The French colonial policies on land and labour in Cote D'Ivoire

 

INTRODUCTION

Cote d’Ivoire also known as Ivory Coast during colonialism and officially the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, is a country on the Southern Coast of West Africa. The country had its own fair share of colonialism. Before the coming of the Europeans, Ivory Coast was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. The Muslim Kong Empire who have said to have been established by the Dyula in the early 18^th century in the north-central region inhabited by the Sénoufo, who had fled Islamisation under the Mali Empire. The Abron Kingdom of Gyaaman was established in the 17^th century by an Akan group, the Abron who had fled the developing Ashanti confederation of Asante man in what is present-day Ghana. The Baoulé, like the Ashanti, developed a highly centralized political administrative structure under three successive rulers. It finally split into smaller chiefdoms. Despite the breakup of their kingdom, the Baoulé strongly resisted French subjugation.

 

ESTABLISHMENT OF COLONIAL RULE

 With superior technology the area became a protectorate of France in 1843. In 1843–44, French Admiral Louis Edouard Bouët-Willaumez signed treaties with the kings of the Grand-Bassam and Assinie regions, making their territories a French protectorate. French explorers, missionaries, trading companies, and soldiers gradually extended the area under French control inland from the lagoon region. The first posts in Ivory Coast included one at Assinie and another at Grand-Bassam, which became the colony's first capital. The treaties provided for French sovereignty within the posts and for trading privileges in exchange for fees or coutumes paid annually to the local chiefs for the use of the land. The arrangement was not entirely satisfactory to the French, because trade was limited and misunderstandings over treaty obligations often arose. Nevertheless, the French government maintained the treaties, hoping to expand trade.

However, the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and the subsequent annexation by Germany of the French province of Alsace–Lorraine initially caused the French government to abandon its colonial ambitions and withdraw its military garrisons from its West African trading posts, leaving them in the care of resident merchants. The trading post at Grand-Bassam was left in the care of a shipper from Marseille, Arthur Verdier, who in 1878 was named Resident of the Establishment of Ivory Coast.

In 1886, to support its claims of effective occupation, France again assumed direct control of its West African coastal trading posts and embarked on an accelerated program of exploration in the interior. In 1887, Lieutenant Louis-Gustave Binger began a two-year journey that traversed parts of Ivory Coast's interior. By the end of the journey, he had concluded four treaties establishing French protectorates in Ivory Coast. Also in 1887, Verdier's agent, Marcel Treich-Laplène, negotiated five additional agreements that extended French influence from the headwaters of the Niger River Basin through Ivory Coast.

 FRENCH COLONIAL PERIOD

 By the end of the 1880s, France had established control over the coastal regions, and in 1889 Britain recognized French sovereignty in the area. That same year, France named Treich-Laplène the titular governor of the territory. In 1893, Ivory Coast became a French colony, with its capital in Grand-Bassam, and Captain Binger was appointed governor. France's main goal was to stimulate the production of exports. Coffee, cocoa, and palm oil crops were soon planted along the coast. Ivory Coast stood out as the only West African country with a sizeable population of European settlers; elsewhere in West and Central Africa, Europeans who emigrated to the colonies were largely bureaucrats. As a result, French citizens owned one-third of the cocoa, coffee, and banana plantations and adopted the local forced-labour system.

Throughout the early years of French rule, French military contingents were sent inland to establish new posts. The African population resisted French penetration and settlement, even in areas where treaties of protection had been in force. Among those offering the greatest resistance was Samori Toure, who in the 1880s and 1890s was establishing the Wassoulou Empire, which extended over large parts of present-day Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. Toure's large, well-equipped army, which could manufacture and repair its own firearms, attracted strong support throughout the region. The French responded to Toure's expansion and conquest with military pressure. French campaigns against Toure, which were met with fierce resistance, intensified in the mid-1890s until he was captured in 1898 and his empire dissolved.

