CYNTHIA D. BERTELSEN

In 1912, André Joyeux published a most interesting book, La Vie Large des Colonies, filled with satirical caricatures of the the colons, or French colonialists in Vietnam. Some were amusing, others truly horrific.

Note: The caption reads

– Ce que ça va les faire gueuler à Paris!
– Ben, qu’ils viennent bouffer les soupes qu’on nous prépare…

– What a row it’s gonna make in Paris
– Well, just let them come and eat soups that are cooked for us …

Particulars: Based on pictures taken during the execution of culprits of a poisoning effort, August 8, 1908 in Tonkin. The caption alludes to the narcotic (datura) that Vietnamese cooks added to French troops’ soup. The drug was supposed to weaken them, but not kill them.

For more on caricatures relative to French colonialism, see “Banania – An Image of French Colonialism.”