Western Europe’s “
barbarism”—which only the United States manages to surpass—has sunk in deeply, as people have forgotten that colonizers were “
swindlers, perjurers, forgers, thieves, and procurers” and instead started treating them as heroes with “Christian virtues.” This is not just
Hitler’s barbarism,
Césaire emphasizes, but also the “cannibalistic hysteria” that passes for normal politics in places like France. He remembers the
Malagasy Uprising, in which the French slaughtered tens of thousands of natives of Madagascar, and imagines the French drinking their blood. Césaire admits that he is no longer shocked by the racism of colonizers, but rather appreciates that at least they exhibit it “in broad daylight,” because it shows that they know they are “mortal” and can be defeated. He quotes a philosopher, scientist, soldier, journalist, and even a member of the
Académie Française, all of whom steadfastly proclaim that white people are inherently superior to non-Europeans.