The aim of this paper is to use both anthropological and historical
approaches to explore the distinctive nature of colonialism in French-ruled
Indochina. From this interdisciplinary perspective, it seeks to
contextualize a rich but little known series of nineteenth- and
twentieth-century writings on Indochina's peoples and cultures. It
notes particularly their emphasis on concepts of the community and of the
transforming revolutionary event. And it argues that these writings'
distinctive understandings of race, culture and polity profoundly affected
the thought and action of Asians as well as Europeans, with these effects
being felt both within and beyond the French empire.