The Indigénat and France's Empire in New Caledonia

This book provides a long history of France's infamous indigénat regime, from its origins in Algeria to its contested practices and legacies in France's South Pacific territory of New Caledonia. The term indigénat is synonymous throughout the francophone world with the rigours and injustices of the colonial era under French rule. The indigénat regime or 'Native Code' governed the lives of peoples classified as French 'native' subjects in colonies as diverse as Algeria, West Africa, Madagascar, Indochina and New Caledonia. In New Caledonia it was introduced by decree in 1887 and remained in force until Kanak - New Caledonia's indigenous people - obtained citizenship in 1946. Among the colonial tools and legal mechanisms associated with France's colonial empire it is the one that has had the greatest impact on the memory of the colonized. Focussing on New Caledonia, the last remaining part of overseas France to have experienced the full force of the indigénat, this book illustratesthe way that certain measures were translated into colonial practices, and sheds light on the tensions involved in the making of France as both a nation and a colonial empire. The first book to provide a comprehensive history of the indigénat regime, explaining how it first came into being and survived up until 1946 despite its constant denunciation, this is an important contribution to French Imperial History and Pacific History. Isabelle Merle is Director of Research in the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) attached to the Centre for Research and Documentation on Oceania (CREDO) at the University of Aix-Marseille in France. She is a specialist in the history of colonisation and the Pacific region, including New Caledonia. Her publications include two books and a wide range of articles on aspects of colonial history, such as subjecthood and citizenship. Adrian Muckle is a Senior Lecturer in the History Programme at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. He is a historian of the Pacific Islands region including its intersection with histories of New Zealand and the French empire. His primary interests include colonialism, decolonisation, violence and race relations, with much of his research focussing on colonial rule and its legacies in New Caledonia.

Auteur

Isabelle Merle is Director of Research in the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) attached to the Centre for Research and Documentation on Oceania (CREDO) at the University of Aix-Marseille in France. She is a specialist in the history of colonisation and the Pacific region, including New Caledonia. Her publications include two books and a wide range of articles on aspects of colonial history, such as subjecthood and citizenship. Adrian Muckle is a Senior Lecturer in the History Programme at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. He is a historian of the Pacific Islands region including its intersection with histories of New Zealand and the French empire. His primary interests include colonialism, decolonisation, violence and race relations, with much of his research focussing on colonial rule and its legacies in New Caledonia.

Contenu

1. Introduction.- Part I. The Genesis of an Exceptional Regime in France, Algeria, Cochinchina and Oceania.- 2. The History of an 'Exceptional' Legal Regime.- 3. Voyage to Oceania: The Making of 'French Native Subjects' in Tahiti, the Marquesas and New Caledonia.- 4. Bringing the Indigénat to New Caledonia.- Part II. The Indigénat at Work in New Caledonia.- Chapter 5. Establishing the Indigénat: The Work of the Administrators and Chiefs.- 6. Stabilising a Colonial Order: Gendarmes, Grands Chefs and Petits Chefs.- 7. The Head Tax and the Making of the 'Native'.- 8. Controlling Mobility, Segregation and Sociability.- Part III. The Indigénat and the Condition of the 'Native' in the First Half of the Twentieth Century.- 9. The Impossible Reform: Debating the Indigénat in the Empire and in New Caledonia.- 10. Putting 'Natives' to Work: The Indigénat and the Colonial Labour System between the Wars.- 11. The End of the Indigénat.