The Indigénat and France’s Empire in New Caledonia : Origins, Practices and Legacies

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 illustrates the 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. Preface 6 Acknowledgments 8 Contents 10 Abbreviations 12 Abbreviations used in the Text 12 Abbreviations used in References 12 List of Figures 14 List of Tables 17 1 Introduction 18 Contemporary Evocations 18 The Indigénat as an Imperial Framework 19 The Reemergence of a Forgotten Field 20 Origins and Genesis 23 The “Colonial Situation” 25 A Periodization of the New Caledonian Regime 29 Why a History of the Indigénat in New Caledonia Today? 31 Notes 33 Part I The Indigénat Regime 40 2 An Exceptional Legal Regime 41 The Code Noir on Slavery and the Principle of Special Laws 42 Civic Integration and the Imperative of Socialization 44 The Return of the Special Laws 45 The Principles of Penal Justice in Wartime 48 For and Against a Justice D’exception: Growing Contradictions 50 The Birth of a “Legal Monster” in a Republican Context 54 Legalization of the Indigénat Regime: Toward the Law of 28 June 1881 58 The Indigénat’s Synthesis in Cochinchina and the Beginning of Its Imperial Voyage 67 Notes 72 3 Making the French “Native Subject” in Oceania 77 Establishing the French Presence 77 Conversations on Law and Government in the Society Islands 79 Conversations on Law and Government in New Caledonia 84 The Special Powers and the Royal Ordinance of 28 April 1843 87 New Caledonia’s Authoritarian Trajectory 89 Tahiti’s Liberal Trajectory 94 Notes 99 4 Bringing the Indigénat to New Caledonia 106 New Caledonia in the Wake of the War of 1878–1879 111 From Cochinchina to New Caledonia: The Case for a Transfer 116 The Head Tax and the Ambiguities of Democracy 118 Nouët’s Ambitions and the Draft Regulations and Decree of November 1886 121 The 1887 Decree and the Special Infractions 123 Notes 130 Part II The Order of Practices: The Indigénat at Work 133 5 Establishing the Indigénat: The Era of the Administrators 134 The Arrival of the Administrators 135 The Indigénat Before the Indigénat: Practices and Rules “Before the Rule” 136 The Administrators at Work 141 Mounting Criticism and the Rise of Gustave Gallet 145 Managing the Indigénat: The Administrators Suppressed or Consolidated 149 The Denunciation of “Abuses” or the Search for a “State of Law”: The Intrusion of the Colonial Inspectorate 153 Edouard Moriceau and the Brutality of the Feillet Era 156 The End of the Administrators and the Coming of the Gendarmes 160 Notes 162 6 Stabilizing a Colonial Order: Gendarmes, Grands Chefs, and Petits Chefs 167 The “Reorganisation” of the “Tribus” of the Grande Terre 168 The Birth of the Syndic: The Gendarmes as Agents of the Service of Native Affairs 172 Consolidating the Coercive Regime 174 Educating the Chiefs: The Case of Amane of Poyes 176 Interning “Troublesome Chiefs” 180 Full Circle? 184 Ongoing Protest and the Improbable Search for “Colonial Legality” 185 Notes 190 7 Imposing the Head Tax 195 Rehabilitating the Head Tax, 1886–1900 196 Collecting the Head Tax, 1896–1914. Geographical Reach and Fiscal Triumph. Violence, Resistance and Repression 200 Collecting the Head Tax: Individualism or Collectivism? 206 The Grands Chefs as Tax Collectors: Amane and the Head Tax 208 Taxation by Stealth. The Indenture Bonuses: Kanak Custom or Colonial Tax? 214 Collective Responsibility Maintained 216 Ongoing Critique. Opposing a Fundamentally Unequal Fiscal Regime 216 Notes 218 8 Controlling Mobility and Residence 223 Controlling Mobility and Residence: Growing Preoccupations 224 Separating Kanak and Libérés: Intersecting Controls 227 Indenture and the Indigénat: Overlapping Regimes 228 The Surveillance of Kanak Women in the Name of Colonial Morality 231 The Case of the Loyalty Islands 235 Confinement: The Daily Threat of Imprisonment 238 Evading the Indigénat 240 Notes 246 Part III The Indigénat and the “Native Condition” in the First Half of the 20th Century 252 9 The Impossible Reform: Debating the Indigénat in the Empire and New Caledonia 253 The Challenge of Reform in Algeria and Cochinchina: Political Battles and Delaying Tactics, 1903–1928 254 Challenging the Foundations of “Native Policy” in New Caledonia, 1907–1912 258 Confusion, Procrastination, and Obstruction: A Look at New Caledonian Governance 260 The “Native Statute” That Never Was 263 The Persistence of Disciplinary Sanctions and the Limit of Exemptions, 1922–1940 265 Notes 270 10 Putting “Natives” To Work: The Indigénat and the Colonial Labor System Between the Wars 274 The Systematic Recruitment and Exhaustion of Kanak Labor 275 Protest and Complaint 280 The Javanese and Tonkinese Experience 283 The Myth of a “New Native Policy” 284 A Step Backwards, 1939–1944 294 Notes 296 11 The End of the Indigénat? 301 The Colonial Order Cracks, 1943–1945 303 Conservative Lobbying for Gradual Reform, 1944–1945 308 The “Wishes and Grievances of the Natives of New Caledonia” 310 Hopes and Threats: Emancipation in Question 316 The Wind of Freedom and Growing Impatience 319 Facing the Challenges to New Caledonian Society After the Indigénat 323 Notes 328 12 Epilogue. Ongoing Debates 334 Notes 347 Bibliography 351 Index 368 This book provides a long history of Frances infamous indigenat regime, from its origins in Algeria to its contested practices and legacies in Frances South Pacific territory of New Caledonia. The term indigenat is synonymous throughout the francophone world with the rigours and injustices of the colonial era under French rule. The indigenat 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 Caledonias indigenous people obtained citizenship in 1946. Among the colonial tools and legal mechanisms associated with Frances 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 indigenat, this book illustrates the 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 indigenat 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 Éditeur : "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 illustrates the 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."