 FRENCH POLICIES ON LAND IN COTE D’IVIORE

There was different type of land ownership in Ivory Coast (Cote d-Iviore) and Africa in general in pre-colonial time. In spite of these differences, essentially land was communally owned in the region. With the elders holding the land in trust for the community. In most part of Africa, land could be held by the family, the lineage, quarter or ward. This simply means there were some areas where land could belong to one particular lineage or the ward. This category of land ownership was due to the contributions of the forefathers to the community. No member of the community could lay claim to any of the land under family, lineage or ward/quarter. However, this has been the system of land tenure in Ivory Coast and Africa in general before the coming of the French colonial government. The system changed with their coming with some of the policies initiated on land to finalise their exploitative ambition by extracting the human and capital resources of the people of Ivory Coast. It is on this note that some of their policies would be discuss;

Code de indigénat (1887): This legal framework restricted the rights of Indigenous people, including land ownership. Among the two treaties signed by traditional rulers with the French colonial administrator that neglected indigenous ownership of land was one with King Peter of Grand Bassam and the other one with King Attacla of Assinie. The treaties concluded the concession of indigenous ownership of land to European speculators and settlers. And by 1893, when the Cote d'Ivoire became an autonomous French colony, French citizens had managed to acquire large concessions of land as well as commercial monopolies for the extraction of timber and other forest products.

 Policy of les terres vacantes et sans maitre (Policy of vacant land without an owner): When Governor-General Binger arrived at Grand Bassam in 1893, one of his first acts was to introduce measures to regulate concessions and put them under the direct supervision of his office. A 1900 legislative text declared that all land that was vacant and without an owner ("les terres vacantes et sans maitre") was state domain. Without written titles, Africans were hard pressed to "prove" ownership in cases where the colonial government claimed the land. This decree marked the beginning of the opposition between the French administration and the customary chiefs over land tenure. This opposition has been transferred from the French to the post-colonial Ivorian state.

 Policy of les terres vacantes dix ans (Policy of vacant land for ten years): In an attempt to improve its relations with the African chiefs, the French introduced a provision in 1935 to the effect that the state would limit its claims to land that had been abandoned for ten years or more. This left unresolved the problem of land held in reserve for agricultural expansion. In 1936, there were complaints that the administration had favored Europeans, allowing them to appropriate large tracts of good, fertile land.

 Policy of long term leases: In order to resolved the contending disputes between the French colonial masters and the Ivoirian chiefs, they introduced a new policy known as long term leases. The policy was initiated by the French colonial government to halt its practice of outright sale of land to French and other Europeans; instead, it began to grant them long-term leases (bail emphyt~otique), averaging twenty-five years. Under this system, the state retained "ownership" of the land, which it could reclaim when the lease expired. This measure, however, did not resolve the conflict with the traditional chiefs since the administration continued to assert its claim that all land that was "vacant and without owner" was domain land.

 Policy of Proof of Non-utilisation: In 1955, a new decree was introduced. This time, the burden of proof was put on the administration; in order for the state to claim a piece of land, it had to furnish evidence of non-utilization. This was a victory of sorts for traditional African claimants since the state would have as much difficulty in "proving" nonuse as they had had in proving use. Unluckily, this policy was never put into effect.

 FRENCH POLICIES ON LABOUR IN COTE D’IVOIRE

Labour one of the factor of production. People of Africa have different ways of contracting labour. The basic unit of labour during the pre-colonial time was the household labour consisted of father, wife (s) and the children and also slaves in place where they exist. The type of occupation would determine the number of men and women that would be involved. For instance, farming requires more labour than mat making, basket making, iron making and pot making. During this period, whatever occupation the family engaged in would determine the number of required labour. With the emergence of Scramble and Partition in the late 19^th century which partitioned Ivory Coast under the supervision of French Colonial administration. The former system of labour was transform to new colonial system with many policies initiated by the colonist on colonized territory such as policy of Assimilation that spearheaded other policies introduced on the colonized people. However, in labour sector, different policies were enacted by the French colonizers in order to fulfill their exploitative mission.

Introduction of Villages de liberté: Ostensibly, these were places where people freed from slavery could go, but soon they came to be seen primarily as labour reservoirs which the colonial administration could draw upon. A great deal of pressure and coercion was applied; labour from these places was conscripted, not only for public purposes (building roads, railways etc.) but also in some cases to provide for private companies (in mining for example). As a result, it is charged that, in some cases, the villages de liberté were little better than forced labour camps.

