Prologue to imperialism :

Abstract

A subsidiary theme in this work concerns the relationship of the Geographical Society of Paris with the expansionists. The Society became a kind of clearinghouse for various views and publications, and it furnished a "secure" forum for expansionist-minded men who ranked high in the government.

This study was concerned with a number of significant expeditions which occurred during the reign of Louis-Philippe (1830-1848), and their relationship with early nineteenth-century French expansionism.

During the July Monarchy, French foreign policy finally coalesced into one of fitful expansionism, a policy which the British oftentimes thwarted. A wide variety of people and institutions created the French policy, but any gains were principally the project of the efforts of explorers and the leaders of scientific expeditions who were zealous in the prestige of France and in furthering their own careers.

In conclusion, much of the primary focus of this dissertation consists of a synthesization of the motives, actions, and accomplishments of French explorers and expansionists who acted with, and without, the approval of the French Foreign Office. Prior to this work, no comprehensive analysis of scientific voyages, expeditions and early French expansionism has been published.