Is there a Franco-Belgian way to deal with colonial archives ?
(2025) Congrès international des archives — Location: Barcelona (27.October.2025)
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- et. al.
- Abstract
- The authors of this communication are working together as part of the European project entitled “Pour des Archives coloniales francophones appréhendées de manière Inclusive et Equitable”. Within this framework, they have explored and reflected on the key challenges surrounding the management of colonial archives. These challenges include issues of access, description, communication, and the varying approaches taken to these archives. The aim of this communication is to highlight these differences and offer a non-French-speaking audience an insight into how colonial archives are managed in two French-speaking countries. In Belgium, colonial archives have recently received unprecedented attention, signaling a major shift after decades of relative obscurity. This renewed focus has led to several significant developments. The Transfer of Archives: Colonial records, previously held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the legal successor to the Ministry of Colonies), are currently being transferred to the State Archives. This process includes a comprehensive review of access conditions and the creation of updated tools to facilitate access to these collections. The edition of a comprehensive Archival Guide: A detailed guide has been published, providing access to all colonial archives available in Belgium. This includes private collections, corporate records, public archives, and religious archives, offering researchers a valuable roadmap for their investigations. Digital Access through the COSO Project: An ambitious initiative has been launched to digitize a wide range of colonial archives, significantly enhancing their accessibility for researchers and the public alike. In France, the subject of colonial archives is more complex, due to the longer duration and complexity of French colonial history. Colonial archives are the responsibility of several government departments (Foreign Affairs, Defence, Culture with the National Overseas Archives), and the fate reserved for the archives of the various territories placed under French authority has not been uniform. This explains why the issue of colonial archives is not limited to displaced archives, but also includes the memory of slavery and the history of repressive operations (the Algerian war of independence, the repression of independence movements in Cameroon, the massacre of African soldiers in Senegal in 1944, etc.).
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Piret, B., & et al. (2025, October). Is there a Franco-Belgian way to deal with colonial archives ? Congrès international des archives, Barcelona.