The French Colonization of Tunisia - Research Paper Example

? The French colonization of Tunisia al affiliation The French colonization of Tunisia Tunisia is located in the North coast of Africa, neighboring Algeria and Libya, and surrounded by the Atlas Mountains, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Sahara Desert. Geographically, forty per cent of Tunisia is made up of the Sahara Desert, with the remaining sixty per cent being comprised of fertile plains. Tunisia’s history has predominantly been a series of subjugations by more powerful nations including the Phoenicians, Romans, Ottoman Turks, and finally, the French1. This paper will focus on the rationale behind the French colonization of Tunisia in the 19th century. The major question is: why did the French colonize Tunisia and what the French hoping to achieve? Before embarking on the French colonization of Tunisia, it is of essence to highlight the activities and effects of other powerful nations on Tunisia prior to the French. Ancient Tunisia was inhabited by Berbers, who led a nomadic way of life and lived in caves. However, in the 9th century BC, the Phoenicians arrived in Africa through the Mediterranean Sea and colonized Tunisia. The Phoenicians established the city of Carthage in Tunisia and influenced its religion, economy, culture, and politics. Consequently, Carthage became one of the most prosperous cities in the Mediterranean region. This prosperity, nevertheless, did not last long, as Carthage was involved in supremacy battles with Rome. Unfortunately for Carthage, it lost the battles to Rome, thus Tunisia was placed under the Roman rule. Many roman businessmen settled in Tunisia and exploited its fertile soils, natural minerals, and consumer goods2. Within no time, Tunisia became famous for supplying agricultural products all over Europe. The Romans also established Christianity in Tunisia. The Romans were succeeded by the vandals who enhanced the agricultural and commercial life in Tunisia. However, the vandals did not recognize the native Berbers of Tunisia in their rule and this led to Tunisia being taken over by the Byzantine Empire. Constant battles between the Byzantine Empire and other nations wanting to control Tunisia led to the decline of the Byzantine Empire rule. In the 14th century BC, the Ottoman Turks, particularly the Beys invaded and conquered Tunisia. Under the rule of the Beys, Tunisia achieved economic, social, and political prosperity. For example, education was prioritized and nationalism upheld. At this time, European countries offered to help Tunisia in improving its international trade. The Bey went on an extravagant mission to increase taxes and erect major buildings in the country. However, Tunisian economy suffered at the hands of European investors, which forced Tunisia to declare bankruptcy and ask for assistance from European powers. This call for help aroused the interests of Britain, Italy and France in colonizing Tunisia. Therefore, in order for France to gain control of Tunisia, the latter had to fight off the challenge posed by Britain and Italy. Particularly, Italy felt that it was more deserving of Tunisia because; one, it had invested more wealth in Tunisia than Britain and France. Secondly, Italy had more of its citizens settled in Tunisia compared to the number of Britons and French people in Tunisia. Nevertheless, Britain agreed to let France have Tunisia, if the latter left Cyprus to the British. In 1881, some men from Tunisia had crossed over to Algeria, a French protectorate and the French used this as a perfect excuse to invade and subdue the Tunisians3. The Bardo Treaty was signed between Tunisian officials and the French officials that saw French take over the governance of Tunisia. Italy did not wish to fight with France over the control of Tunisia, thus in 1884, Tunisia was formally recognized as a French protectorate. Once France had solidified its control over Tunisia, France paid all of Tunisia’s foreign debt and as a result, Tunisia was completely under French rule. The question, therefore, remains; why did the French colonize Tunisia? The defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war Otto von Bismarck was on a quest to unify Germany in the 19th century, during which Prussia came under German rule. Bismarck wanted to shift the balance of power in Europe and set his eyes on destabilizing France, which at the time, was one of the European super powers. In 1870, France was involved in a war with Prussia over control of the mineral-rich region of Alsace Loraine. During the war, France lost to Prussia and consequently lost Alsace-Loraine. In addition to the loss, France was forced to pay Germany 5 billion francs as indemnity for Alsace Loraine. In a bid to restore its glory, France sought to have colonies in Africa, especially in Tunisia where Britain and Italy were interested. In the Berlin congress of 1878, Germany supported the French interests in Tunisia in a bid to divert France’s attention from the loss of Alsace-Loraine4. Public and political opinion in France The political class in France urged their government to colonize Tunisia so as have an influence on the latter’s foreign policy. This was a policy of imperialism by the French in Tunisia. This policy was implemented by the French Resident General in Tunisia, Paul Cambon, who was charged with controlling the budget and representing Tunisia in foreign matters. Of course this meant that the resident general would act in ways that were beneficial to the French. In other words, the interests of France were propagated through its influence over Tunisia. In the public sphere, businessmen and investors in France were pushing for the French acquisition of Tunisia so as to safe guard their interests and businesses5. The people back in France were also weary of the ongoing campaign by Italy that sought to have the latter take control of Tunisia. The Italians claimed that for every French citizen living in Tunisia, there were fifteen Italians6. As a result, it was only fair for Tunisia to fall into the hands of the Italians. If Italy had succeeded over France in gaining control over Tunisia, then France would have suffered humiliation yet again, though this time not in Europe but in Africa. It is these businessmen and political leaders who advocated for the traditional system in Tunisia to remain in place. This meant that the Bey would continue to rule, but with authority from the resident general in Tunisia. In 1883, the La Marsa convention was signed that allowed the Beys to continue their dynasty, even though the French were the ones ruling Tunisia indirectly7. With this kind of set up, the