Paris Colonial Exposition

(Redirected from Exposition coloniale internationale) Paris Exposition of 1931

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 resources of France's colonial possessions.

History

The exposition opened on 6 May 1931 in the Bois de Vincennes on the eastern outskirts of Paris. The scale was enormous. It is estimated that from 7 to 9 million visitors came from over the world. The French government brought people from the colonies to Paris and had them create native arts and crafts and perform in grandly scaled reproductions of their native architectural styles such as huts or temples. Other nations participated in the event, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy (with a pavilion designed by Armando Brasini), Japan, Portugal, and the United States.

Politically, France hoped the exposition would paint its colonial empire in a beneficial light, showing the mutual exchange of cultures and the benefit of France's efforts overseas. This would thus negate German criticisms that France was "the exploiter of colonial societies the agent of miscegenation and decadence". The exposition highlighted the endemic cultures of the colonies and downplayed French efforts to spread its own language and culture abroad, thus advancing the notion that France was associating with colonised societies, not assimilating them.

The Colonial Exposition provided a forum for the discussion of colonialism in general and of French colonies specifically. French authorities published over 3,000 reports during the six-month period and held over 100 congresses. The exposition served as a vehicle for colonial writers to publicise their works, and it created a market in Paris for various ethnic cuisines, particularly North African and Vietnamese. Filmmakers chose French colonies as the subjects of their works. The Permanent Colonial Museum (today the Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration) opened at the end of the exposition. The colonial service experienced a boost in applications.

26 territories of the empire participated in the Colonial Exposition Issue of postage stamps issued in conjunction with the Exposition.

The Dutch colonial pavilion fire incident

As one of the important colonial powers at that time, the Dutch Empire participated in the Exhibition. The Netherlands presented a cultural synthesis from their colony, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). However, on 28 June 1931, a fire burnt down the Dutch pavilion, along with all cultural objects displayed inside.

Only a few artefacts could be salvaged, including an ancient Javanese bronze Shiva statue, which is now kept in the National Museum of Indonesia. The cause of this massive fire was never identified, and there was speculation at the time that it may have been caused by a short circuit, by flammable building materials that were a fire hazard, or by arsonist sabotage. The material and cultural losses were estimated to be around almost 80 million francs. It was said that the French government paid the Netherlands Indies colonial government for its losses. The money was then used for an expansion of the Bataviaasch Genootschap museum.

Communist counter-exhibition

At the request of the Communist International (Comintern), a smaller counter-exhibition entitled The Truth About the Colonies, organized by the Communist Party and the CGTU, attracted very few visitors (5,000 in 8 months). The first section was dedicated to abuses committed during the colonial conquests, and quoted Albert Londres and André Gide's criticisms of forced labour in the colonies while the second one made a comparison of Soviet "nationalities policy" to "imperialist colonialism".

Posterity

Some of these buildings were preserved or moved:

Palais de la Porte Dorée, Former-musée national des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, current Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration, porte Dorée in Paris, constructed from 1928 to 1931 by the architects Albert Laprade, Léon Bazin and Léon Jaussely.
The foundations of the Parc zoologique de Vincennes

The Pagode de Vincennes, on the edges of the lake Daumesnil, in the former houses of Cameroon and Togo of Louis-Hippolyte Boileau: Photo
The church Notre-Dame des Missions was moved to Épinay-sur-Seine (95) in 1932.
The reproduction of Mount Vernon, house of George Washington, moved to Vaucresson where it is still visible.
The Scenic Railway was moved to Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, where it still operates to this day.

Notes

Leininger-Miller 54–5.
^ Leininger-Miller 54.
The figures often given are 29 to 33 million, but those figures are for entries. Given the sale of many tickets allowing multiple entries, it is estimated that the real number was 8 to 9 million visitors, still an impressive figure. Jean Martin. L'Empire triomphant, 1871- 1936, Vol. 2, Paris, Denöel, 1990, p. 417.
^ Leininger-Miller 55.
TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (1931-06-29). "Fire Ruins Dutch Pavilion at French Exhibit; America's Mt. Vernon Endangered but Saved (Published 1931)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
^ Endang Sri Hardiati; Nunus Supardi; Trigangga; Ekowati Sundari; Nusi Lisabilla; Ary Indrajanto; Wahyu Ernawati; Budiman; Rini (2014). Trigangga (ed.). Potret Museum Nasional Indonesia, Dulu, Kini dan Akan Datang - Pameran "Potret Museum Nasional Indonesia, Dulu, Kini dan Akan Datang", Museum Nasional Indonesia, 17-24 Mei 2014. Jakarta: National Museum of Indonesia, Directorate General of Culture, Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia.
Études coloniales 2006-08-25 "L'Exposition coloniale de 1931 : mythe républicain ou mythe impérial" (in French)
"The House that Sears Built--in Paris". Sears Homes of Chicagoland. September 28, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
"Park History". Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, Norfolk. Retrieved 2022-05-02.

