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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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The Back of Beyond: the portuguese colonisation complex in West Africa (1915-1963)
| Panel |
84. Rethinking Colonial Governance in sub-Saharan Africa: comparative perspectives on local actors, policies and practices (1915-1965)
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| Paper ID | 751 |
| Author(s) |
Havik, Philip Jan
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | The relatively unknown territory of Portuguese Guinea, a small enclave wedged between Senegal and Guinea, was looked upon as an anomaly in French and British quarters. Once 'pacified' after protracted military campaigs in 1915, this long neglected outpost of empire was supposed to become a modern colony. However, the lack of public and private investment, of an efficient administration and of colonists, soon dampened such hopes. Despite the limitations imposed upon colonial autonomy during the Estado Novo period (1926-1974), district administrators retained a large margin for manoevre. Administrative ineptitude and mismanagement, and the absence of coherent 'native' policies were strongly criticised not only by French and British observers, but also by hard-hitting inspection reports from the mid 1930s. The paper will focus on these unpublished documents which illustrate authorities' serious shortcomings and the novel insights they provide upon the nature of portuguese colonial rule in Africa. |
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