This paper assumes that language and educational policies are manifestations of the interdependence between linguistic thought and the prevailing "zeitgeist", and hence that an investigation of these policies from an historical perspective falls squarely within the history of linguistics. The policies discussed here are those by the British and French, as pursued in their League of Nations Mandates and later their UN Trusteeship Territories in Africa. A contrastive look at their policies--as revealed in historical documents--yields insights into the philosophical and political discourse of that period and sheds light on the competing dominant positions in this discourse, as well as on the views of language expressed in it.