The French in Indochina: Some Impressions of the Colonial Inspectors, 1867-1913
Author(s)
Garner, Reuben
Abstract
The French colonial government had two major internal conflicts. One was the clash between colonial idealism and the necessity to make colonialism pay. The other was between the desire to centralize colonial authority in Paris and the necessity to give adequate authority to colonial administrators in the field. In an effort to reconcile these differences, the French established an extensive colonial inspectorate which was familiar with conditions at all colonial levels. Inspector reports show that the French policy of assimilation was mere theory; that there was no French concern for the problems of the businessman, either Annamite or French; and that the French colonial administration was unable to carry out its professed policies.
