European Colonial Identities: Nationalism, Internationalism and Racism Citizens of European countries living in Africa at the outbreak of the First World War were minorities in a double sense. On the one hand, they were ethnic minorities relative to the indigenous populations of the lands they occupied. On the other hand, they were also oen residing within lands occupied by other colonial powers, powers that would become enemies with the outbreak of war. ese two aspects of minority status intersect with each other in interesting ways: notions of European solidarity in opposition to the indigenous population were challenged by the outbreak of war and the necessity for more nationalist forms of identication. Yet, as European minorities, colonial populations were reluctant to fully abandon their shared European-ness in favour of more simple nation-based rivalries.