A toponymy of segregation: The ‘neutral zones’ of Dakar, Dar es Salaam and Kinshasa

Abstract

This chapter explores the politics of the naming of the separation zones or ʼneutral zones’ between Africans and Europeans in three colonial African cities: British Dar es Salaam, French Dakar and Belgian Kinshasa. By showing that in the cities discussed, colonial powers not only used place-naming as a strategy to impose their dominance, but also to legitimise and camouflage the segregationist intentions of their urban policies, we aim to add another layer to the study of the political practice of place-naming within a colonial context. In addition, this chapter uses a toponymic analysis to understand the importance of transnational connections and networks in the introduction of racial segregation in Dakar, Dar es Salaam and Kinshasa, as well as in the accompanied legitimising discourse. Finally, we will illustrate how this legitimising discourse eventually resulted in official place names. Yet, while many of the resulting names are still inscribed in the toponymic landscape of modern Dakar, Dar es Salaam and Kinshasa, others have disappeared as a result of spontaneous or symbolic renaming operations in the eras before and after decolonisation.