French and English Methods of Colonial Expansion in the Maghreb on the Example of the Franco-Moroccan Crisis of the Late 1840s — Early 1850s

Abstract

The article is devoted to the Franco-Moroccan crisis of the late 1840s — early 1850s, in which Great Britain was directly involved. This historical event is not covered at all in Russian/Soviet historiography and only in the few works of French and English scientists. The research is based on the study of published documents of archives and works of historians of France and Great Britain of the late 19th — early 20th centuries — the heyday of European colonial empires. The analysis of the causes, course and consequences of the crisis allows the author to compare the methods of colonial expansion used by France and Great Britain when creating their colonial empires in the 19th century. The article shows that both European empires were interested in subjugating the sultanate, but if France sought to include Morocco in its colonial empire, then Britain, using economic and political pressure, gradually turned the North African country into its obedient puppet. The author concludes that Morocco's loss of independence was only a matter of time — when France and Britain could agree on the terms of this seizure. Thus, the fact that the sultanate of Morocco remained independent throughout the 19th century was explained by the conflicting interests of European empires in this region, and not by the success of the policy of the authorities of this country.