Ferry, Jules François Camille

Ferry, Jules François Camille
(1832–1893)
   French politician and colonial theorist who, during his two terms as prime minister, initiated major educational reforms and oversaw a significant expansion of the French overseas empire. After brief stints as a lawyer and a liberal Republican journalist known for his critiques of the Second Empire, Ferry entered politics and was elected to the French National Assembly in 1869. Following the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, he became head of the Republican Left and from 1879–85 held a variety of ministerial posts in the new Third Republic. Although initially more interested in domestic policy, in the wake of the Battle of Sedan Ferry became convinced that France needed to obtain colonies to maintain her status as a great power and compete effectively in the growing international economy. In exchange for new markets and guaranteed sources of raw materials, Ferry argued that France in turn had a moral obligation, dubbed the mission civilisatrice , to uplift the indigenous peoples of colonized areas by exposing them to French culture, education, industry, and a Western work ethic. These principles became the cornerstone of French colonial policy until the end of World War II.
   During his first term as prime minister from September 1880 to November 1881, Ferry supported Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza ’s efforts to establish a protectorate in the French Congo and authorized the French acquisition of Tunisia as a preemptive measure to forestall its annexation by Italy. This measure and its associated expenses proved unpopular and led to the downfall of his first government. In his second term as prime minister, running from February 1883 to March 1885, Ferry served simultaneously as foreign minister and became increasingly involved in colonial policymaking. In 1884, increasing international tensions provoked by German, Belgian and French colonial expansion in Africa led Ferry to join forces with Otto von Bismarck in arranging the Conference of Berlin, which set ground rules for the acquisition of additional colonies, thereby unleashing the Scramble for Africa. Early the next year, Ferry expanded the existing French protectorate in Madagascar at the behest of colonial interest groups. In addition to authorizing colonial expansion in Africa, Ferry also oversaw the growth of French holdings in Indochina. Eager to undo the damage caused to French prestige by two earlier failed ventures in the region, in 1883 Ferry dispatched a military expedition to create protectorates over Annam and Tonkin. Confused reports over temporary military setbacks in Tonkin became a lightning rod for anticolonial sentiment and toppled his second government in 1885. Despite this political setback, Ferry was elected to the Senate in 1891 and became its president less than a month before his 1893 assassination by a religious fanatic.
   See also <>; <>; <>; <>; <>.
   FURTHER READING:
    Cooke, James J. The New French Imperialism, 1880-1910: The Third Republic and Colonial Expansion. Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1973;
    Gaillard, Jean-Michel. Jules Ferry. Paris: Fayard, 1989;
    Power, Thomas F. Jules Ferry and the Renaissance of French Imperialism. New York: King’s Crown Press, 1944;
    Wesseling, H. L. The European Colonial Empires 1815-1919. New York: Pearson Education, 2004.
   KENNETH J. OROSZ

Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914. 2014.

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  • Ferry, Jules (-François-Camille) — (5 abr. 1832, Saint Dié, Francia–17 mar. 1893, París). Político francés. Ocupó diversos cargos a principios de la Tercera República, entre ellos, el de alcalde de París (1870) y el de primer ministro de Francia (1880–81, 1883–85). Su gobierno… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ferry, Jules (-François-Camille) — born April 5, 1832, Saint Dié, France died March 17, 1893, Paris French politician. He held a number of offices in the early Third Republic, including mayor of Paris (1870) and premier of France (1880–81, 1883–85). His government established free …   Universalium

  • FERRY, JULES FRANÇOIS CAMILLE —    a distinguished French statesman, born at Saint Dié, in the Vosges; called to the Paris bar in 1854, he speedily plunged into the politics of the time, and offered uncompromising opposition to the party of Louis Napoleon; as a member of the… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Ferry, Jules — (1832 1893)    statesman    A premier of France, Jules François Camille Ferry, or Jules Ferry, as he is known, was born in Saint Dié and began practicing law when he was 19. Extensive travel throughout Europe, however, led him to journalism. In… …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Camille — [kə mil′əkə mēl′; ] Fr [ kȧ mē′y ] n. 〚Fr < L camilla, virgin of unblemished character〛 a feminine name: also Camilla [kə mil′ə] * * * (as used in expressions) Brazza Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Chamoun Camille Nimer Chautemps …   Universalium

  • François — (as used in expressions) Jean François Gravelet François Marie Arouet Babeuf François Noë l Barras Paul François Jean Nicolas viscount de Bichat Marie François Xavier Blanchard Jean Pierre François Boieldieu François Adrien Boucher François… …   Universalium

  • François — (as used in expressions) Babeuf, François Noë l Barras, Paul François Jean Nicolas, vizconde de Bichat, (Marie François) Xavier Blanchard, Jean Pierre François Jean François Gravelet Boieldieu, (François) Adrien Boucher, François Brazza, Pierre… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Camille — (as used in expressions) Brazza, Pierre (Paul François Camille) Savorgnan de Chamoun, Camille (Nimer) Chautemps, Camille Claudel, Camille (Rosalie) Corot, (Jean Baptiste) Camille Desmoulins, (Lucie Simplice) Camille (Benoist) Ferry, Jules… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Jules — /joohlz/; Fr. /zhyuul/, n. a male given name, French form of Julius. * * * (as used in expressions) Ayer Sir Alfred Jules Bordet Jules Jean Baptiste–Vincent Dubos René Jules Dumont d Urville Jules Sébastien César Feiffer Jules Ferry Jules… …   Universalium

  • Jules — (as used in expressions) Ayer, Sir A(lfred) J(ules) Bordet, Jules (Jean Baptiste Vincent) Dubos, René (Jules) Dumont d Urville, Jules (Sébastien César) Feiffer, Jules Ferry, Jules (François Camille) Feydeau, Georges (Léon Jules Marie) Goncourt,… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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