- 著者
-
原 輝史
- 出版者
- 土地制度史学会(現 政治経済学・経済史学会)
- 雑誌
- 土地制度史学 (ISSN:04933567)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.18, no.4, pp.1-24, 1976
It is often said that the French capitalism has neglected its colonial empire before 1914. According to Jean Bouvier, the French colonies before the first world war stayed at the stage of trade economy (economic de traite), that is, the most elemental and the cheapest way of exploitation. Therefore, the investments in infrastructure were limited in those colonies. But was it true in the case of Algeria? From 1860's, the French capitalist government started to build railways in Algeria. After the failure of tentative of English capital introduction at the beginning of 1860s, it was the French P. L. M. company that began to costruct railways. The other four companies such as, Franco-Algerienne, Bone-Guelma, Est-Algerien, Ouest-Algerien joined only after 1874. The interest of the companies' capitals was garanteed by the French government. Between 1874 and 1892, the principal networks were constructed, and after 1893 the railway investment suddenly declined. It was partly the direct consequence of the brake given by the French government appalled by the augmentation of government-garanteed interests. After 1907, the railway investment became more active again because Algerian railways were nationalized one after another and they were controled by the Algerian local government under the supervision of metropolitan government. The French business circles who were interested in Algerian railway construction are relatively easy to define. The railway contractors, the Company of Franco-Algerienne and the Company of Batignolles, wanted to find their works in Algeria after having finished their works in France. Also were there the Bank of Paris et des Pays-Bas, the Credit Algerien and other finance companies who exploited the system of government-garanteed railway securities. After all, the railway construction in Algeria gave not negligible support to French capitalism when it had suffered the great depression from 1870's to 1890's.