References

Geppert, Alexander C.T., Fleeting Cities. Imperial Expositions in Fin-de-Siècle Europe, Basingstoke/New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. ISBN 978-0-230-22164-2.
L’Estoile, Benoît de, Le goût des autres : de l'Exposition coloniale aux arts premiers, Paris:Flammarion, 2007.
Pierre, Michel, L'Exposition coloniale internationale de 1931, Laure Blévis, Hélène Lafont-Couturier, Nanette Jacomijn-Snoep, Claire Zalc, (ed.)1931, Les étrangers au temps de l'Exposition coloniale, Paris, Gallimard, CNHM, 2008, (ISBN 978-2-07-035830-4)
Leininger-Miller, Theresa A., New Negro Artist in Paris: African American Painters & Sculptors in the City of Light, 1922–1934. Piscataway, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2001.

External links

Journal de l'Exposition coloniale online in Gallica, the digital library of the BnF
About the reproduction of Mount Vernon built for the exposition

World exhibitions

Bureau International des Expositions (BIE)

Retroactively
recognized
expositions

BIE-recognized
Universal
expositions

BIE-recognized
specialized
expositions

BIE-recognized
horticultural
exhibitions (AIPH)

Not BIE-
recognized

Africa	Freetown 1865 Cape Town 1877 Kimberley 1892–1893 Johannesburg 1936–1937
Asia	Calcutta 1883–1884 Hanoi 1902 Nanking 1910 Semarang 1914 Hangzhou 1929 Taihoku (Taipei) 1935 Nagoya 1937 Clark 1998 Shenyang 2006 Chiang Mai 2011–2012 Udon Thani 2026
Europe	London 1760 Dublin 1853 Manchester 1857 Porto 1865 Stockholm 1866 London 1871–1874 Lyon 1872 Vienna 1873 Amsterdam 1883 Liverpool 1886 London 1886 Copenhagen 1888 Glasgow 1888 Frankfurt 1891 Prague 1891 Lyon 1894 Oporto 1894 Berlin 1896 Stockholm 1897 Glasgow 1901 Cork 1902 London 1905 London 1906 Marseille 1906 Dublin 1907 London 1908 Zaragoza 1908 London 1910 Dresden 1911 London 1911 London 1912 Lyon 1914 Cologne 1914 London 1914 Kristiania 1914 Malmö 1914 London 1921 Marseille 1922 Gothenburg 1923 British Empire Exhibition 1924–1925 Antwerp 1930 Stockholm 1930 Paris 1931 Porto 1934 Glasgow 1938 Stockholm 1943
North America	New York City 1826–1897 Bryant Park, New York City 1853 Atlanta 1881 Louisville 1883–1887 New Orleans 1884 Atlanta 1887 San Francisco 1894 Atlanta 1895 Nashville 1897 Omaha 1898 Buffalo 1901 Charleston 1901–1902 Portland, Oregon 1905 Jamestown 1907 Seattle 1909 Knoxville 1913 San Diego 1915–1917 Bronx 1918 Philadelphia 1926 San Diego 1935–1936 Dallas 1936 Cleveland 1936–1937 Dallas 1937 San Francisco 1939–1940 Chicago 1940 New York City 1964–1965
Oceania	Melbourne 1866 Sydney 1870 Melbourne 1875 Brisbane 1876 Sydney 1879 Adelaide 1887 Melbourne 1888 Dunedin 1889 Christchurch 1906 Auckland 1913–1914 Dunedin 1925 Wellington 1939–1940
South America	Lima 1872 Santiago 1875 Quito 1909 Buenos Aires 1910 Rio de Janeiro 1922

Postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Cancelled
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Industrial	French Industrial Exposition of 1834 French Industrial Exposition of 1844
General	Exposition Universelle (1855) Dijon Exhibition (1858) Metz Exposition Universelle (1861) International Exposition (1867) Lyon Exposition Universelle et Internationale Exposition Universelle (1878) Exposition Universelle (1889) Exposition internationale Exposition Universelle (1900)
Specialized	International Exposition of Electricity (1881, Paris) Exposition internationale urbaine de Lyon (1914) Exposition internationale des vins Exposition coloniale (1906) Exposition Internationale de l'Est de la France International Exposition of Sea Fishery Industries Exposition nationale coloniale (1922) International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts International Exhibition of Hydropower and Tourism Paris Colonial Exposition Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (1937) International Exhibition on Urbanism and Housing (1947, Paris) The International Exhibition of Rural Habitat (1949, Lyon) The International Textile Exhibition (1951, Lille)

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