Civilizing mission : exact sciences and French overseas expansion, 1830-1940 / Lewis Pyenson.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-359) and index.

I. Stars in the Firmament of French Science. 1. Mafia, Crucifix, and Epee. 2. Geophysics, the Military Establishment, and Overseas Expansion -- II. Wind, Rain, and Stars in the Major Colonies. 3. The Indochinese Gesture. 4. Algeria: The Overseas Protection of Metropolitan Terrain. 5. Tunisia and Morocco: The Antebellum Satrapies -- III. Science and the Celestial Host. 6. China: Missionaries to the Middle Kingdom. 7. Lebanon and Madagascar: Peripheral Territories -- IV. The New World. 8. Imperialist Rivalries in the Southern Cone. 9. Mexico and Brazil: Reign of Positive Thinking. 10. Quebec and Martinique: Reassertion of Metropolitan Authority. 11. Ecuador: Missions Religious, Military and Diplomatic -- Conclusion: Rhetoric and Reality in French Cultural Imperialism.