The Four Communes (French: ''Quatre Communes'') of

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

were the four oldest colonial towns in French West Africa. In 1848 the Second Republic extended the rights of full

French citizenship French nationality law is historically based on the principles of ''jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and ''jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ( ...

to the inhabitants of Saint-Louis,

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

Gorée (; "Gorée Island"; Wolof: Beer Dun) is one of the 19 (i.e. districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an island located at sea from the main harbour of Dakar (), famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trad ...

, and Rufisque. While those who were born in these towns could technically enjoy all the rights of native French citizens, substantial legal and social barriers prevented the full exercise of these rights, especially by those seen by authorities as "full-blooded" Africans. Most of the African population of these towns were termed ''originaires'': those Africans born into the commune, but who retained recourse to African and/or Islamic law (the so-called "personal status"). Those few Africans from the four communes who were able to pursue higher education and were willing to renounce their legal protections could "rise" to become termed

Évolué ''Évolué'' (, "evolved" or "developed") is a French label used during the colonial era to refer to a native African or Asian who had "evolved" by becoming Europeanised through education or assimilation and had accepted European values and pat ...

s (Evolved) and were nominally granted full French citizenship. Despite this legal framework, Évolués still faced substantial discrimination in Africa and the

Metropole A metropole (from the Greek ''metropolis'' for "mother city") is the homeland, central territory or the state exercising power over a colonial empire. From the 19th century, the English term ''metropole'' was mainly used in the scope of ...

alike. On 27 April 1848, following the February revolution in France, a law was passed in Paris enabling the Four Communes to elect a deputy to the French Parliament for the first time, with the first election held between 30 October and 2 November that year. On 2 April 1852

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

abolished the parliamentary seat for Senegal. Following the downfall of the

French Second Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s a ...

the Four Communes were again allowed a parliamentary seat which was granted by law on 1 February 1871. On 30 December 1875 this seat was again abolished, but only for a few years as it was reinstated on 8 April 1879, and remained the single parliamentary representation from sub-Saharan Africa anywhere in a European legislature until the fall of the Third Republic in 1940. It was only in 1916 that ''originaires'' were granted citizenship and explicit recognition of their full voting rights while maintaining legal protections. Blaise Diagne (1872-1934), who was the prime advocate behind the change, became in 1914 the first African deputy elected to the French National Assembly. From that time until independence in 1960, the deputies of the Four Communes were always African, and were at the forefront of the

decolonisation Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...

struggle.

List of députies elected to the French Parliament

The

French Second Republic The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Re ...

: * Barthélémy Durand Valantin 1848–50 (Mixed race) *Vacant 1850–52 *Abolished 1852–71 Blaise Diagne-Dakar-1918

The

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 19 ...

: * Jean-Baptiste Lafon de Fongauffier 1871–76 (Mixed race) *Abolished 1876–79 * Alfred Gasconi 1879–89 (Mixed race) *

Aristide Vallon Counter Admiral Aristide Louis Antoine Vallon (July 26, 1826 – March 11, 1897) was born in Le Conquet. He became Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur on January 18, 1881, and was appointed Governor of Senegal the following year. After serving in ...

1889–93 *

Jules Couchard Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

1893–98 *

Hector D'Agoult In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

1898–1902 *

François Carpot François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

1902–14 (Mixed race) * Blaise Diagne 1914–34 (African) * Galandou Diouf 1934–40 (African) 1945-1960: * Amadou Lamine Guèye (African) *

Léopold Sédar Senghor Léopold Sédar Senghor (; ; 9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) was a Senegalese poet, politician and cultural theorist who was the first president of Senegal (1960–80). Ideologically an African socialist, he was the major theoretician o ...

(African) *

Mamadou Dia Mamadou Dia (18 July 1910 – 25 January 2009) was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was p ...

(African) *

Abbas Guèye Abbas Guèye (born December 27, 1913, in Dakar, Senegal, and died August 2, 1999, in Dakar) was a politician and trade-unionist from Senegal who served in the French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Asse ...

(African)

References

Note 1, on African Series Sample Documents Volume IX: June 1921–December 1922. W. E. B. Du Bois to Charles Evans Hughes, June 23, 1921.
* * * *James F. Searing. Senegal: Colonial Period: Four Communes: Dakar, Saint-Louis, Gorée, and Rufisque, in Kevin Shillington (editor), Encyclopedia of African History, (New York, 2005): 3 Volumes, 3, 1334–35. {{Former French colonies History of Senegal French West Africa Saint-Louis, Senegal Rufisque Gorée History of Dakar French colonisation in Africa

List of députies elected to the French Parliament

See also

References