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103-647: Units of Tropas Nómadas Light cavalry groups of the Third and Fourth Thirds of the Legion The Green March was a strategic mass demonstration in November 1975, coordinated by the Moroccan government and military, to force Spain to hand over the disputed, autonomous semi-metropolitan province of Spanish Sahara to Morocco. The Spanish government was preparing to abandon the territory as part of

206-618: A 35% concession in the phosphate mines of Bou Craa and offshore fishing rights that were not respected by Morocco. Morocco and Mauritania then formally annexed the parts they had been allotted in the Accords. Morocco claimed the northern part, i.e. Saguia el-Hamra and approximately half of Río de Oro , while Mauritania proceeded to occupy the southern third of the country under the name Tiris al-Gharbiyya . Mauritania later abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979 and ceded this area to

309-667: A Berber dynasty originating from Algeria and which at one point was a dominant power in the Maghreb ruling over much of Morocco and western Algeria including Fez, Sijilmasa , Aghmat , Oujda , most of the Sous and Draa and reaching as far as M'sila and the Zab in Algeria. As the Fatimid state was at the time too weak to attempt a direct invasion, they found another means of revenge. Between

412-637: A Sahrawi guerrilla war led by the Polisario Front (armed and financed by Algiers) had challenged Spanish control, and in October 1975 Spain had quietly begun negotiations for a handover of power with leaders of the rebel movement, both in El Aaiún , and with foreign minister Pedro Cortina y Mauri meeting El Ouali in Algiers . Morocco intended to vindicate its claims by demanding a verdict from

515-617: A bloody siege, they conquered Oran . Following their decisive victories over the Algerians in the western-coastal areas of Algeria, the Spanish decided to get bolder, and invaded more Algerian cities. In 1510, they led a series of sieges and attacks, taking over Bejaia in a large siege , and leading a semi-successful siege against Algiers . They also besieged Tlemcen. In 1511, they took control over Cherchell and Jijel , and attacked Mostaganem where although they were not able to conquer

618-552: A destination for hundreds of thousands of European immigrants, who became known as colons and later, as Pied-Noirs . Between 1825 and 1847, 50,000 French people emigrated to Algeria. These settlers benefited from the French government's confiscation of communal land from tribal peoples, and the application of modern agricultural techniques that increased the amount of arable land. Many Europeans settled in Oran and Algiers , and by

721-639: A distinct native population that came to be called Berbers , who are the indigenous peoples of northern Africa. From their principal center of power at Carthage , the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements along the North African coast; by 600 BC, a Phoenician presence existed at Tipasa , east of Cherchell , Hippo Regius (modern Annaba ) and Rusicade (modern Skikda ). These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages. As Carthaginian power grew, its impact on

824-946: A major supplier of natural gas to Europe. The Algerian military is one of the largest in Africa, with the highest defence budget on the continent and among the highest in the world (ranks 22nd globally). Algeria is a member of the African Union , the Arab League , the OIC , OPEC , the United Nations, and the Arab Maghreb Union , of which it is a founding member. Different forms of the name Algeria include: Arabic : الجزائر , romanized :  al-Jazāʾir , Algerian Arabic : دزاير , romanized:  dzāyer , French : l'Algérie . The country's full name

927-583: A man originating from modern day Algeria known as Abd al-Mu'min would soon take control over the Maghreb. During the time of the Almohad Dynasty Abd al-Mu'min 's tribe, the Koumïa, were the main supporters of the throne and the most important body of the empire. Defeating the weakening Almoravid Empire and taking control over Morocco in 1147, they pushed into Algeria in 1152, taking control over Tlemcen, Oran, and Algiers, wrestling control from

1030-468: 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. From 1848 until independence, France administered the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria as an integral part and département of the nation. One of France's longest-held overseas territories, Algeria became

1133-638: A referendum before the Organisation of African Unity ). Within hours of the ICJ verdict's release, he announced the organizing of a "green march" to Spanish Sahara, to " reunite it with the Motherland ". In order to prepare head off any possible counter-invasion from Algeria , the Moroccan Army entered the far northeast corner of the region on 31 October, where it was met with stiff resistance from