locals were not likely to revolt against the French presence in Tunisia. Nationalists such as Leon Gambetta in France were influential in the French acquisition of Tunisia as a colony. In his opinion, Gambetta wanted France to acquire Tunisia so that Britain and Tunisia could intervene jointly in Egypt8. In addition, to this, Gambetta wanted France to annex colonies in other continents so as to re-affirm the position of France in international affairs. Public opinion was also represented by catholic adherents in France, who urged their government to colonize Tunisia so as to engage in missionary work, in the predominantly Muslim country. These Catholics were frustrated by the secularization of France by the republican government, thus they were in search of a distraction. The government of France too was tired of the constant criticism by the catholic community and was more than willing to give the Catholics a challenge away from internal politics. The Catholics would surely find it challenging to convert to Christianity, a people who had been under Muslim rule for decades. One of the most remarkable figures who persisted in his quest to have France occupy Tunisia was archbishop Lavigerie who dreamt of having a Christian empire to cover the whole of North Africa. Economic gain Prior to the French colonization of Tunisia, the French had already established their consul at Tunis and attained the status of most favored nation in Tunisia9. This newly acquired status boosted the economy of France as the latter found a market for its manufactured goods in Tunisia. France also needed Tunisia as a destination for the former’s excess capital. The 19th century had seen many European nations become industrialized and with it came a lot of capital. European countries were, therefore, in search of less developed countries in which to invest the excess capital. To France, the solution lay in Tunisia, since France did not seek to send its excess population to Tunisia as it had done with Algeria10. To France, therefore, Tunisia served as an economic investment venture. The taxes collected from Tunisia were also crucial in further strengthening the economy of France. In addition, the French were interested in the agricultural potential of Tunisia and soon after colonization; the French used their advanced technology to introduce large scale farming. The yields in grapes and olives 11increased tremendously and the production was exported, thus earning Tunisia and France more capital. The proximity of Tunisia to Algeria The French had already made Algeria their protectorate in 1830. However, constant rebellions over the next forty years from the Algerians had seen France worry about its control over Algeria12. Owing to the fact that Tunisia was Algeria’s neighbor, the French needed to have power over Tunisia so as to guarantee their command over the Algeria. Secondly, so long as France had Tunisia, Italy was limited in its control over the any area surrounding Cyrenaica, which was already an Italian colony. Basically, the French were not that much interested in Tunisia, but did not want any other European country to possess it. In fact, the French did not want the Italians to occupy Tunisia, because would have meant that Italy, already having Sicily under its control, would reign supreme in the Mediterranean Sea13. The French wanted to strengthen the eastern frontier of Algeria by colonizing Tunisia, thus the Italians would be unable to form a single monarchy over the Mediterranean. France, under napoleon III 14ensured that Italy never gained formal control over the activities in the Mediterranean. Imperialism Although France claimed that it had colonized Tunisia so as to protect the latter form other European nations that were out to subjugate, the French themselves wanted to apply the policy of imperialism in Tunisia. According to the French, although they would recognize the traditional monarchies in Tunisia, they would send their representatives to “civilize” the people of Tunisia. Civilization meant that the Tunisians would be introduced to the French language and culture, which would also be taught in Tunisian schools. In summary, the primary goal for the colonization of Tunisia by the French was to exploit Tunisia’s economy. For French colonialists, France used to colonize a country in order to settle its people there, or in order to invest its surplus capital and find market for French manufactured goods. Therefore, in West Africa, since the French had already settled most of its excess population in Algeria, Tunisia served as the “exploitation” country. Essentially, instead of human migration to Tunisia, the French practiced capital migration15. However, there were other reasons why France needed to have Tunisia as its colony. The defeat of France at the Franco-Prussian war led to France seeking colonies elsewhere so as to reassert its dominance in world affairs. This aggression was also fuelled by public opinion back at home, in which the people urged their government to colonize Tunisia. Some of those advocating for the colonization of Tunisia wanted to protect their investments, while others to spread Christianity. The French also wanted to spread their culture and “civilization” to the people of North Africa, especially Tunisia. This was a new wave of national pride and imperialism in Europe in which, each European country sought to feel superior to other people. The control of the Mediterranean was also very crucial in the French colonization of Tunisia. The French wanted to ensure that their grip over Algeria was strong and that Italy did not have a chance of controlling the eastern strait of the Mediterranean Sea. Economic wise, the French stood to benefit form Tunisia’s numerous minerals, as well as the agriculturally productive lands in Tunisia. France also sought to have external markets for manufactured goods, as well as a place to invest its surplus capital. References Alexander, C. (2010). Tunisia: Stability and Reform in the Modern Maghreb. London: Routledge. Choate, M. (2010). The Tunisia Paradox: Italian Aims, French Imperial Rule, and Migration in the Mediterranean Basin. California Italian Studies Journal, 1(1), Retrieved from: http:// escholarship.org/uc/item/8k97g1nc --------------- (2007). Identity Politics and the Political Perception in the European Settlement of Tunisia: The French Colony versus the Italian Colony. Project Muse Scholarly Journals Online, Retrieved from digitalcollections.sit.edu Perkins, K. (2004). A History of Modern Tunisia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Varghese, B., & Spilling, M. (2008). Tunisia. Tarrytown: Marshall Cavendish. Read More