Vichy in the Tropics: Petain's National Revolution in Madagascar, Guadeloupe, and Indochina, 1940-44 [Hardcover]

Eric Jennings (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

This book examines the role of the Vichy regime in bringing about profound changes in the French colonial empire after World War II. In the war’s aftermath, the French colonial system began to break down. Indochina erupted into war in 1945 and Madagascar in 1947, while Guadeloupe chose an opposite course, becoming territorially part of France in 1946.

The book traces the introduction of an integralist ideology of “National Revolution” to the French colonial realm, shedding new light on the nature of the Vichy regime, on the diversity of French colonialism, and on the beginnings of decolonization. Encompassing three very different regions and cultures, the study reveals both a unity in Vichy’s self-reproduction overseas and a diversity of forms which this ideological cloning assumed.

World War II is often presented as an agent of change in the French colonial empire only insofar as it engendered a loss of prestige for France as colonizer. The author argues that Marshal Philippe Pétain’s Vichy regime contributed to decolonization in a much more substantial way, by ushering in an ideology based on a new, harsher brand of colonialism that both directly and indirectly fueled indigenous nationalism.

The author also rejects the popular notion that Nazi pressure lurked behind the Vichy government’s colonial actions, and that the regime lacked any real agency in colonial affairs. He shows that, far from allowing the Germans to run French colonies from behind the scenes, Vichy leaders vigorously promoted their own undiluted form of ultra-conservative ideology throughout the French empire. They delivered to the colonies an authoritarianism that not only elicited fierce opposition but sowed the seeds of nationalist resurgence among indigenous cultures. Ironically, the regime awoke long-dormant nationalist sentiments by introducing to the empire Pétain’s cherished themes of authenticity, tradition, folklore, and völkism.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This well written, fast moving, and always intriguing book looks at the development of Vichy’s colonial policy and how it reflected its leaders’ deeply held values. Bringing together much previously unknown material, Jennings reveals the extent to which Vichy policy fostered and triggered nationalism in the French colonies.”—William B. Cohen, Indiana University

“What Eric Jennings’ fine study provides is a look inside Vichy’s empire, exploring the ways in which Vichy’s ideology played out in three tropical settings.”—H-France Book Reviews

“Jennings’s study is a first-rate, original contribution to the scholarship of the French empire. His style is clear and coherent, and his work is not ponderous nor slow. Although aimed at advanced students of both the Vichy period and French expansionism, Vichy in the Tropics is a work that will enlighten anyone with an interest in Europe during World War II.”—History

“This excellent book . . . .opens up a field that has received scant attention even from French scholars of empire who tend to dismiss it, particularly in terms of its significance for any understanding of French decolonization.”—American Historical Review

“This original, timely, and finely crafted comparative study of French colonial policies and ethnic relations during the second quarter of the twentieth century represents a significant contribution to colonial cultural history.”—Journal of Interdiciplinary History

From the Inside Flap

This book examines the role of the Vichy regime in bringing about profound changes in the French colonial empire after World War II. In the war’s aftermath, the French colonial system began to break down. Indochina erupted into war in 1945 and Madagascar in 1947, while Guadeloupe chose an opposite course, becoming territorially part of France in 1946.
The book traces the introduction of an integralist ideology of “National Revolution” to the French colonial realm, shedding new light on the nature of the Vichy regime, on the diversity of French colonialism, and on the beginnings of decolonization. Encompassing three very different regions and cultures, the study reveals both a unity in Vichy’s self-reproduction overseas and a diversity of forms which this ideological cloning assumed.
World War II is often presented as an agent of change in the French colonial empire only insofar as it engendered a loss of prestige for France as colonizer. The author argues that Marshal Philippe Pétain’s Vichy regime contributed to decolonization in a much more substantial way, by ushering in an ideology based on a new, harsher brand of colonialism that both directly and indirectly fueled indigenous nationalism.
The author also rejects the popular notion that Nazi pressure lurked behind the Vichy government’s colonial actions, and that the regime lacked any real agency in colonial affairs. He shows that, far from allowing the Germans to run French colonies from behind the scenes, Vichy leaders vigorously promoted their own undiluted form of ultra-conservative ideology throughout the French empire. They delivered to the colonies an authoritarianism that not only elicited fierce opposition but sowed the seeds of nationalist resurgence among indigenous cultures. Ironically, the regime awoke long-dormant nationalist sentiments by introducing to the empire Pétain’s cherished themes of authenticity, tradition, folklore, and völkism.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 326 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804741794
• ISBN-13: 978-0804741798
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,573,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A new look at France in the colonies, November 6, 2003

By 

Cecelia E Connally (Cleveland, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vichy in the Tropics: Petain's National Revolution in Madagascar, Guadeloupe, and Indochina, 1940-44 (Hardcover)

In 1973 Stanford University historian questioned whether or no anything new could be said about Vichy France. In response to his rhetorical question, Wright pointed out the revisionist work of Robert Paxton - VICHY FRANCE - OLD GUARD AND NEW ORDER 1940 - 1944. Paxton challenged the traditinal myths of French resistence and atacked France's edited memory of their collaboration with the Germans. Eric T. Jennings demonstrates that he is an heir to Paxton's revisionism in this work. Through the use of a comparative study of three colonial possessions in the outer reaches of the French Empire from 1940 - 1944, Jennings describes and interprets Marshall Petain's unique brand of colonialism, a subject, according to Jennings, that has been largely ignored by other historians.

The gist of Jenning's argument is that in the selected colonies, there was no German presence. With no Germans, he questions why the Vichy colonial officials were so repressive. A recurring theme in the three exampes cited is the underlying rejection of republicanism in the colonies by the French administratin. Jennings demonstrates the points made by Paxton, namely, that the Vichy government, in the metropole and in the colonies went beyond what the Germans required in terms of anti Semitism, ultra conservatism, authoritarianism and anti republicanism and formulated policies and practices that were anti Masonic, anti Communistic and ardently Catholic.

Prior to the coming of the Vichy government, colonial administrators, particulary in Guadeloupe advocated assimilation and officially per pounded ideas of "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity." In Madagascar and Indochina the colonies could anticipate at best an association with France. But at heart of the colonial empire, even before the Vichy government, was a belief in Social Darwinism that saw the indigenous people of the colonies as proper subjects for domination, not citizens of France. True equality had never really been anticipated. So when the opportunity present itself the true colors of the colonial administrators emerged.

Jennings argued that the repressive tactics of the French colonial administration back fired on the French. Little did they realize that the tactics galvinized dissent in the colonies and provided unintended fertilizer for the already fertile ground of colonial nationalism. To Jennings, the four years he described mark a crossroads of colonialism and post colonialism.

Jennings, however, gives no agency to the indigeous people. It seems to me that there would have been strong nationalist movements even without the pressure from the French. In addition, I think that Jennings gives to much credence to de Gaulle and the Free French. Jennings uses local records to present a part of French history that has been ignored by other historians. The book considers a subject that is in much need or research for its own sake and for its impact on the subject of Vicy France and French mentalities.