The Protectorate archives deal with the period before and after 1881 and include a wide range of materials, among which are telegraphic communications between Paris and Tunis and correspondence from the French consular agencies and vice-consulates in the Tunisian countryside. By 1872 there were, officially, nine such posts: Bizerte, Gabès, Jerba, La Goulette, Mehdia, Monastir, Sfax, Sousse, and Kef. However, cartons for the pre-Protectorate period contain correspondence from French agents in other places (e.g., Beja, Djerid) as well.