Introduction of taxes on labour: The French colonial government introduced the payment of taxes on the Ivoirian on the below basis;

·         Taxes were levied to stimulate Ivoirians to collect natural materials for export (rubber, palm kernels, shea butter etc.); while the potential was limited, it did stimulate exploitation of these resources.

·         Taxation was also used to force large numbers of Africans to provide labour. This was common everywhere in Africa, but it often created special problems in French areas. Many people (men especially) in the Sudanic areas were forced into long migrations to employment opportunities either constructing railroads or to the relatively prosperous areas on the coast. Large numbers travelled to the Gold Coast where production of peanuts and cocoa was booming and labour was in demand; migrants had to travel hundreds of miles (usually on foot) with little assistance, and the result was a good deal of hardship, illness and even death.

Forced Labor Regulations: The French enforced forced labor systems, requiring local populations to work on public projects and plantations, often under harsh conditions. Forced labour refer to a system that was used in Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire). Under the system, local people were forced to work on French colonial owned plantation, mines and other facilities. They were often paid very little or not at all and their working condition were often terrible. This system was highly exploitative and led to widespread discontent and resistance among the local population.

Recruitment of Labor for Plantations: The government encouraged the recruitment of labourers for cash crop production, such as cocoa and coffee, prioritizing European agricultural interests. Many able-bodied men were recruited from Sudan and Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) to the coffee and cocoa plantations of Ivory Coast. Some worked on the European plantations and the Forest Concessions.

Introduction of Wage Labour: Initially, the rewards for all traditional forms of labour were food, shelter, drinks and protection. However, with the new colonial trend, wages were introduced to compensate the Ivoirians. The wages were set low, with minimal regard for living costs, ensuring that profits from agricultural exports primarily benefited the colonizers. It must be noted that the people were accustomed to a world of subsistence economy whereby over 70 per cent of the population were engaged in agricultural production. The introduction of wage-earning labour controlled by the French colonial government seems strange to the people of Ivory Coast and hence there was some reluctance to leave traditional occupation for wage-earning employments.

Migratory Labour Policy: The colonial regime facilitated labor migration within the region, often leading to the displacement of communities and altering traditional social structures. Migratory labour which to some extent exists today was motivated by certain factors. Migratory labour started in the early part of this century as a result of people’s desire to escape forced labour and military conscription during the world wars. With the new economic revolution which substantially altered the subsistence economy to money economy, there was a growing desire for workers to travel long distances in search of work which could yield a cash income.

CONCLUSION

The aforementioned policies are the initiatives enacted by the French colonial government. The major aim of the policies was to exploit the land and the people of Cote d’Ivoire during the period under review. These policies collectively reinforced colonial control, disrupted the traditional economies, and had lasting impacts on the land and the people. Some of the problems caused by the French colonial government still continue co-exist with the people in the post-colonial era, especially in land ownership sector. However, with the emergence of nationalist parties, Parti Democratique de la Cote d’Ivoire (PDCI) in 1944 led by Felix Houphouet-Boigny endorsed the agitation for self-government. In 1946, the use of political labour (forced labour) was abolished and new reforms was introduced. Fortunately, the country gained full independence on the 7^th of August, 1960. This attainment sporadically ends the French colonial rule in the country.

 

 

REFERENCES

Pronounced /ˌkoʊt diːˈvwɑːr/ KOHT dee-VWAR in English^[8] and [kot divwaʁ] ^ⓘ in French.

Population Reference Bureau. "2023 World Population Data Sheet" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

"OVERALL DEFINITIVE RESULTS OF THE RGPH 2021: THE POPULATION USUALLY LIVING ON IVORIAN TERRITORY IS 29,389,150 INHABITANTS". PORTAIL OFFICIEL DU GOUVERNEMENT DE COTE D'IVOIRE (in French). 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2022.

"RECENSEMENT GENERAL DE LA POPULATION ET DE L'HABITAT 2021 RESULTATS GLOBAUX DEFINITIFS" (PDF). Institut National de la Statistique (INS) (in French). October 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.

“Background Note: Cote d’Ivoire”. U.S. Department of State. October 2003. Archived from the original on 29 February 2004. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Wallace G. Mills Hist. 317 4 French Colonial Policies. smu-facweb.smu.ca

Warner 1988, p. 8.

Warner 1988, p. 9.

Warner 1988, p. 10.