JULES FERRY ON FRANCE ECONOMY 5
JulesFerry on France Economy: Imperialism
JulesFerry on France Economy: Imperialism
Accordingto the remarks of the 1880-1881 France Prime Minister Jules Ferry,imperialism is essential in the economy of European countries,especially France. The paper, therefore, focuses on Jules Ferry’sdebate with the member of French Parliament in which such matters asthe development of world trade that forced France to have colonies,and Ferry’s non-economic reasons for imperialism were covered.Besides, the paper provides several anti-imperialist arguments byFerry’s critics and the counter-arguments that Ferry used againstsuch skeptics.
Developmentsin World Trade that Compelled France into Having Colonies
Inthe early development of world trade, the French partnered withcountries such as Tunisia and Indochina, where it highly criticizedpolicies that did not favor social development and conservativeleadership approaches (Hammond,2011).However, according to JulesFerry, (1884), mostcountries, especially Britain and Germany, used the platform of worldtrade to enhance their colonial expansion through economic prowess,civilization, and patriotism. France realized that its hugeindustries lacked market bases to export raw materials and that madeit embark on colonization to cope with the high demands of the worldtrade. Precisely, France realized that they lacked avenues forexportation since the nearest economic hub, which was Germany, hadnumerous barriers caused by the United States through treaties thatdid not favor free trade.
Anti-ImperialistArguments by Ferry’s Critics and Ferry’s Counter-Argument
Hammond(2011) arguedthat in the mid of the nineteenth century, countries like England,Germany, and France exported a lot of capital, and had a significantamount of financial gains which overshadowed the money they lent thedeveloping nations. Besides, Ferry‘s claims on the plight of Franceface criticism based on the fact that British exported its capital toforeign countries before 1895, proving that there was considerablemoney in the nation. Another assertion by Jules Ferry that facedcensure was that France had plenty of goods to export, forcing it tocolonize various countries in African. In tandem with that, criticsposited that most of the income of France went to affiliate nationssuch as Spain, Egypt, Rumania, and Russia rather than the colonies.Moreover, in the year 1902, France had approximately 35 billionfrancs foreign investment, but only 2 billion went to the colonizedcountries (Hammond,2011).On the other hand, Jules Ferry counter-argued that the Europeannations were superior races it had the capacity to civilize otherlesser races. Regarding that remark, critics commented that such aperspective seemed to advocate for slavery. Nevertheless, Ferrycountered his critics by claiming that the European countries,including France, had a task of bolstering generosity and sincerityas a fundamental aspect of civilization strategies.
Ferry’sNon-Economic Arguments for Imperialism
Themain non-economic reasons that Jules Ferry (1884) utilized to justifyimperialism included the demand for shelter, the ports to defend theterritories of France, as well as the requirement of boats for safeharboring. In any case, it was necessary for France to expand itsports to enhance its ability to transport coal, which was a vitalresource in ensuring that there was cheap energy. Besides, thecountry needed warships which could freely dock in the high sea,thus, calling for the need of imperialism to maintain the extra costsof the ships(Hammond, 2011).
Conclusion
. France realized that huge industries lacked market bases to exportraw materials, and that made it embark on colonization to cope upwith the high demands of the world trade. Arguably, the countryincreased market bases by colonizing various nations, especiallythose in Africa, but other factors such as power struggle and slavetrade also prompted France to scramble for colonies.
References
Hammond,R. J. (2011). Economic imperialism: Sidelights on a stereotype. TheJournal of Economic History,21(04),582-598.
JulesFerry: On French Colonial Expansion (1884).Thelatinlibrary.com.Retrieved 6 January 2017, fromhttp://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/readings/ferry.html
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