4 - Empire Disrupted

Summary

“Revolutions are not made; they come”

– Wendell Phillips, 1852

France’s failure to meet aspirations for political equality did not immediately bring about nationalist protests. The very fact that the French felt they could reject reformists’ proposals suggests their confidence in their hold over the empire. As French settlers implied during the debates over reform, there was little reason to expect that French colonial rule could not continue on as it had before, policing opposition and repressing regime critics. The status quo did not appear unsustainable, and few anticipated widespread mobilization in advance. When nationalist protests occurred, they often arose suddenly. What were the triggers of mass nationalist action? What prompted people to take to the streets to demand an end to French rule and independence for their nations?

This chapter argues that nationalist protests in the French empire were prompted by disruptions in imperial authority at the level of the colonial territory. The imperial power’s control could be disrupted by the invasion and occupation of the territory or by the very decision to grant autonomy or decolonize. These events produced a situation in which France’s authority over a given territory was either partial or nonexistent and provided openings for political opponents to stage nationalist demonstrations.