Taking the Measure of Empires

Maison Suger is pleased to host the second session of the seminar "Counting and Deciphering Empires, 18th–21st Centuries", entitled "Taking the Measure of Empires: Thirty Years of Using Colonial Statistics", with Bouda Etemad, professor emeritus of Contemporary Economic History, Universities of Lausanne and Geneva. 

European colonial expansion represents a vast historical phenomenon. Spanning nearly five centuries, it encompassed more than two-thirds of the planet’s landmass and extended across four continents, where over 160 colonies were established. One way to grasp its magnitude is through measurement—by means of numerical data assessing the size, duration, and demographic composition of these colonies. When considered collectively, such figures reveal patterns, divergences, and contrasts that enable a comparative and long-term evaluation of colonization.

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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