Ferry Arguments Against Colonial Expansion

Ferry states several reasons for why France needs to urgently create colonies. His main and first point for expansion was purely economic. He initially states that France’s industrial advancement is one of the more important reasons for expansion. Mainly because he believes by creating colonies it will open new avenues, specifically markets for which products of industrialized France can then push their products into. This necessity for generating export markets for their products arose primarily due to the trade treaties of 1860-1861. He then points out that Germany and the United States of America has been creating restrictions on their trading limiting what used to very expansive and lubricative trading markets. To further cement his argument,

In the article given Ferry doesn’t spend too much time addressing all the arguments, he chose specifically to explain why as a race that they should have control over others. It seems to me based on the article given that the argument of his critics is “how can Frenchmen, people who fought for the rights of all men impose their will on others for the sake of expanding trading markets?” In simple words, I believe the critics viewed French colonial expansion as an action which would justify slavery and the slave trade. He responds to his critics by saying that people of “superior races” have the right to impose their will over the “inferior races” because it is the “duty” of the “superior race”. In this case, the “superior race” being the French. However, he does not support slavery, he makes sure not to. Ferry takes the time to indicate that these duties of the “superior race” have often been misinterpreted. Following his comments on superior and inferior races he highlights the Spanish. He strengthens his response to the critics by saying that the Spanish failed in their duties of being a “superior race” when they introduced slavery into Central America. Essentially, Ferry is arguing that French colonial expansion should not entail slavery but spreading wealth, generosity,