Figuig et sa région dans l’imaginaire des militaires français au milieu du xixe siècle

Abstract

In 1845, the treaty of Lalla Maghnia detached Figuig from the Ksour Mountain Range to which the oasis had been connected. It was also the beginning of a new period of expeditions that would lead the military into the Sahara. Analysis of archives dating from the second half of the 19th century shows how invading armies apprehended these new territories and their populations. These results, completed by medieval or modern sources, allow researchers to situate this image within a larger diachrony, and thus to better understand the history of the region through two topics : settlement and social organization, and the role of transportation routes. Concepts developed in the mid-nineteenth century would influence future expeditions and ways of apprehending Saharan society.

Keywords

• settlement
• Touat
• Figuig
• Ksour Range
• Saharan Atlas
• itineraries