Liberals and the Empire
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Liberals and the Empire Responses to French Expansionism under Napoleon III in Algeria, Cochinchina and Mexico (c. 1858–70) Miquel de la Rosa Lorente Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Florence, 5 June 2017 1 European University Institute Department of History and Civilization Liberals and the Empire Responses to French Expansionism under Napoleon III in Algeria, Cochinchina and Mexico (c. 1858–70) Miquel de la Rosa Lorente Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Examining Board Prof Lucy Riall, European University Institute (Supervisor) Prof Ann Thomson, European University Institute (Second reader) Prof Alan S. Kahan, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Dr David Todd, King’s College London © Miquel de la Rosa Lorente, 2017 No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Researcher declaration to accompany the submission of written work Department of History and Civilization - Doctoral Programme I, Miquel de la Rosa Lorente, certify that I am the author of the work Liberals and the Empire: Responses to French Expansionism Under Napoleon III in Algeria, Cochinchina and Mexico (c. 1858–70) I have presented for examination for the Ph.D. at the European University Institute. I also certify that this is solely my own original work, other than where I have clearly indicated, in this declaration and in the thesis, that it is the work of others. I warrant that I have obtained all the permissions required for using any material from other copyrighted publications. I certify that this work complies with the Code of Ethics in Academic Research issued by the European University Institute (IUE 332/2/10 (CA 297). The copyright of this work rests with its author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This work may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. This authorisation does not, to the best of my knowledge, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that this work consists of 115,164 words. Statement of language correction: This thesis has been corrected for linguistic and stylistic errors. I certify that I have checked and approved all language corrections, and that these have not affected the content of this work. Signature and date: Florence, May 2017. iv v Abstract This thesis investigates liberal responses to French expansionism during Napoleon III’s Second Empire, focusing on three of its main imperialist ventures in the late 1850s and the 1860s: Algeria, a colony inherited from the times of Charles X, whose colonisation received a great boost in the 1860s; Cochinchina, the main step of France’s imperialism towards Asia; and Mexico, Napoleon III’s personal dream for France in America, started as the alleged greatest project of the Empire which, however, ended in great failure. The focus of this study is not on individuals generally acknowledged as main liberal thinkers, politicians or philosophers but on a group of less-celebrated individuals who developed their professional activity both in parliament (the Corps législatif) and the press. The aim is to highlight how liberal languages and discourses in their specific context contributed to the development and the shaping of liberal thinking and political culture in the 1860s with regard to imperial expansionism. This dissertation seeks to tie in with the historiographical trend which sees intellectual and political history not as distinct fields, but as two inseparable sides of the same coin. In a period in which the Second Empire was experiencing a process of increasing internal liberalisation in a number of political, social and economic fields, the Empire’s means of repression and social control were still active. Censorship was commonplace in 1860s France, making it very difficult for those opposing the regime to express their ideas and concerns. However, thanks to several steps made towards opening up the regime politically from 1860 onwards, opposition deputies—including especially the liberals—were able to express in parliament their claims and objections. Whereas some social issues remained difficult to tackle, I argue that liberals found in the Empire’s imperialist endeavours an appropriate space to channel their dissatisfaction with the Bonapartists’ way of conceiving, ruling and managing the country. The Second Empire’s colonial project on all continents fostered an intense ideological debate that transcended the borders of a simple partisan confrontation. It rather revealed the existence of two political cultures in quest of social legitimation: liberal and Bonapartist. vi This thesis aims to bring together a history of nineteenth-century French imperialist ventures and a history of modern liberal political culture. No scholarly works have focused on the way in which French liberal thinkers, politicians or publicists imagined their empire in the 1860s, how they responded to Napoleon III’s will to expand France’s power