Reports
OVERVIEW REPORT In 1938, on return from her tour of the French West African colonies, Savineau wrote up a synthesis of her findings in what we term her ‘overview report’, otherwise known as report no. 18. This report has served as the core document for research into Savineau’s tour and her findings published since the late 1990s. It flags up themes that researchers can explore in more detail in the 17 French field reports which are all accessible on this page. While her writing observes many of the traditions that reflect the intellectual constraints of a colonising mind as it seeks to define, evaluate even represent the Other through artefact or ritual, through gender marking and ethnic labelling, this was a colonising mind that was never completely under the control of the colonising power. There are vestiges of other worlds and realities that are perceptible behind the colonial cant. For a general introduction to the Savineau Reports click here.
Savineau Fieldwork Reports
The fieldwork reports below contain a rich array of Savineau’s notes, impressions, observations, and commentaries as she travelled the breadth of French West Africa. Material on local economies and the cost of goods and services mixes with reflection on the condition of the penal system, the role of women and the health services, and access to education. These reports provide an unrivalled resource for scholars working in and across a range of disciplines. The author is referred to throughout as Denise Savineau, the name she used to author this work. As is well known, this is a pseudonym. Born Marthe Jenty, before marrying colonial officer Edmond Savineau, Denise Savineau wrote under the name Denise Moran.
Reader’s Tools
We have prepared a Reader’s Glossary of terms which may not be familiar to English readers. This work of compiling a Glossary is ongoing; contributions are always welcome and can be suggested via the Interactive Glossary in the Activities section of this website.
Correspondence and Related Documents
Related documents: The Guernut Commission 1937-8
In early 1937, the left-wing Popular Front government in France established a commission of enquiry to look into many aspects of colonial life across the empire. The ultimate intention was to provide much needed information as the basis for introducing reforms into the colonies. The commission was headed by member of parliament and former Education Minister,Henri Guernut. The commission archives contain documents, compiled either by or under the aegis of colonial agents, focusing on economic affairs, housing, migration, education, and demography. Funding dried up in 1938 and the Commission was abandoned and with it all hope of reform in the brave new world of a Europe veering catastrophically into fascism and a Second World War.
The Commission documents are housed at Centre des Archives nationales d’outre-mer (CAOM) in Aix-en-Provence, France. They reflect an essentially administrative endeavour and do not replicate the content of the SAVINEAU REPORT housed on this site. The Commission archive is not available in digital form but there is an introduction to it produced by the team at CAOM:
La Commission Guernut: commission d’enquête du Front Populaire http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/anom/en/Action-culturelle/Dossiers-du-mois/1006-Guernut/Dossier-Commission-Guernut.html
Correspondence
Below you will find a selection of administrative correspondence related to the Savineau Report, organised by date and content. These digital versions are based on material consulted at the Archives nationales du Senegal (ANS) in Dakar.
Date | Description |
---|---|
7 September 1909 | Du Lieutenant-Gouverneur du Sénégal au Gouverneur-Général William Merlaud-Ponty [sujet: éducation des filles en AOF] |
5 September 1921 | Du Governeur-Général de l’AOF aux Messieurs les Lieutenants-Gouverneurs des Colonies du Groupe |
28 April 1930 | Lettre et rapport du Gouverneur du Soudan français à Monsieur le Gouverneur General de l’AOF |
18 January 1937 | Le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF aux Messieurs les Lieutenants-Gouverneurs des Colonies du Groupe, à Monsieur l’Administrateur de la Circonscription de Dakar et Dépendances |
26 May 1937 | L’Education rurale et ménagère signe CROS; copie conforme à Levasseur, Le Chef du Bureau des Affaires politiques, Jean Rannou, Adminstrateur des colonies |
7 October 1937 | Marcel de Coppet aux Messieurs les Gouverneurs des Colonies du Groupe et à Monsieur le Commissaire de la République au Togo |
7 October 1937 | Décision chargeant Mme Savineau de mission d’enquête sur la condition da la femme indigène |
12 December 1937 | Denise Savineau à Marcel de Coppet – Rapport sur la Femme et la Famille à Bamkaro ci-joint |
2 January 1938 | L. Geismar à [Monsieur le Gouverneur General] du Soudan français. |
12 January 1938 | Lettre de Denise Savineau à Marcel de Coppet |
12 January 1938 | Instructions, questions de Marcel de Coppet au Gouverneur du Soudan français, Ferdinand Rougier [Follow up on Rapport 1 Bamako] |
15 January 1938 | Lettre de Marcel de Coppet à Denise Savineau |
21 February 1938 | Le Gouverneur des Colonies F. Rougier, Gouverneur du Soudan français à Monsieur le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF |
4 March 1938 | L’Administrateur de Ière classe Cloix, Commandant de l’Aebengourou à Monsieur le Gouverneur de la Côte d’ivoire [Follow up on Reports from Côte d’Ivoire] |
7 March 1938 | Réponse de F. Rougier aux questions de Marcel de Coppet du 12 janvier 1938 sur Rapport 1 Bamako |
7 March 1938 | Le Gouverneur des Colonies F. Rougier, Gouverneur du Soudan français à Monsieur le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF |
10 March 1938 | Le Gouverneur des Colonies G. Mondon, Gouverneur de la Côte d’Ivoire à Monsieur le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF [follow up on reports from Côte d’Ivoire] |
1 April 1938 | Le Gouverneur des Colonies Lieutenant-Gouverneur du Soudan français à Monsieur le Gouverneur General de l’AOF, L. Geismar |
25 April 1938 | Le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF à Monsieur le Ministre des Colonies |
3 May 1938 | Le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF à Monsieur le Gouverneur (Marcel de Coppet) du Soudan français |
8 June 1938 | L’Administrateur en Chef des Colonies Desanti, Gouverneur du Soudan français à Monsieur le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF |
14 June 1938 | Le Gouverneur de la Côte d’Ivoire à Monsieur le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF [Follow up on Report on Côte d’Ivoire] |
20 June 1938 | Lettre de Marcel de Coppet à Monsieur le Gouverneur de la Guinée française [follow up Rapport 5] |
28 June 1938 | Le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF à Monsieur le Gouverneur de la Côte d’Ivoire [2] [Follow up on Reports from Côte d’Ivoire] |
12 September 1938 | Le Gouverneur de la Côte d’Ivoire à Monsieur le Gouverneur-Général de l’AOF [Follow up on report from Côte d’Ivoire] |
[12 September 1938] | Prestations annexes |
26 September 1938 | Lettre de M. Galandou Diouf à Marcel de Coppet |
3 October 1938 | Monsieur le Gouverneur-Généra, Renseignements [follow up on Report from Senegal-Casamance] |
6 October 1938 | Lettre de Marcel de Coppet à M. Galandou Diouf, Deputé du Sénégal |
16 December 1938 | Lettre de Louis Blacher à Marcel de Coppet [follow up to Rapport 5] |
27 December 1938 | Le Gouverneur du Sénégal (Le chef de subdivision) à Monsieur le Gouverneur General de l’AOF [Follow up on Report from Sénégal-Casamance] |