Native Sons – West African Veterans and France in the Twentieth Century Mann

Native SonsWest African Veterans and France in the Twentieth Century\nAuthor(s): Gregory Mann\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Duke University Press, United States\nImprint: Duke University Press\nISBN-13: 9780822337553, 978-0822337553\nSynopsis\nFor much of the twentieth century, France recruited colonial subjects from sub-Saharan Africa to serve in its military, sending West African soldiers to fight its battles in Europe, Southeast Asia, and North Africa. In this exemplary contribution to the new imperial history, Gregory Mann argues that this shared military experience between France and Africa was fundamental not only to their colonial relationship but also to the reconfiguration of that relationship in the postcolonial era. Mann explains that in the early twenty-first century, among Africans in France and Africa, and particularly in Mali-where Mann conducted his research-the belief that France has not adequately recognized and compensated the African veterans of its wars is widely.