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On the eve of the 20th century Joseph Gallieni and Hubert Lyautey claimed to have devised a new approach to the consolidation of colonial acquisitions. Their method emphasized the primacy of political action over military action, called for the replacement of military columns with a ‘creeping occupation’, stressed the importance of economic-organizational development in ensuring the lasting stability of newly-acquired imperial possessions, and called for the unification of civil and military powers in the hands of the soldier, who would act as the first administrator of the colony. This method was the culmination of colonial experiences in Tonkin and Madagascar in the final decades of the 19th century. Following Gallieni’s career path across these colonies, this book focuses first on the painful process of pacification in Tonkin, locating the emergence of the method and Gallieni’s own achievements in their proper context. It then moves across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar. Here Gallieni, combining the roles of Commander-in-Chief and Governor-General, was able to play out his nascent colonial method on a grand scale. Meanwhile, his subordinates—with Lyautey at the forefront—were able to interpret his method in the execution of their missions. Drawing heavily on French archival sources, this book sheds new light on colonial conflict and consolidation during the age of European imperial expansion. It illustrates the differences, gaps, and transgressions that exist between the theory and the practice of pacification, and raises broader questions about the French army, empire and civil-military relations.

This book examines British responses to disease during the Seven Years War with a particular focus on the role of the state and its relationship to the welfare of the armed forces. Alongside fiscal and logistical capability, British success required consistent and well-publicized attention to the welfare of troops to maintain manpower strength, support recruitment, and retain public support and public financing for the war. The strength and success of the British state during the war is shown to be dependent on its ability to secure public support through attention to troop welfare. This was accomplished by encouraging and supporting medical research, applying medical knowledge, and adapting to local conditions around the globe. The incidence of disease thus played a crucial role in the formation of strategy and policy; in turn, the war stimulated new ways of thinking about disease and medicine, particularly in colonial environments. By tracing how imperial warfare shaped the development of British medical expertise, this book highlights the central role that the British state played in shaping eighteenth-century medicine and scientific innovation. Not only did the discipline of tropical medicine have its roots in the war, but the experience of war provided naval and military medical practitioners with the opportunity for observation and experimentation. Moreover, wartime medical experience conferred authority and status on naval and military medical practitioners. Medicine became a form of expertise in the service of the British Empire, applied during campaigning and influencing both imperial policy and the nature of imperial authority.