Bonomelli, Lorenzo (2025) A political history of French military interventions in Southern Europe and Latin America under the July Monarchy. Moments of informal imperialism. [Tesi di dottorato]

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Abstract

This thesis examines a neglected facet of French imperialism under the July Monarchy (1830–1848) by analysing military interventions in Southern Europe and Latin America. While the conquest of Algeria is the most studied episode, this dissertation argues that maritime expeditions against formally sovereign but fragile states also shaped France’s global influence. Blockades and bombardments in Portugal, the Papal States, New Granada, Mexico, and the Río de la Plata exemplified a form of informal imperialism, extending influence without annexation. Using a comparative approach, the study identifies patterns in discourses and practices. French actors justified force as protecting national honour, commerce, and expatriates, while claiming to uphold civilisation and international law. Though limited in scale, these actions reveal the imperial outlook of Orleanist elites, linking liberal-conservative ideology, national prestige, global ambition, and a civilisational worldview. The research also highlights the transnational character of Orleanist imperialism. France aligned globally with Britain, the dominant world power and model of imperial projection, while locally connecting with moderate liberal groups and exploiting crises in target states. In conclusion, these interventions were not isolated acts but part of the July Monarchy’s broader ambitions, encompassing formal and informal imperialism. Far from representing a period of retreat, the regime sought to reassert France’s global role, shaping a hierarchical international system that challenged equal sovereignty of states and anticipated later imperial and international orders

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