The colonisation of West Africa (1880–1920) in the Journal des Economistes and L’Économiste Français 1

Bibliographic Data

ID21604697
AuthorsAbdallah Zouache (Sciences Po Lille and Clersé, University of Lille, corresponding author), Raphaël Roudaire (Clersé, University of Lille)
Year2026
Pages1-26
Publication date2026-03-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of the History of Economic Thought (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0967-2567 • E-ISSN: 1469-5936
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09672567.2026.2619720
OpenAlexW7133695181
LanguageFR
References cited17

This paper examines how French liberalism treated the colonisation of French West Africa (AOF) between 1880 and 1920 in the two main academic liberal journals of that period, L’Économiste Français and the Journal des Économistes. While criticising colonisation, liberal economists accepted it through cultural and civilizational arguments, and mainly questioned operating modalities. We thus analyse the different relationships these economists maintain with the colonial project in French West Africa, their economic ambitions, their liberal criticisms on the role of the state, but also their advice to improve state’s methods, colonial infrastructure or colonial trade companies

Colonisation · Colonization · African history and culture studies · Colonial History and Postcolonial Studies · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies

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