Raymond Decary, « administrateur d’abord, naturaliste ensuite »

Abstract

From the First World War to the Liberation, France’s colonial policy gradually evolved into what would eventually be called “development.” Raymond Decary was one of the actors of this movement in Madagascar. He was a colonial administrator at the same time as he was a naturalist, an ethnologist, and eventually a scientific administrator in Madagascar. His double identity made him a unique civil servant: he served under sharply contrasting political regimes from 1916 to 1944, and anticipated or supported long-term changes.

Keywords

• Madagascar
• development
• colonial research
• Economic and Social Development Plan
• Institut de recherche scientifique de Madagascar