I've always been taught that European colonisation was in many ways a disaster for the victims of this colonisation. But I read on Naill Fergusons Wikipedia page that he claimed that French colonisation actually ended up helping the Senegalese. This seems odd to me because he is a respected historian who has written a lot about colonial Britain. My question is thus did Senegal actually profit from being a French colony, and is there much truth in Nail ferguson’s pro-colonial views. His quote: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/20/niall-ferguson-interview-civilization
Without wanting to stop anyone from addressing the specific case of Senegal, it's important to note that among most historians, Fergsuon is not 'a respected historian who has written a lot about colonial Britain.' While much of his early work is still well-regarded, his later career as a public intellectual and apologist for (especially British) imperialism has been very poorly received in scholarly circles. Some old threads touch on the reasons why Ferguson's later work has been so controversial.