The Role of Agreements concluded with Local Political Entities during the Course of French Colonial Expansion in West Africa

Abstract

Scholars, historians and lawyers alike, frequently deny legal value to the numerous agreements concluded between local political entities and colonial powers during the process of European territorial expansion in Africa. They often argue that these agreements were not ‘treaties’ because local political entities were not ‘states’ under international law. Doubts also relate to the capacity of local polities to understand and engage in meaningful legal relations with colonial powers. An analysis of French colonial practice of concluding agreements with West African political entities reveals that France and local political entities viewed these agreements as legal instruments. Accordingly, these agreements created, in conformity with their terms, rights and obligations under international law. Depending still on their terms, the agreements with local political entities could confer titles of territorial sovereignty or establish protectorates. When France decided to establish its sovereignty over West African territories at the end of the nineteenth century, it did so mainly through conquest. In this process, France marginalised agreements, such as those establishing protectorates, which did not have the effect of establishing its sovereignty over West African territories.