Archives nationales d'outre-mer

The Archives nationales d'outre-mer in Aix-en-Provence is a branch of the Archives Nationales of France that documents the French colonial empire. According to one scholar, "half the history of France overseas was represented in the mass of papers" first assembled in Aix in 1966. The materials originated in various offices and repositories scattered throughout the colonies. The Dépôt des Archives d'Outre-Mer opened in 1966, and its successor, the Centre des Archives d'Outre-Mer, in 1987.[1] It was later renamed the "Archives nationales d'outre-mer." Its facilities occupy a site near the Université de Provence Aix-Marseille I.

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The archives groups its holdings by ministry, territory, document format (images, maps); it also has non-government materials.[2] In 1986 the main national archives in Paris transferred to Aix its records of the "Section outre-mer."[1] In 1995 the archives received substantial additional materials generated by colonial offices.[3] Directors have included Martine Cornède (2007-2014) and Benoît Van Reeth (2014–present).^(fr)

The archives has published inventories of some of its records, including those related to the colonial administration of Algeria, French Equatorial Africa, and French Indochina; the governmental Secrétariat d'Etat à la Marine and Ministère des Colonies; bagnes (prisons); private organizations such as the Comité central français pour l'Outre-Mer; and individuals such as Madeleine de Lyée de Belleau, Léonce Jore, and Ho Chi Minh.[4]