La configuración de las redes de transporte marítimo en África noroccidental (1880-1939)

The current transport infrastructures in northwest Africa preserves the routes designed during the colonial occupation. Ports and railways were deployed in order to serve the imperial economic interests. These infrastructures encouraged the growth of the foreign trade that was supported by the massive exportation of cash-crops and mining commodities. Moreover, the political and military control over the territories was notably increased. This paper deals with the analysis of the evolution of the maritime façades of the Mediterranean Maghreb (Algeria, Tunisia) and the northwest Atlantic Africa (Morocco, Senegal) during the French colonial rule. Through a comparative perspective study, port traffic indicators and trade statistics are used to analyse the port concentration process and the modernisation of transport infrastructures. This paper offers a first approach on the evolution of regional maritime networks during the colonial period and the creation of port concentration processes.