Assimilation (French colonialism)

Assimilation was a major ideological component of French colonialism during the 19th and 20th centuries. The French government promoted the concept of cultural assimilation to colonial subjects in the French colonial empire, claiming that by adopting French culture they would ostensibly be granted the full rights enjoyed by French citizens and be legally considered "French". Colonial settlements established by the French, such as the Four Communes in French West Africa, were created with the assimilation concept in mind, and while Africans living in such settlements were theoretically granted the full rights of French citizens, discriminatory policies from various French colonial administrations denied most of these rights to "full-blooded Africans".

Assimilation (French colonialism)

Assimilation was a major ideological component of French colonialism during the 19th and 20th centuries. The French government promoted the concept of cultural assimilation to colonial subjects in the French colonial empire, claiming that by adopting French culture they would ostensibly be granted the full rights enjoyed by French citizens and be legally considered "French". Colonial settlements established by the French, such as the Four Communes in French West Africa, were created with the assimilation concept in mind, and while Africans living in such settlements were theoretically granted the full rights of French citizens, discriminatory policies from various French colonial administrations denied most of these rights to "full-blooded Africans".