To continue reflections on Algeria and Senegal plus other parts of the former French Empire, you can continue on walking to the Quay Branly. Just near the Eiffel Tower, is the Musée Quay Branly housing precious artwork from the four corners of the world. The museum opened in 2006 and followed the tradition of a French president building a museum. In the case of the Quay Branly, it was President JacqueJust near the Eiffel Tower, is the Musée Quay Branly housing precious artwork from the four corners of the world. The museum opened in 2006 and followed the tradition of a French president building a museum. In the case of the Quay Branly, it was President Jacques Chirac. The architecture of the enormous building is quite stunning with vines and greenery along one side. A great number of pieces on exhibition are from former colonies of France or from France overseas. Algeria, Senegal and Vietnam are well represented. Masks, textiles and even Moroccan carpets are on display. Many of the pieces were originally in the National Museum of African and Oceanian Art which closed in 2003 and many were formerly in the Musée de l'Homme. Many primitive masks are on exhibit and among these, would be those that artists like Picasso were influenced by which created a whole movement in art in the early decades of the 20th century. The permanent collection has 300,000 works, 700,000 photographs, 320,000 documents, 10,000 musical instruments, and 25,000 pieces of textile or clothing[1]. A good part of the collection originated during the exploration and colonialization process. This is a museum and not an art gallery so that explanations of the history of the artefacts and the people they represent are well presented. Explanations provided are in both French and English. It is worth mentioning that President Macron is deliberating since they were allegedly looted during the exploration period. [1] Quay Branly website in Wikipedia

The tour has concluded, and the research has revealed the reciprocal contributing facets of colonialism that occurred between the mother country and its colony. What is apparent very quickly it that there was a very dark side, one that reflects violence, brutality and terror. I am reminded of the words of Thomas Paine who describes the American colonists and the mother country England. They had left “not from the tender embraces of the mother, but from the cruelty of the monster; and it is so far true of England, that the same tyranny … pursues their descendants still.” The two bridges that we visited are emblematic of the bridging effect of colonization. There were reciprocal benefits: trade, innovation, institutions of education, government and jurisprudence that remain as a legacy, and participation in the armed forces when France was at war; however, both bridges are symbolic too of the violence employed to found a colony. The triangular Atlantic trade, at the heart of which was the slave trade, that made France rich was conducted with rapacious brutality in the African zone known eventually as Senegal; the conquest of Algeria in the nineteenth century cost thousands of Algerian and French lives. The Passerelle symbolizes also the possibility open to the immigrants who successfully integrate. The Pont Saint-Michel is a constant reminder of racism and out-of-control brutality. The Musée d’Orsay in its exhibitions has shown the illusory attraction of parts of the world perceived to be exotic and desirable. The Orientalist paintings reflecting the lure of Algeria is a beautiful and alluring chimera that quickly was translated into military violence and occupation. It came to an end in 1962 with the similar brutality and violence that qualify as crimes against humanity. The Assemblée Nationale reflects the democratizing spirit begun in the French Revolution and in spite of the negative forces applied by the mother country, both in the case of Algeria and Senegal, deputies were elected which represented their people as a part of France, in France’s parliament. The legacy of the Republic would be reflected in Senegal and in Algeria. The Quai Branly Museum full of artefacts collected from the French empire and around the globe in beautiful displays, opens visitors’ eyes to awe inspiring cultures and civilizations that the exploring and colonizing powers undertook to change in the name of “civilizing”. This arguably is an example of the survival paradigm in which evidence and samples of a culture are gathered sensing, if not knowing, that that civilization was destined to either be extremely altered forever by the advent of modernity or snuffed out completely.