Modern Intellectual History· 2026Q1
Ferry Retrouvé : Leaving the History of Empire Out of the “Liberal Moment” in France
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Short summary
Historians in 1980s France rediscovered Jules Ferry, emphasizing his secular education reforms while downplaying his imperial expansion, a stark contrast to earlier views that saw his imperialism as central to his liberal republicanism.
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Key points
- 1980s French historians emphasized Jules Ferry's secular education reforms over his imperial expansion.
- This selective focus contrasts sharply with late 19th-century views that considered imperialism Ferry's key contribution.
- Earlier historians saw Ferry's imperialism as compatible with, and central to, his liberal republicanism.
- The article reconstructs the historiography of Jules Ferry since his death in 1893.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
This article examines how and why empire went missing from the liberal revival that began in 1970s France by examining a nineteenth-century political figure “rediscovered” during it: Jules Ferry, who as premier between 1880 and 1885 oversaw not only the creation of a secular school system in France, but also a huge burst of overseas expansion. In their portraits of him starting in the 1980s, historians such as François Furet and Mona Ozouf emphasized the former, while minimizing or excusing the latter. Reconstructing the historiography on Ferry since his death in 1893, it shows that this marked a striking shift from the past—when most historians viewed his imperialism as compatible with his liberal republicanism, indeed as his most important contribution to the Third Republic. In doing so, it also contributes to a discussion about the relationship between liberal republicanism and imperialism in France since the late nineteenth century.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Modern Intellectual History, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: History
HistoryArts and Humanities