French Colonial Ideology

874 Words4 Pages
I. The French Colonial Ideology and Identity Discourse. In this chapter, we deal with the colonial ideology as a Key term for understanding the hidden goals behind colonizing Morocco. Mainly, we also discuss the main concept that the French colonial ideology carried, which is identity. So what is the ideology of French colonialism? And how they did use their ideology in order to colonize Morocco? To what extent did identity discourse take place in the French colonial ideology?  The French Colonial Ideology: Michele Foucault, the French philosopher defines ideology as “based on the distinction between true statements about the world (science) and false statements (ideology) and the belief that the world helps us to decide between true and…show more content…
To avoid that, French colonialists conveyed a new strategy special policy of colonization in morocco, as we have already mentioned. Colonizing through knowledge, and using science as a strategic weapon, by adopting the motto “the knowledge is the basis of control” instead of the old idea that was spread “the power is the basis of control”. However, to apply their ideology, French authorities sent “the scientific mission” to Morocco, founded and led by Alfred Le Chatelier. This was an officer and one of the French colonial theorists who said: “We must have in Moroccan borders less and the minimum of gunfire, and the maximum of economic and politic activities”. To achieve this colonial equitation, it is necessary first to intensify scientific research activities, in accordance with the motto: “knowledge is the basis of control”, within this context, French colonial administration insisted that the main goal of scientific activities in Morocco was basically for knowing its affairs and conditions. In other words, they tended to have an effective colonial policy - “peaceful” and “scientific” - with less costs in both sides; materials and human…show more content…
Pursuing its colonial strategy has led French colonialist to create a different establishments including; “the scientific mission”, “the Moroccan institute of advanced studies”, as well as administrative and military institutions such as “civil affairs department”. Furthermore, it is important to mention what has accompanied this scientific infrastructures concerning specialized magazines associated with the same institutional structures, and simply giving form here by French magazine “Africa”, the magazine “Islamic world” which has been founded by the leader of scientific mission Alfred Le Chatelier, “Archives of barbarism” and “Moroccan archives” in addition to the series “cities and tribes of Morocco” and the list goes

More about French Colonial Ideology

Open Document