¹ Brilliant but not always accurate journalistic accounts are to be found in Chaffard, Georges, Histoire secrète de la Décolonisation, 11 (Calmann-Lévy, Paris, 1967),Google Scholar and in Mortimer, Edward, France and the Africans 1944–60 (Faber and Faber Ltd., London, 1969). The author wishes to thank, among others, Michael Gerrard and J. D. Fage for help with his English text.Google Scholar

² Saint-Marc, Michèle, Décolonisation et zone franc (SEDES, Paris, 1964), 19.Google Scholar

³ The main bulk of information used in this article originates, where not otherwise stated, from interviews. These interviews were granted the author on the understanding that it would not be possible to trace any relevant information back to the man it came from. This is because the referendum of 1958 is still a ‘hot’ issue in Niger.Google ScholarMy sample comprises 16 Frenchmen who actually lived in Niger during and immediately before or after the referendum, namely zo Colonial Administrators (‘Administrateurs de la France d'Outre-Mer’), 3 Teachers, 2 Businessmen, and 1 Catholic priest.Google ScholarMy sample of Africans comprises 34 persons: 16 Hausas, II Zerma/Sonrais, and 7 /others/ (Fulanis, Kanuris, Mossis). Their background may be summarized in the following table: Of the 14 Africans mentioned in the article, 6 have been interviewed; of the 13 Europeans, 8. (Notable exceptions: de Gaulle, Houphouët-Boigny, Senghor and Djibo Bakary.)Google Scholar

⁴ According to my own calculations, there were by 1945 some 2,000 former William Ponty pupils in West Africa. Only about 60 of these came from Niger.Google Scholar

⁵ ‘Territoire du Niger. Rapport Politique, année 1951’, 62 (AP. Dosso). Abbreviations: AP: Archives of the ‘Préfecture’ of… ASP: Archives of the ‘Sous-Préfecture’ of… APR: Archives, Presidency of the Republic, Niamey.Google Scholar

⁶ For politics in the Ivory Coast, see Morgenthau, Ruth chachter, Political Parties in French-speaking West Africa (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1964).Google Scholar

⁷ In 1964 the Hausas numbered 1,500,000 and the Zerma/Sonrais 60,000 out of a total population of 3,200,000. See Donaint, Pierre, Le Niger; Cours de géographie (Ministére de l'Education nationale, Niamey), 148.Google Scholar

⁸ Governor of Niger, 1942–52 and 1953–5.Google Scholar

⁹ See interventions by Diori, Hamani and Konaté, M. in the French National Assembly 30 July 1949 and 21 August 1951.Google Scholar

¹⁰ See note 5.Google Scholar

¹¹ Morgenthau, Ruth Schachter, ‘Single-Party Systems in West Africa’, American Political Science Review, LV, no. 2 (06 1961), 294–307.Google Scholar

¹² “Territ. du Niger. Rapp. po1. 1951’, 12–14.Google Scholar

¹³ On the new party's programme, see ‘Procès-Verbal de l'Assemblèe Générale Constituante de l'U.D.N. Comité Regional de Zinder’, Zinder, 18 May 1954 2 (Zinder, AP.), and Le Démocrate (organ of the UDN) of 17 Nov. 1956.Google Scholar

¹⁴ Fonds d'Investissement et de Développement Economique et Social.Google Scholar

¹⁵ For an account of the trade union situation in 1954, see Galinier, René, ‘Rapport Annuel, Cercle de Zinder, année 1954’, 49–70 (AP. Zinder).Google Scholar

¹⁶ ‘Territ. Niger, du. Rapp. pol. année 1953’, 54(AP. Zinder).Google Scholar

¹⁷ ‘Territ. du Niger. Rapp. pol. année 1952’, 45 (AP. Zinder).Google Scholar

¹⁸ See, for example, ‘Lettre du Commissaire de Police de Maradi à M. le Chef des Services de Police du Niger–3 (AP. Maradi).Google Scholar For the role of the ‘free women’ see Piault, Colette, Contribution à l'étude de la vie quotidienne de la femme mannri, Etudes Nigériennes, no. 10 (IFAN/CNRS-Niamey/Paris, no date), 111.Google Scholar

¹⁹ See Doumesche, Nicolas, Mouché,Etude socio-économique de deux villages Hausas, Etudes Nigériennes, no. 22 (IFAN/CNRS-Niamey/Paris, 1968), 98.Google Scholar

²⁰ ‘Territ. du Niger. Rapp. écon. année 38–9 (Centre de Documentation, Cornmissariat Général du Développement, Niamey).

