Imperialism as an obstacle to a renaissance

At the dawn of modern times, the former, ancient Hafsid Ifriqiya, now an Ottoman province, opens up vis-à-vis the Ottoman Orient and the European Occident. This is a time when, as the power of the central government in Istanbul is crumbling and the authority of the Turkish metropolis is weakening, the dynasty of the Husaynid beys in the Regency of Tunis is consolidated. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Husaynid beys act as both reformers and builders. Tunis, the capital of the regency, now secure, saw an influx of European commerce: Italian, Genoese, Leghorn Jews ... then English and French ... settled there. But the regency fanned once again the greed of possessive European powers, France in particular.