The Price of Violence: Money, the French State, and "Civilization" during the Conquest of Algeria, 1830s-1850s.

IMPERIALISM; FRENCH Expedition to Algeria, 1830; MONEY; COMMAND of troops; VIOLENCE

Much of the nature of French imperialism in Algeria can be explained through an analysis of its financial underpinnings, a subject generally neglected by historians. This article recounts the creation of a colonial fiscal system during the period of the French conquest of Algeria from the 1830s to the 1850s. It argues that money played a decisive role in shaping relations between metropolitan officials and the military leaders who comprised the "men on the spot." While the French presence in Algeria was to an extent rationalized in terms of imparting "civilization," the need for money exacerbated the army's tendency to rule through violence. This brutality alienated metropolitan elites, pushing the government to exert greater control over Algerian affairs. Here, money provided crucial leverage, given Algeria's financial dependence on the metropole. In this manner, finance decisively shaped the formation of the French state in Algeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]