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REPUBLICANISM, RAILWAY IMPERIALISM, AND THE FRENCH EMPIRE IN AFRICA, 1879–1889

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2011

T. W. ROBERTS
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Abstract

This article questions accepted views of French expansion as a largely autonomous process, reflecting new attitudes towards Africa among policy-makers. It argues that the African railway schemes of 1879 were the outcome of an understanding between powerful railway interests and mainstream elements of the newly victorious republican parties. The ambitions of the railway companies were restricted in scope, however, being confined mainly to existing French possessions, while their sponsorship of imperial expansion was little more than a tactical expedient. It was only when the opportunities created for expansion were taken up by locally based pressure-groups or became caught up in international rivalries that empire began to take root in the Soudan and the Congo. By the time the anti-colonial reaction of the mid-1880s took hold, railway imperialism, a product of the short-lived economic boom, had already run its course. Government now had an opportunity and an incentive to put its imperial house in order. Nevertheless, the resulting equilibrium remained vulnerable to a re-emergence of the forces that had first set France on the road to empire in tropical Africa.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 54 , Issue 2 , June 2011 , pp. 401 - 420
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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References

1 W. J. Mommsen, Theories of imperialism (New York, NY, 1980) offers a comprehensive summary of approaches to imperialism.

2 H. Brunschwig, Mythes et réalités de l'impérialisme colonial français, 1871–1914 (Paris, 1960), passim; L. Abrams and Miller, A. J., ‘A reassessment of the parti colonial, 1890–1914’, Historical Journal, 19, (1976), pp. 685–726Google Scholar; C. M. Andrew and A. S. Kanya-Forstner, ‘French business and the French colonialists’, ibid., pp. 981–1000.

3 For finance capitalism used in this specific sense see J. Thobie, J. Bouvier, and R. Girault, La France impériale, 1880–1914 (Paris, 1982), pp. 129–31.

4 Brunschwig, H., ‘Note sur les technocrates de l'impérialisme français en Afrique Noire’, Revue française d'histoire d'Outre-Mer, 54, (1967), pp. 171–87CrossRefGoogle Scholar; A. Duponchel, Le chemin de fer trans-saharien (Montpellier, 1878).

5 This is the interpretation suggested in Newbury, C. W. and Kanya-Forstner, A. S., ‘French policy and the origins of the scramble for West Africa’, Journal of African History, 10, (1969), pp. 253–76CrossRefGoogle Scholar at pp. 262–3, though the idea is not developed further.

6 R. E. Robinson, ‘Introduction’, in C. B. Davis and K. E. Wilburn, eds., Railway imperialism (New York, NY, 1991), pp. 1–5.

7 Idem, ‘Conclusion: railways and informal empire’, in ibid., pp. 175–95. Individual chapters give examples of invasive railway imperialism in Mexico, Thailand, and China.

8 J. Ganiage, Les origines du protectorat français en Tunisie, 1861–1881 (Paris, 1959), pp. 466–71; J. Bouvier, Le Crédit lyonnais de 1863 à 1881 (2 vols., Paris, 1964), i, pp. 459, 497–8; Thobie, Bouvier, and Girault, La France impériale, pp. 117, 125. The initial concession was to the Société de Batignolles, parent company of the Bône-Guelma, which was financed by the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (Paribas), the Comptoir d'escompte and Crédit lyonnais.

9 Rouvier, rapport, 10 June 1879, Annales de l'Assemblée nationale, documents parlementaires, chambre (Annales doc. parl. chambre), no. 1497, pp. 341–2; Freycinet, rapport au président de la république, 12 July 1879, Archives nationales (AN) F14 12437; ministre de la marine et des colonies (MMC) to governor of Senegal, 14 Feb. 1880, Archives nationales, section Outre-Mer (ANSOM) Sénégal i, 63/b; submission of Duveyrier, Ière sous-commission. Procès-verbal de la séance du 18 aoÛt 1879, ANSOM, Afrique xii 2/a; Borgnis-Desbordes, rapport sur la campagne 1880–1, 1 July 1881, ibid., Sénégal iv 73 bis.

10 Tissot, note sur le chemin de fer trans-saharien, 16 July 1880, ANSOM Afrique xii 2/a. For the idea of linking Senegal and Algeria, which gained a certain currency during the governorship of Louis Faidherbe, 1854–61, 1863–5, see Faidherbe, L'avenir du Sahara et du Soudan (Paris, 1863), pp. 22–3.

11 T. Zeldin, France, 1848–1914 (2 vols., Oxford, 1973), i, pp. 635–7; Annales doc. parl. chambre, projet de loi, 5 Feb. 1880, no. 2266, pp. 122–4. Costs for the Senegal–Niger were estimated at up to 54 million francs. No comparable figures exist for the trans-Saharan railway which never progressed beyond the preliminary stage.

12 The original plan included another, privately constructed, branch-line to Medine linking the Dakar–St Louis to the Senegal–Niger.

13 G. Chapman, The Third Republic of France: the first phase, 1871–1894 (London, 1962), pp. 223–4.

14 Ibid., pp. 224–5; Zeldin, France, i, pp. 632–8. Attempts were made to impeach Raynal in 1895 for his role in the affair.

15 Chapman, Third Republic, p. 225.

16 R. E. Cameron, France and the economic development of Europe, 1800–1914 (Princeton, NJ, 1961), pp. 105–203.

17 To cite two examples: the largest French bank, the Société générale, had five representatives of the mainline companies on its board in 1880, while the Société générale de crédit industriel et commercial had another four, plus a representative of the Est-Algérien.

18 Henri Schneider of Le Creusot was on the board of the Paris–Orléans, while Chargeurs–Réunis of Le Havre had directors on the boards of the P-O and Midi railways.

19 Cameron, France and Europe, pp. 213–75.

20 Chapman, Third Republic, p. 178. A director of the Est railway and the Comptoir d'escompte acted as treasurer for Gambetta's party during the election of 1877.

21 P. Sorlin, Waldeck-Rousseau (Paris, 1966), pp. 191–6; Bibliothèque nationale, nouvelles acquisitions françaises (BN n.a.fr.) 14635, mémoires politiques de Bernard Lavergne (Lavergne), ii, pp. 144–5, 337–8. ‘Les gambettistes ne sont au pouvoir que pour y faire leurs affaires.’

22 E. Beau de Loménie, Les responsabilités des dynasties bourgeoises (2 vols., Paris, 1947), ii, pp. 264–5; A. Chirac, Les pots de vin parlementaires (Paris, 1888), p. 34. Three directors of the Sud de la France had connections with the Est-Algérien, and both railways had links to the latter's principal backer, the Crédit industriel et commercial.

23 Annales doc. parl. chambre, rapport, 15 Mar. 1879, no. 1236, pp. 136–55; ibid., sénat, rapport, 21 June 1879, no. 233, pp. 23–5. The Est-Algérien was controlled by the Crédit industriel et commercial and the Bône-Guelma was backed by Paribas and the Comptoir d'escompte.

24 Ibid., rapport, 10 June 1879, no. 1497, pp. 341–2; Annales débats parlementaires, sénat (Annales déb. parl. chambre), séance du 5 juillet 1879, pp. 16–21; ibid., séance du 25 juillet 1879, pp. 185–6. In 1878, Duponchel undertook an official mission in Algeria which failed to progress beyond Laghouat.

25 Annales doc. parl. chambre, rapport, 10 June 1879, no. 1497, pp. 341–2.

26 Ibid.; rapport au président de la république, 12 July 1879, AN F14 12437; Annales doc. parl. chambre, projet de loi, no. 2266, pp. 122–4. The explorer, Henri Duveyrier, estimated the population of the Soudan (including the Sahara) at just over 25 million.

27 A membership list is included in Décret, 13 July 1879, ANSOM Afrique xii 2/a.

28 Commission supérieure, rapport sommaire, 1 Aug. (1879), ibid., 2/b; République française, 23, 31 July, 4 Aug. 1879. The Choisy mission and two led by Flatters started from Biskra, while Pouyanne left from the Sud Oranais.

29 Note pour le cabinet du ministre, 11 June 1879, ANSOM Afrique xii 2/a; rapport au président de la république, 12 July 1879, AN F14 12437; commission supérieure, rapport, 18 Aug. 1879, ibid.

30 Paul Soleillet, brochure, Chemin de fer d'Alger à St. Louis de Sénégal par Tombouctou, Jan. 1876, enclosed Soleillet to MMC, 5 Feb. 1876, ANSOM Missions 2; governor of Senegal to MMC, 22 May 1878+enclosure, ibid.; Brière to MMC, 8 Apr. 1879, ibid., Sénégal xii 41/c. Note sur le chemin de fer de Dakar à St. Louis, Jan. 1887, ibid., Afrique xii 42/b; note pour le cabinet du ministre, 11 June 1879, ibid. 2/a; commission supérieure, rapport, 18 Aug. 1879, AN F14 12437. Soleillet's published account (Voyage à Ségou, 1878–9, Paris, 1887) makes no mention of railway plans but his intended route after Segu corresponds with that of his proposed transsaharien.

31 F. Bontinck, Aux origines de l'état indépendant du Congo (Louvain, 1966), pp. 37, 40; J. Bruhat, ‘Léopold II’, in P. Renouvin, ed., Les politiques d'expansion impérialiste (Paris, 1949), pp. 77–80; J. Cornet, La bataille du rail (Brussels, 1947), pp. 29–31; T. Jeal, Stanley (London, 2007), pp. 230–1, 234–7.

32 Brunschwig, Mythes et réalités, pp. 42–3; note remise à M. Waddington, 3 Nov. 1879, ministère des affaires étrangères: mémoires et documents (AEMD) Afrique 58. Leopold also made attempts to recruit Brazza.

33 Commission supérieure, rapport lu le 18 aoÛt à la Ière sous-commission par M. Victor Fournié (sic), AN F14 12437; de Fontpertius, A. F., ‘L'Afrique centrale’, Journal des économistes, Oct. 1879, pp. 32–4Google Scholar.

34 Annales déb. parl. chambre, séance du 13 décembre 1879, p. 47.

35 Caisse centrale du travail et de l'épargne, to A. Grévy, 26 Apr. 1881, AN F14 12440; Société des dépôts et de comptes courantes, to ministre des travaux publics (MTP), 25 Sept. 1890, ibid.; BN n.a.fr. 14655, Lavergne, ii, pp. 377–8. Lavergne's source, who appears well informed, refers to a ‘Société des chemins de fer du Sénégal' which was to include, Spuller, Ranc, Paul Bert, Constans, and Rouvier.

36 Freycinet to ministre des affaires étrangères (MAE), 10 Dec. 1879, AEMD 75; A. S. Kanya-Forstner, The conquest of the Western Sudan (Cambridge, 1969), pp. 66–7.

37 Kanya-Forstner, Conquest of the Western Sudan, p. 67; rapport de la commission supérieure, 18 June 1881, AN F14 12437; rapport de l'inspecteur-général, 5 Nov. 1881, AN F14 12440.

38 Rapport de l'inspecteur-général, 5 Nov. 1881, AN F14 12440; governor-general to MTP, 7 Nov. 1882, ibid.; Tirman to MTP, 8 Sept. 1883, ibid.; Société de dépôts to MTP, 25 Sept. 1890, ibid. A projet de loi for the line was put forward in 1883 but never came to a vote.

39 Brière to MMC, 8 Apr. 1879, ANSOM, Sénégal xii 41/a; Kanya-Forstner, Conquest of the Western Sudan, pp. 56–60. The Dakar–St Louis line passed through Cayor.

40 Ibid., pp. 64–5.

41 Commission supérieure, deuxième séance, 1 Aug. 1879, ANSOM Afrique xii 2/a; rapport au président de la république, 25 Sept. 1879, ibid.

42 Annales doc. parl. chambre, projet de loi, 5 Feb. 1880, no. 2266, pp. 122–4; Kanya-Forstner, Conquest of the Western Sudan, p. 70. The total cost of the railway programme was 120 million francs. Some of these costs were to be borne by private enterprise. Exactly how much remained a matter of dispute.

43 Annales doc. parl. chambre, projet de loi, 5 Feb. 1880, no. 2266, pp. 122–4; ibid., rapport, 21 Dec. 1880, no. 3216, pp. 335–40; ibid. Annales déb. parl. chambre, séance du 27 décembre 1880, pp. 258–63. Blandin later served as undersecretary for war in Gambetta's administration.

44 Ibid., séance du 3 juillet 1883, pp. 1009–24. For problems of railway construction in Senegal see Kanya-Forstner, Conquest of the Western Sudan, passim.

45 Annales déb. parl. chambre, séance du 31 mars 1882, pp. 398–404; ibid., séance du 17 décembre 1883, pp. 890–8; ibid., séance du 1 avril 1884, pp. 966–72. The railway was eventually completed twenty years later to meet the needs of the colonial administration.

46 Ibid., séance du 3 juillet 1883, pp. 1009–24, 1028–30. In this critical vote on the future of the railway, both Paul Bert and Constans abstained.

47 Loi … portant concession d'un chemin de fer de Dakar à St. Louis, 29 June 1882, ANSOM Sénégal xii 41/c; commission on Dakar–St Louis. Procès-verbal de la séance du 18 octobre 1880, ibid. 41/a. The other main bidder for the concession was Joret et Cie. Joret was an administrator of the Est-Algérien.

48 Cloué to ministre des finances, 27 Nov. 1880, ibid., quoting the finance ministry, ‘Tous les risques … sont mis à la charge du Trésor; les concessionnaires peuvent gagner moins, ils ne peuvent pas perdre’, 41/c; Annales doc. parl. chambre, rapport, 21 Dec. 1880, no. 3216, pp. 335–40; Annales déb. parl. chambre, séance du 24 février 1881, pp. 366–7.

49 BN n.a.fr. 14635, Lavergne, ii, pp. 325–6. It was certainly the case that the bulk of the start-up capital for the Dakar–St Louis (12,680,000 fr.) came from the state, with only 5,000,000 fr. being subscribed by the concessionaries.

50 H. Brunschwig, L'avènement de l'Afrique Noire du XIX siècle à nos jours (Paris, 1963), pp. 142–3; BN n.a.fr. 14655, Lavergne, iii, p. 513; treaty commission, 21 Oct. 1882, AN C 3393. Statement of Paul Bert.

51 Brunschwig, L'avènement de l'Afrique Noire, pp. 143–6; note, n.d. ANSOM Missions 38; Annales déb. parl. chambre, séance du 9 juillet 1880. Paul Bert sat on the Commission des voyages scientifiques and its grant of 100,000 fr. was supported by Rouvier in his capacity of rapporteur.

52 Note pour le ministre, 15 Sept. 1881 and marginal comment, ANSOM Missions 38; de Lesseps, letter of 20 Dec. 1881 and marginal comment, ibid.; Gambetta to Rouvier, 23 Dec. 1881, ibid.; Rouvier to président du conseil and MAE, 30 Dec. 1881, ibid.; Charles de Lesseps to Jauréguiberry, 25 Aug 1882 and marginal note, ibid.

53 Jauréguiberry to MAE, 26 Sept. 1882, AEMD Afrique 59; note pour le ministre, Sept. 1882, ibid.

54 Duclerc was on the board of Paribas and the Caisse d'Amortissements.

55 Chapman, Third Republic, pp. 18, 168.

56 MAE to Jauréguiberry, 10 Oct. 1882, AEMD Afrique 59.

57 R. E. Robinson and J. Gallagher, Africa and the Victorians (London, 1963), pp. 170–2; Stengers, J., ‘Léopold II et la rivalité franco-anglaise en Afrique, 1882–1884’, Revue Belge de philologie et d'histoire 47 (1969), pp. 425–79CrossRefGoogle Scholar at pp. 478–9.

58 Temps, 30 Sept. 1882; République française, 30 Sept., 2, 23 Oct. 1882; Intransigeant, 7 Oct. 1882. ‘Le mouvement d'opinion crée par la presse a … été si vif que le Ministère et la Chambre se soustrairont difficilement au devoir qui leur incombe. On peut … considérer la ratification comme un fait accompli.’; BN n.a.fr. 14636, Lavergne, iii, p. 513. In the ministry of marine the campaign was qualified as blackmail (chantage de la presse).

59 Commission relative aux traités … nommé le 20 octobre 1882, AN C 3393; Annales déb. parl. chambre, séance du 18 novembre 1882, pp. 104–5; ibid., séance du 21 novembre 1882, pp. 160–1.

60 A. Ruiz (Caisse centrale) to MAE, 2 Nov. 1882 and enclosure, AEMD Afrique 59; same to same, 9 Nov. 1882, ibid. The Société de dépôts was operating in concert with the Caisse centrale, as it had in Algeria.

61 Chapman, Third Republic, pp. 225–7.

62 Daumas-Béraud et Cie. to MAE, 2 Jan. 1883, cited in C. Coquery-Vidrovitch, Brazza et la prise de possession du Congo, 1883–1885 (Paris, 1969), pp. 358–9; Brazza to MAE, 24 Nov. 1882, cited ibid., pp. 219–23; note pour le ministre, 22 Nov. 1882, AEMD Afrique 59; Ferry to Waddington, 7 Mar. 1884, Affaires étrangères (AE) Waddington papers 4.

63 Ferry to Waddington, 7 Mar. 1884, AE Waddington papers 4.

64 Courcel to Hadzfeldt, 5 Dec. 1884, Documents diplomatiques français (DDF), first series, v, no. 477; Borchgrave to Stanley, 1 Jan. 1885, cited in Bontinck, État indépendant, p. 267.

65 Note de Jules Ferry sur la proposition Allemande, n.d., DDF, v, no. 376; Robinson and Gallagher, Africa and the Victorians, pp. 170–3; J. Hargreaves, Prelude to the partition of West Africa (London, 1966), pp. 330–7.

66 Stengers, ‘Léopold II et la rivalité franco-anglaise’, pp. 464–76.

67 Bontinck, État indépendant, pp. 248–55.

68 Léopold to Strauch, 10 Sept. 1882, cited in Stengers, ‘Léopold II et la rivalité franco-anglaise’, p. 442; same to same, 14 Sept. 1882, cited in Bruhat, ‘Léopold II’, pp. 85–6; Cornet, Bataille du rail, pp. 36–7.

69 A. Rabaud to Sandford, 29 Dec. 1884, cited in Bontinck, État indépendant, pp. 262–4.

70 Ibid., p. 281. Leopold's agreement with the Manchester Syndicate in December 1885 might seem to contradict this claim. However, a few months later, Leopold set up his own Société d'Études, breaking off contact with the Syndicate. See Cornet, Bataille du rail, pp. 51–79.

71 A. Bernard and N. Lacroix, La pénétration saharienne, 1830–1906 (Algiers, 1906), pp. 53–6, 71–2. The Ouled Sidi Cheikh were in revolt from 1864 and 1883, in addition to the Berber revolt of 1871 in Constantine province.

72 Stengers, J., ‘L'impérialisme colonial de la fin du XIXe siècle: mythe ou réalité’, Journal of African History, 3, (1962), pp. 469–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar at pp. 478–80; Newbury and Kanya-Forstner, ‘French policy and the origins of the scramble’, pp. 269–72. The fullest account of the episode is given in Hargreaves, Prelude, pp. 275–7, 310–13.

73 Projet, enclosed A. Ruiz to MAE, 2 Nov. 1882, AEMD Afrique 59; Brazza to président du conseil, 13 Nov. 1882, and enclosure, ibid.

74 A. Mattei, Bas-Niger, Bénoué, Dahomey (Grenoble, 1890), pp. 53–4. Mattei, agent-general of the Paris-based Compagnie française de l'Afrique équatoriale does not identify the shipping company. But the connection with Le Havre, at the mouth of the Seine, seems a logical one, given that Chargeurs-Réunis was the eventual concesssionary.

75 Hargreaves, Prelude, p. 277; P. Masson, Les Bouches-du-Rhône: encyclopédie départementale (12 vols., Marseilles, 1913), ix, pp. 395–8. The Compagnie du Sénégal et de la Côte occidentale de l'Afrique was owned by C. A. Verminck who had substantial shipping interests. Alternatively, he may have acted as stalking-horse for the Compagnie Fraissinet, which eventually shared the concession with Chargeurs-Réunis.

76 C. de Chavannes, Le Congo français (Paris, 1937). pp. 3–4. Faure was a strong advocate of supporting the French firms and pressed for neutralization of the Niger.

77 Asquaréguy to Duclerc, 11 May 1883, AEMO Afrique 86; Challamel-Lacour to Brun, 29 May 1883, ibid. Duclerc was a director of Paribas, sister bank to the Comptoir d'escompte which had a major interest in Chargeurs-Réunis.

78 MAE to MMC, 10 Jan. 1883, ibid.; MAE to Jauréguiberry, 11 Jan. 1883, ibid., Afrique 84.

79 MMC to MAE, 25 Jan 1885, AEMD, Afrique 86.

80 Courcel to Ferry, 16 Nov. 1884, DDF, v, no. 453; Ferry to Courcel, 30 Nov. 1884, enclosed MAE to MMC, 4 Dec. 1884, ANSOM Afrique vi 43/a; Faure to MAE, 12 Dec. 1884, AEMD Afrique 109; Kanya-Forstner, Conquest of the Western Sudan, pp. 125–8. Ferry was determined not to be drawn into an anti-British alliance on the side of Germany.

81 Kanya-Forstner, Conquest of the Western Sudan, pp. 67–94.

82 Ibid., pp. 115–16; Annales déb. parl. chambre, séance du 3 juillet 1883, pp. 1009–24 (speech of Rouvier); ibid., séance du 1 avril 1884, pp. 966–72 (speech of Peyron).

83 Ganiage, Origines du protectorat, pp. 75–85; Ch. A. Julien, ‘Jules Ferry’, in Renouvin, ed., Les politiques d'expansion impérialiste, pp. 32–9.

84 J. Ganiage, L'expansion coloniale de la France, 1871–1914 (Paris, 1968), pp. 140–4; Lyons to Salisbury, 14 July 1885, cited in T. Newton, Lord Lyons (2 vols., London, 1913), ii, pp. 357–8.

85 Kanya-Forstner, Conquest of the Western Sudan, pp. 113–4, 130–1.

86 Ibid., pp. 132–3, 141–50.

87 J. Gallieni, Deux campagnes au Soudan français (Paris, 1888), pp. 618–33; Etienne to governor of Senegal, 12 Oct. 1887, ANSOM Sénégal iv 90/a bis; same to same, 16 Nov. 1887, ibid. 90/a; Gallieni to Etienne, 10 Feb. 1888, BN n.a.fr. 24327, Etienne papers. Etienne and Rouvier started their commercial careers in Marseille, for which the latter sat as deputy until 1885.

88 Hargreaves, Prelude, passim; note pour le ministre, 11 Apr. 1887, AEMD Afrique 83; note pour le ministre, 26 Mar. 1889, AEMD Afrique 128; Résumé de la situation … après l'aménagement … signé le 10 aoÛt 1889, ibid.

89 Coquery-Vidrovitch, Brazza, pp. 179–85; Brazza to Chavannes, Dec. 1885, BN n.a.fr. 12807, Chavennes papers.

90 Egerton to Salisbury, 11 May 1889, foreign office, confidential print 5979, no. 40; same to same 16 May 1889; ibid., no. 42; war office to FO, received 21 May 1889, ibid., no. 47.