Project description
To be European in colonial Africa in the age of high imperialism
Historians of colonialism and post-colonial scholars have long argued that European identity was formed in the context of overseas expansion. By the late 19th century, new prophylactics allowed the significant increase in the number of Europeans in colonial settings around the world. The EU-funded GRADIENTS project will explore what it meant to be European in colonial Africa where identification as European often did not depend on skin colour and was understood on a spectrum with many gradients. Focusing on the Portuguese in the Congo Free State, which was a hub for Europeans, it will study the processes of identity formation and negotiation. It will also shed light on the (dis)continuities of imperialism in Africa.
Objective
Historians of colonialism and post-colonial scholars have long argued that what we identify as ‘European’ was formed during, and because of, the overseas expansion and the encounters with the ‘others’ in colonial settings. But what did it mean to be ‘European’ in colonial Africa? From the sixteenth century, Africans at the Congo Basin witnessed the arrival of Europeans of different origins who established permanent trading posts in coastal areas. Due to their high mortality, Europeans depended on Africans and mixed with them, giving rise to colonial societies where forms of self-identification and identification by others as European were not in black and white. Ideas of Europeanness were understood as on a spectrum with many gradients. By the late nineteenth century, Europeans were able to penetrate the interior of the continent and new prophylactics allowed the significant increase in the number of Europeans attracted by new opportunities to exploit natural resources and Africans’ labour. Meanwhile, the ‘science’ of race had reinforced existing ideas of natural inequality associated with phenotype features and of the superiority of the ‘white’ race, with its own internal hierarchies. How did these transformations affect processes of identity formation as European in the age of high imperialism, and what made them different from earlier local configurations? Answering this question will contribute to a better understanding of the (dis)continuities of imperialism in Africa as a collective European project, and the roles of evolving social structures and power relations in shaping it locally. Moving away from approaches centred in nation-based empires (by itself or compared) and arguing for a transnational approach centred in interactions and connections between actors in the colonies, this project takes the Portuguese in the Congo Free State, which remained a cosmopolitan hub for Europeans after the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, as a point of departure.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.