Resurrecting the Granary of Rome: Environmental History and French Colonial Expansion in North Africa

4: The Triumph of the Narrative, 1870‒1918

CH A P T E R 4 The Triumph of the Narrative, 1870‒1918 THE FALL OF NAPOLÉON III’S SECOND EMPIRE thrilled the settlers and the civilian administration in Algeria. The Third Republic that was born in France in 1870 was very supportive of the settlers and their goals. The new French government helped to crush the Algerian Insurrection of 1871–72 and allowed the subsequent repression of the Algerians. In the words of an eminent French historian, “the French of Algeria henceforth imposed their will almost without opposition.”1 Under the Third Republic settler power grew, capitalist agricultural production spread, and the Algerians experienced further losses of property and resources. The declensionist environmental narrative that had matured during the Second Empire triumphed with the settlers, many of whom wielded it as a tool for implementing change. This colonial narrative was used, for example, by Auguste Warnier to justify the 1873 property law named after him as well as the 1887 law that subsequently modified it. Others invoked the narrative when arguing for instituting private property and sedentarizing nomads . It was also employed extensively by many associated with forestry in Davis.89-130 5/25/07 10:16 AM Page 89 the colony, especially those involved in lobbying for changes in the forestry laws and for reforestation. It was used widely to promote the planting of eucalyptus, a tree introduced from Australia that some thought would bring wealth and rain to Algeria. Paulin Trolard, a physician and influential colonist, used the narrative along with many settlers and foresters to lobby for significant changes in the laws related to forestry in the colony. It thus facilitated, and was partially incorporated into, the 1903 Algerian Forest Code. During this period, the narrative also began to influence the science of botany in Algeria, although it would not be widely embraced by botanists and ecologists until after World War I. TheThird Republic, Insurrection, and Algeria Assimilated to France The Second Empire fell on 4 September 1870, to the delight of the French in Algeria, when Napoléon III capitulated two months after having declared war on Prussia and two days after being captured at the Battle of Sedan. Within days a provisional government was established in Paris and a republic declared. Paris remained under siege, however, until January 1871. Elections were held despite this, and a government was assembled within months. Although the war with Prussia officially ended that spring, an uprising, the Paris Commune, turned Paris once again into a battleground. The “insurrection turned revolution” was brutally crushed by the new government headed by Adolphe Thiers. The number of dead among the revolutionaries (communards) is estimated to have been between ten and thirty thousand.2 Over the next several years different parties jockeyed for power, and though many wanted to reestablish a monarchy , the republic was maintained. By 1875, the Third Republic was firmly established with the passage of its constitutional laws; it would remain in place until World War II. During this period, little progressive social legislation was passed in France and the gap between the rich and the poor continued to grow, fueling discontent among the lower classes. The Third Republic did introduce secular education, and in 1882 free and compulsory primary schooling was established under Prime Minister Jules Ferry.3 The relatively prosperous early 1870s gave way to economic depression in the late 1870s, and economic depression plagued France and much of Europe for the next two decades. During the 1880s protective customs tariffs were reintroduced in an effort to support French producers. For the most part, however, the government maintained the status quo and privileged property owners over other members of French society.4 90 | Resurrecting the Granary of Rome Davis.89-130 5/25/07 10:16 AM Page 90 Under the terms of the Treaty of Frankfurt (10 May 1871), the recently declared German Empire annexed the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, and France paid a war indemnity of five billion francs.5 For the next several decades France would be preoccupied with Germany. Many believed that in addition to securing its borders against Germany, France needed to raise its birth rate to compete demographically. Some saw expansion overseas as a way to increase the size, power, and population of France and thereby keep Germany and other European rivals in check. Many also believed that...