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La Tenebreuse Histoire de la Prise d'Alger by Pierre ServalReview by: Salvatore BonoThe International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 15, No. 3 (1982), pp. 559-560Published by: Boston University African Studies CenterStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/218187 .

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BOOK REVIEWS 559 BOOK REVIEWS 559

adequate reference to Anglophone and Lusophone Africa. Similarly, the French-speaking Arab states in North Africa and Francophone Madagascar are hardly mentioned It is, of course, not expected that Suret-Canale's primary research effort should cover the entire con- tinent; but the title of the present book based solely on material derived from such a limited area should reflect the regional charac- ter of the actual contexts.

Finally, there is the obvious fact of an extremely circumscribed documentation. In spite of the evidence, provided by the notes and references at the end of each chapter, that the author has attempted to update and broaden some of the old material, it is too obvious that the French sources have been used almost to the virtual neglect of parallel and sometimes better source material in other languages, especially English. One example is the grave omission in Chapter 3 of any reference to Philip Curtin's Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census and the fascinating scholarly dispute generated by Joe Inikori's review of the book, published in the Journal of African History in 1976 and 1977. It is also surprising that Suret-Canale did not show evidence of any awareness of Claude Ake's Revolutionary Pressures in .Africa based on the same assumption of a logical connection between African objective conditions and the occurence of socialist revolu- tion, as has inspired Suret-Canale's observation that "une inddpen- dence authentique, dconomique aussi bien que politique, r6pondant aux dxigences de la dignitd Africaine, n'est possible que dans une alternative socialiste" (p. 249)o The obstacles in the way of such a revolution in most African States are enumerated (pp. 250-254) in more or less the same order as contained in Claude Ake's analysis of the same problem, namely the internal forces of conservatism, including particularly what Ake has called "the Colonial inheritance elite," on the one hand; and, on the other, the continuous interest of excolonial powers in maintaining the status quo. Ake's study is based as much on Anglophone tropical African experience as Suret- Canale's is on the Francophone counterpart. An awareness of Claude Ake's work would have helped to broaden the empirical base of Suret- Canale's study, making it possible for generalizations to be drawn more confidently.

In spite of these criticisms, however, Essais d'Histoire Afri_ eaine must be considered a worthwhile effort. It has pooled into one handy volume the diverse contributions of one of the most prolific Africanists of our time. The book will remian the best means of measuring Suret-Canale's contribution to colonial African historio- graphy.

A. I. ASIWAJU

University of Lagos

LA TENEBREUSE HISTOIRE DE LA PRISE D'ALGER. By Pierre Serval Paris: La Table Ronde, 1980. Pp. 313.

The events which followed the military success of 1830 are in sharp contrast with the motives and intentions which led France to the conquest of Algiers, as the Algerian hinterland's resistance soon raised questions as to the advisability of maintaining occupation

adequate reference to Anglophone and Lusophone Africa. Similarly, the French-speaking Arab states in North Africa and Francophone Madagascar are hardly mentioned It is, of course, not expected that Suret-Canale's primary research effort should cover the entire con- tinent; but the title of the present book based solely on material derived from such a limited area should reflect the regional charac- ter of the actual contexts.

Finally, there is the obvious fact of an extremely circumscribed documentation. In spite of the evidence, provided by the notes and references at the end of each chapter, that the author has attempted to update and broaden some of the old material, it is too obvious that the French sources have been used almost to the virtual neglect of parallel and sometimes better source material in other languages, especially English. One example is the grave omission in Chapter 3 of any reference to Philip Curtin's Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census and the fascinating scholarly dispute generated by Joe Inikori's review of the book, published in the Journal of African History in 1976 and 1977. It is also surprising that Suret-Canale did not show evidence of any awareness of Claude Ake's Revolutionary Pressures in .Africa based on the same assumption of a logical connection between African objective conditions and the occurence of socialist revolu- tion, as has inspired Suret-Canale's observation that "une inddpen- dence authentique, dconomique aussi bien que politique, r6pondant aux dxigences de la dignitd Africaine, n'est possible que dans une alternative socialiste" (p. 249)o The obstacles in the way of such a revolution in most African States are enumerated (pp. 250-254) in more or less the same order as contained in Claude Ake's analysis of the same problem, namely the internal forces of conservatism, including particularly what Ake has called "the Colonial inheritance elite," on the one hand; and, on the other, the continuous interest of excolonial powers in maintaining the status quo. Ake's study is based as much on Anglophone tropical African experience as Suret- Canale's is on the Francophone counterpart. An awareness of Claude Ake's work would have helped to broaden the empirical base of Suret- Canale's study, making it possible for generalizations to be drawn more confidently.

