Within four months from the time when this clear and unmistakable definition of the political status of the Regency of Tunis appeared in the celebrated _Annuaire genéalogique, diplomatique et statistique_, the government of the French Republic, without any declaration of war, either against the Bey of Tunis or the Sultan of Turkey, invaded the country, compelled the Bey, by moral if not physical duress, to accept a Protectorate, and finally effected a complete military occupation of the Regency from the Khamír mountains to the frontiers of Tripoli. The virtual extinction of Moslem power in Tunis, after an unbroken duration of more than twelve centuries, is in itself an occurrence of no small political importance, but when considered in connection with its actual and possible consequences, not only in Tunis itself but throughout the whole of North Africa, the “last chapter in the history of the Moors” seems to be likely to excite a durable, and perhaps an increasing, interest. This belief has prompted me to attempt to write the chronicles of the French Invasion, and to briefly sketch, by way of introduction, the more recent chapters of Tunisian annals. In 1880 the Moslems of North Africa had almost forgotten the shock occasioned to their religious susceptibilities by the conquest of Algeria, and prior to the events of which I am about to speak, Panislamism had in that region a theoretical rather than a practical existence. Tunis has always been an intact Moslem state, and it contains Holy Kairwán, after Mecca perhaps the most hallowed of Moslem cities. The invasion of the Regency, and the occupation of the shrine, at once converted this sentimental Panislamism into a stern and uncompromising reality. To these causes must undoubtedly to a certain extent be attributed the rising in Algeria, the so-called insurrection in Tunis itself, the wide- spread agitation in Tripoli, and the crisis in Egypt. So much for the consequences of the “Last Punic War,” as far as they concern the World of Islam. In Europe its effects have been hardly less momentous; Italy has become the avowed enemy of France, England no longer believes in the peaceful intentions of the Government of the Republic, Spain is hankering after Morocco, and Germany is posing as the champion of the Caliphate. In Italy the Ministry of Signor Cairoli fell twice within a month, because it was unable to stay effectually the tide of French Diplomacy, while in France M. Ferry succumbed to the unpopularity which attends a failure, and M. Gambetta was wrecked in the storm to a great extent occasioned by his injudicious support of M. Roustan. All this and much more has resulted from the taking of Carthage. While France has her hands full in Tunis, both Turkey and Italy are openly and almost ostentatiously watching their opportunity. These patent facts can but enhance the historical importance of the events which are related in these volumes.