Fixer des parcours, négocier des décisions: L'enfance métisse au prisme des commissions de tutelle au Congo belge (1890-1960)

Valentine Dewulf; Ornella Rovetta

doi:10.51185/journals/rhca.2025.0903

Authors

Valentine Dewulf State Archives (Belgium)
Ornella Rovetta State Archives (Belgium) https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7548-0755

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51185/journals/rhca.2025.0903

Keywords:

Colonisation, Congo, Education, Gender, Metis, Segregation

Abstract

From the end of the 19th century, colonial administrators set up institutions and standards to assess and manage “abandoned” “native” children. Guardianship commissions dealt with the placement of orphans, disqualification from motherhood, and the appointment of guardians. They brought together representatives of the colonial state, religious missions and institutions, and private individuals. This article focuses, in particular, on mixed-race children born of interracial relationships in the colonial context in Congo and Ruanda-Urundi. The commissions relied on a network of surveys and investigations to decide on the fate of the children, control the – African – mothers, and, to a lesser extent and not without contradictions, compel the “presumed” European fathers to contribute financially to the education of their métis children. In this article, we show how the guardianship commissions are an observatory of the ambiguities, paternalism, racism, and violence of colonial society.

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