ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the main contours of the image of the local population as seen through the eyes of travelers from the late nineteenth century, and attempts to clarify the concept of ethnicity, as well as to identify the most common themes that emerge in the selected travelogues. It explains the characteristics of various ethnic groups, along with their internal relationships and rivalries. The chapter focuses on ethnographic descriptions –especially the descriptions of the customs and homes of the "Indigenes". It offers an inventory picture, thus providing the reader with an appropriate foundation for understanding the ideological context of the French protectorate. The French protectorate in Tunisia was clearly established and managed in response to the concept of "civilizing mission" – the idea of spreading the culture of the empire by civilizing the native population and integrating the country into the French cultural sphere.
