Colonization
Mourn the Queen, Not Her Empire
“The end of an era” will become a refrain as commentators assess the record-setting reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Like all monarchs, she was both an individual and an institution. She had a different birthday for each role — the actual anniversary of her birth in April and an official one in June — and, […]
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In New Textbooks, Hong Kong Was Never a British Colony
HONG KONG — Many schoolchildren around the world have long been taught that Hong Kong was once a colony of the British Empire. But students in Hong Kong will soon learn a different lesson: It wasn’t. Beijing has steadfastly maintained that historical view of the city’s status, long before Britain returned the territory to China […]
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Belgian King Returns Mask to Congo in Landmark Visit
DAKAR, Senegal — The king of Belgium on Wednesday handed over a large wooden mask to the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of thousands of objects taken long ago to the European country from its former colony. King Philippe, on his first visit to the country since assuming the throne in 2013, […]
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Aristide Demanded French Pay Reparations to Haiti. He Ended Up in Exile.
A Painful Reckoning Haiti’s payments to its former slave masters added up for generations, costing its economy billions of dollars over time, The Times analysis found, and a little-known public bank called the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations collected the vast majority of the money. But after Haiti’s disastrous earthquake in 2010, Didier Le Bret, […]
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How Much Haiti’s Freedom Cost: Takeaways From a Times Series
The U.S. Treated Haiti Like a Cash Register When the American military invaded Haiti in the summer of 1915, the official explanation was that Haiti was too poor and too unstable to be left to its own devices. Secretary of State Robert Lansing made little effort to mask his contempt for the “African race,” casting […]
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The Root of Haiti’s Misery: Reparations to Enslavers
In 1789, before the slave rebellion, the marquis bought 21 recently kidnapped Africans before leaving for France. But he didn’t indicate where they were put to work, so the commission valued them at an average rate, down to the cent: 3,366.66 francs. In the end, it awarded Cocherel’s daughter, a newly married marquise, average annual […]
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In Senegal’s Former Capital, a Colonial Statue in Hiding Is No Longer Welcome
SAINT-LOUIS, Senegal — For more than a century, the French general who shaped Senegal’s former capital was hailed as a hero and a father figure, his bronze statue triumphantly standing on a square that bore his name. Under his feet, carved into the stone of a massive pedestal, a message read: “To its governor Faidherbe, […]
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Former French Colonies in Africa Demand a Reset
BAMAKO, Mali — Many French guests came through the guesthouse where El Bachir Thiam worked as a security guard, a small oasis of greenery in busy Bamako, the capital of the West African country of Mali. They were friendly, usually, and he liked them. But after he had welcomed them in, shown them to their […]
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Bright Colors, Dark Subjects: Hew Locke’s Unsettling Pageant
LONDON — On a recent morning, a cavernous studio in south London was a vista of ordered chaos. Elaborate headdresses covered several tables, a jumble of cardboard cutout body parts lay heaped on a palette and boxes overflowed with leopard-print fabrics, fake fur and gaudy fake jewelry. Sewing machines whirred and hammers banged. Calmly supervising […]
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