Bridging Mental Boundaries in a Postcolonial Microcosm

The South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu simultaneously experienced the two major types of colonialism in the modern era (British and French) and did so in close proximity, with intense rivalry, and over a long period of time. These factors, in addition to its small size and recency of independence (1980), make Vanuatu an ideal case study of the clash of contemporary colonialism and its enduring legacies. At the same time, the uniqueness of Melanesian society highlights the singular role of indigenous culture in shaping both colonial and post-colonial political reality. A fresh approach to the study of the archipelago, Bridging Mental Boundaries looks at the long-term effects of the joint Franco-British administration in public policy, political disputes, and social cleavages in post-independence Vanuatu. It emphasizes the strong imprint left by what the author terms "condocolonialism" in dividing ni-Vanuatu into "Anglophones" and "Francophones" but also suggests how this basic division is being replaced (or overlaid) by divisions based on urban or rural residence, "traditional" or "modern" employment, and disparities between the status and activities of men and women. As such, this volume is more than an analysis of a unique case of colonialism and its effects; it is an interpretation of the evolution of an insular society beset by particularly convoluted pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial fractures.