Brazzaville Conference of 1944

The Brazzaville Conference was a meeting of prominent Free French leaders held in January 1944 in Brazzaville, the then-capital of French Equatorial Africa, during World War II.

After the Fall of France in 1940, and the subsequent alignment of most of France's colonial empire with the Allies, Charles de Gaulle recognized the need to revise the relationship between France and its colonies in Africa. In January 1944, Free French politicians and high-ranking colonial officials from the French African colonies met in Brazzaville in the modern-day Republic of the Congo. The conference recommended political, social, and economic reforms and led to the signature of the Brazzaville Declaration.

Conclusions

The Brazzaville Declaration included the following points:

  1. The French Empire would remain united.
  2. Semi-autonomous assemblies would be established in each colony.
  3. Citizens of France's colonies would share equal rights with French citizens.
  4. Citizens of French colonies would have the right to vote for the French parliament.
  5. The native population would be employed in public service positions within the colonies.
  6. Economic reforms would be made to diminish the exploitative nature of the relationship between France and its colonies.

However, the possibility of complete independence was soundly rejected. As de Gaulle stated:

The aims of France's civilizing mission preclude any thought of autonomy or any possibility of development outside the French empire. Self-government must be rejected - even in the more distant future.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Low, Donald Anthony, Britain and Indian Nationalism: The Imprint of Amibiguity 1929-1942 Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 16

External links