Zorian Stech, Université De Montréal
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Defying Decolonization in the New Hebrides: The Case of Philippe Delacroix as a Reflection of France’s Aims in the Archipelago of Eighty Islands Zorian Stech, Université de Montréal The history of the New Hebrides condominium (present-day Vanuatu) is an account of clashing cultures, views, and policies involving perhaps the two greatest colonial powers of the modern era: Great Britain and France. Officially known as the Anglo-French condominium, lasting from 1906 to 1980, the New Hebrides were a colony of neither France or Great Britain, but a sphere of joint influence.1 Although the two powers attempted to get along after the Second World War, they ended up displaying vastly different outlooks regarding the political future of the New Hebrides. In the years leading up to independence in 1980, France in particular played a “double game” in the archipelago.2 Although in theory both countries promised independence for the New Hebrides, in practice, the French were apprehensive, frightened that statehood would boost secessionist and anti- colonialist movements in nearby New Caledonia and French Polynesia.3 In this “double game,” French adventurist, colonist, and businessman Philippe Delacroix was a strong voice for France who felt increasingly pressured by the British to decolonize. An analysis of his life story, especially the New Hebridean chapter, sheds light on how France attempted to maintain its influence in the archipelago and circumvent or at the very least delay independence. As seen in Delacroix, if France was not going to be successful in prolonging the condominium system 1 Robert Aldrich, France and the South Pacific since 1940 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993), 196. 2 The words “double game” are the author’s phrasing for describing France’s rather deceitful policies vis-à-vis the New Hebrides. On the one hand, France wanted to be on friendly terms with Great Britain, who was clearly pushing for independence. On the other, France favored a continuation of the condominium system. See Grace Molisa, Howard Van Trease, and Nikenike Vurobaravu, “Vanuatu Overcoming Pandemonium,” in Politics in Melanesia, ed. Ahmed Ali and R.G Crocombe (Suva: Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific, 1982), 101- 102. 3 France was a believer of the “domino theory”: in the South Pacific, independence for the New Hebrides could risk “setting in motion a chain reaction.” See Aldrich, France and the South Pacific, 225. In the wake of Algerian independence in 1962, France shifted its nuclear testing program from Algeria to Moruroa in French Polynesia, where nuclear weapon tests were conducted between 1966 and 1996. The nuclear testing program in Moruroa also explains the importance of the Pacific region for France. See Stephen Henningham, France and the South Pacific: A Contemporary History (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1992), 56. Defying Decolonization in the New Hebrides 145 through radical measures and violence, it would at least attempt to maintain control over certain islands.4 In the continuously ongoing rivalry between the French and the British for influence and dominance in the New Hebrides, Philippe Delacroix was an important advocate for France.5 Despite the preponderance of French settlers in the early twentieth century, the French administration was reputed to be softer and more lethargic compared to the slightly more energetic British administration.6 Consequently, French stakes in the archipelago lacked stability.7 To correct this deficiency, in the first two decades following the Second World War, France focused on reaffirming its authority and governance in the colony vis-à-vis the British administration and the New Hebridean population.8 In the 1960s, France felt a sudden urge to invest in the education of New Hebrideans. “As of 1960, 4 A number of scholars have examined the decolonization of the New Hebrides. Oftentimes, this has been done by situating the New Hebrides within the context of the French-controlled South Pacific. See Henningham, France and the South Pacific, and Aldrich, France and the South Pacific. Other sources cited in this article have been written by civil servants and government workers who lived and worked in the New Hebrides, and who witnessed firsthand the events of the 1970s. See Keith Woodward, A Political Memoir of the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2014); John Beasant, The Santo Rebellion: An Imperial Reckoning (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984); and Kalkot Matas Kele-Kele, “The Emergence of Political Parties,” in New Hebrides The Road To Independence, ed. Chris Plant (Suva: Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, 1977). While drawing on primary and secondary sources, this article’s uniqueness lies in its micro-level analysis of the final years of the condominium. Through Philippe Delacroix, one gains a deeper understanding of the late condominium era from a street-level perspective, adding to the developments discussed in the article a more personalized tone. As seen through Delacroix, the article elucidates France’s true aims in the New Hebrides. 