ABSTRACT
Against the background of French colonial labor policies, this chapter examines the geographic framework of Burkinabe migration and how it shaped the lives of men and their communities between 1900 and 1946. The most dramatic "adaptation" was the suppression of colonial Burkina between 1932 and 1947 and its division among neighboring French territories, with the primary aim of stimulating migration to Côte d'Ivoire. The chapter provides the social characteristics of men who migrated to international destinations—how long they stayed, their age, their matrimonial status, with whom they moved, and where they resided at their destinations. It highlights the differential impact of and Burkinabe response to French policies. International destinations varied little according to ethnic group, largely because they were dictated by factors external to Burkinabe societies. The predominant streams continued to link rural Burkina with colonial Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and other international locations.
