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“For human beings, colonizing is as natural as the air they breathe.” (Driss Ghali)
In A Counter-History of French Colonization, Franco-Moroccan author Driss Ghali surveys the modern history of French colonization in comparative perspective, from the capture of Algiers in July 1830 to the wave of decolonizations that followed the Second World War. The story Ghali tells is a tragic one: despite what were often the best of intentions, French colonial administration was generally a slapdash affair, ill-conceived, ill-executed, and largely indifferent to the well-being of native populations and the long-term interests of France alike.
But it was not just the French who squandered the opportunities presented by their colonial adventure: once liberated from their colonial oppressors and with a few notable exceptions, France's former colonies signally failed to make good on the promise of independence, in many cases reverting to the violent, corrupt, and unjust ways that had characterized their societies prior to the arrival of France.
As Ghali shows in the concluding section of his work, these failures continue to reverberate to this day in the metropolitan heart of the former empire, where the memory of colonialism has contributed to driving a wedge between its immigrant-descended and native-stock populations. Should this conflicted memory not be overcome, a bleak future awaits France and, indeed, every Western society that has so blithely accepted that the crimes of colonialism be incorporated into its foundational narrative.
“Any account of colonial history honest and wise enough to rise above the simple, cartoonish opposition of white oppressor versus black victim is a welcome corrective to the prevailing, politically distorted narrative. But this one, written by a Muslim author whose great-grandfather fought against the French in Morocco, is extraordinary.”
“Driss Ghali is what the professors would call a sub-altern voice. But this voice speaks a new message: the French colonization of Indo-China, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa was not all bad, indeed it brought much good, and the real war criminals of these countries are the native despots who destroyed the French legacy and failed to address their civilizational deficits. Bold, contentious, and personal, Ghali’s new book will set fire to a smouldering debate in France and beyond about how to approach the colonial legacy.”
Driss Ghali is a Franco-Moroccan writer and political commentator whose works spans several genres, including history, fiction, and biography. He lives with his wife in São Paolo, Brazil.
Ciarán Leglas is an Irish national and holds a PhD. in English literature.