Charles de Foucauld : a French spy in reconnaissance mission of Morocco (1883-1884)‎

الملخص EN

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the life of Charles de Foucauld as a military before becoming a priest living as a hermit in the Algerian Sahara.

The research methods adopted in this case of studying a historical figures is to compare and contrast data from different sources.

The findings from exploring and studying such sources enable us to draw the following conclusions.

The fact that he was a military had a great influence on his decisions all along his life.

He became interested in exploring Morocco and the Sahara when he participated in the military campaign to defeat Sheikh Bou Amama's revolt against the French invasion.

Foucauld's interest in exploring Morocco was not animated by the desire to satisfy a personal quest to discover the unknown, but to collect intelligence for the French government for an eventual invasion of such mysterious and rich country.

It is undeniable that Charles de Foucauld's reconnaissance of Morocco helped greatly in the French invasion of Morocco from 1912 because his maps were minutely studied by the French Generals.