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THE AHMANSON FOUNDATION has endowed this imprint to honor the memory of
FRANKLIN D. MURPHY who for half a century served arts and letters, beauty and learning, in equal measure by shaping with a brilliant devotion those institutions upon which they rely.
Divided Rule
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Ahmanson Foundation Humanities Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Foundation.
Divided Rule
SOVEREIGNTY AND EMPIRE IN
FRENCH TUNISIA, 1881–1938
Mary Dewhurst Lewis
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
BERKELEYLOS ANGELESLONDON
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2014 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lewis, Mary Dewhurst.
Divided rule : sovereignty and empire in French Tunisia, 1881–1938 / Mary Dewhurst Lewis.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-520-27915-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
eISBN 9780520957145
1. Tunisia—History—French occupation, 1881–1956.2. Tunisia—Politics and government—1881–1956.3. France—Colonies—Africa, North—History.I. Title.
DT264.L352013
961.104—dc23
2013018465
Manufactured in the United States of America
23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures Natural, a fiber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
For Peter
CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments
Note on Arabic Spelling
Introduction
1 • Tunisia in the Imperial Mediterranean
2 • Ending Extraterritoriality?
3 • The Politics of Protection
4 • Contested Terrain
5 • Over Our Dead Bodies
Conclusion and Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
When I first started working on this book, people would sometimes ask me where Tunisia was. No one does that anymore, since the remarkable revolution of 2011 showed the world not only where Tunisia is but also what Tunisians are capable of. This book is not the story of the unexpected overthrow that year of Tunisia’s autocratic leader, Zine el-Abidine ben Ali, but rather of a much slower process of governmental change: the transformation of what was supposed to be an “indirect” form of colonial rule, whereby France would rule through the local sovereign and his institutions, into a much more invasive form of colonial governance barely distinguishable from the direct rule that prevailed in many other parts of the French Empire. I deliberately try to tell this story from multiple angles: from the supposedly “high” level of international power politics to the more quotidian power struggles of everyday life experienced by individuals. Telling the story this way requires tacking back and forth between many different sorts of sources and also reading them differently. Thus, I use many “diplomatic” archives, but I don’t read them only for what they tell me about international relations in the traditional sense. Instead, I read them alongside local documents—from courts, taxation authorities, and conscription offices, among others. This method allows us to reconstitute the actions of the Tunisian people—even when their voices were not recorded—as well as the actions of those who endeavored to control them. Reading these disparate sources together allows a new picture of colonial rule to emerge—one where domestic governance and international relations are intimately intertwined in ways not hitherto appreciated.
Using so many different sources, I have incurred many debts in researching this book. At the Tunisian National Archives, I am grateful to the director, Henda Ammar, and her staff, particularly Amma, for assistance in a project that at first surprised them. Research in Tunisia also was greatly facilitated by the assistance of the Centre des Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT) and by the then-director, Jim Miller, and associate director, Riadh Saadaoui. Béchir Yazidi, Leila Blili, Tom DeGeorges, and my sister-in-law Helen Sanders also offered invaluable advice about navigating Tunisia’s archives, libraries, and landscapes. In France and Italy, the following archivists, scholars, and librarians also provided precious aid: Damien Heurtebise at the Centre des Archives Diplomatiques de Nantes; Fabrizio Alberti at the Museo Centrale del Risorgimento a Roma; Mariapina Di Simone at the Archivio Centrale dello Stato in Rome; Stefania Ruggeri and Signor Pinacchio at the archives of the Ministero degli Affari Esteri in Rome; and the amiable staff in the ministry’s library, all of whom helped me gain access to records that were in the process of relocation. Colonel Frédéric Guelton at the Service Historique de la Défense in Vincennes helped secure access to records for me and a research assistant, Miranda Richmond Mouillot. In the United Kingdom, the National Archives (former PRO) are so well organized that I did not need help from anyone in particular. Current and former Harvard students who have provided research assistance and/or insight on the project include, in addition to Miranda: Ali Asgar Alibhai, Mathieu Bouchard, Dzavid Dzanic, Liora Halperin, May Khoury, Dana Lindaman, Sarah McIntosh, Iliana Montauk, Holly Redmond, Devony Schmidt, Guillaume Wadia, and Skye Weinberger. Ali Asgar Alibhai’s assistance in translating Arabic into English was particularly invaluable, especially as he did not just “translate” but also asked probing questions about what he was translating; his inquisitiveness has improved this book. For assistance in securing permissions to reprint images, I would
