Why Did France Colonize North Africa?

There were a lot of different cultural, political, social, economic, racial, and military reasons that spurred on France’s motivations to colonize North Africa. More specifically, some of these justifications for colonization were raw materials, fulfilling their duty to civilize the uncivil world, and liberating Arab controlled areas. However, a less than obvious, though just as important reason, was the trading routes that came along with Africa, more notably, what taking control of these trading routes would do to the English. The French and the English had a long-standing rivalry and by France taking hold of England’s trading routes, it would be a good way in taking a step forward in the power struggle that was taking place. Looking at the specific reasons that France had to invade and colonize, it is apparent that most of the reasons, a part from creating a civilization there, had more to do with France than it did with Africa at all. For example, they planned on using Africa in a similar way Britain was using Australia, as a place to put risky people from France to get them …show more content…
However, due to England’s extremely powerful navy force, Napoleon understood “that traversing the English Channel was impossible without control of the sea” (Naylor, 132). Because of this, Napoleon had to look elsewhere in order to defeat England, his “gaze turned toward the East…he decided to attack England indirectly by threatening its trade routes to the eastern Mediterranean and India” (Naylor, 132). Not only that, but Egypt itself, Napoleon considered to be “the most strategic country in the world whose resources and commercial opportunities promised to profit France at the expense of England” (Naylor, 132). Thus the invasion of Egypt took