In spite of these criticisms, however, Essais d'Histoire Afri_ eaine must be considered a worthwhile effort. It has pooled into one handy volume the diverse contributions of one of the most prolific Africanists of our time. The book will remian the best means of measuring Suret-Canale's contribution to colonial African historio- graphy.

A. I. ASIWAJU

University of Lagos

LA TENEBREUSE HISTOIRE DE LA PRISE D'ALGER. By Pierre Serval Paris: La Table Ronde, 1980. Pp. 313.

The events which followed the military success of 1830 are in sharp contrast with the motives and intentions which led France to the conquest of Algiers, as the Algerian hinterland's resistance soon raised questions as to the advisability of maintaining occupation

This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Thu, 8 May 2014 21:44:09 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

560 IJAHS 15, 3 (1982) 560 IJAHS 15, 3 (1982)

and to the extent to which direct domination should be pushed. Unlike the author of this umpteenth account of the "prise d'Alger," the present reviewer feels there is nothing "tendbreux" about the events which led the Algerian Maghreb to its dramatic, thirty-year long period of close association with France. The Algerian expedition was planned in order to divert French public attention from internal problems and to enhance the prestige of Charles X's reactionary regime and Polignac's Cabinet. The occasion was found in the same long-standing financial dispute which had led, a few years previ- ously, to the diplomatic incident known as the "fan stroke."

The events are related in a colloquial style which often seems more appropriate to a historical novel than to an essay in historio- graphy. The spotlight is on the character and deeds of the Count de Bourmont who led the expedition, as the author had the opportunity of perusing the Count's private papers in the family Chateau. This enabled him, as a matter of fact, to cast new light on a number of points, although the book contains no detailed reference to the documents in question or other sources. The bibliography, in fact, does not mention such fundamental works as G. Esquer, Les commence- ments d'un empire, la prise d'AZger, 1830 (Paris, 1929) or even Ch. A. Julien, Histoire de Z' Algrie contemporaine. La conquete et les debuts de la colonisation, 1827-1871 (Paris, 1964).

SALVATORE BONO

Perugia University

GLI ITALIANI IN AFRICA ORIENTALE: LA CONQUISTA DELL' IMPERO. By Angelo Del Boca. Rome: Laterza, 1979. Pp. 784. Lire 20,000.

MUSSOLINI E LA CONQUISTA DELL' ETIOPIA. By Renato Mori, Florence: Le Monnier, 1978. Pp. 330. Lire 8,000.

IL SOCIALISMO INTERNAZIONALE E LA GUERRA D' ETIOPIA. By Giuliano Procacci, Rome: Editori Riuniti, 1978. Pp. 319. Lire 5,200.

Italy occupies tenth place in the world of publishing.1 Recently its press has dedicated a reasonable amount of attention to Italian colonialism,2 and the three monographs under review are some of

lItaly, Presidency of Council of Ministers, Italy: Documents and Notes, 29:7 (1980), 31-47; Publishers Weekly, 216:21 (19 November 1979), 25-50.

2Renzo De Felice, Mussolini iZ Duce: Gli Anni del Consenso (Turin, 1974); G. Rochat, IZ CoZoniaZismo Itatiano (Turin, 1974); Primo Congresso NazionaZe di Scienze Storiche: Perugia (Milan, 1970); G. Rochat, Militari e PoZitici neZZlla Preparazione della Con- quista d'Etiopia (Milan, 1971); Giuseppe Vedovato, Studi Africani ed Asiatici, vols. I-IV (Florence, 1964-1976); Guiseppe Maione, L'ImperiaZismo Straccione (Bologna, 1979); A. Bongiovanni, La Fine dell'Impero: Africa Orientale (Milan, 1974); C. Poggiali, Diario AOI (Milan, 1971); Franco Bandin, GCi Italiani in Africa (Milan, 1971); Manfred Funke, Sanzioni e Cannoni (Milan, 1972); Giglio Carlo and E. Ladolini, Guida delle Fon- ti per Za Storia dell'Africa a Sud del Sahara Esistenti in ItaZia (Zug, 1973); Romain Rainero, L'Anticolonialismo Italiano da Assab ad Adua (Milan, 1971); Carlo Zaghi, L'Africa neZZlla Coscienza Europea e l'Imperialismo ItaZiano (Naples, 1973); A. Sbacchi, Il CoZoniaZismo Italiano in Etiopia (Milan, 1980); C. Segre, L'ItaZia in Libia (Milan, 1978); G. Rossi, L'Africa ItaZiana Verso L'Indipendenza (Milan, 1978); G. Buccianti, L'Egemonia SuZZ' Etiopia (Milan, 1977).