²¹ Before the introduction of general suffrage in 1956, Niger had 312,558 voters out of 2,326,000 inhabitants. See Holleaux, A., ‘Les élections aux Assemblées des T.O.M.’, Révue Juridique et Politique de l'Union Francaise (1956).Google Scholar

²² In 1953 Niger possessed one factory, that produced 200 tons of ground-nut oil (Journal Officielde la République Francaise, At'it et Rapports du Conseil Economique et Social, 26 Mar. 1953). Regarding schools, these were in 1954 attended by some 7,703 pupils, that is 1·5 per cent of the population eligible for education (Jean Ramadier, ‘Discours prononcé a la séance d'ouverture de la session ordinaire de l'Assemblée Territoriale du Niger’, Niamey, 29 Mar. 1955 (ASP. Magaria)).Google Scholar Moreover, Toby was not even capable of absorbing all the FIDES credits Niger was allocated (Ramadier, Ibid. 4). Of the FIDES credits, of which Niger had received 322 million francs from 1949 to 1954, 36 millions had not been used (‘Procès-Vcrbai de la Conférence des Commandants de Cercle’, Niamey, 20–5 Apr. 1955, 10 (ASP. Madaoua)).

²³ In 1955–6 Ramadier, according to himself, was able to wrest out of the FIDES 1,450 millions instead of the 835 millions initially envisaged (Ramadier, op. cit. ).Google Scholar

²⁴ Boubou Hama, ‘Ramadier est le père du socialisme dans ce pays’ (‘Procès-Verbal des délibérations de l'Assemblée Territoriale du Niger. Séance du 18 May 1957’) (ASP. Magaria). Djibo on the contrary accused Ramadier of having rescued the PPN/RDA from total oblivion. See ‘Rapport Général, Congrés du MSA les 6 juillet et 8 mai 1957’ cited in ‘Synthèse Mensuelle, Direction des Services de Police du Niger’ (henceforth SM. Police), Niamey, 31 May 1957, 8. (This periodical, only destined for the French Administration, is to be found in most archives in Niger).Google Scholar

²⁵ SM. Police, Nov. 1956, 3–10.Google Scholar

²⁶ Global results published in Niger-Information (Government newspaper), Niamey, 20 Jan 1956, 2–3.Google Scholar

²⁷ SM. Police, 28 Jan. 1956, 3.Google Scholar

²⁸ ‘Note d'Information. Direction des Services de Police’, Niamey, 31 Oct. 1956 (ASP. Gaya).Google Scholar

²⁹ The MSA took 64·28 per cent of the votes, the PPN/RDA 30·57 per cent. The remaining 5·13 per cent went to independent candidates in the far east (Cerde of N'Guigmi, where the independents took 57 per cent of the vote) and in the north (Cercie of Agadès). The MSA had its highest scores in the Hausa cercles of Tahoua (86·81 per cent) and Madaoua (83·83 per cent), the PPN/RDA in the Hausa but western cercle of Dogondoutchi (79·34 per cent) and in the Zerma/Sonrai cercles of Tillabéry (73·14 per cent) and Dosso (63·70 per cent). See Bureau des Affaires Politiques et Administratives, ‘Résultat des élections du 30 Mar. 1957’ (ASP. Magaria).Google Scholar

³⁰ There was no Prime Minister, the Governor being legally the Head of Government.Google Scholar

³¹ From 1954 to 1954 the sale of groundnuts from the Cercle of Zinder soared from 10,196 to 30,000 tons (René Galinier, ‘Cercie de Zinder, Rapport Annuel 1953’, 2 (AP. Zinder)). Nationwide the ground-nut production soared from 76,190 tons in 1953 to 193,000 in 1957, of which 92 per cent came out of Hausaland. See Ministère de l'Economie Rurale, Service de l'Agriculture, ‘Rapport Annuel, année 1961, Ière partie, Statistiques’, 3 (AP. Zinder) and B.C.E.A.O., L'Economie Ouest-Africaine, no. 137, Feb. 1967.Google Scholar

³² ‘Compte-rendu de la séanc du Conseil des Notables du Cercie de Maradi, le II juillet 1953’, 4–6 (Ap. Maradi).Google Scholar

³³ See, for instance, Noël Julien-Viéroz, ‘Rapport sur le déroulement de la campagne électorale et des élections législatives du 2.1.1956 clans la Subdivision Centrale de Tahoua’, Tahoua, 6 Jan. 1956, 1–2 (ASP. Birni N'Konni).Google Scholar

³⁴ See, for instance, Falgueirettes, P., ‘Lettre du Commandant de Cercie, Konni, à M. le Gouverneur’, Konni, 15 Nov. 1956 (ASP. Bimi N'Konni).Google Scholar

³⁵ ‘Territ. du Niger. Révue des événements du Jer Trimestre 1954’ 19 (AP. Zmder).Google Scholar

³⁶ SM. Police, 24 June 1957, 3.Google Scholar

³⁷ ‘Territoire du Soudan Français. Délégation de la Boucle du Niger. Bulletin Mensuel de Renseignements’, Gao, 14 Nov. 1957, 4–8 (ASP. Tillabéry).Google Scholar