and influence across oceans and continents with an intensity never seen before. This dissertation contributes to filling in this gap by tackling the liberal response to French expansionism with regard to three thematic areas: the role of France in the world; trade and finances; and religion. European politics aside, overseas ventures marked France’s foreign policy in the 1860s. The Second Empire’s project to expand France’s influence in the world through various systems of domination and control over peoples on virtually all continents became an issue of political debate that all forces of opposition, namely liberals, could not escape. Imperialist ventures became an important issue of political debate under the Second Empire and acted as a sort of ‘hegemony’ that liberals needed to confront, either opposing or supporting it. In this thesis, I argue that they did so, taking the opportunity to use the debates on expansionism in their own favour. Through discussing a wide range of social, economic and political topics related to France’s imperialism in Africa, Asia and America during the 1860s, liberals succeeded in presenting to the public an alternative model of government to the one represented by the Bonapartists in power. vii Table of Contents Acknowledgements xii List of illustrations xvi Abbreviations xviii Introduction LIBERALS AND THE EMPIRE IN 1860S FRANCE………………………………….. 1 Premise and frameworks Liberalism in the nineteenth century 4 Empires and the imperial imaginary 7 The interplay liberalism-imperialism 8 A case study: why France? 11 Methodological approach and sources 14 Intellectual history as political history 15 Chapter outline 21 PART I. RETHINKING THE FRENCH SECOND EMPIRE Chapter 1 NEW BONAPARTISM, LIBERAL VOICES AND FRENCH EXPANSIONISM IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT OF THE 1860S……………………………………… 29 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Napoleon III, the Empire and the nation 33 The emperor and new Bonapartism 35 Empire and nation 44 1.3. Liberal voices in an ‘illiberal democracy’ 48 The Group of Five 51 Other liberal voices 59 Censorship and freedom of the press 62 1.4. French expansionism in the global context of the 1860s 68 Technology and the arms race 73 The press and political imaginary 76 1.5. Conclusion 79 Chapter 2 OVERSEAS VENTURES AND IMPERIAL LANGUAGES…………………………… 85 2.1. Introduction viii 2.2. Imperial languages: civilisation, glory and greatness 86 Civilisation 87 Glory and greatness 90 2.3. Algeria: the colony, the province, the kingdom 96 2.4. An insight into Cochinchina 104 2.5. Mexico: ‘la grande pensée du règne’? 111 The expedition 114 Chevalier 119 Favre and Quinet 122 2.6. Conclusion 125 PART II. LIBERALS FACE THE EMPIRE Chapter 3 LIBERALS AND THE ROLE OF FRANCE IN THE WORLD……………………… 131 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The nation abroad: Algeria, politics of assimilation and rights of representation 134 3.3 ‘Base du génie rayonnant de la France’: Cochinchina and fascination with the empire 148 3.4 Mexico, the principle of non-intervention and the ‘right of nations’ 159 International law and non-intervention On Mexico 164 A central issue 174 The United States and the ‘Latin race’ 186 Towards failure 192 3.5 Conclusion 194 Chapter 4 LIBERALS ON COLONIAL INDUSTRY, TRADE AND FINANCES…………..…….. 199 4.1. Introduction The Commercial Treaty 204 Public finances 206 4.2. Algeria, industrial production and economic strength 210 Algeria’s economic appeal 213 Industrial production 214 Investments and labour 219 4.3. Cochinchina: a golden opportunity for trade 223 4.4. ‘Arrêtez-vous !’: Mexico and France’s financial stability 236 4.5. Conclusion 243 ix Chapter 5 LIBERALS, RELIGION AND EMPIRE…………………………………………… 247 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Algeria: the crescent under the sign of the cross 255 Further evangelisation 258 Girardin and the link between ‘two worlds’ 263 Citizenship 267 5.3. Cochinchina and the protection of Christian missionaries 269 5.4. Mexico 274 5.5. Conclusion 279 Conclusion LIBERALS AND THE EMPIRE: A RELATION OF MUTUAL INFLUENCE, THE BUILDING OF A POLITICAL BRAND....…..…………………………..…… 283 At home with the empire Competing political ideologies and mutual influences 286 Imperialist ventures 289 Liberals and the Empire 293 Sources and bibliography 297 x xi Acknowledgements A university professor once told me that I must do a PhD, saying it would be one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. At the time, I was rather sceptical: back then, I was only interested in getting through Spanish university and entering the job market. So, I pushed aside thoughts of pursuing a doctorate and plunged into the world of journalism and corporate communications. Years later that professor’s words came back to me and I eventually decided to apply to the European University Institute (EUI). Now, as I find myself writing the final words of my doctoral thesis, I must confess that this professor could not have been more right.