French Liberalism and Imperialism in the Age of Napoleon III: Empire at Home, Colonies Abroad

230 Pages·2022·4.167 MB·English

by  Miquel de la Rosa

French Liberalism and
Imperialism in the Age of
Napoleon III
Empire at Home, Colonies Abroad
Miquel de la Rosa
Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies
Series Editors
Richard Drayton, Department of History, King’s College London,
London, UK
Saul Dubow, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge, UK
The Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies series is a well-
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Miquel de la Rosa
French Liberalism
and Imperialism
in the Age
of Napoleon III
Empire at Home, Colonies Abroad
Miquel de la Rosa
European University Institute
Florence, Italy
ISSN 2635-1633 ISSN 2635-1641 (electronic)
Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies
ISBN 978-3-030-95887-9 ISBN 978-3-030-95888-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95888-6
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For my family and my dear friends, the ones that keep me going
Acknowledgements
This book builds on the doctoral thesis I wrote at the European Univer-
sity Institute during some of the most exciting years in my life, both
personallyandintellectually.Thankstotheinstitutionsthathaveprovided
mewithfundamentalfinancialsupporttocarryonmyresearch,especially
theSpanishMinistryofEducation,theEUI’sDepartmentofHistoryand
Civilisation and the Erasmus+ Programme, I have been given the oppor-
tunitytoenrichmyworkandmyselfinwaysIhadnotanticipated:allthe
journeynecessarytowritethisbookhasdrivenmethroughvariouscoun-
tries and languages where I have met people from whom I have learned
the real meaning of diversity, tolerance and out-of-the-box thinking.
Thanks are due to my supervisor and my second reader at the EUI,
Lucy Riall and Ann Thomson, who always supported and encouraged
me to perform better during my doctoral adventure. Their mixture of
inspiration,criticismandreassurancecontinuouslyimprovedmyworkand
spurred me on towards the goal, while their enthusiasm and optimism
wereessentialtomyreachingit.IalsoowegreatintellectualdebttoAlan
KahanandDavidTodd,whoconstantlyfoundthetimetoreadmydrafts
and to comment on my work, always opening my mind to new ideas
andperspectives.OtheracademicsfromwhomIhavesomuchlearnedin
the past years deserve my sincere recognition. Special thanks must go to
Pedro Carasa, Stephen Jacobson, Enric Ucelay, Pieter Judson, Stéphane
Van Damme and Quentin Deluermoz.
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Historical research could not indeed be possible without the help
of all the professionals who take care of our past memories in all the
librariesandarchiveswhereIhavespentsomuchtime,namelytheBiblio-
thèqueNationaledeFrance,theBritishLibrary,theIbero-Amerikanisches
Institut, and, of course, my beloved Badia Fiesolana. Many thanks go
to all of them, especially to Jean-Antonin Caheric, the French National
Assembly archivist who allowed me to navigate the secret coulisses of this
historical building.
A special mention deserve all the people, from inside and outside
the academic world, that have accompanied me in this journey: my
friends from the places I have lived in, especially Barcelona and Florence,
and my whole family. Without their support and love, especially when
doubts become more intense than desired—Rodrigo, Belén, Muriel,
Ivette, Philippe, Phil, Martín, José, Jonas and Gaël know probably better
than anyone else what I am talking about—I would have never accom-
plished this and other undertakings, nor those that are yet to come. In
that, my parents Tomás and Mar, and my brother Víctor have played an
irreplaceable part. This book is dedicated to them, por ir siempre juntos
aunque no estemos en el mismo lugar.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
Liberalism in the Nineteenth Century and the French
Context 4
Empires and the Imperial Imaginary 9
The Interplay Between Liberalism and Imperialism 10
2 Rethinking the French Second Empire: New
Bonapartism, Liberal Voices and Imperial Languages 19
Napoleon III, the Empire and the Nation 21
The Emperor and New Bonapartism 22
Empire and Nation 28
Liberal Voices in an ‘Illiberal Democracy’ 30
The Group of Five 32
Other Liberal Voices 38
Censorship and Freedom of the Press 40
Overseas Ventures and Imperial Languages 44
Civilisation 45
Glory and Greatness 47
3 The Nation Abroad?: Algeria and French Colonialism
in the 1860s 63
Politics of Assimilation and Rights of Representation 69
Industrial Production and Economic Strength 79
Algeria’s Economic Appeal 82
ix
x CONTENTS
Industrial Production 83
Investments and Labour 86
The Crescent Under the Sign of the Cross 90
Further Evangelisation 92
Girardin and the Link Between ‘Two Worlds’ 95
4 The Search for World Prestige in Cochinchina 109
‘Base Du Génie Rayonnant De La France’: Cochinchina
and Fascination with the Empire 114
A Golden Opportunity for Trade 119
Cochinchina and the Protection of Christian Missionaries 127
5 Mexico and French Visions of the Empire’s ‘Greatest
Thought’ 137
The Principle of Non-intervention and the ‘Right of Nations’ 146
International Law and Non-intervention 147
On Mexico 150
A Central Issue 158
Towards Failure 167
‘Arrêtez-vous!’ Mexico and France’s Financial Stability 169
Religion and Culture 174
6 Conclusion 185
Political Spheres and Mutual Influences 187
Imperial Ventures 190
Liberals and the Empire 193
Sources and Bibliography 197
Index 215