Colony of Niger

Niger, 1922–1960. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Colony of Niger was a French colonial possession covering much of the territory of the modern West African state of Niger, as well as portions of Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad. It existed in various forms from 1900 to 1960 but was titled the Colonie du Niger only from 1922 to 1960. On 13 October 1922 the civilian Colony of Niger took control of most of southern and western areas, with a lieutenant governor reporting to the Governor General of French West Africa. On 25 August 1958 the Lieutenant Governor became High Commissioner of Niger, but remained Head of State of a quasi-independent state which controlled some purely internal administration.

Seat of power: Niamey

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• Along with Mauritania, Niger remained the only part of French West Africa to remain under military rule.
• The first city plan in 1930 relocated neighbourhoods and enacted segregation of European and indigenous neighbourhoods, which remained separate until the 1950s. Niamey held Niger's first municipal elections in 1956, electing Djibo Bakary as the first mayor.
• Measures to improve food security following a series of devastating famines in 1913, 1920, and 1931 were introduced.
• The city was ruled by the French from 1906. A rebellion by Kaocen Ag Mohammed occurred in 1916, but was defeated by French forces.

Picture

Niamey replaced Zinder as the territorial capital from 1903 to 1911 and again in 1926, after which large-scale development occurred.

Image: Roland Huziaker, CC BY-SA 2.0, file

Sources

• Colony of Niger (Wikipedia)
• Colony of Niger (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.