Barriers to the Economic Development of the Eastern Mediterranean According to the Reports of the French Consul Louis Felix-Auguste Beaujour

The article examines the reconstruction of French trade in the Ottoman Empire following the overthrow of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Congress of Vienna in 1815, focusing on the consular mission of Louis Felix-Auguste Beaujour. Tasked with reviving French interests in the Levant, Beaujour faced challenges and barriers to French commercial expansion such as competition from British and Austrian textiles, inconsistent French trade policies, and Greek merchants allegedly exploiting Ottoman import duties. The article highlights Beaujour’s dirigiste approach, advocating state regulation and tariffs to protect French goods, particularly textiles. His reports highlighted the need for quality control and aligning French commerce with state interests. Despite difficulties, he believed in the potential for restoring France’s commercial presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. The article also explores Beaujour’s tour of the Eastern Mediterranean and embeds his views within a broader French consular system amidst the sweeping transformations of the Bourbon Restoration. Ultimately, Beaujour prioritized French interests over the Ottoman Empire’s development, in a representative critique of the self-imposed as well as foreign barriers to French commercial expansion in the Levant.