Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, History

My dissertation examines the coastal habitants of the Senegambia during the era of the Atlantic slave trade. It explores how the habitants, who were descendants of African women and European men, learned to masterfully petition French officials in the metropole and how the habitants created a connection, both perceived and real, to France. What emerged from the habitants' engagement was a system of patronage, with the habitants providing services to the French and securing protections from the French crown. The habitants came to see themselves as subjects of the king of France, which set the stage for later French conceptions of assimilation—the idea that anyone could become a model French citizen. While many scholars have generally focused on how the ideas of assimilation emanated from French republican ideals, the habitant actions of engaging French officials in the late eighteenth century present a different possibility: assimilation was as much an African innovation as a French one.

Committee: James Genova (Advisor) Subjects: History