5. EXAMINE THE EFFECTS OF THE FRENCH COLONIAL ADMINISTRATIONOF WEST AFRICAN FRENCH COLONIES

Approach
• Brief background about the French colonial administration in West Africa
• Explain the positive and negative effects of the French administration of West Africa
• Conclude.
Background to the question
• The colonial administrative policy adopted by the French in West Africa was that of assimilation' although later they revised it to association'
• It was partly successful in four Senegalese communes of Dakar, Rufisque, Gorre and St Louis.
• Other areas which were ruled by the French in west Africa include; Niger, Guinea. Dahomey, Ivory Coast and Upper Volta
Effects.
1. lt led to African loss of independence; states like Dahomey, Mandika.Mali, Niger etc succumbed to French colonial rule.
2. Under mined the development of Africans languages, cultures and customs. French was the official language in schools and other public places.
3. Introduction of forced labour, African had to offer various forms of forced labour like the compulsory labour on roads (cuvee). lnfact all adult males between 18-65 years had to offer free labour for a number of years.
4. There was also forced conscription in to the French army of all able bodied men consequently about 150,000 Africans were sent to fight on the French side during world war one.
5. There was the introduction of direct taxation which greatly exploited the Africans.
6.The introduction of cash crops and taxation led to the rise of migrant labour e.g. farmers migrated from Sudan to Senegal to work on groundnut fields other from upper Volta to cocoa plantations in ivory coast among others.
7. Introduction of the French catholic religion to challenge Islam and African traditional religion.
8. Exploitation of minerals e.g. iron, this evident by the construction of the infamous iron railway lines.
9. Forced cash crop growing to feed the hungry French industries e.g.  cocoa and coffee in Ivory Coast Dahomey and Mali, ground nuts in Senegal. 10. Land alienation, the French declared all vacant land state property by virtue of conquest 11. Disruption of the local industries e.g. the only iron smelling centre which survived was that of Mossi in Upper Volta.  , 12. There was influx of European in West Africa to exploit the African resources. 13. There was the division of Africans into privileged citizens non privileged and the suffering subject under the infamous indignant system. 14. Mistreatment of Africans by the unfair French judicial system known as the indigent' under this system an African who was not a French citizen (assimidie) could be arrested and imprisoned or fined without trial, at first for  a minimum of 15 days though later reduced to five. 15. Introduction of French model of local and central government which destroyed the African political settings. 16. The French system undermined the success of African resistances against colonial rule for example Samoure of the Mandika. 17.  West African colonies were tied to the French economy in the export- import trade for maximum external exploitation. 18. It brought segregation among Africans themselves e.g. the assimidies in the: 4 communes of Senegal undermined those in the rural areas who had been assimilated 19. Brain drain, all qualified Africans were exported to work in the metropolitan France 20.  The French exploitative policies led to the rise of African resistance against the French rule e.g. Mandika of Samoure Toure.  21.  Abolition of slave trade and introduction of legitimate trade. 22.  There was infrastructural development,   school health facilities, railways, and harbours, towns were established to champion colonial rule. It is important   to note  in concluding   remarks  that just  like other colonial  policies   the French   assimilation  policy   was exploitative and suppressive  on the people  of West Africa  and if African  benefit was accidental.