User:Timeousbeastie/Constant Sorin

Constant Sorin (1901-1970), was a military officer and civilian administrator, appointed governor of Guadeloupe from 1940 until 1943.

Biography
Born in Landernau, his family were Breton and Vendée petite bourgeoisie. He studied at the Lycée de Morlaix, then, after taking a degree in law, was accepted at the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1921. He was later an instructor there. In 1936, he sat the administration civile exam, a competitive examination for the Colonial Inspectorate. He was recognised for his administrative skill as inspector in the French colonies of West Africa and French Equatorial Africa, by the award of the Chevalier Legion of Honour. Appointed to Guadeloupe by Georges Mandel on 10th March 1940, he disembarked in April, just before the Battle of France. Sorin declared support for Vichy France on 1 July 1940, to a mixed response - he had previously been known for left leaning politics. The majority of Guadeloupeans were opposed to collaborating with Germany and the armistice. Elected officials were removed from office and replaced by left-wing appointees. The population was exhorted to get to work and a tax was imposed on fallow land, to discourage empty plots which could potentially be used to grow food.

Sorin was under the authority of Admiral Robert, High Commissioner by the Vichy regime for the French overseas territories of the Western Atlantic, as were Yves Nicol (governor of Martinique) and Rene Veber (governor of French Guiana). Robert's aim was to protect colonies in this zone from British or American invasion. He did achieve this, but the United States initiated a blockade after a breakdown over Robert's continued support for Vichy, causing shortages in neccessities including food.

The reponse of many young men to this situation was to join the Gaullist Free French forces on Dominica. Their motives for leaving could be complicated, but this has tended to be downplayed because Sorin himself used them to denigrate dissidence (the Atillean term for resistance): "I am aware that a certain number of young Guadeloupeans left Guadeloupe for a neighbouring island. The reasons that led them to flee are not always the most honourable and very few are those who acted out of patriotism, believing they were serving France and their small homeland". Among these reasons was the blockade; it has been said that the resulting shortages perhaps had a role similar to that played in France by the Service du travail obligatoire (compulsory labour service) in recruiting young people who wanted to escape it. Others owed a debt to older resistance movements, against the reestablishment of slavery in the Antilles.

In a speech published in the French government gazette, journal officiel on 14 March 1942, he enouraged the farmers and industrialists of Guadeloupe to plant food bearing crops, in order to achieve self-sufficiency in food. In reality, this was not an achievable goal at short notice in wartime.



To support this programme, Sorin issued several decrees such as the one prohibiting the felling of fruit trees, such as breadfruit or mango.

L'Effort Guadeloupéen
The blockade made Guadeloupe's dependencies painfully clear, especially in foodstuffs such as flour, rice, cooking oils, fats, pulses, soap, condensed milk and cod, which were imported. Sorin embarked on a policy, 'L'Effort Guadeloupéen', aimed at developing local production. The Guadeloupean response to this crisis is remembered for its heroism and ingenuity. Although the island did not achive self-sufficiency, it avoided famine at a time of extreme shortage, even exporting food to the neighbouring island of Martinique.

Sorin encouraged large landowners to grow food crops, however the production of sugar actually increased during this period. The few food crops grown were not enough to alleviate the privations of the blockade as a result. These shortages may not have resulted in famine in Guadeloupe, but they had a significant impact on the health of Guadeloupeans, as illustrated, for example, by the demographic curve.

Mortality increased steadily after the total blockade in the first half of 1943. This is an indication of the extent of the deprivation caused. This probably contributed to accelerate the resistance movement that had been going on since the beginning of the conflict.

On 14 July 1943, Henri Hoppenot arrived in Fort-de-France in order to remove Admiral Robert and his subordinates, including Sorin. Democracy was restored by the decree of 22 July 1943, which re-established the municipal councils and the General Council of Guadeloupe.

Later career
He returned to metropolitan France in November 1943. After the Liberation of France, he returned to his military career, taking part in the Western Allied invasion of Germany under the orders of General Valluy. Assigned to General Leclerc's staff in July 1945, he was in Indochina until April 1948. On retiring he devoted himself to the food industry, later becoming a technical adviser to the Bureau d'Études pour la Production Agricole dans les T.O.M. (Bureau for Agricultural Production Studies in the Overseas Territories), then president of the Syndicat Général des Producteurs de Sucre des Antilles Françaises (General Union of Sugar Producers of the French West Indies). He died in Neuilly hospital on 20 January 1970.

Liens externes

 * - Entretien - Chathuant Dominique dans « Parcours de dissidents ». Dossier documentaire en ligne de FranceÔ-RFO autour du film d’Euzhan Palcy consacré aux volontaires antillais de la France libre.
 * - Entretien - Chathuant (Dominique), « Les résistants oubliés des Antilles », La Liberté, (Fribourg, Suisse), 18 mai 2007.
 * Bibliographie établie par Dominique Chathuant : Ouvrages sur Vichy ou la Deuxième Guerre mondiale dans les quatre "Vieilles Colonies" ou dans la Caraïbe
 * Dominique Chathuant, « Il y a cinquante ans, An Tan Sorin ». Article paru dans Sept Mag, hebdomadaire guadeloupéen, Baie-Mahault, 12 août 1993.
 * Entretien avec l'historien Eric Jennings, auteur de Vichy sous les tropiques, L'Express,, 27 septembre 2004
 * Dominique Samut, Dominique Chathuant, professeurs d'histoire-géographie à Petit-Bourg et Reims, « L'opinion populaire en 1943 au lendemain du Tan Sorin (1940-1943) à travers l'exemple de la chanson populaire : les chansons nouvelles de Victor Vervier dit "Lebrun" ... » Documents de travail pour les élèves, 1998.
 * Lettre au Recteur de la Guadeloupe sur des historiens jocrisses de son académie, Edouard Boulogne, published June 2007.