Editing Chad (section)

=== French colonial period (1900–1960) ===
{{Main|French Chad}}
French colonial expansion led to the creation of the {{lang|fr|Territoire Militaire des Pays et Protectorats du Tchad}} in 1900. By 1920, France had secured full control of the colony and incorporated it as part of [[French Equatorial Africa]].<ref>[[#Decalo|Decalo]], pp. 8, 309</ref> [[Colonial Chad|French rule in Chad]] was characterised by an absence of policies to unify the territory and sluggish modernisation compared to other French colonies.<ref name="Decalo, pp. 8–9">[[#Decalo|Decalo]], pp. 8–9</ref>

The French primarily viewed the colony as an unimportant source of untrained labour and raw [[cotton]]; France introduced large-scale cotton production in 1929. The colonial administration in Chad was critically understaffed and had to rely on the dregs of the French civil service. Only the [[Sara people|Sara]] of the south was governed effectively; French presence in the Islamic north and east was nominal. The educational system was affected by this neglect.<ref name="Collelo"/><ref name="Decalo, pp. 8–9"/>

The French administration's focus on cotton led to the formation of a precarious underclass of poorly-paid rural workers, a decrease in food production and even to [[Famine|famines]] in some areas.<ref name="lemarchand">{{cite journal |last=Lemarchand |first=René |author-link=René Lemarchand |date=1980 |title=The Politics of Sara Ethnicity : A Note on the Origins of the Civil War in Chad |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/cea_0008-0055_1980_num_20_80_2328 |journal=[[Cahiers d'Études Africaines|Cahiers d'études africaines]] |volume=20 |issue=80 |pages=455–456 |doi=10.3406/cea.1980.2328 |access-date=25 February 2025}}</ref> Tensions between farmers and elites culminated in the 1952 [[Bébalem massacre]] by colonial authorities.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Debos |first=Marielle |date=2009 |title=Chad 1900-1960 |url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01104080/file/Chad-1900-1960.pdf |encyclopedia=[[Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence]] |page=8-9 |access-date=25 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Lanne|first=Bernard|title=Histoire politique du Tchad de 1945 à 1958. Administration, partis, élections|location=Paris|publisher=[[Éditions Karthala|Karthala]]|page=197-218|isbn=9782865378838}}</ref>

[[File:Chadian soldier of WWII.jpg|thumb|left|A Chadian soldier fighting for [[Free French Forces|Free France]] during [[World War II]]. The Free French Forces included 15,000 soldiers from Chad<ref>[[#Decalo|Decalo]], p. 53</ref>]]
After [[World War II]], France granted Chad the status of [[Overseas France|overseas territory]] and its inhabitants the right to elect representatives to the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] and a [[National Assembly (Chad)|Chadian assembly]]. The largest political party was the [[Chadian Progressive Party]] ({{langx|fr|Parti Progressiste Tchadien}}, PPT), based in the southern half of the colony. Chad was granted independence on 11 August 1960 with the PPT's leader, [[François Tombalbaye]], an ethnic [[Sara people|Sara]], as its first [[Heads of state of Chad|president]].<ref name="Collelo"/><ref>[[#Decalo|Decalo]], pp. 248–249</ref><ref>[[#Nolutshungu|Nolutshungu]], p. 17</ref>