Louis Faidherbe's successors are content to maintain…

Louis Faidherbe's successors are content to maintain his gains and do not embark on further military ventures.

French colonial policy at this time can best be characterized by the warning given by the Colonial Ministry to the governor of Senegal in the late 1870s, "Let us not hear from you."

With France's virtual abandonment of Senegal, the relative calm created in the Chemama and southern Mauritania through Faidherbe's efforts comes to an end.

The Maures resume their traditional practices of internecine warfare and pillaging villages in the Chemama.

The commercial companies of Saint Louis, in virtual control of the colonial administration, sell arms to the Maures, while at the same time outfitting French punitive missions.

Scientific expeditions into Mauritania become increasingly subject to attack, and their European leaders are killed or held for ransom.

The obvious weakness of the French and their distraction with events elsewhere in the region emboldens the amirs to demand and secure the reinstatement of the coutume.