The institut colonial de Marseille is the first colonial institute established in France. It was founded in 1893 under the leadership of Dr.
Édouard Heckel (1843–1916).
The Colonial Institute of Marseilles is initially funded by the
French Ministry of Colonies and the Marseille
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
, it collected and provided statistics on oversea territories (then colonies), created six professorship on "Colonial education" and funded missions for the benefit of its colonial Museum. The collections were used repeatedly for
colonial exhibitions
A colonial exhibition was a type of World's fair, 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 ...
. They consist of imported goods from the colonies, from Madagascar, Indo-China and Guyana, among others, and are essentially of botanic nature. The collection are still on display at the University of Provence,
Université de Provence
/ref> they are presented in connection with their uses, which sometimes are several millennia old.
References
{{coord missing, France
Former French colonies
Buildings and structures in Marseille