#french congo

Dioptase

Congo français

“Mind,” he began again, lifting one arm from the elbow, the palm of the hand outwards, so that, with his legs folded before him, he had the pose of a Buddha preaching in European clothes and without a lotus-flower—“Mind, none of us would feel exactly like this. What saves us is efficiency—the devotion to efficiency. But these chaps were not much account, really. They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect. They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force—nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness.

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1902)

Orson Welles - 'Heart of Darkness' 

Africa and its current borders are even today a shifting geopolitical power (Republic of South Sudan, as you’ll recall, is one of the world’s youngest recognized sovereign states), and it gets even more complex when we look back through the historical borders - Afrique équatoriale française being a perfect example.  Before French Equatorial Africa was formed in 1910, the French had dictated the existence of French Chad, French Cameroon, French Congo (also known as Middle Congo, or Moyen-Congo), and Ubangi-Shari.  The AEF consisted of present-day Chad, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and Gabon, and lasted as a colonial entity until 1958 (becoming fully independent in 1960).  The concept of a nation-state based on national borders instead of colonial convenience would be (and still is, in some places...) a long time coming.

Stamp details: Top right: Issued in: 1907 From: Brazzaville, Middle Congo MC #1

Top right: Issued in: 1933 From: Brazzaville, Middle Congo MC #90

Bottom left: Stamp on top: Issued in: 1937 From: Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa MC #77

Bottom right: Stamp on top: Issued in: 1958 From: Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa MC #312

Feast of circumcision,  French Congo, 1930′s

Like many writers of her era, Gabrielle M. Vassal tended not to be very complimentary of Africans in Life in French Congo (1925) and compared them negatively and constantly to the Asians she’d known during her sojourns in Vietnam and China. Colonial Hospital, Libreville She recorded her experiences during a trip to Libreville early during her stay in A.E.F. , before she and her husband settled in…