How a children’s chocolate drink became a symbol of French colonialism | Features

In 1909, French journalist-turned-entrepreneur Pierre-Francois Lardet returned from a trip to Nicaragua determined to recreate a beverage he had tasted there.

Five years later, in August 1914, Banania was born.

The arrival of the chocolate-flavoured banana powder drink came just as France found itself at war.

The following year, its mascot – a Black soldier wearing a red fez – first appeared on an advertising poster.

During World War I, 200,000 African soldiers fought for France on the…