Esplanade du Dinh / Dinh Esplanade
Once upon a time, people were imported to France from the colonies and put on display in Paris’s Parc de Vincennes.
Porte Chinoise / Chinese Gate
The year was 1907, and the occasion was the World’s Fair. In a back corner of the expansive park, buildings were erected to recreate the look and style of six French colonies: Madagascar, Indochina, Sudan, Congo, Tunisia and Morocco. Great care was taken to the details to ensure that the visitors would feel that they were strolling not thorough a Parisian park but through a foreign land.
Pavillon de Tunisie/ Tunisian Pavilion
So much attention to detail, in fact, that natives were brought in to occupy the structures. Human beings were uprooted from their homes and brought across the seas from as far as 5,500 miles away to inhabit the park for 6 months.
Pavillon de Moroc / Moroccan Pavilion
Over one million people visited the site to inspect the specimens.
Pavillon de la Réunion / Reunion Island Pavilion
Temple du Souvenir Indochinois / Indochina Temple of Memories
Mosaïc de l’Esplanade du Dinh / Dinh Esplanade Mosaic
Pavillon de la Guyane / Guyana Pavilion
Fragment du monument “A la gloire de l’expansion coloniale” / Remnant of the monument “To the Glory of Colonial Expansion”
All photos and text © 2014 Paris Paul Prescott
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