ABSTRACT
THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION OF TUNISIA UNDER THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE
From the beginning of the eighteenth century, Tunisia began to participate increasingly in the emergent mercantile capitalism of the Mediterranean basin. The ruling family and the grande bourgeoisie of the city of Tunis were the main beneficiaries of this trade. Here it must be said that the use of the term bourgeoisie must remain problematic in the context of an essentialy pre-capitalist society, In this chapter the term grande bourgeoisie designates a narrow urban stratum deriving its surplus from rent. tenure and foreign trade. In the nineteenth century this grande bourgeoisie was strong enough to force the enactment of political reforms, including the introduction of a liberal constitution in 1861 and radical reforms in the judicial, educational administrative systems (1). These reforms were generally directed towards the liberalisation of politics and the economy to facilitate their greater integration into wider economic relationships, especially with France. They were also intended to make the state apparatus a more efficient instrument to bring about the necessary political and economic 'modernisation' (2l. The result of this policy was that the state incurred substantial foreign debts, a trend which was given added impetus by the activities of European finance capital in the region as a whole (3), which led eventually to military occupation by the main creditor, France, and the creation of
the Protectorate under the treaties of 1881 and 1883, For !tIe Tunisian grande bourgeoisie. the occupation meant the
loss of its economic and political power, As well as seeking to exploit the country's raw materials (particularly phosphates. iron. llnc. and lead) and to develop agricultural colonisation with the assistance of French finance houses. France also sought to control the country's foreign trade and administrative apparatus (4), The achievement of the two latter objectives struck at the jugular vein of the grande bourgeoisie which had initially come forward as the ally of France. with its pro .. French attitudes and its identification with the norms and values of the colonial power (5), In contrast. the petty bourgeoisie. the Beylical administrators. small traders from the Sahel and Jerba. and the richer farmers from the Sahel saw that the new educational system provided an opportunity for the social advancement of themselves and their families. and sent their sons to French or Franco'-Arab schools,
I,~e PoliCy of the Neo-Destour Party in Colonial Tunisia Disappointed with the protecting power. which had failed to respond to their political and ideological overtures while simultaneously ruining their economic base. the grande bourgeoisie began to develop nationalist ideas, After the First World War. nationalist forces joined together in the Destour (Constitution) Party. The choice of this name for the party underlined its main political objective. a return to the fundamental principles of the Tunisian constitution of 1861,
In time. the Destour Party was also joined by other groups. who although originating from the lower middle classes. and having had their education at French schools or even at French universities. found themselves discriminated against in their own country because of their nationality, In many ways. Habib Bourguiba is sociologically representative of this group: born in Monastir in the Sahel in 1903. the son of an officer in the Beylical Guard. educated in French at the Lycee Carnot. continuing to higher education at the Faculte de Droit and the Ecole des Sciences Poliliques in Paris. married to a Frenchwoman. and establishing a legal practice in Tunis, The origins and training of this younger generation of party members not only made the party more appealing to wider strata among the petty bourgeoisie and the emerging working class. but also differentiated them quite clearly from its grand bourgeoisie membership who were not confronted so immediately by the discriminatory practices of the Protectorate. As a result their demands were more radical. inspired particularly by the socialist ideals of the Third Republic (6).
