Christophe-Louis-Leon Juchault de Lamoricière

Christophe-Louis-Leon Juchault de Lamoricière (born Feb. 5, 1806, Nantes, Fr.—died Sept. 11, 1865, Prouzel) was a French general and administrator noted for his part in the conquest of Algeria.

After entering the engineers in 1829, Lamoricière was sent to Algiers (1830) as a captain in the Zouaves. In 1833 he played a prominent role in the creation of the Arab Bureau, which was to coordinate information on French Arab colonies. Military success at Constantine led to his promotion to colonel (1837) and thereafter he rose rapidly to marshal (1840) and to governor of a division (1843). An efficient and distinguished general, he served as governor general of Algeria during the incumbent’s absence in 1845.

In France in 1846, Lamoricière was elected deputy for Sarthe and submitted a plan for free, rather than military, colonization of Algeria. He was concerned that a war of extermination against the Arabs would leave Algeria a barren wasteland instead of a rich and useful colony. He served as minister of war (1848) and was sent to Russia on a diplomatic mission (1850–51) dealing with political, military, and colonial affairs. As an opponent of the rising power of Louis-Napoléon, he was arrested (1851) and exiled, but was allowed to return in 1857. In 1860 he led the papal troops against Piedmont but was defeated at Castelfidardo and returned to France.