Ivory Coast or Côte d’Ivoire officially became a French colony in 1893. Boundary treaties were negotiated with Liberia and the United Kingdom. A Malinké chief, Samori Ture, fought against the French until 1898. The Malinké are the largest West African ethnic group.

In the early years, French troops were penetrating inland to establish new posts. They encountered much resistance from locals. Also, in areas where treaties of protection had been in force. Samori Ture, had established an empire between 1880 and 1890, extending over large parts of present-day (2021) Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. The French responded with military pressure. Ture was captured in 1898.

In 1900, France imposed a head tax which provoked several revolts. The public works programs undertaken by the Ivorian colonial government and the exploitation of natural resources required massive commitments of labor. The French imposed a system of forced labor under which every male adult Ivorian was required to work for ten days each year without compensation as part of his obligation to the state. The system was the most hated aspect of French colonial rule and subject of massive misuse. The population of Ivory Coast was insufficient to meet the labor demand, and they recruited large numbers of workers from Upper Volta (Burkina Faso, 2021) to work.

From 1904 to 1958, Ivory Coast was part of the Federation of French West Africa. It was a colony and an overseas territory under the Third Republic. Until the period following WWII, governmental affairs in French West Africa were administered from Paris. All Africans in Ivory Coast were officially French “subjects” without rights to representation in Africa or France. The French officially abolished “slavery” in most of French West Africa in 1905.

Gabriel Angoulvant became governor of Ivory Coast. He embarked on a campaign, sending military expeditions into the hinterland to oppress resistance. Local rulers were compelled to obey existing antislavery laws, supply porters and food the French troops. They also had to ensure the protection of French trade and personnel. In return, the French agreed to leave local customs intact and promised not to intervene in the selection of rulers. The French often disregarded their agreement.

French colonial policy incorporated concepts of assimilation and association. In practice the assimilation policy meant extension of the French language, institutions, laws, and customs. The policy of association affirmed the superiority of the French in the colonies. The colonizer and the colonized had different institutions and systems of laws to follow. The Africans in Ivory Coast could preserve their own customs if they were compatible with French interests. After 1930, a small number of Westernized Ivorians were granted the right to apply for French citizenship. Ivorians had no political rights. They were drafted to work in mines, on plantations, as porters, and on public projects as part of their tax responsibility. They were expected to serve in the army.

During WWII, general Charles De Gaulle assumed control of all French West Africa in 1943. France’s gratitude for African loyalty during the war led to far-reaching governmental reforms in 1946. All African “subjects” were granted French citizenship. Various forms of forced labor were abolished. They had the right to politically organize. Overseas Reform Act of 1956 was a turning point in the relations with France. A few powers transferred from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa.

Until 1958, governors appointed in Parisa administered the colony of Ivory Coast. Little room was left for Ivorian participants in policy making. The French adopted divide-and-rule policies to the educated elite. At first, the small but influential elite was sufficiently satisfied with the status quo to refrain to any anti-French sentiment. Through the postwar reforms, Ivorian leaders realized that even assimilation implied the superiority of the French over the Ivorians, and that discrimination and inequality would only end with independence.