What did Europeans, in this case the French, learn about freedom and democracy from intellectuals who came from their overseas colonies?  

Just after the Second World War, a brilliant philosopher from Vietnam, changed the opinions of some of France’s most prominent philosophers among whom Jean-Paul Sartre, on colonialism. This philosopher, called Tran-Duc-Thao, engaged in activism to call for freedom and democracy in Vietnam. Afterwards, he was invited to write for the legendary journal Les Temps Modernes. His life and work suggest that the development of political ideas about freedom and democracy took place within the spatial frame of the empire. This project aims to investigate the influence of imperialism on political ideas: what did Europeans, in this case the French, learn about freedom and democracy from intellectuals who came from their overseas colonies?