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1236-656: A succession of Islamic Arab and Berber dynasties between the eighth and 15th centuries, the Regency of Algiers was established in 1516 as a largely independent tributary state of the Ottoman Empire . After nearly three centuries as a major power in the Mediterranean, the country was invaded by France in 1830 and formally annexed in 1848, though it was not fully conquered and pacified until 1903. French rule brought mass European settlement that displaced

1339-477: Is a regional power in North Africa and a middle power in global affairs. The country has the second-highest Human Development Index in continental Africa and one of the largest economies in Africa , due mostly to its large petroleum and natural gas reserves, which are the sixteenth and ninth-largest in the world, respectively. Sonatrach , the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa and

1442-537: Is now Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Spain, Malta and Italy. The Hammadids captured and held important regions such as Ouargla, Constantine, Sfax, Susa, Algiers, Tripoli and Fez establishing their rule in every country in the Maghreb region. The Fatimids which was created and established by the Kutama Berbers conquered all of North Africa as well as Sicily and parts of the Middle East. Following

1545-493: Is officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (Arabic: الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية , romanized:  al-Jumhūriyah al-Jazāʾiriyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyah ash‑Shaʿbiyah ; French: République algérienne démocratique et populaire , abbr. RADP; Berber Tifinagh : ⵜⴰⴳⴷⵓⴷⴰ ⵜⴰⵣⵣⴰⵢⵔⵉⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⴳⴷⴰⵢⵜ ⵜⴰⵖⴻⵔⴼⴰⵏⵜ , Berber Latin alphabet : Tagduda tazzayrit tamagdayt taɣerfant ). Algeria's name derives from

1648-524: Is the world's tenth-largest nation by area , and the largest nation in Africa . It has a semi-arid climate, with the Sahara desert dominating most of the territory except for its fertile and mountainous north, where most of the population is concentrated. With a population of 44 million, Algeria is the tenth-most populous country in Africa, and the 33rd-most populous country in the world. Algeria's official languages are Arabic and Tamazight ; French

1751-557: Is to take care of the happiness of the three million Arabs, whom the fate of arms has brought under our domination." During this time, only Kabylia resisted, the Kabylians were not colonized until after the Mokrani Revolt in 1871. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote and never completed an unpublished essay outlining his ideas for how to transform Algeria from an occupied tributary state to a colonial regime, wherein he advocated for

1854-495: Is used in media, education, and certain administrative matters, but it has no official status. The vast majority of the population speak the Algerian dialect of Arabic . Most Algerians are Arabs , with Berbers forming a sizeable minority. Sunni Islam is the official religion and practised by 99 percent of the population. Algeria is a semi-presidential republic composed of 58 provinces ( wilayas ) and 1,541 communes . It

1957-544: The Almohads in the second half of the 12th century. The influx of Bedouin tribes was a major factor in the linguistic, cultural Arabization of the Maghreb and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously been dominant. Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by the Banu Hilal tribes had become completely arid desert. The Almohads originating from modern day Morocco, although founded by

2060-827: The Green March . The " askaris " of the camel units wore white flowing robes and blue turbans. Other indigenous personnel wore khaki uniforms with blue or khaki turbans . A separate indigenous unit serving the Spanish colonial government was the Policía Territorial . This gendarmerie corresponded to the Civil Guard in metropolitan Spain. It was commanded by Spanish officers and included Spanish personnel of all ranks. ^ Anthony G. Pazzanita & Tony Hodges (1994) Historical Dictionary of Western Sahara , 2 ed, Scarecrow Press, USA. ( ISBN   0-8108-2661-5 ) Algeria Algeria , officially

2163-539: The International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was issued on 16 October 1975. The ICJ stated that there were historical legal ties of allegiance between "some, but only some" Sahrawi tribes and the Sultan of Morocco , as well as ties including some rights relating to the land between Mauritania and other Sahrawi tribes. However, the ICJ stated also that there were no ties of territorial sovereignty between

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2266-592: The Kingdom of Altava . During the reign of Kusaila its territory extended from the region of modern-day Fez in the west to the western Aurès and later Kairaouan and the interior of Ifriqiya in the east. After negligible resistance from the locals, Muslim Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate conquered Algeria in the early 8th century. Large numbers of the indigenous Berber people converted to Islam. Christians, Berber and Latin speakers remained in

