French officials defined civilization in economic terms against poverty and isolation

Evidence

But what exactly did Roume mean by the term “civilization”? Clearly, he did not conflate civilization with moral progress alone. He also introduced the concept of material progress as part of France’s uplifting vocation in West Africa. “We wish,” he stated in 1904, “to truly open up to civilization the immense regions that the foresight of our statesmen and the bravery of our soldiers and explorers have bequeathed to us … The necessary condition for achieving this goal is the creation of lines of penetration, a perfected means of transportation to make up for the absence of natural means of communication that has kept this country in poverty and barbarism.” This speech again hints at what subsequent statements and policy initiatives would make even more obvious: that, for Roume, the opposite of “civilization” was not only “barbarism,” but “poverty” and “isolation” as well. To be civilized, in other words, was not to be poor and marooned, but prosperous and connectedinvolved in a wider kind of economic activity than was currently possible in West Africa. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 181

Categorization

• DEFINE: Core definition of how Roume operationalized ‘civilization’ - not just moral uplift but material connectivity and economic integration.
• QUESTION: The juxtaposition of ‘civilization’ against ‘poverty and isolation’ deserves unpacking - does this redefine backwardness as mere disconnectedness from a global economy?