Abstract
During the 1830s and 1840s the future of France’s new colony in Algeria became Tocqueville’s chief preoccupation in politics. At first confident that settlers from Europe would mix with the natives of Algeria, eventually he lost his belief in an integrated colonial society. Yet he never abandoned his opinion that France must consolidate its hold over Algeria for reasons of strategy and international reputation. He deplored the pre-eminence of military men over the political affairs of the young colony but accepted and even praised their manner of waging war against the Algerian people. Nostalgia motivated Tocqueville’s enthusiasm for empire, but contemporary influences shaped his views on the policies his country should adopt for the conquest and colonization of Algeria.
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