Failure on Display: The Meaning of Eighteenth-Century French India in Twentieth-Century Colonial Administration and Historiography

Agmon discusses the incongruity between French India's marginal position in the realm of politics and economy and its centrality in the sphere of colonial representation. He examines the historical production about ancien régime French India in various genres by Third Republic colonial administ...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	The Journal of modern history 2019-12, Vol.91 (4), p.848-882
Main Author:	Agmon, Danna
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	18th century 20th century Administrators Colonial government Colonialism Colonies & territories Dissemination Governance Historic preservation Historiography Meaning Politics Preservation Production Public officials Social exclusion
Online Access:	Request full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Agmon discusses the incongruity between French India's marginal position in the realm of politics and economy and its centrality in the sphere of colonial representation. He examines the historical production about ancien régime French India in various genres by Third Republic colonial administrators and make several arguments. An examination of the historiography produced by colonial administrators--the books, articles, historic preservation projects, and public-oriented work devoted to French India in the eighteenth century--provides an entry point into the broader relationship between historiography and colonial governance. Historical work produced in and about the colonies was imbricated in more formal institutions of knowledge production and dissemination, like universities in Paris, learned societies, and scholarly journals. Recognizing the varied ways colonial officials engaged in historical production as part of the colonial project unearths the importance of historical writing to the building and maintenance of empire.
ISSN:	0022-2801 1537-5358