2369-473: The Levant . Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques. Tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called Aterian (after the archaeological site of Bir el Ater , south of Tebessa ). The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called Iberomaurusian (located mainly in the Oran region). This industry appears to have spread throughout

2472-588: The Moulouya River in modern-day Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean. The high point of Berber civilisation, unequalled until the coming of the Almohads and Almoravids more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of Masinissa in the 2nd century BC. After Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times. Masinissa's line survived until 24 AD, when

2575-772: The Nile and the Red Sea were living Bedouin nomad tribes expelled from Arabia for their disruption and turbulency. The Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym for example, who regularly disrupted farmers in the Nile Valley since the nomads would often loot their farms. The then Fatimid vizier decided to destroy what he could not control, and broke a deal with the chiefs of these Bedouin tribes. The Fatimids even gave them money to leave. Whole tribes set off with women, children, elders, animals and camping equipment. Some stopped on

2678-564: The Odjak of Algiers; and the Reis or the company of corsair captains rebelled, they removed the Ottoman viceroy from power, and placed one of its own in power. The new leader received the title of "Agha" then " Dey " in 1671, and the right to select passed to the divan , a council of some sixty military senior officers. Thus Algiers became a sovereign military republic. It was at first dominated by

2781-733: The Ottoman sultan . Algerian nationalist, historian and statesman Ahmed Tewfik El Madani regarded the regency as the "first Algerian state" and the "Algerian Ottoman republic". Around ~1.8-million-year-old stone artifacts from Ain Hanech (Algeria) were considered to represent the oldest archaeological materials in North Africa. Stone artifacts and cut-marked bones that were excavated from two nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit are estimated to be ~1.9 million years old, and even older stone artifacts to be as old as ~2.4 million years. Hence,

2884-524: The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa . It is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia ; to the east by Libya ; to the southeast by Niger ; to the southwest by Mali , Mauritania , and Western Sahara ; to the west by Morocco ; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea . The capital and largest city is Algiers , located in

2987-473: The Polisario , by then a two-year-old independence movement. The Green March was a well-publicized popular march of enormous proportions. On 6 November 1975 approximately 350,000 unarmed and controlling the situation tens of thousands of Moroccan soldiers camouflaged among themselves Moroccans converged on the city of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and waited for a signal from King Hassan II to cross into

3090-598: The Spanish Navy bombarded Algiers in 1783 and 1784 . For the attack in 1784, the Spanish fleet was to be joined by ships from such traditional enemies of Algiers as Naples , Portugal and the Knights of Malta . Over 20,000 cannonballs were fired, but all these military campaigns were doomed and Spain had to ask for peace in 1786 and paid 1 million pesos to the Dey. In 1792, Algiers took back Oran and Mers el Kébir,

3193-897: The Zirids seceded. To punish them the Fatimids sent the Arab Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym against them. The resultant war is recounted in the epic Tāghribāt . In Al-Tāghrībāt the Amazigh Zirid Hero Khālīfā Al-Zānatī asks daily, for duels, to defeat the Hilalan hero Ābu Zayd al-Hilalī and many other Arab knights in a string of victories. The Zirids , however, were ultimately defeated ushering in an adoption of Arab customs and culture. The indigenous Amazigh tribes, however, remained largely independent, and depending on tribe, location and time controlled varying parts of

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3296-521: The decolonization of Africa , just as it had granted independence to Equatorial Guinea in 1968. The native inhabitants, the Sahrawi people , aspired to form an independent state. The demonstration of some 350,000 Moroccans advanced several kilometers into the Western Sahara territory. Morocco later gained control of most of the former Spanish Sahara, which it continues to hold. The Green March

3399-612: The 11th. The last were evacuated to Sicily by the Normans and the few remaining died out in the 14th century. During the Middle Ages , North Africa was home to many great scholars, saints and sovereigns including Judah Ibn Quraysh , the first grammarian to mention Semitic and Berber languages, the great Sufi masters Sidi Boumediene (Abu Madyan) and Sidi El Houari , and the Emirs Abd Al Mu'min and Yāghmūrasen . It

3502-585: The Ain Boucherit evidence shows that ancestral hominins inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in northern Africa much earlier than previously thought. The evidence strongly argues for early dispersal of stone tool manufacture and use from East Africa, or a possible multiple-origin scenario of stone technology in both East and North Africa. Neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles (43,000 BC) similar to those in

3605-684: The Almohads in 1248 after killing their Caliph in a successful ambush near Oujda. The Zayyanids retained their control over Algeria for 3 centuries. Much of the eastern territories of Algeria were under the authority of the Hafsid dynasty , although the Emirate of Bejaia encompassing the Algerian territories of the Hafsids would occasionally be independent from central Tunisian control. At their peak

3708-829: The Berber revolt numerous independent states emerged across the Maghreb. In Algeria the Rustamid Kingdom was established. The Rustamid realm stretched from Tafilalt in Morocco to the Nafusa mountains in Libya including south, central and western Tunisia therefore including territory in all of the modern day Maghreb countries, in the south the Rustamid realm expanded to the modern borders of Mali and included territory in Mauritania . Once extending their control over all of

3811-408: The French destroyed over 8,000 villages and relocated over 2 million Algerians to concentration camps . The war led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Algerians and hundreds of thousands of injuries. Historians, like Alistair Horne and Raymond Aron , state that the actual number of Algerian Muslim war dead was far greater than the original FLN and official French estimates but was less than

3914-707: The Hilian Arabs, and by the same year they defeated Hammadids who controlled Eastern Algeria. Following their decisive defeat in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 the Almohads began collapsing, and in 1235 the governor of modern-day Western Algeria, Yaghmurasen Ibn Zyan declared his independence and established the Kingdom of Tlemcen and the Zayyanid dynasty . Warring with the Almohad forces attempting to restore control over Algeria for 13 years, they defeated

4017-483: The ICJ, the Moroccan side also mentioned the levy of taxes as a further instance of the exercise of sovereignty. The exercise of this sovereignty had also appeared, according to the Moroccan government, at other levels, such as the appointment of local officials (governors and military officers), and the definition of the missions which were assigned to them. The Moroccan government further pointed to several treaties between it and other states, such as with Spain in 1861,

4120-441: The Islamic Era. The Berber people historically consisted of several tribes. The two main branches were the Botr and Barnès tribes, who were divided into tribes, and again into sub-tribes. Each region of the Maghreb contained several tribes (for example, Sanhadja , Houara , Zenata , Masmouda , Kutama , Awarba, and Berghwata ). All these tribes made independent territorial decisions. Several Amazigh dynasties emerged during

4223-472: The Maghreb, at times unifying it (as under the Fatimids). The Fatimid Islamic state, also known as Fatimid Caliphate made an Islamic empire that included North Africa, Sicily, Palestine , Jordan , Lebanon , Syria , Egypt , the Red Sea coast of Africa, Tihamah, Hejaz and Yemen . Caliphates from Northern Africa traded with the other empires of their time, as well as forming part of a confederated support and trade network with other Islamic states during

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4326-403: The Maghreb, part of Spain and briefly over Sicily, originating from modern Algeria, the Zirids only controlled modern Ifriqiya by the 11th century. The Zirids recognized nominal suzerainty of the Fatimid caliphs of Cairo. El Mu'izz the Zirid ruler decided to end this recognition and declared his independence. The Zirids also fought against other Zenata Kingdoms, for example the Maghrawa ,

4429-444: The Middle Ages in the Maghreb and other nearby lands. Ibn Khaldun provides a table summarising the Amazigh dynasties of the Maghreb region, the Zirid , Ifranid , Maghrawa , Almoravid , Hammadid , Almohad , Merinid , Abdalwadid , Wattasid , Meknassa and Hafsid dynasties. Both of the Hammadid and Zirid empires as well as the Fatimids established their rule in all of the Maghreb countries. The Zirids ruled land in what

4532-402: The Moroccan monarchy gave rise to the Western Sahara conflict , still unresolved today, and whose main episode was the Western Sahara War . other political entities Morocco, to the north of Spanish Sahara , had long claimed that the territory was historically an integral part of Morocco. Mauritania to the south argued similarly that the territory was in fact Mauritanian. Since 1973,

4635-431: The Muslim population, which lacked political and economic status under the colonial system, gave rise to demands for greater political autonomy and eventually independence from France . In May 1945, the uprising against the occupying French forces was suppressed through what is now known as the Sétif and Guelma massacre . Tensions between the two population groups came to a head in 1954, when the first violent events of what

4738-441: The Polisario and Morocco. In 2022, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that Spain would back Morocco's autonomy plan during a visit to Rabat. Tropas N%C3%B3madas Spain did not permanently maintain any military force in the Sahara until 1926. In that year a locally recruited gendarmerie called the Foot Police Company ( Compañia de Policia a Pie ) was established and based at Cape Juby . In October 1928 this coastal unit

4841-414: The Popular Army of Sahrawi Liberation (Polisario), but it was instead promptly occupied by Morocco. Nevertheless, Mauritania preserved for itself a small outpost at La Güera to preserve the security of its major port of Nouadhibou . The Polisario, now with heavy Algerian backing, refused the Madrid Accords, and demanded that the ICJ's opinion on Sahrawi self-determination be respected. The consequence

4944-406: The Romans in the Punic Wars . In 146 BC the city of Carthage was destroyed. As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the 2nd century BC, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged. Two of them were established in Numidia , behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage. West of Numidia lay Mauretania , which extended across

5047-405: The Spanish Government's decision to hand over the territory to Morocco and Mauritania towards the end of 1975, numbers of the indigenous soldiers deserted. The remainder were disbanded. Many of the former Tropas Nómadas soldiers are believed to have joined Polisario and Spanish-trained fighters formed the core of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army set up to fight Morocco and Mauritania after

5150-446: The Spanish government feared that the conflict with Morocco could lead to an open colonial war in Africa, which could put Francoist Spain into question and lead to an abrupt political change or a social instability and disaster. The Spanish government, directed by Prince Juan Carlos , who was acting Head of State in substitution of General Franco, and the incumbent Prime Minister Don Carlos Arias Navarro , were in no mood for troubles in

5253-415: The Tropas Nomadas increased substantially from the 1960s on, many of them conscripts doing their military service in the Western Sahara. In total, several thousand Sahrawis were given military training by the Spanish. In 1974, 1,374 Sahrawis were enrolled in the Spanish army (most of them in the Tropas Nómadas), according to Pazzanita & Hodges , out of a population of some 74,000 indigenous inhabitants of

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5356-419: The United States of America in 1786, and 1836 and with the United Kingdom in 1856 The International Court of Justice found that "neither the internal nor the international acts relied upon by Morocco indicate the existence at the relevant period of either the existence or the international recognition of legal ties of territorial sovereignty between Western Sahara and the Moroccan State. Even taking account of

5459-407: The Zayyanid kingdom included all of Morocco as its vassal to the west and in the east reached as far as Tunis which they captured during the reign of Abu Tashfin. After several conflicts with local Barbary pirates sponsored by the Zayyanid sultans, Spain decided to invade Algeria and defeat the native Kingdom of Tlemcen. In 1505, they invaded and captured Mers el Kébir , and in 1509 after

5562-433: The attacks on U.S. ships in 1815. A year later, a combined Anglo - Dutch fleet, under the command of Lord Exmouth bombarded Algiers to stop similar attacks on European fishermen. These efforts proved successful, although Algerian piracy would continue until the French conquest in 1830. Under the pretext of a slight to their consul, the French invaded and captured Algiers in 1830. According to several historians,

5665-460: The captives. According to Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves. They often made raids on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at slave markets in North Africa and other parts of the Ottoman Empire . In 1544, for example, Hayreddin Barbarossa captured the island of Ischia , taking 4,000 prisoners, and enslaved some 9,000 inhabitants of Lipari , almost

5768-427: The cities of North Africa. Algiers lost between 30,000 and 50,000 inhabitants to the plague in 1620–21, and had high fatalities in 1654–57, 1665, 1691 and 1740–42. The Barbary pirates preyed on Christian and other non-Islamic shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea. The pirates often took the passengers and crew on the ships and sold them or used them as slaves . They also did a brisk business in ransoming some of

5871-405: The cities, instead looting them and destroying them. The invasion kept going, and in 1057 the Arabs spread on the high plains of Constantine where they encircled the Qalaa of Banu Hammad (capital of the Hammadid Emirate ), as they had done in Kairouan a few decades ago. From there they gradually gained the upper Algiers and Oran plains. Some of these territories were forcibly taken back by

5974-402: The city of Algiers , which in turn derives from the Arabic al-Jazāʾir ( الجزائر , "the islands"), referring to four small islands off its coast, a truncated form of the older Jazāʾir Banī Mazghanna ( جزائر بني مزغنة , "islands of Bani Mazghanna"). The name was given by Buluggin ibn Ziri after he established the city on the ruins of the Phoenician city of Icosium in 950. It

6077-402: The city, they were able to force a tribute on them. In 1516, the Turkish privateer brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa , who operated successfully under the Hafsids , moved their base of operations to Algiers. They succeeded in conquering Jijel and Algiers from the Spaniards with help from the locals who saw them as liberators from the Christians, but the brothers eventually assassinated

6180-432: The coastal regions of the Maghreb between 15,000 and 10,000 BC. Neolithic civilization (animal domestication and agriculture) developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC. This life, richly depicted in the Tassili n'Ajjer paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period. The mixture of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into

6283-522: The colony. Only the year before, the Portuguese government had been toppled by the Portuguese armed forces after becoming bogged down in colonial wars in Angola and Mozambique . Therefore, following the Green March, and with a view to avoid war and preserving as much as possible of its interest in the territory, Spain agreed to enter direct bilateral negotiations with Morocco, bringing in also Mauritania, who had made similar demands. Under pressure from Morocco, Spain also agreed that no representatives of

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6386-445: The command of Dutch pirate Jan Janszoon sailed as far as Iceland , raiding and capturing slaves . Two weeks earlier another pirate ship from Salé in Morocco had also raided in Iceland. Some of the slaves brought to Algiers were later ransomed back to Iceland, but some chose to stay in Algeria. In 1629, pirate ships from Algeria raided the Faroe Islands . In 1659, the Janissaries stationed in Algiers, also known commonly as

6489-444: The definition of its borders with its neighboring entities on the east and west. The Ottoman Turks who settled in Algeria referred both to themselves and the peoples as " Algerians ". Acting as a central military and political authority in the regency, the Ottoman Turks shaped the modern political identity of Algeria as a state possessing all the attributes of sovereign independence, despite still being nominally subject to

6592-414: The early 1930s, this force was entitled "Tropas Nómadas del Sahara". It comprised a camel corps, modelled on the French " Meharistes " and serving as desert police. Later the Tropas Nómadas were partially mechanised but camel detachments remained in service until the 1970s. Most officer plus some NCOs and specialists were Spanish. With expansion and increased mechanism the proportion of Spanish personnel in

6695-439: The early 20th century they formed a majority of the population in both cities. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the European share was almost a fifth of the population. The French government aimed at making Algeria an assimilated part of France, and this included substantial educational investments especially after 1900. The indigenous cultural and religious resistance heavily opposed this tendency, but in contrast to

6798-498: The early 4th century BC, Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the Revolt of the Mercenaries , Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War . They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa. The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by

6901-452: The entire population. In 1551, the Ottoman governor of Algiers, Turgut Reis , enslaved the entire population of the Maltese island of Gozo . Barbary pirates often attacked the Balearic Islands . The threat was so severe that residents abandoned the island of Formentera . The introduction of broad-sail ships from the beginning of the 17th century allowed them to branch out into the Atlantic. In July 1627 two pirate ships from Algiers under

7004-505: The exercise of sovereignty by the Moroccan state was characterized by official pledges of allegiance to the sultan. The Moroccan government was of the opinion that this allegiance existed during several centuries before the Spanish occupation and that it was a legal and political tie. The sultan Hassan I , for example, had carried out two expeditions in 1886 in order to put an end to foreign incursions in this territory and to officially invest several caids and cadis . In its presentation to

7107-413: The far north on the Mediterranean coast. Inhabited since prehistory , Algeria has been at the crossroads of numerous cultures and civilizations, including the Phoenicians , Numidians , Romans , Vandals , and Byzantine Greeks . Its modern identity is rooted in centuries of Arab Muslim migration waves since the seventh century and the subsequent Arabization of the indigenous populations. Following

