Are the Bretons the ‘white niggers’ of France?

The text explores the controversial idea of equating the Bretons with ‘white Negroes’, echoing the way the Irish were portrayed in the United States in the 19th century. Drawing on research into ‘whiteness’, it shows that ‘white’ identity is not natural but a social and hierarchical construct, which may have temporarily excluded certain populations. The Bretons, plagued by poverty in the 19th century, experienced rapid population growth and significant emigration, albeit mainly within France itself. Often confined to the hardest labour and looked down upon in the major cities, they were sometimes regarded as outsiders. At the same time, the literature and scholarly discourse of the period described them as ignorant, superstitious, backward, and close to animality and savagery. To escape these stigmas, some rose above their circumstances through religion, war, sport, music or political action. The parallel with the Black experience thus sheds light on the mechanisms of domination and resistance.

Please note: this paper has been translated using machine translation software and therefore contains errors.