Defining the French Empire: Memory, Politics, and National Identity, 1860-1900
Journal: Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Year: 2019

This dissertation explores the debates waged over the meaning and value of “empire” in Second Empire and Third Republic France. More specifically, I examine the shifting role played by “Napoleonic” or “continental” imperial models in the contested construction of France’s expansive colonial empire. I argue that for much of this period, French writers and politicians saw continental and colonial empire as related political formations. I employ a range of sources, including government policies, ne