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| Revue Africaine | |
|---|---|
| Title | Revue Africaine |
| Discipline | African studies; philology; ethnography; history |
| Language | French |
| Country | France |
| Publisher | Société d'Études Coloniales? |
| Frequency | Periodical |
| History | 19th–20th century |
Revue Africaine Revue Africaine was a French-language periodical focused on African studies, philology, ethnography, history and travel that appeared amid 19th-century debates over colonial expansion, missionary activity, scientific exploration and diplomatic relations. The journal intersected with contemporaneous networks around explorers, ethnographers, linguists, missionaries and colonial administrators involved in contexts such as the Scramble for Africa, the Berlin Conference (1884–85), the French Third Republic and interactions with polities like the Kingdom of Dahomey, the Ashanti Empire, and the Ethiopian Empire. Its pages engaged with debates connected to figures and institutions including Alexandre Dumas, Louis Faidherbe, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Henri Duveyrier, Léon Faidherbe and scientific societies such as the Société de Géographie, the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, and the Musée de l'Homme.
The journal emerged during an era shaped by the Industrial Revolution, the Congress of Berlin (1878), the rise of the French colonial empire, the expansion of networks like the Royal Geographical Society, and intellectual currents from the Enlightenment and Positivism; contributors debated topics related to contacts with polities such as Zulu Kingdom, Sokoto Caliphate, Kingdom of Buganda, and Asante. Articles reflected exchanges among European capitals—Paris, London, Brussels, Berlin—and colonial centers like Algiers, Saint-Louis (Senegal), Dakar, Brazzaville and Tunis, connecting to expeditions led by figures such as Richard Francis Burton, John Hanning Speke, Henry Morton Stanley, and David Livingstone. Over time the periodical’s trajectory paralleled events like the Franco-Prussian War, the Dreyfus Affair, the First World War, and the shifting politics of the Belle Époque.
Founders and editors came from milieus that included members of the Société de Géographie, colonial administrators linked to Léon Gambetta and the Ministry of the Navy and Colonies (France), missionaries associated with the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society and the White Fathers (Missionaries of Africa), and scholars tied to the Collège de France. Editors and contributors overlapped with personalities such as Étienne Maurice Gérard-era veterans, explorers like Aimé Olivier de Sanderval, philologists influenced by Jules Gabriel Verne-era travel writing, and ethnographers connected to Paul Broca, Jules Ferry-era policymakers, and the academic currents represented by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.
The journal published studies in comparative philology addressing languages of the Niger–Congo languages, reports on missions to regions including Maghreb, Sahel, Horn of Africa, and southern loci like Cape Colony and Natal (South Africa). Articles combined travel narratives in the vein of Gertrude Bell-style accounts, ethnographic descriptions akin to Franz Boas-influenced fieldwork, natural history notes referencing collectors associated with Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, and discussions of trade routes tied to the Trans-Saharan trade, Suez Canal, and commercial actors like Compagnie du Sénégal.
Contributors included explorers, missionaries, linguists, and administrators comparable to Camille Saint-Saëns-era cultural figures, philologists in the lineage of Jules Gilliéron, colonial officers aligned with Marshal Faidherbe, and scientists linked to Georges Cuvier-inspired institutions. Notable articles treated encounters with rulers such as Menelik II, analyses of archaeology resonant with Heinrich Schliemann-style antiquarianism, and reports on uprisings similar in context to the Maji Maji Rebellion and the Mahdist War. The pages featured cartographic contributions referencing work by Jules Ferry-era surveyors and ethnographic plates akin to those circulated by the British Museum and Louvre networks.
Produced in French, the journal adopted print formats standard to periodicals circulated through distribution networks of the Société d'Études Coloniales, booksellers in Paris, and colonial bookrooms in Algiers, Tunis, Dakar and Cairo. It utilized serial publication rhythms comparable to contemporaneous titles issued by the Revue des Deux Mondes and the Journal des Débats, and it was accessible to subscribers among the Académie française, consular services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (France), missionary societies, and intellectual salons frequented by figures such as Alexandre Dumas (fils) and Stendhal-era readers.
The periodical influenced debates in metropolitan and colonial forums, shaping perceptions among policymakers in Paris and administrators in Algiers and Dakar, informing expeditions sponsored by the Société de Géographie and the Royal Geographical Society, and feeding scholarship read by members of the Institut de France, École Normale Supérieure, and colonial academic chairs. Reception ranged from approbation by proponents of expansion associated with Jules Ferry to critique by anti-colonial voices and intellectuals aligned with the Dreyfusard camp and later thinkers connected to Frantz Fanon-era critique.
Archival runs survive in collections at institutions such as the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the British Library, university libraries at Sorbonne University, University of Cambridge, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, and colonial archives in repositories like the Archives nationales d'outre-mer. Researchers consult its volumes for primary-source material on 19th- and early 20th-century encounters involving figures like Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Henri Morton Stanley, and movements such as the Scramble for Africa, with digitization efforts coordinated by libraries and projects linked to the European Research Council and national cultural initiatives.
Category:French periodicals Category:African studies journals Category:19th-century publications