³⁸ SM. Police, 24 Nov. 1957, 12–15.Google Scholar

³⁹ SM. Police, Nov. 1957. 12–15.Google Scholar

⁴⁰ SM. Police, Feb. 1958, 2.Google Scholar

⁴¹ See Afrique nouvelle (newspaper, Dakar), 1 Aug. 1958.Google Scholar

⁴² See, for instance, Azalai, organe du MSA (mimeographed newspaper, Niamey), 9 Apr. 1958 (ASP. Tessaoua).Google Scholar

⁴³ Abraham, R. C., Dictionary of the Hausa language (University of London Press, 1968), 79.Google Scholar

⁴⁴ Berg, Elliott, ‘The Economic Basis for Political Choice in French West Africa’, American Political Science Review, LIV, no. 2 (06 1960), 391–405 (p. 403).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁴⁵ In 1955, 635 francs in all per capita, as compared with 415 in Senegal and 303 in Mauritania (‘PV de la Conference des Commandants de Cercie’, op. cit. 7).Google Scholar

⁴⁶ Chaffard and Mortimer, op. cit.Google Scholar

⁴⁷ See Whitaker, C. S. Jr, The Politics of Traditicm. Continuity and Change in Northern Nigeria, 1946–66 (Princeton University Press, 1970).Google Scholar

⁴⁸ SM. Police, 27 Mar. 1958, 15.Google Scholar

⁴⁹ Lettre du Sawaba au Général de Gaulle’, Niamey, 15 Sept. 1958 (ASP. Tessaoua).Google Scholar

⁵⁰ Le Monde, 17 Sept 1958, 3.Google Scholar

⁵¹ Le Monde, 31 Aug.-1 Sept. 1958, 2.Google Scholar

⁵² Afrique nouvelle, 19 Sept. 1958, 3.Google Scholar

⁵³ Mortimer op.cit. 321.Google Scholar

⁵⁴ Afrique nouvelle, 19 Sept. 1958, 3.Google Scholar

⁵⁵ On the O.C.R.S. see Chailley, Marcel, Histoire de I'Afrique Occidentale Française (Berger-Levrault, Paris, 1968), 494–6.Google Scholar

⁵⁶ ‘Rapport Général Congrès du MSA. …’, op. cit. 5.Google Scholar

⁵⁷ Niger (Révue trimestrielle, Niamey), no. 10 (1970), 64.Google Scholar

⁵⁸ Chaffard, op. cit. 277.Google Scholar

⁵⁹ Ibid. 278–302, and Mortimer, op. cit. 322–4, 343.

⁶⁰ See, for example, ‘Fiche de renseignement, Cercle de Gouré’, 1 Nov. 1958 (Military archives of Zinder).Google Scholar

⁶¹ Le Monde, 17 Sept. 1958, 3.Google Scholar

⁶² See, for instance, ‘Rapport sur le comportement des européens du Cercle de Tessaoua pendant le Referendum’, no date, 3–4 (ASP. Tessaoua).Google Scholar

⁶³ ‘Lettre, Commandant, Cercle de Tessaoua à M. le Chef du Territoire du Niger’, Tessaoua, 1 Oct. 1958, a (ASP. Tessaoua). This information has been confirmed by many oral sources.Google Scholar

⁶⁴ See Rash, Yehoshua, ‘Un établissement colonial sans histoires. Les premières années françaises au Niger 1897–1906’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, Paris, 01 1972).Google Scholar

⁶⁵ Chaffard, op. cit. 294 and oral sources.Google Scholar

⁶⁶ Marches tropicaux, 10 May 1958.Google Scholar

⁶⁷ ‘Cercle de Tessaoua. Rapport Annuel 1958’, 24 (AP. Zinder).Google Scholar

⁶⁸ Chailley, op. cit. 507.Google Scholar

⁶⁹ Communiqué du Parti Sawaba, Section Nigérienne du P.R.A.’. 6 Oct. 1958 (ASP. Tessaoua).Google Scholar

⁷⁰ Le Monde, 21 Nov. 1958, 3.Google Scholar

⁷¹ Colombani, Don Jean, ‘Circulaire à tous mes Commandants et Chefs de Subdivision’, Niamey, 23 Nov. 1958 (ASP. Gaya).Google Scholar

⁷² ‘Télégramme-Lettre du Gouverneur au Chef de la Subdivision de Gaya’, Niarney, 2 Dec. 1958 (ASP. Gaya).Google Scholar

⁷³ Complete results from the elections in ‘Haut Commissariat de la République Française au Niger. Circulaire à tous Cercies et Subdivisions’, Niamey, 22 Dec. 1958 (ASP. Tillabéry).Google Scholar