
A colonial exhibition was a type of
international exhibition that was held to boost trade. During the 1880s and beyond, colonial exhibitions had the additional aim of bolstering popular support for the various
colonial empires
A colonial empire is a sovereign state, state engaging in colonization, possibly establishing or maintaining colony, colonies, infused with some form of coloniality and colonialism. Such states can expand contiguous as well as Territory#Overseas ...
during the
New Imperialism
In History, historical contexts, New Imperialism characterizes a period of Colonialism, colonial expansion by European powers, the American imperialism, United States, and Empire of Japan, Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...
period, which included the
scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...
.
The first colonial exhibition, in
Victoria,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, in 1866, was the progeny of 25 years of similar exhibitions held in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, in which other colonies within the Australian continent participated.
Perhaps the most notable colonial exhibition was the 1931
Paris Colonial Exposition
The Paris Colonial Exhibition (or "''Exposition coloniale internationale''", International Colonial Exhibition) was a six-month colonial exhibition held in Paris, France, in 1931 that attempted to display the diverse cultures and immense resour ...
, which lasted six months and sold 33 million tickets.
Paris's Colonial Exhibition opened on 6 May 1931 on 110 hectares (272 acres) of the
Bois de Vincennes
The Bois de Vincennes (), located on the eastern edge of Paris, France, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III.
The park is next to the Château de Vincennes, a former residence of ...
. The exhibition included dozens of temporary museums and façades representing the various colonies of the European nations, as well as several permanent buildings. Among these were the
Palais de la Porte Dorée, designed by architect Albert Laprode, which then housed the Musée permanent des Colonies, and serves today as the
Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration.
The
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...
held an anti-colonial counter-exhibition near the 1931 Colonial Exhibition, titled ''The Truth About the Colonies''. The first section was dedicated to crimes during the colonial conquests, and quoted
Albert Londres
Albert Londres (1 November 1884 – 16 May 1932) was a French journalist and writer. One of the inventors of investigative journalism, Londres not only reported news but created it, and reported it from a personal perspective. He criticized abu ...
and
André Gide
André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French writer and author whose writings spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gide's career ranged from his begi ...
's criticisms of
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
. The second one contrasted the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
's "
nationalities policy" with "imperialist colonialism".
Germany and Portugal also staged colonial exhibitions.
Human zoos were featured in some of the exhibitions, such as the Parisian 1931 exhibition.
The
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...
hosted colonial showcases in exhibitions within the
Home Islands, but also held several full-scale expositions inside its colonies of
Korea
Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. These exhibitions had objectives comparable to their European counterparts, highlighting economic achievements and social progress under Japanese colonial rule to Japanese and colonial subjects alike.

Brussels was the venue for the last colonial exhibition: the Belgian ''Foire coloniale'', held in 1948.
Colonial exhibitions
Exhibitions that may be described as colonial exhibitions include the following.
Notes
References
Bibliography
* Alexander C.T. Geppert, ''Fleeting Cities. Imperial Expositions in Fin-de-Siècle Europe'', Basingstoke/New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
See also
*
Colonialism
Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
*
Human zoo
*
List of world's fairs
This is a chronological list of international or colonial world's fairs.
1790s
* 1791 – Prague, Bohemia – first industrial exhibition on the occasion of the coronation of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II as king of Bohemia, took p ...
*
Impact of Western European colonialism and colonisation
External links
Exposition Coloniale of Paris 1931photographs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colonial Exhibition
History of colonialism
World's fairs