Youth in the forgotten colony : orphans, elites and arrivistes in French Kwang Chow Wan (1919-1940s)

Abstract

The history of the French leased-territory of Kwang Chow Wan (1898- 1945) has generally been neglected in scholarship concerned with both French colonial and imperial history and with the history of modern China. With the taking of Kwang Chow Wan, the French directly annexed a Chinese territory for the first time. Over the next forty-six years, French colonial rule brought coloniser and colonised together in a series of engagements that ranged from resistance and confrontation, to cooperation and tolerance, and eventually resulted in the emergence of a unique form of coexistence. The aim of this thesis is to analyse Kwang Chow Wan, as a site of multiple overlapping influences, by investigating how youths interacted with colonial society through different key institutions, including the French state-run College Albert Sarraut; the Catholic missionary-run St Joseph’s Orphanage; and Pui Choy School, a Chinese philanthropic institution endorsed and funded by Chinese merchant elites. The thesis attempts to show the striking variety of experiences of colonialism on the ground. It does so by constructing a social history of Kwang Chow Wan through the use of oral testimonies. The previously unheard voices they contain provide new insights into how individuals interacted, negotiated and confronted the opportunities and consequences of French colonialism in Kwang Chow Wan.