and to the extent to which direct domination should be pushed. Unlike the author of this umpteenth account of the "prise d'Alger," the present reviewer feels there is nothing "tendbreux" about the events which led the Algerian Maghreb to its dramatic, thirty-year long period of close association with France. The Algerian expedition was planned in order to divert French public attention from internal problems and to enhance the prestige of Charles X's reactionary regime and Polignac's Cabinet. The occasion was found in the same long-standing financial dispute which had led, a few years previ- ously, to the diplomatic incident known as the "fan stroke."

The events are related in a colloquial style which often seems more appropriate to a historical novel than to an essay in historio- graphy. The spotlight is on the character and deeds of the Count de Bourmont who led the expedition, as the author had the opportunity of perusing the Count's private papers in the family Chateau. This enabled him, as a matter of fact, to cast new light on a number of points, although the book contains no detailed reference to the documents in question or other sources. The bibliography, in fact, does not mention such fundamental works as G. Esquer, Les commence- ments d'un empire, la prise d'AZger, 1830 (Paris, 1929) or even Ch. A. Julien, Histoire de Z' Algrie contemporaine. La conquete et les debuts de la colonisation, 1827-1871 (Paris, 1964).

SALVATORE BONO

Perugia University

GLI ITALIANI IN AFRICA ORIENTALE: LA CONQUISTA DELL' IMPERO. By Angelo Del Boca. Rome: Laterza, 1979. Pp. 784. Lire 20,000.

MUSSOLINI E LA CONQUISTA DELL' ETIOPIA. By Renato Mori, Florence: Le Monnier, 1978. Pp. 330. Lire 8,000.

IL SOCIALISMO INTERNAZIONALE E LA GUERRA D' ETIOPIA. By Giuliano Procacci, Rome: Editori Riuniti, 1978. Pp. 319. Lire 5,200.

Italy occupies tenth place in the world of publishing.1 Recently its press has dedicated a reasonable amount of attention to Italian colonialism,2 and the three monographs under review are some of

lItaly, Presidency of Council of Ministers, Italy: Documents and Notes, 29:7 (1980), 31-47; Publishers Weekly, 216:21 (19 November 1979), 25-50.

2Renzo De Felice, Mussolini iZ Duce: Gli Anni del Consenso (Turin, 1974); G. Rochat, IZ CoZoniaZismo Itatiano (Turin, 1974); Primo Congresso NazionaZe di Scienze Storiche: Perugia (Milan, 1970); G. Rochat, Militari e PoZitici neZZlla Preparazione della Con- quista d'Etiopia (Milan, 1971); Giuseppe Vedovato, Studi Africani ed Asiatici, vols. I-IV (Florence, 1964-1976); Guiseppe Maione, L'ImperiaZismo Straccione (Bologna, 1979); A. Bongiovanni, La Fine dell'Impero: Africa Orientale (Milan, 1974); C. Poggiali, Diario AOI (Milan, 1971); Franco Bandin, GCi Italiani in Africa (Milan, 1971); Manfred Funke, Sanzioni e Cannoni (Milan, 1972); Giglio Carlo and E. Ladolini, Guida delle Fon- ti per Za Storia dell'Africa a Sud del Sahara Esistenti in ItaZia (Zug, 1973); Romain Rainero, L'Anticolonialismo Italiano da Assab ad Adua (Milan, 1971); Carlo Zaghi, L'Africa neZZlla Coscienza Europea e l'Imperialismo ItaZiano (Naples, 1973); A. Sbacchi, Il CoZoniaZismo Italiano in Etiopia (Milan, 1980); C. Segre, L'ItaZia in Libia (Milan, 1978); G. Rossi, L'Africa ItaZiana Verso L'Indipendenza (Milan, 1978); G. Buccianti, L'Egemonia SuZZ' Etiopia (Milan, 1977).

This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Thu, 8 May 2014 21:44:09 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions