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106-612: The origins of Berberism go back to the triumph of colonial capitalism in Kabylia during the French colonization of Algeria . Its roots date back to the "Berber policy" of the French colonial empire , designed to "pacify" Kabylia. French colonialists invented several ideologies to divide and rule the Algerian population, such as the Kabyle myth , a racist colonial trope which asserted that

212-682: A punitive expedition , the August 1816 bombardment of Algiers . The Dey was forced to sign the Barbary treaties , because the technological advantage of U.S., British, and French forces overwhelmed the Algerians' expertise at naval warfare . Following the conquest under the July monarchy , France referred to the Algerian territories as "French possessions in North Africa". This was disputed by

318-552: A base for conflict and piracy in the Mediterranean basin. In 1681, Louis XIV asked Admiral Abraham Duquesne to fight the Berber pirates . He also ordered a large-scale attack on Algiers between 1682 and 1683 on the pretext of assisting and rescuing enslaved Christians, usually Europeans taken as captives in raids. Again, Jean II d'Estrées bombarded Tripoli and Algiers from 1685 to 1688. An ambassador from Algiers visited

424-508: A dichotomy in popular Moroccan historiography: the division of the country into Bled el-Makhzen —areas under the direct control of the Sultan and the Makhzen , or the state, (especially urban areas such as Fes and Rabat )—and Bled es-Siba — typically geographically isolated areas beyond the direct control of the state, where Berber languages are primarily spoken and where Islamic Sharia

530-460: A favorable peace treaty the next year. The treaty of Tafna gained conditional recognition for Abd al Qadir's regime by defining the territory under its control and salvaged his prestige among the tribes just as the shaykhs were about to desert him. To provoke new hostilities, the French deliberately broke the treaty in 1839 by occupying Constantine . Abd al Qadir took up the holy war again, destroyed

636-652: A higher status. Prior to the creation of the ideology in the 1840s, Kabyles throughout the centuries were actively and fully engaged in the Arab culture of Algeria, ever since the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century and the ensuing Arab migrations to the Maghreb . During the period of French colonization, Arabic and Berber were declared foreign languages in Algeria with the aim to restructure Algerian identity into

742-572: A mixed system of "total domination and total colonization" whereby French military would wage total war against civilian populations while a colonial administration would provide rule of law and property rights to settlers within French occupied cities. Some governments and scholars have called France's conquest of Algeria a genocide . For example, Ben Kiernan , an Australian expert on Cambodian genocide wrote in Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur on

848-460: A more Western one. This was done in attempts to assert French dominance. The Berbers were targeted with heavy French schooling, placing them at the centre of this transformation. The strongest hold France had to advance this platform was the Berber region of Kabyle, where they espoused the Kabyle myth . Despite French attempts at a Divide and Rule strategy in Algeria, Berbers were on the forefront of

954-436: A move deeply unpopular by the French colonists. As a recognized jurisdiction of France, Algeria became a destination for hundreds of thousands of European immigrants. They were first known as colons , and later as pieds-noirs , a term applied primarily to ethnic Europeans born in Algeria. The indigenous Muslim population comprised the majority of the territory throughout its history. Gradually, dissatisfaction among

1060-581: A mysterious man arrived in Kabiliya. He presented himself as Mohamed ben Abdallah (the name of the Prophet ), but is more commonly known as Sherif Boubaghla . He was probably a former lieutenant in the army of Emir Abdelkader , defeated for the last time by the French in 1847. Boubaghla refused to surrender at that battle, and retreated to Kabylia. From there he began a war against the French armies and their allies, often employing guerrilla tactics. Boubaghla

1166-516: A policy of penetration." —Ben Kiernan, Blood and Soil When France recognized the Armenian genocide , Turkey accused France of having committed genocide against 15% of Algeria's population. On 1 December 1830, King Louis-Philippe named the Duc de Rovigo as head of military staff in Algeria. De Rovigo took control of Bône and initiated colonisation of the land. He was recalled in 1833 due to

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1272-720: A policy of subtle neglect to explicit recognition and support. There was an attempt at creating a Berberist party in 2005, when Omar Louz, a long-time Berberist, former member of the Popular Movement and cofounder of the Amazigh World Congress , founded the Amazigh Moroccan Democratic Party . However, the party was banned by the Moroccan Interior Ministry on 25 November 2007 because its name infringes on

1378-638: A resourceful warrior. From his capital in Tlemcen , Abd al Qadir set about building a territorial Muslim state based on the communities of the interior but drawing its strength from the tribes and religious brotherhoods. By 1839, he controlled more than two-thirds of Algeria. His government maintained an army and a bureaucracy, collected taxes, supported education, undertook public works, and established agricultural and manufacturing cooperatives to stimulate economic activity. The French in Algiers viewed with concern

1484-582: Is for their part that civilization is situated." French forces deported and banished entire Algerian tribes. The Moorish families of Tlemcen were exiled to the Orient, and others were emigrated elsewhere. The tribes that were considered too troublesome were banned, and some took refuge in Tunisia, Morocco and Syria or were deported to New Caledonia or Guyana. Also, French forces also engaged in wholesale massacres of entire tribes. All 500 men, women and children of

1590-407: Is the religion of the state" and "Arabic is the national and official language". Whereas these two amendments were carried forward to the 1996 constitution, there was also the addition of a preamble which stated that "the fundamental components of its [Algeria's] identity are Islam, "Arabness", and Berberness. Later in the preamble, was the mention that "Algeria is the land of Islam, an integral part of

1696-475: The Algerian War (1954-1962), the French used deliberate illegal methods against the Algerians, including (as described by Henri Alleg , who himself had been tortured, and historians such as Raphaëlle Branche) beatings, torture by electroshock, waterboarding , burns, and rape. Prisoners were also locked up without food in small cells, buried alive , and thrown from helicopters to their death or into

1802-433: The Berber language constituted a principal element of the national culture, and added that its promotion was a national responsibility. The Royal Institute was charged with the promotion of Berber culture in education and media. While redefining Moroccan identity so as to incorporate Berberness. The establishment of IRCAM represented the first substantial change in the state's attitude towards its Berber population from

1908-690: The Count of Villèle , an ultra-royalist , President of the council and the monarch's heir, opposed any military action. The Bourbon Restoration government finally decided to blockade Algiers for three years. Meanwhile, the Berber pirates were able to exploit the geography of the coast with ease. Before the failure of the blockade, the Restoration decided on 31 January 1830 to engage a military expedition against Algiers. Admiral Duperré commanded an armada of 600 ships that originated from Toulon , leading it to Algiers. Using Napoleon 's 1808 contingency plan for

2014-517: The French army . One by one, the amir's strongholds fell to the French, and many of his ablest commanders were killed or captured so that by 1843 the Muslim state had collapsed. Abd al Qadir took refuge in 1841 with his ally, the sultan of Morocco , Abd ar Rahman II , and launched raids into Algeria. This alliance led the French Navy to bombard and briefly occupy Essaouira ( Mogador ) under

2120-467: The Marquesas Islands or elsewhere. In one word, annihilate everything that will not crawl beneath our feet like dogs. Whatever initial misgivings Louis Philippe's government may have had about occupying Algeria, the geopolitical realities of the situation created by the 1830 intervention argued strongly for reinforcing French presence there. France had reason for concern that Britain , which

2226-462: The Mitidja Plain and envisioned the large-scale production there of cotton . As governor-general (1835–36), he used his office to make private investments in land and encouraged army officers and bureaucrats in his administration to do the same. This development created a vested interest among government officials in greater French involvement in Algeria. Commercial interests with influence in

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2332-803: The North African Star , led by veteran Algerian nationalist Messali Hadj . It was formed on March 11, 1937. In 1936, the Etoile Nord Africaine (ENA), its predecessor, had joined the French Front Populaire , a coalition of French leftist political parties in power at the time. The relationship lasted a bit over six months. The government formed by the Front Populaire dissolved the ENA in January 1937, hence

2438-592: The Organization Speciale (OS) while loosely maintaining membership in the MTLD. The OS sought the support of all the different Algerian political organizations to create the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) after launching the Algerian War of Independence in 1954. Messali Hadj had completely lost control of the movement in a process that began more than two years earlier when he refused to compromise with

2544-602: The Ottoman Empire , then led by Mahmud II but enjoyed relative independence. The Barbary Coast was the stronghold of Berber pirates, who carried out raids against European and American ships. Conflicts between the Barbary States and the newly independent United States of America culminated in the First (1801–05) and Second (1815) Barbary Wars. An Anglo-Dutch force, led by Admiral Lord Exmouth , carried out

2650-620: The Popular Front of the Canary Islands (FREPIC-AWAÑAK), Alternativa Popular Canaria , Canarian Nationalist Party (PNC), Nueva Canarias (NC), Alternativa Popular Canaria (APC), Alternativa Nacionalista Canaria (ANC), Unidad del Pueblo (UP), Inekaren and Azarug espouse the pro-Berber cause in a higher or lower degree. Some of the symbols and colors of the flags of the Canarian pro-independence organizations, as well as

2756-513: The Prince de Joinville on August 16, 1844. A French force was destroyed at the Battle of Sidi-Brahim in 1845. However, Abd al Qadir was obliged to surrender to the commander of Oran Province, General Louis de Lamoricière , at the end of 1847. Abd al Qadir was promised safe conduct to Egypt or Palestine if his followers laid down their arms and kept the peace. He accepted these conditions, but

2862-613: The Three Glorious Days of July 1830, and his cousin Louis-Philippe , the "citizen king ," was named to preside over a constitutional monarchy . The new government, composed of liberal opponents of the Algiers expedition, was reluctant to pursue the conquest begun by the old regime, but withdrawing from Algeria proved more difficult than conquering it. Alexis de Tocqueville 's views on Algeria were instrumental in its brutal and formal colonization. He advocated for

2968-533: The locust plagues of 1866 and 1868, as well as by a rigorous winter in 1867–68, which caused a famine followed by an epidemic of cholera . The French began their occupation of Algiers in 1830, starting with a landing in Algiers . As occupation turned into colonization, Kabylia remained the only region independent of the French government. Pressure on the region increased, and the will of her people to resist and defend Kabylia increased as well. In about 1849,

3074-460: The Algerian identity which was lost during French colonial rule. The rise in Arabic speakers and education institutions was accompanied by the decline in the Berber speakers. Linguistic ability was a large factor in Berber identification meaning its decline was a threat to the survival of the Berber identity. The Berber narrative stated that the rapid Arab-Islamic conquest was rising at the expense of

3180-403: The Algerian population. Colonel Lucien de Montagnac stated that the purpose of the pacification was to "destroy everything that will not crawl beneath our feet like dogs" The scorched earth policy, decided by Governor General Thomas Robert Bugeaud , had devastating effects on the socio-economic and food balances of the country: "we fire little gunshot, we burn all douars, all villages, all huts;

3286-508: The Berber identity. On 17 October 2001, in the presence of his advisors, the members of the government, the leaders of the political parties and unions, and Berber activists, King Mohammed VI announced the royal decree ( dahir ) that established the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (L'Institut Royal de la Culture Amazighe, IRCAM). He defined Moroccan national identity as a composition of different cultural elements, underlined that

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3392-482: The Berber identity. The Berber struggle was seen as an uphill battle. Furthermore, these Arabization measures stigmatized the Berber speakers vis-à-vis the Arabic speakers through the creation of more rigid divides between the communities. Political and social power was seen to lie with the Arabs who imposed their will on the Berber minority. The Berber Question was revived during this period. The youth of Kabyle fought for

3498-710: The Chaoui Berbers who reside in the Aures mountains. While the elite sphere consisted of the Kabyle population, the Chaoui played an important role due to their military influence. On the whole, the Berberophones make up roughly 25% of the Algerian population, constituting seven to eight million people. In 2002, Tamazight was declared a national language in Algeria alongside Arabic to accommodate this large percentage of

3604-800: The Court in Versailles, and a treaty was signed in 1690 that provided peace throughout the 18th century. During the Directory regime of the First French Republic (1795–99), the Bacri and the Busnach, Jewish merchants of Algiers, provided large quantities of grain for Napoleon's soldiers who participated in the Italian campaign of 1796. But Bonaparte refused to pay the bill, claiming it

3710-537: The El Oufia tribe were killed in one night, while all 500 to 700 members of the Ouled Rhia tribe were killed by suffocation in a cave. The Siege of Laghouat is referred by Algerians as the year of the "Khalya ," Arabic for emptiness, which is commonly known to the inhabitants of Laghouat as the year that the city was emptied of its population. It is also commonly known as the year of Hessian sacks, referring to

3816-592: The French Christian troops and to belligerent calls for jihad from the marabouts . Despite the diplomatic rupture between Morocco and the Two Sicilies in 1830, and the naval warfare engaged against the Austrian Empire as well as with Spain , then headed by Ferdinand VII , Sultan Abderrahmane lent his support to the Algerian insurgency of Abd El-Kader . The latter fought for years against

3922-400: The French and their makhzen allies at Oran in 1832. In the same year, jihad was declared and to lead it tribal elders chose Muhyi ad Din's son, twenty-five-year-old Abd al Qadir . Abd al Qadir, who was recognized as Amir al-Muminin (commander of the faithful), quickly gained the support of tribes throughout Algeria. A devout and austere marabout, he was also a cunning political leader and

4028-452: The French army has set foot. Who wants the end wants the means, whatever may say our philanthropists. I personally warn all good soldiers whom I have the honour to lead that if they happen to bring me a living Arab, they will receive a beating with the flat of the saber.... This is how, my dear friend, we must make war against Arabs: kill all men over the age of fifteen, take all their women and children, load them onto naval vessels, send them to

4134-548: The French captured Constantine under Sylvain Charles Valée the following year, on 13 October 1837. Historians generally set the indigenous population of Algeria at 3 million in 1830. Although the Algerian population decreased at some point under French rule, most certainly between 1866 and 1872, the French military was not fully responsible for the extent of this decrease, as some of these deaths could be explained by

4240-504: The French conquest as genocide . Algeria was ruled as a colony from 1830 to 1848, and then as multiple departments, an integral part of France , with the implementing of the Constitution of French Second Republic on 4 November 1848, until Algerian independence in 1962. For a period between 1860 and 1870, the then-French emperor Napoleon III transformed Algeria into a client state , expanding freedoms, and limiting colonisation,

4346-457: The French conquest of Algeria : By 1875, the French conquest was complete. The war had killed approximately 825,000 indigenous Algerians since 1830. A long shadow of genocidal hatred persisted, provoking a French author to protest in 1882 that in Algeria, "we hear it repeated every day that we must expel the native and, if necessary, destroy him." As a French statistical journal urged five years later, "the system of extermination must give way to

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4452-476: The French during the Algerian War during the 1950s against Algerians include deliberate bombing and killing of unarmed civilians, rape, torture , executions through " death flights " or burial alive , thefts and pillaging. Up to 2 million Algerian civilians were also deported in internment camps. During the Pacification of Algeria (1835-1903) French forces engaged in a scorched earth policy against

4558-469: The French general Jacques Louis César Randon was caught but managed to escape later. On 26 December 1854, Boubaghla was killed; some sources claim it was due to treason of some of his allies. The resistance was left without a charismatic leader and a commander able to guide it efficiently. For this reason, during the first months of 1855, on a sanctuary built on top of the Azru Nethor peak, not far from

4664-563: The French settlements on the Mitidja Plain, and at one point advanced to the outskirts of Algiers itself. He struck where the French were weakest and retreated when they advanced against him in greater strength. The government moved from camp to camp with the amir and his army. Gradually, however, superior French resources and manpower and the defection of tribal chieftains took their toll. Reinforcements poured into Algeria after 1840 until Bugeaud had at his disposal 108,000 men, one-third of

4770-482: The French. Directing an army of 12,000 men, Abd El-Kader first organized the blockade of Oran. Algerian refugees were welcomed by the Moroccan population, while the Sultan recommended that the authorities of Tetuan assist them, by providing jobs in the administration or the military forces. The inhabitants of Tlemcen , near the Moroccan border, asked that they be placed under the Sultan's authority in order to escape

4876-807: The French. The war ended in 1962, with Algeria gaining independence following the Évian Accords in March 1962 and a self-determination referendum in July 1962. During its last years as part of France, Algeria was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community . Since the capture of Algiers in 1516 by the Ottoman admirals, brothers Ours and Hayreddin Barbarossa , Algeria had been

4982-716: The Germans, but in May 1945, the events of the Sétif and Guelma massacre ended all hopes. Early May 1945, Pierre Gazagne , secretary of the general government headed by Yves Chataigneau , took advantage of his absence to exile Messali Hadj and to arrest the leaders of the PPA. The PPA was reconstituted October 1946 under the name Mouvement pour le Triomphe des Libertes Democratiques (MTLD). A few ex-PPA members, having decided that freedom could only be acquired through military means, created

5088-507: The Greater Maghreb, an Arab, Mediterranean and African country," subsequently contradicting the weight of the former advancement. Nonetheless, it was among the first steps towards recognition taken by the government. Berber communities broke out in mass protest against the law which declared Arabic as the only legitimate language in Algeria. This law was originally declared in 1991 and meant to go into effect on 5 July 1998. Throughout

5194-505: The HCA is regarded as the first step by the government to recognize the language of the Berber population, Tamazight. The commission would be attached to the office of the President and the commissioner would be appointed by the President to oversee the initiatives undertaken to advance and institutionalize the Berber language. The HCA was officially created by a decree on 8 May 1995, meaning it

5300-734: The Independence movement with several key leaders of National Liberation Front (FLN), including Hocine Aït Ahmed , Abane Ramdane , and Krim Belkacem . Furthermore, Aurès and Kabylia were amongst the principal footholds of FLN due to their geographical remoteness and widespread local support for independence. In fact, the Soummam conference , often cited as the founding act of the Algerian state, took place in Kabylia. Due to Berber regions serving as hotbeds for FLN guerillas, these regions were labelled major targets in French counter-insurgency operations. These counter-insurgency operations resulted in

5406-423: The Kabyle people were more predisposed than Arabs to assimilate into "French civilization." Lacoste explained that "turning the Arabs into invaders was one way of legitimizing the French presence". The Berbers were elevated above the Arabs through the narrative that Berber ancestral heritage stemmed from Europe. Consequently, Arabs were associated with backwardness, which the Berbers profited from, as it granted them

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5512-564: The Moroccan law on political parties, which forbids parties explicitly based on ethnicity or religion. It then tried to be legally reestablished under a new denomination ( Izegzawen ) to promote Berber identity, political secularism , and Berber cultural rights, without success. Beginning with Antonio Cubillo 's Canary Islands Independence Movement in the early 1970s, some Canarian nationalist organizations have supported Berberism to emphasize native Guanche cultural difference with Spanish culture and highlight Spanish colonialism . Although

5618-429: The Muslim population, due to their lack of political and economic freedom, fueled calls for greater political autonomy , and eventually independence from France. The Sétif and Guelma massacre , in 1945, marked a point of no return in Franco-Algerian relations and led to the outbreak of the Algerian War which was characterised by the use guerrilla warfare by National Liberation Front , and crimes against humanity by

5724-423: The Ottoman Empire, which had not given up its claim. In 1839 Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult , Duke of Dalmatia, first named these territories as "Algeria". The invasion of Algeria against the Regency of Algiers (Ottoman Algeria) was initiated in the last days of the Bourbon Restoration by Charles X , as an attempt to increase his popularity amongst the French people. He particularly hoped to appeal to

5830-449: The University of Tizi Ouzou. Strikes continued until 26 June. The Berber demonstrations in Algeria of that year were the first instance in the international scene where a Berber group demanded recognition on the institutional level of their culture, language, and place in society. The later 1980s saw a rise in Berber associations, political parties and cultural movements. Article 56 of the 1976 constitution stated that preliminary certification

5936-625: The Western agenda on Algeria". The Berberist crisis of 1949 led to the formation of the Berber Cultural Movement (MCB). Its agenda was to challenge Arabism and Islamism, and oppose Arabization because of its "de-frenchifying" objectives and its alleged opposition to democratic and secular ideals. Berberists called for a Western -style socio-political system with the French language and French culture as its vectors. It has been described as acculturationist and mimicking of Western/French culture which it seeks to replace Arab nationalism and Islamism with. The 1962 Constitution declared that Islam

6042-457: The advantage on 19 June during the battle of Staouéli , and entered Algiers on 5 July after a three-week campaign. The dey agreed to surrender in exchange for his freedom and the offer to retain possession of his personal wealth. Five days later, he exiled himself with his family, departing on a French ship for the Italian peninsula . 2,500 janissaries also quit the Algerian territories, heading for Asia, on 11 July. The French army then recruited

6148-422: The agenda to oppose Arabization, call for recognition of Berber culture and language, and implement a Western style democracy. The MCB mobilized large groups of people and coordinated multiple protests to advance Berber culture, language, and position in civil society. However, the MCB had major limits on the account that the MCB was unable to resist the partisan tensions between the FFS and the RCD. The creation of

6254-423: The assertion of their Berber culture in a post-independent Arabist-Islamist Algeria. Repression of Berber particularism combined with the accelerating programs of Arabization in schools and universities led to the sharpening of the divide and the eventual outbreak of the 1980 Berber Spring . The catalyst was set on 10 March 1980, when the government banned a lecture given by Mouloud Mammeri on Ancient Berber poetry at

6360-486: The autonomy of Berber tribes, causing public demonstrations and protests against the French in all Moroccan cities. The new legal system in Berber communities would ostensibly be based on local Berber laws and customs rather than the authority of the sultan. The legal system in the rest of the country remained the way it had been before the French invasion . Lebanese prince Shakib Arslan took this as evidence of an attempt to de-Islamize Morocco. The Berber Dahir reinforced

6466-428: The coast in the Gulf of Bougie, shelled Kherrata. Vigilantes lynched prisoners taken from local jails or randomly shot Muslims not wearing white arm bands (as instructed by the army) out of hand. It is certain that the great majority of the Muslim victims had not been implicated in the original outbreak. The dead bodies in Guelma were buried in mass graves, but they were later dug up and burned in Héliopolis . During

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6572-432: The construction of the opposing ideologies is argued to be political and social in nature rather than ethnic. The dynamics were shifted when the Berber movement entered to make demands in the political sphere. Many of these demands arose from the region of Kabyle in Algeria. Kabylian Berbers constitute two-thirds of the Berber population and have been the strongest advocates for the Berber movement. The second-largest group are

6678-433: The creation of the PPA two months later. Despite using peaceful methods of protest, the group's members were constantly pursued by the police in France and banned by French colonial authorities in Algeria. From 1938 until 1946, it operated as a clandestine organization. However, it had only moderate activities during World War II. There was also great hope that Algeria would be rewarded for its help in liberating France from

6784-476: The devastation of agricultural lands, looting, destruction of villages, population displacement, the creation of forbidden zones, etc. Following Algerian Independence, Kabyle leaders opposed the central leadership over Arabist policies and the single-party system. These Kabyle leaders held popular backing in Kabylia and Algiers. Two years of armed conflict in Kabylia followed, leaving more than 400 dead and most FLN leaders from Kabylia exiled or executed. Currently,

6890-406: The dey and claimed they could not pay it until France paid its debts to them. The dey had unsuccessfully negotiated with Pierre Deval , the French consul, to rectify this situation, and he suspected Deval of collaborating with the merchants against him, especially when the French government made no provisions in 1820 to pay the merchants. Deval's nephew Alexandre, the consul in Bône , further angered

6996-400: The dey by fortifying French storehouses in Bône and La Calle , contrary to the terms of prior agreements. After a contentious meeting in which Deval refused to provide satisfactory answers on 29 April 1827, the dey struck Deval with his fly whisk . Charles X used this slight against his diplomatic representative to first demand an apology from the dey, and then to initiate a blockade against

7102-405: The enemy flees across taking his flock." According to Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison , the colonization of Algeria led to the extermination of a third of the population from multiple causes (massacres, deportations, famines or epidemics) that were all interrelated. Returning from an investigation trip to Algeria, Tocqueville wrote that "we make war much more barbaric than the Arabs themselves [...] it

7208-440: The ethnic populations. The platform as stated by Rachid Ali revolved around the fact that the Berbers should break the status quo that they have no place in society, as Algeria does not belong to the Arab world but was instead a nation for all its citizens. With the adoption of this platform, the Berber activists were seen as a threat to unity and independence by the Arabists-Islamists, on the account that "the Berbers wished to impose

7314-399: The first zouaves (a title given to certain light infantry regiments) in October, followed by the spahis regiments, while France expropriated all the land properties belonging to the Turkish settlers , known as Beliks . In the western region of Oran , Sultan Abderrahmane of Morocco , the Commander of the Faithful , could not remain indifferent to the massacres committed by

7420-515: The government also began to recognize the prospects for profitable land speculation in expanding the French zone of occupation. They created large agricultural tracts, built factories and businesses, and hired local labor. Among others testimonies, Lieutenant-colonel Lucien de Montagnac wrote on 15 March 1843, in a letter to a friend: All populations who do not accept our conditions must be despoiled. Everything must be seized, devastated, without age or sex distinction: grass must not grow any more where

7526-404: The invaders. Abderrahmane named his nephew Prince Moulay Ali Caliph of Tlemcen, charged with the protection of the city. In retaliation France executed two Moroccans: Mohamed Beliano and Benkirane, as spies, while their goods were seized by the military governor of Oran, Pierre François Xavier Boyer . Hardly had the news of the capture of Algiers reached Paris than Charles X was deposed during

7632-499: The invasion of Algeria, General de Bourmont then landed 27 kilometres (17 mi) west of Algiers, at Sidi Ferruch on 14 June 1830, with 34,000 soldiers. In response to the French, the Algerian dey ordered an opposition consisting of 7,000 janissaries , 19,000 troops from the beys of Constantine and Oran , and about 17,000 Kabyles . The French established a strong beachhead and pushed toward Algiers, thanks in part to superior artillery and better organization. The French troops took

7738-527: The many veterans of the Napoleonic Wars who lived in Paris. His intention was to bolster patriotic sentiment, and distract attention from ineptly handled domestic policies by "skirmishing against the dey." In the 1790s, France had contracted to purchase wheat for the French army from two merchants in Algiers, Messrs. Bacri and Boushnak, and was in arrears paying them. Bacri and Boushnak owed money to

7844-436: The marchers and the local French gendarmerie, when the latter tried to seize banners attacking colonial rule. After five days, the French colonial military and police suppressed the rebellion, and then carried out a series of reprisals against Muslim civilians. The army carried out summary executions of Muslim rural communities. Less accessible villages were bombed by French aircraft, and cruiser Duguay-Trouin , standing off

7950-568: The minister of war — who years earlier as general in Algeria had been badly defeated by Abd al Qadir — had him consigned in France in the Château d'Amboise . According to Ben Kiernan , colonization and genocidal massacres proceeded in tandem. Within the first three decades (1830–1860) of French conquest, between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Algerians, out of a total of 3 million, were killed due to war, massacres, disease and famine. Atrocities committed by

8056-595: The movements attracted sympathies among local Canarios , the violent terror actions that were used initially by Cubillo's movement brought about a general rejection. Thus, even after Cubillo publicly renounced the armed struggle in August 1979, he failed to inspire much popular support. Currently some political organizations in the Canary Islands such as the National Congress of the Canaries (CNC),

8162-577: The overtly violent nature of the repression. Wishing to avoid a conflict with Morocco, Louis-Philippe sent an extraordinary mission to the sultan, mixed with displays of military might, sending war ships to the Bay of Tangier . An ambassador was sent to Sultan Moulay Abderrahmane in February 1832, headed by the Count Charles-Edgar de Mornay and including the painter Eugène Delacroix . However

8268-561: The population. In 2016 it was declared to be an official language, and efforts are underway to create a Standard variation of the Algerian Berber dialects . The developments of 1940 to 1950 constituted a period of social unrest in Algerian politics which would set the framework for the coming years. The emergence of the Algerian Arabism-Islamism Nationalist framework meant to combat colonialism

8374-469: The port of Algiers. France demanded that the dey send an ambassador to France to resolve the incident. When the dey responded with cannon fire directed toward one of the blockading ships, the French determined that more forceful action was required. Pierre Deval and other French residents of Algiers left for France, while the Minister of War , Clermont-Tonnerre , proposed a military expedition. However,

8480-519: The protests. The Berber Dahir is a dhahir (decree) created by the French protectorate in Morocco on 16 May 1930. This dhahir changed the legal system in parts of Morocco, it replaced the pre-colonial Islamic Sharia system in Berber areas with old pre-Islamic Berber laws, which many Moroccan nationalists saw as an attempt by the French to weaken the authority of the Makhzen and strengthen

8586-509: The provincial elections. This led to the beginning of open conflict between Berber partisans and "Arab unity" advocates: the outbreak of the Berber crisis. At this stage, the Algerian People's Party (PPA) and MTLD, both headquartered in Paris, had merged to advance the Berber platform. They wanted to replace the single-party state system with democracy. This 'Algerian Algeria' would include the contributions, histories and cultures of all

8692-718: The sea with concrete on their feet. Claude Bourdet had denounced these acts on 6 December 1951, in the magazine L'Observateur , rhetorically asking, "Is there a Gestapo in Algeria? ." D. Huf, in his seminal work on the subject, argued that the use of torture was one of the major factors in developing French opposition to the war. Huf argued, "Such tactics sat uncomfortably with France's revolutionary history, and brought unbearable comparisons with Nazi Germany . The French national psyche would not tolerate any parallels between their experiences of occupation and their colonial mastery of Algeria." General Paul Aussaresses admitted in 2000 that systematic torture techniques were used during

8798-466: The success of a Muslim government and the rapid growth of a viable territorial state that barred the extension of European settlement. Abd al Qadir fought running battles across Algeria with French forces, which included units of the Foreign Legion, organized in 1831 for Algerian service. Although his forces were defeated by the French under General Thomas Bugeaud in 1836, Abd al Qadir negotiated

8904-426: The sultan refused French demands that he evacuate Tlemcen . In 1834, France annexed as a colony the occupied areas of Algeria, which had an estimated Muslim population of about two million. Colonial administration in the occupied areas — the so-called régime du sabre (government of the sword) — was placed under a governor-general , a high-ranking army officer invested with civil and military jurisdiction, who

9010-416: The traditional submission as a slave to a husband. In fact, at that time Boubaghla left his first wife (Fatima Bent Sidi Aissa) and sent back to her owner a slave he had as a concubine (Halima Bent Messaoud). But on her side, Lalla Fadhma wasn't free: even if she was recognized as tamnafeqt ("woman who left her husband to get back to his family ," a Kabylia institution), the matrimonial tie with her husband

9116-405: The use of the word ' Taknara ' (rejected by Cubillo himself) to refer to the archipelago, are seeking to represent Berber cultural roots. French Algeria French Algeria ( French : Alger until 1839, then Algérie afterwards; unofficially Algérie française , Arabic : الجزائر المستعمرة ), also known as Colonial Algeria , was the period of Algerian history when the country

9222-529: The use of torture during the war. In June 2000, Bigeard declared that he was based in Sidi Ferruch , a torture center where Algerians were murdered. Bigeard qualified Louisette Ighilahriz 's revelations, published in the Le Monde newspaper on June 20, 2000, as "lies." An ALN activist, Louisette Ighilahriz had been tortured by General Massu. However, since General Massu's revelations, Bigeard has admitted

9328-426: The use of torture, although he denies having personally used it, and has declared, "You are striking the heart of an 84-year-old man." Bigeard also recognized that Larbi Ben M'Hidi was assassinated and that his death was disguised as a suicide. In 2018 France officially admitted that torture was systematic and routine. Algerian People%27s Party The Algerian People's Party , was a successor organization of

9434-524: The village where Fadhma was born, there was a great council among combatants and important figures of the tribes in Kabylie. They decided to grant Lalla Fadhma, assisted by her brothers, the command of combat. The French faced other opposition as well in the area. The superior of a religious brotherhood, Muhyi ad Din , who had spent time in Ottoman jails for opposing the bey's rule, launched attacks against

9540-419: The war against the French. With her inspiring speeches, she convinced many men to fight as imseblen (volunteers ready to die as martyrs) and she herself, together with other women, participated in combat by providing cooking, medicines, and comfort to the fighting forces. Traditional sources tell that a strong bond was formed between Lalla Fadhma and Boubaghla. She saw this as a wedding of peers, rather than

9646-495: The war and justified it. He also recognized the assassination of lawyer Ali Boumendjel and the head of the FLN in Algiers, Larbi Ben M'Hidi , which had been disguised as suicides. Bigeard , who called FLN activists "savages ," claimed torture was a "necessary evil ." To the contrary, General Jacques Massu denounced it, following Aussaresses's revelations and, before his death, pronounced himself in favor of an official condemnation of

9752-590: The way the captured surviving men and boys were put alive in the hessian sacks and thrown into dug-up trenches. From 8 May to June 26, 1945, the French carried out the Sétif and Guelma massacre , in which between 6,000 and 80,000 Algerian Muslims were killed. Its initial outbreak occurred during a parade of about 5,000 people of the Muslim Algerian population of Sétif to celebrate the surrender of Nazi Germany in World War II; it ended in clashes between

9858-541: The years Kabyle culturists had continued to oppose the implantation of this law, mobilizing again for this cause. The last Berber mobilization of this size had been the Berber springs. Tension had been built up throughout the years by this law, however the catalyst which fueled this outbreak was the assassination of Lounes Matoub on 25 June 1998, an Algerian Berber singer and activist, by the Group Islamique Armee (GIA). Matoub had just arrived from France and

9964-525: Was a colony and later an integral part of France . French rule lasted until the end of the Algerian War which resulted in Algeria gaining independence on 5 July 1962. The French conquest of Algeria began in 1830 with the invasion of Algiers which toppled the Regency of Algiers , though Algeria was not fully conquered and pacified until 1903. It is estimated that by 1875, approximately 825,000 indigenous Algerians were killed. Various scholars describe

10070-418: Was a relentless fighter, and very eloquent in Arabic. He was very religious, and some legends tell of his thaumaturgic skills. Boubaghla went often to Soumer to talk with high-ranking members of the religious community, and Lalla Fadhma was soon attracted by his strong personality. At the same time, the relentless combatant was attracted by a woman so resolutely willing to contribute, by any means possible, to

10176-700: Was accompanied by the emergence of Berberism, to combat this Arabism-Islamism. The Berbers demanded for the redefinition of the society they were historically a part of (linguistically and culturally): they wanted an 'Algerian Algeria' to represent all the ethnic and cultural minorities of the nation. The Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties (MTLD) continued to impose the Arabism-Islamism framework and were denounced as anti-democratic by Berber activists. The MTLD refused to acknowledge these minorities because it would have hindered their advancement in

10282-585: Was excessive. In 1820, Louis XVIII paid back half of the Directory's debts. The Dey , who had loaned the Bacri 250,000 francs , requested the rest of the money from France. French Algeria (19th–20th centuries) Algerian War (1954–1962) 1990s– 2000s 2010s to present The Dey of Algiers was weak politically, economically, and militarily. Algeria was then part of the Barbary States , along with today's Tunisia; these depended on

10388-561: Was in a fragile state due to its revocability. The government refused to acknowledge Tamazight as a national language alongside Arabic, while this decree was meant "to rehabilitate one of the components of the national culture and identity of all Algerians. It [was] in no way a recognition of linguistic or cultural rights of a particular area or minority". Changes in the constitution reflected this recognition and advancement of Berber language. The 1989 constitution made no mention of Berberism and declared in its second and third articles that "Islam

10494-546: Was led by Ahmad ibn Muhammad , bey of Constantine . He initiated a radical overhaul of the Ottoman administration in his beylik by replacing Turkish officials with local leaders, making Arabic the official language, and attempting to reform finances according to the precepts of Islam . After the French failed in several attempts to gain some of the bey 's territories through negotiation, an ill-fated invasion force, led by Bertrand Clauzel , had to retreat from Constantine in 1836 in humiliation and defeat. However,

10600-691: Was needed in order to establish associations, over which the administration had discretionary power. Legally, this meant that no Berber associations could exist from 1962 until this was amended out of the constitution in 1988. Underground Berber groups could now officially register themselves, and by July 1989 there were officially 154 of these organizations. Of the most notable included the Berber Cultural Movement (MCB) which held its first official meeting in July 1989 in Tizi Ouzo. The MCB comprised French intellectuals and Kabliyan students with

10706-717: Was not applied. The former was described as Arab and the latter as Berber . The Berber gilding in Morocco shone after the speech given by the monarch Mohamed VI in October 2001, in Ajdir , Khenifra region. His words deflated the outburst of the Berber activists and intellectuals who, a year ago, had presented to the Palace a document referred to as the Berber Manifesto, which demanded the national and legal recognition of

10812-449: Was on track to release his 4th CD criticizing post-independence regime and asserting the Berber identity. On June 28, his funeral was held and 100,000 Berbers came together to protest, which resulted in the continuation of week-long outbursts of violence targeted at government property. Banners titled "no peace without the Berber language," "we are not Arabs," and "pouvoir assassin, [President Liamine] Zeroual assassin" could be seen throughout

10918-479: Was pledged to maintain the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire, would move to fill the vacuum left by a French withdrawal. The French devised elaborate plans for settling the hinterland left by Ottoman provincial authorities in 1830, but their efforts at state-building were unsuccessful on account of lengthy armed resistance. The most successful local opposition immediately after the fall of Algiers

11024-412: Was responsible to the minister of war. Marshal Bugeaud , who became the first governor-general, headed the conquest. Soon after the conquest of Algiers, the soldier-politician Bertrand Clauzel and others formed a company to acquire agricultural land and, despite official discouragement, to subsidize its settlement by European farmers, triggering a land rush . Clauzel recognized the farming potential of

11130-414: Was still in place, and only her husband's will could free her. However he did not agree to this, even when offered large bribes. The love between Fadhma and Bou remained platonic, but there were public expressions of this feeling between the two. Fadhma was personally present at many fights in which Boubaghla was involved, particularly the battle of Tachekkirt won by Boubaghla forces (18–19 July 1854), where

11236-418: Was the state religion and Arabic was the national language. These two aspects of identity became mutually exclusive to be Algerian. In turn, linguistic and cultural diversity was interpreted as a threat to national unity. Rapid Arabization measures were implemented after independence in 1962 which sought to spread the Arabic language throughout the country. This was largely in an attempt to reclaim and reconstruct

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