7210-422: The few in North Africa who remained independent. The Berber people were so resistant that even during the Muslim conquest of North Africa they still had control and possession over their mountains. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire led to the establishment of a native Kingdom based in Altava (modern-day Algeria) known as the Mauro-Roman Kingdom . It was succeeded by another Kingdom based in Altava,

7313-410: The great majority in Tunisia until the end of the 9th century and Muslims only became a vast majority some time in the 10th. After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, numerous local dynasties emerged, including the Rustamids , Aghlabids , Fatimids , Zirids , Hammadids , Almoravids , Almohads and the Zayyanids . The Christians left in three waves: after the initial conquest, in the 10th century and

7416-461: The indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilisation was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and political organisation supported several states. Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others. By

7519-537: The institution of a regular administration, governors with the title of pasha ruled for three-year terms. The pasha was assisted by an autonomous janissary unit, known in Algeria as the Ojaq who were led by an agha . Discontent among the ojaq rose in the mid-1600s because they were not paid regularly, and they repeatedly revolted against the pasha. As a result, the agha charged the pasha with corruption and incompetence and seized power in 1659. Plague had repeatedly struck

7622-610: The international legality as the former colonial power. The traditional position of all the Spanish democratic governments until the election of Prime Minister Zapatero had been that the wishes of the Western Saharan population have to be respected, and of support to the organization of the referendum requested by the United Nations. According to the US Department of State's documents leaked by Wikileaks, Spain, under Zapatero, has changed its traditional position concerning

7725-579: The land, as they were harassed by local tribes. In fact, by the time the Byzantines arrived Leptis Magna was abandoned and the Msellata region was occupied by the indigenous Laguatan who had been busy facilitating an Amazigh political, military and cultural revival. Furthermore, during the rule of the Romans, Byzantines, Vandals, Carthaginians, and Ottomans the Berber people were the only or one of

7828-434: The local noble Salim al-Tumi and took control over the city and the surrounding regions. Their state is known as the Regency of Algiers . When Aruj was killed in 1518 during his invasion of Tlemcen , Hayreddin succeeded him as military commander of Algiers. The Ottoman sultan gave him the title of beylerbey and a contingent of some 2,000 janissaries . With the aid of this force and native Algerians, Hayreddin conquered

7931-474: The local population, which was reduced by up to one-third due to warfare, disease, and starvation. The Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945 catalysed local resistance that culminated in the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954. Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The country descended into a bloody civil war from 1992 to 2002. Spanning 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria

8034-467: The methods used by the French to establish control over Algeria reached genocidal proportions. Historian Ben Kiernan wrote on the French conquest of Algeria: "By 1875, the French conquest was complete. The war had killed approximately 825,000 indigenous Algerians since 1830." French losses from 1831 to 1851 were 92,329 dead in the hospital and only 3,336 killed in action. In 1872, The Algerian population stood at about 2.9 million. French policy

8137-556: The native population would be present in the negotiations that resulted in 14 November Madrid Accords . This was a treaty which divided Spanish Sahara between Mauritania and Morocco. In the agreements Spain agreed to cede the possession of the colony to Morocco and Mauritania, under the condition, expressed in point 3 of the Trilateral Agreement, that the views of the Saharan population had to be respected. Spain received

8240-595: The odjak; but by the 18th century, it had become the dey's instrument. Although Algiers remained nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, in reality they acted independently from the rest of the Empire, and often had wars with other Ottoman subjects and territories such as the Beylik of Tunis . The dey was in effect a constitutional autocrat. The dey was elected for a life term, but in the 159 years (1671–1830) that

8343-714: The organisation of the referendum for the Western Sahara, and now supports the Moroccan position. The documents also stated that Spain had been trying to broker an agreement between the two parties. However, in her speech to the Spanish Parliament of 15 December 2010, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Trinidad Jiménez denied that Spain supports the Moroccan position in Spanish Sahara. She also argued that Spain will support any agreement between

8446-663: The other colonized countries' path in central Asia and Caucasus , Algeria kept its individual skills and a relatively human-capital intensive agriculture. During the Second World War , