How Did France Control SO MUCH of West Africa!?

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]France once ruled a massive empire in West Africa with just a few thousand administrators. So, how was France able to control these millions of peoples?

[00:00:10]Here is the twist. France did not rule directly everywhere.

[00:00:14]French West Africa, also known as Afrique occidentale française, was run by a system of governance, local chiefs, forced labor, and strict assimilation policies designed to make Africans French in culture but not equal in power. From Senegal to Ivory Coast, taxes and railways extracted wealth straight to Paris while African soldiers fought French wars. And even after independence in 1960, France still kept deep political and economic influence in the region. And that is why the legacy of French West Africa still shape politics, language, and anti-French protest today.