Caldoches: a history and an identity

By Lenka Lalie

What does “Caldoche” mean? It is a common word used in New Caledonia to talk about a specific group of people: the descendants of the prisoners sent to New-Caledonia from the 1860’s to the 1990’s. However, this identity tends to be simplified by the media as it has a complex history related to it.

After becoming a French colony in 1853, the small island served as a penal colony (the first one being Guyana). In 1864, the first prisoners arrived from France. The prisoners contributed to the urbanization program planned by the French State and built the streets and roads of the only city of New Caledonia: Nouméa. After serving their sentence, some prisoners went back to France, and other stayed. Some prisoners had the obligation to stay and set up in New Caledonia, as part of the settler colonialist program. These ones were given local lands by the French State, lands previously taken from the autochthone population, the Kanak. Among the prisoners who stayed, some married Kanak women, creating a mixed heritage.

Numerous confrontations occurred during the 1890’s as a result of tensions between Kanaks who wanted to take their lands back, and the former prisoners and their descendants who set up their homes on these lands. This historical period, known as “Les évènements” in New-Caledonia (The events) lasted from 1984 to 1988. It was marked by violent protests, strong demands and deaths. During this period of civil war, 2 main camps confronted each other: the Loyalists, who wanted New-Caledonia to remain a French territory, and the Nationalists who claimed the independence and sovereignty of the island. At that time, most of the Caldoches were Loyalists, and most of the Kanak were Nationalists. Multiple events sparked violent confrontations between the 2 communities, like murder of Yves Tual: a young student whose death triggered the anger of many Caldoches, who demanded the death of one of the Nationalists leaders held as responsible. On the road, filter checkpoints were built, either by Kanak or Caldoches, depending on the place. Groups of populations had to leave because of the threats, like hate messages scrawled on walls, or properties being burnt down.

Before being commonly called “Caldoches”, the descendants of the prisoners were referred to as the “Caledonians” by the French government. There were not the only ones to be called that way, since other ethnic groups were called Caledonians, as a result of a massive immigration wave on the island, mainly workers for the mines.

At first, the term Caldoche had a pejorative sense, as it was connected to the penal past. The former prisoners and descendants struggled to assume these origins, until May 68: a delegation of young students from New-Caledonia came back from France, where they witnessed May 68 in France, when massive strikes were launched across the country, along with numerous intellectual debates and discussions, mainly organized by students. The young delegation from New-Caledonia met intellectuals and motivated students from France and all around the world. By discussing with different activists and intellectuals, they have concluded that they should embrace their origins, by encouraging their elders to tell the story and to not hide it.

The descendants of French prisoners, and living in New Caledonia, were seeking a proper name that could define their cultural identity, rooted in their history. That is how the name “Caldoche” was born. The first generations of Caldoches who came back from France promoted their identity. Local intellectual figures like Louis-José Barbançon were among the first ones to open discussions with elders about their past.

Historical trajectory and cultural context have shaped the situation in New-Caledonia, “where anyone could be Caldoche because it is a social and cultural appropriation” according to the Kanak historian Henry Lalie. Both communities are in constant interactions with each other, but also with other cultural communities like Indonesians, Tahitians, Wallisians, Vietnamese…as a heritage from the past, the Caldoche families are mainly located in the north of the island, living from farming, hunting.

Caldoche has now become an identity, embraced by the holders.