CHARLES-ROUX (François) – FRANCE AND NORTH AFRICA BEFORE 1830, The pre

CHARLES-ROUX (François)

FRANCE AND NORTH AFRICA BEFORE 1830, The precursors of the conquest, Coll. of the centenary of Algeria 1830-1830

Édition :

Paris

Date :

1932

octavo, paperback, partial uncut, transparent plastic cover, numerous iconographic documents, (spine sunned), good condition, clean interior, 749 p.

"As a skilled diplomat adept at following the threads of the most tangled intrigues, the author recounts the events that sometimes brought the French and Barbary corsairs closer together, but more often drove them apart, and the numerous plans for conquest or simple repression that were presented to the various governments in Paris or Versailles. (...) If we disregard the amusing idea of making the future Henry III a king of Algiers, a vassal of the Grand Seigneur, it was Richelieu who first harbored serious political ambitions regarding North Africa; but his preoccupations in Europe hardly allowed him to pursue them. Under Louis XIV, the failure of the landing at Djidjelli, and, conversely, the results of the harsh lessons inflicted on the Algerians by the squadrons of Duquesne and d'Estrées, seemed to vindicate those who believed they could overcome the corsairs through simple naval operations." This idea, as we know, prevailed for a long time and, on the eve of the conquest, still had its supporters. All of this is recounted by Mr. Charles-Roux with great humor, with a touch of mischief that sometimes spares his colleagues in diplomacy, but at the same time, with a keen sense of history. He shows us that this great event, the capture of Algiers—from which the formation of a French African empire was to emerge—is not, as simplistic minds would have us believe, the result of a sudden, dramatic turn of events, but rather the slow maturation of an idea over the centuries. To study the genesis of an act, he essentially says at the end of his book, is to write the history of an idea. And this echoes what he wrote in the opening pages: “The great events of history, when they have lasting consequences, generally also have distant origins. They are part of a historical evolution, begun long before and continued long after.” The work is illustrated with numerous plates reproducing, for the most part, old drawings, paintings, engravings, and miniatures, some of which are unpublished or little known. These are plans, maps, views of cities or maritime scenes, portraits, types, and genre scenes, which form a lively commentary on the text. The collections of the Marseille Chamber of Commerce, our libraries and museums, and various private collections (including that of the author) provided the materials. They were chosen with as much erudition as taste.” (Guillaume de Jerphanion, Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph, vol. 17/1933, p. 236 et seq.).

Référence : 51869

Mots-clés : Colonial History

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