Standardizing statistics in colonial situations

Maison Suger is pleased to host the first session of the seminar "Counting and Deciphering Empires, 18th–21st Centuries", entitled "The International Production of Statistics for Developing Countries", with Williams Pokam Kandem, lecturer and researcher at the University of Dschang. His work focuses mainly on the economic and social history of Cameroon. In this context, he is interested in the history of energy, the history of public action, and economic integration in Africa. He is a 2019-2020 Fellow at the Nantes Institute for Advanced Studies and a visiting researcher at the University of Nantes. He is a member of IRN COUNT (Counting and Classifying in Francophone Africa, from its Origins to the 21st Century: Cameroon, Madagascar, and Senegal, genesis of a continental network) and the COCOR research initiative (Counting others, Counting for others: statistics, social integration, and political cohesion, Cameroon, Madagascar, Senegal—cross-cutting approaches (20th-21st centuries)..Econometric interpretations of the effects of modern colonial domination, based on colonial statistics, and research examining interactions between colonial empires, colonised populations, and international institutions, have renewed interest in imperial statistical production. Yet this production remains poorly known.

Statistics have conquered the modern world. Through them, figures have established themselves as the ultimate indicators of the evolution of human societies. After World War II, there was a notable development in international statistics. Their usefulness in understanding and comparing countries and territories became apparent throughout the world. In Africa, which was swept by European imperialism, statistical surveys took on greater importance in this context, with the aim of informing, measuring, justifying, or questioning colonialism. International organizations led the effort to standardize the production of figures to ensure their comparability. This research explores the importance that the United Nations (UN) attached to harmonizing the production of statistics in territories under foreign administration in Africa, through the development of standards and data collection tools such as standard questionnaires. The research is largely based on sources from this international organization and on literature relating to colonial and international statistics on the continent. It turns out that, following in the footsteps of the League of Nations, the UN promoted the harmonization and exchange of statistical information on African colonies and trust territories. This approach served to build up significant sources of information on the economic history of countries in the region.

Econometric interpretations of the effects of modern colonial domination, based on colonial statistics, and research examining interactions between colonial empires, colonised populations, and international institutions, have renewed interest in imperial statistical production. Yet this production remains poorly known.

This seminar, consisting of five online sessions and a hybrid study day, aims to deepen reflections and knowledge on these links, drawing on ongoing research. Among the questions addressed:

• What were the statistical practices of 19th- and 20th-century colonial empires?
• How were their statisticians trained?
• Who participated in data collection, and what were the preferred objects of study?
• In what ways did statistical production create connections, or conversely, marginalise certain groups?
• What role did it play in colonised territories?
• How did these practices contribute to the global generalisation of statistics over the past two centuries?
• How can these data be reappropriated retrospectively, often used to produce definitive assessments of colonisation and contemporary empires?

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