Introduction

This chapter examines selected examples from collections of First World War posters from across British India and French Algeria. Current historiographies of colonial participation in the First World War provide an important cultural context for understanding why poster artists used stereotypes as a form of public mediation. The following analysis of aesthetic form and political function will use examples of propaganda posters that provide both a comparative and critical approach to the study of Empire, although remaining aware that the impact of propaganda can only be estimated because there are no known sources of precise measurement including recruitment figures themselves. Colonial troops and their representation in posters designed for the First World War are just one aspect of the effort introduced by wartime propagandists to secure recruits from distant shores as well as to maintain local morale in the face of conflict.

Britain and France entered the First World War as allies under the 1904 Entente Cordiale. In the face of the large-scale loss of life, voluntary recruitment numbers in Britain had fallen by December 1915 and comparatively low popula–tion in France limited the rates of conscription. Consequently, each Empire turned to its colonial possessions to provide additional troops as a potential solution to recruitment problems. The use of colonial troops signified the power and control of Empire, and this was exemplified by their representation in posters of the First World War. However, the use of colonial troops had a range of implications for the future relationship of each Empire with its colonial dominions. Recruitment from colonial territories produced issues that were far-reaching and, including logistical, moral and ethical implications of colonial participation. The troops from British India, for example, served on the Western Front only in 1914-1915 (with some cavalry remaining until 1918), as there were concerns about pitting non-whites against white troops in battle. The deployment of mixed units in the French Army that included battalions of troupes indigènes saw the increased presence of French African troops in Europe. The physical presence of non-white troops in Europe prompted European public debate about race and the legiti–macy of their deployment.