5 The rivalry between the British and the French manifested itself in many ways. For example, a dual administration meant that there were separate education systems, health facilities, police forces, etc. “There was also a third administration, that of the condominium sector per se, for those activities necessitating cooperation: public works, postal services, and a common tribunal.” See Molisa et. al., “Vanuatu Overcoming Pandemonium,” 85, and William F. S. Miles, “Francophonie in Post-Colonial Vanuatu,” Journal of Pacific History 29, no. 1 (1994), 50. 6 Aldrich, France and the South Pacific, 204. 7 Aldrich, France and the South Pacific, 204. 8 The term "New Hebridean" refers to the indigenous people of the New Hebrides during the Anglo- French condominium. Following independence in 1980, this term was replaced by the term "Ni- Vanuatu" to refer to the citizens of the newly independent country of Vanuatu. Both the term New Hebridean and Ni-Vanuatu should not be confused with the term “Melanesian.” The latter term was coined by French explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville in the early nineteenth century in an attempt to refer to the very diverse inhabitants of Melanesia (a vast geographical region in Oceania) in a collective way and to distinguish them from the inhabitants of Micronesia (“Micronesians”) and Polynesia (“Polynesians.”) To complicate matters further, some New Hebrideans are of “Polynesian” rather than “Melanesian” ethnicity. Although the author of this article consistently refers to the indigenous people of the New Hebrides as New Hebrideans, the term “Melanesian” appears when quoting other authors and sources who, because of the neutrality of the term at the time of their writings, refer to the indigenous people of the New Hebrides as “Melanesian.” Adrian Muckle, email message to author, 8 June 2019. On France’s comparative weakness vis-à-vis the British, see Aldrich, France and the South Pacific, 204, and Miles, “Francophonie in Post-Colonial Vanuatu,” 52. Journal of the Western Society for French History 146 Stech Anglophone Protestant denominations greatly outnumbered Francophone Catholic missions, resulting in an Anglophone advantage within this Church- sponsored educational ‘system.’”9 By the mid-1950s, when the British Education Service began unifying, standardizing, and administering the various denominational schools where English was the medium of instruction, British education officers in the condominium like their superiors in London placed a special emphasis on withdrawing from South Pacific territories under British jurisdiction, including the New Hebrides.10 For the British, the emergence of a local New Hebrides political scene in the early 1970s was a step in the right direction. On the contrary, France wished to remain in the New Hebrides and depended on individuals like Delacroix to reinforce its influence versus the British administration and the New Hebridean population.11 By studying Delacroix, the undeniable confrontations and tensions that existed between the French and the British in the New Hebrides as well as amongst New Hebrideans themselves become apparent. As this article demonstrates, Delacroix wanted to save France’s reputation as a colonial power and preserve French rule in the islands. He used French language and French culture as linchpins in this undertaking, and served as the quintessential embodiment of French motivations and designs in the New Hebrides. Moreover, Delacroix’s goals were commensurate with what France was trying to accomplish in the final years of the condominium’s existence. In addition to being heavily impacted by the upsurge in political activity during the 1970s, Delacroix was also directly involved in the New Hebrides’ tumultuous path to independence. In order to understand what was at stake for both France and Great Britain in the New Hebrides during the 1970s, one must first backtrack. Until the 1960s, French interests in the area were predominantly agricultural, and revolved around the production of cocoa, coffee, and copra – dried oil-yielding coconut kernels which were in high demand in metropolitan France for the production of soap.12 For the British, the situation was noticeably different. Thanks in part to Anglo- Australian missionaries, Anglican and Presbyterian for the most part, the British were first and foremost interested in education and evangelizing.13 With more New Hebridean teachers working in English-speaking schools than in French-speaking ones, New Hebrideans were more interested in the British education system. Additionally, in the British education system, New Hebrideans often played a crucial role in planning and managing education in the colony. For example, the 9 As of 1960, “British outnumbered French enrollments four to one.” See Miles, “Francophonie in Post-Colonial Vanuatu,” 51. 10 Miles, “Francophonie in Post-Colonial Vanuatu,” 51. 11 On the differences of opinion between the British and the French regarding the political future of the New Hebrides, see Aldrich, France and the South Pacific, 204, 213-214.