The Wretched of the Earth

A 1961 book by Frantz Fanon analyzing colonialism, decolonization, national consciousness, and the psychological effects of colonial rule.

Colonialism: A system in which a power controls and exploits territories and peoples beyond its own borders. Fanon treats colonial rule as a pervasive political and social system, not merely foreign administration.
Colonial violence: Physical, political, and structural force used to establish or maintain colonial domination. Fanon describes violence as both the foundation of colonial rule and a feature of its overthrow.
Frantz Fanon: A Martinican psychiatrist and anticolonial writer whose works analyzed racism, colonialism, and liberation. He wrote the book from the intertwined perspectives of psychiatry and revolutionary politics.
Algerian War: The 1954–1962 conflict in which Algerian nationalists fought to end French colonial rule. Fanon’s work and activism were closely bound to this struggle for independence.
Gandhian nonviolence: A political strategy of resisting injustice through disciplined nonviolent action associated with Mohandas Gandhi. It contrasts with Fanon’s account of violence as a possible response to colonial domination.
Settler colonialism: A form of colonialism in which settlers seek to establish a lasting society on Indigenous land. Fanon’s account of Algeria reflects the entrenched territorial rule of French settlers.
Manichaeism: A worldview that divides reality into absolute opposing forces of good and evil. Fanon uses this term for the sharply divided moral and social world imposed by colonialism.
Jean-Paul Sartre: A French philosopher and writer associated with existentialism and twentieth-century political engagement. His preface to the 1961 French edition framed Fanon’s argument for many European readers.
Algerian Revolution: The movement that ended French rule in Algeria and established an independent state in 1962. The book’s arguments emerged amid this revolution and address its political stakes.
Nonviolent resistance: Collective action against authority that avoids physical violence as a method of struggle. Its strategic and ethical premises differ from Fanon’s analysis of anticolonial violence.

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