from the French Overseas Minister, Bernard Cornut-Gentille: "Sanmarco, you fell on your head! Haven't we had enough of the Antilles? Come on, independence like everyone else!". Most of the representatives of the Gabonese people (both in the BDG and in the UDSG) naively believed in an assimilationist project. In reality, De Gaulle was formally opposed to departmentalization. He would say on this subject (quoted by Alain Peyrefitte): “ We cannot hold this prolific population at arm's length like rabbits[6]. It is good business to empower them. Our counters, our stopovers, our small overseas territories, it's okay, it's dust. The rest is too heavy ”. “(…) And then (he lowers his voice), you know, it was an opportunity for us to seize: to get rid of this burden, much too heavy now for our shoulders, as people have more and more thirst for equality. We have escaped the worst!”. In Gabon, Léon Mba wanted to opt for the status of a French department. In the middle of Equatorial Africa! They would have remained attached to us like stones to the neck of a swimmer! We had all the trouble in the world to dissuade them from choosing this status.” Disappointed by this refusal from France, Léon Mba is said to have said to Foccart: how can you French refuse that, you are not a patriot.
With a refusal on the option of departmentalization, Gabon then engaged in the process which led it to independence. The first Gabonese constitution was promulgated on February 19, 1959, making Gabon a member state of the French Community, endowed with a Government, a Legislative Assembly, a legal council and an Economic and Social Council. On May 20, 1960, the Legislative Assembly gave the government a mandate to conduct negotiations. A delegation was formed, with politicians and representatives of traditional authorities. In July, negotiations were held, leading to the Paris Agreements signed by Léon Mba and by Michel Debré. The delegation returned to Gabon on July 22 and on July 23, the agreements were ratified by the legislative assembly. Independence was recorded. On the evening of August 16, 1960, Léon Mba read the proclamation of independence of the Gabonese Republic. At midnight the first notes of the Concorde, the national anthem, were played.
The "development" of Gabon was first done through concessionary companies. Colonial Minister André Lebon, imitating the example of Leopold II's Congo, awarded concessions to 40 private companies throughout the French Congo from 1898. Unlike British chartered companies, there was no transfer of sovereignty. Within their scope of action, the companies exchanged products such as ivory or rubber for European imported products (guns, alcohol, fabrics, etc.). Companies traded these products by greatly overvaluing their value. So to get the equivalent of the real value of a kg of rubber, a worker had to produce 1,330 kg. A very large profit was also made by the companies by selling the products obtained from the exploitation of the concessions at prices up to three times higher than those at which they had been bought. However, the exploitation of rubber began to decline from the 1930s.
Compared to neighboring territories, Gabon was under-equipped in terms of roads. This lack can be explained by underpopulation, heavy rainfall and hydrography. Libreville would not be connected to the rest of the country until 1938 with the construction of the Nationale 1.
Rossatanga-Rignault 2015, p. 17. ↑ Rossatanga-Rignault 2015, p. 76. ↑ Rossatanga-Rignault 2015, p. 193-101. ↑ Aymérich 1933. ↑ Rossatanga-Rignault 2015, p. 118-130. ↑ Rossatanga-Rignault 2015, p. 149. ↑ Rossatanga-Rignault 2015, p. 154. ↑ Rossatanga-Rignault 2015, p. 176. ↑ Sanmarco 1986. ↑ Peyrefitte 1994. ↑ Foccart 1995. ↑ Coquery-Vidrovitch, p. 25-49. ↑ Coquery-Vidrovitch, p. 143-169. ↑ Eyeghe 2017, p. 91. ^ Francis 1977.
References
- ↑ Rossatanga-Rignault, Guy (2012). "Identités et démocratie en Afrique". Afrique Contemporaine. 242 (2): 59. doi:10.3917/afco.242.0059. ISSN 0002-0478.
- ↑ Coquery-Vidrovitch, Catherine (2012), "Préface", L'Afrique des générations, Editions Karthala, p. 9, doi:10.3917/kart.gomez.2012.01.0009, ISBN 9782811106317, retrieved 2021-09-04
- ↑ Rich, Jeremy (2015-09-30), "Eyeghe Ndong, Jean", African American Studies Center, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.50557, ISBN 978-0-19-530173-1, retrieved 2021-09-04
- ↑ Bernault, Florence (August 2001). "Douglas A. Yates, The Rentier State in Africa: oil rent dependency and neocolonialism in the Republic of Gabon. Trenton NJ: Africa World Press, 1996, 249 pp., £12.99, ISBN 0-86543-521-9 paperback". Africa. 71 (3): 535–536. doi:10.2307/1161572. ISSN 0001-9720. JSTOR 1161572. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - ↑ author., Yates, Douglas A. (Douglas Andrew), 1964- (28 December 2017). Historical dictionary of Gabon. ISBN 978-1-5381-1012-6. OCLC 999671993. Search this book on
- ↑ E. W. S. (January 1924). "A Domestic Science Notebook for South African Schools". African Affairs. XXIII (XC): 162. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a099970. ISSN 1468-2621.
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