Forced celibacy and concubinage
Besides facilitating emigrants’ long-term establishment in the empire, familial colonialism was also expected to bring an end to what was known as the ‘forced celibacy’ of Frenchmen in the colonies.
From the views expressed, it is quite clear that celibacy as a ‘problem’ was in fact created by the racial politics of colonial rule as articulated by H. de Varly in La Vie Coloniale: ‘Here, a serious question arises. Will we condemn young men to perpetual celibacy? Or, if they want to live a normal life for their age, will they have to give up an alliance with a woman of their race?’ The author was particularly worried that the predicament of ‘forced celibacy’ would deter a great many potential colonial careers.11 The interconnection between familial colonialism and the policing of racial boundaries is unambiguously spelled out in another article whose authors opined thatIn order for the colonial work to be sustainable, for the Frenchman to be committed to it, he would need to have with him, rather than a black or a creole, a woman of his race who can be a loving and devoted companion, a comforting presence during his hours of nostalgia, and with whom he will set up a family that will bind him to the conquered land by blood tie.12
While it is unclear to what extent French males practised sexual abstinence because of the unavailability of white women in the colonies, there is a great deal of evidence that concubinage with indigenous women constituted the most prevalent domestic arrangement among European men across the empire. Until the beginning of the twentieth century this type of co-habitation was quite well tolerated in colonial societies, where it was said to provide a number of useful services to French male residents. A succinct summary of the ‘benefits’ of these indigenous types of marriages was given in a manual, Guide pratique de I’Europeen dans I’Afrique occidentale (1902), written for would-be emigrants or expatriates heading out for French West Africa.
According to its author, Dr Barot, a physician for the colonial troops, concubinage with a ‘well-chosen native woman’ was the best option for those Europeans unable to endure two years of absolute continence. These temporary unions would not only ward off the risks of alcoholism and sexual debauchery with the ensuing danger of venereal infection, but they would also strengthen the social position of the white men among the native population, who show more respect for married Europeans, in particular those who manage to contract alliances with the daughters of influential chiefs.13 Besides providing the white man with a temporary ‘home’ where he could find safe sex, company and domestic comfort, the other non-negligible convenience of these unions was that they could be easily terminated without much ado upon the payment of a small sum of money to the petite epouse (little wife).If, in view of these advantages, the colonial government had initially adopted a laissez-faire approach to concubinage, their attitude started shifting from the late nineteenth century on. For example, in Indochina following the establishment of a more organised civil administration, a significant change had taken place in the official position on mixed unions. In 1897 the public prosecutor of Cochinchina and Cambodia sent around a circular to the French judges and magistrates under his jurisdiction to warn them of the danger of living with native women.14 These ‘irregular’ co-habitations, the prosecutor contends, would create certain regrettable situations that ‘would degrade the magistrate and compromise his authority and prestige, and at times worse still—his honour’. In the same document he demands that those who keep native concubines break off these relationships immediately. In 1901 the governor-general of Indochina, Paul Doumer, issued another circular to all the chief residents, alerting them to the fact that ‘experience has shown that the influence of native concubines is almost always detrimental to the reputation of the civil servants who associate themselves with them’.15
With the promise to solve the twin problem of forced celibacy and interracial concubinage, the colonial female emigration movement was gaining momentum both inside and outside colonial circles. From the turn of the century on, it began to attract the attention of people from all walks of life in the metropole, ranging from high-level administrators such as the minister of the colonies and social reformers to women activists, as well as women who, in the words of Mme Pegard, the secretary-general of SFEF, ‘had known a life of trials, hardships, destitution, and abandonment’.16