Northwest African country became poorest, as French colonial rulers fleeced locals imposing heavy taxation Mohamed Badine El Yattioui | 09.12.2020 The writer is a professor at the Department of International Relations at the University of the Americas Puebla (Mexico).
RABAT, Morocco
French crimes in Mauritania during the colonial period are still little known and remain unrecognized by Paris.
Mauritania was part of French West Africa as a protectorate in 1903 and then a colony in 1920. Military domination was at the heart of the colonial project, and France used tribal antagonisms to control the territory.
Also, its status was special because the capital of the colony, Saint-Louis, was in Senegal due to its integration into French West Africa.