Communication with Belgian Officials about Colonization - Essay Example

As regards your query as to our French legal system, let me help you understand our processes, and perhaps they might provide insight into your workings in that direction at present.

Two systems are operating in Senegal; the system of French law and civil courts. As you are probably aware, it is necessary to the colonization process that the framework of familiar law with which the immigrants of the colonizing country are accustomed is quickly established to maintain that sense of both justice and civilization. This is very important because in an otherwise uncivilized society, such chaos and lack of law can quickly begin to work against the administrative officials charged with civilizing the land.

As you are probably aware, history of Senegal is one of the indigenous populations being indoctrinated into the Islamic faith, beginning in the 17th century. Thus, the law of civilized Christianity is foreign to those indigenous peoples who possess an awareness of law; and the rest of the population that is not Muslim, have a strong code of tribal chieftain law that has long served as the parameters within their conduct themselves. To provide the indigenous population the necessary time to assimilate into French custom and law, it is necessary to operate two legal systems; the indigenous Muslim and chieftain systems, and the French system.

This has come to pass within the larger cities here, although we do find that Islamic law, severe in many ways, is useful when called upon and allows us to expeditiously deal with malcontents and upstarts who would undermine the French Crown in our endeavors here. Tribal law is recognized to the extent that we pay homage to the chieftains so that much of the labor in building roads and railways throughout the country is provided by those groups. The more intellectual indigenous, the Muslims, make excellent liaisons between French citizens and the other indigenous populations, whose langue and habits vary from group to group.

Envision a circle, and at the center of the circle is the city of St. Louis. The expansion of French law and influence will radiate out from the center of the circle, and eventually, I am confident, even the Muslim population will embrace French law, customs, and even religion. Assimilation is an eventuality, and as the sphere of civilization expands from the heart of civilization, thus will French law come to prevail over Islamic law and chieftain law.

That is not to say that in some instances civilized French law must not intervene in Islamic or chieftain law when those laws prove so ancient and go against the laws of Christianity. For instance, the mutilation of females at a certain age is a tribal pagan law that has been adopted into Islamic law and custom to legitimize it. This calls for intervention by us, for we cannot have women and young girls being so viciously mutilated as a practice that we know to be one of legitimized paganism and as a custom that would thwart Christianity. To that extent, and in other such cases, French law must prevail and intervene to rescue these uncivilized indigenous peoples.

I hope this has served you well, and I would offer this caution to you: Africa is as yet a wild and untamed place. This wildness and the challenges that it presents to cause the adrenalin to flow through the veins of many a man in a way that becomes inextricable. You risk never returning to your native country; so you must work hard to ensure that your native country survives in the wild nation that you are creating.
With that closing thought, I bid you adieu. Read More