PREFACE

On January 1, 1911, the former Timbuktu region and the lands on the right bank of the Niger were added. These had been detached from the Military Territory to be placed under the direct orders of the Governor, albeit with a special organization (decrees of June 22, 1910) necessitated by current circumstances; these areas now form the districts of Timbuktu-Sedentary and Timbuktu-Nomadic, Gourma, and Say. These administrative districts were divided based on the lifestyles of the inhabitants—stationary farmers versus migratory pastoralists—to better manage their specific social and economic needs.

The Military Territory, with its own special budget and relative autonomy, now extends from the Niger River to Lake Chad. It comprises a semi-Saharan frontier original: "marche," a term for a border region or frontier zone, often militarized for defense approximately 1,500 kilometers long, serving as a link between French Equatorial Africa and French West Africa. On that same date, January 1, 1911, the capital was moved from Niamey to Zinder, which is closer to its geographic center. From there, the Colonel Commanding the territory can exert more effective control over the seven districts The "administrative circle" (cercle) was the primary unit of French colonial administration. under his authority: Gao, Niamey, Madaoua, Zinder, N'Guigmi, Agadez, and Bilma. A telegraph line of 800 kilometers already connects Niamey to Zinder and joins the colony’s general network via Timbuktu-Gao and Dori. In 1911, this line will be extended to N'Guigmi and, following an agreement with the Governor General of French Equatorial Africa, prolonged to Mao, the nearest post in the Congolese colony.

Due to its semi-desert location, its military obligations for protection against Saharan nomads, and the considerable transport costs that burden its administration, the Military Territory of the Niger cannot survive or organize itself solely with the approximately 1,200,000 francs generated by local taxes. A variable subsidy (300,000 francs in 1911), allocated from the budget of Upper Senegal and Niger, supplements its insufficient resources each year. The Governor of the Colony directs and monitors the administration of the Military Territory and exercises his authority there through the Colonel Commandant.

Such is the overall organization that allows us, with barely 500 French officers or officials and an armed force of about 4,500 Black soldiers in total—including regular troops,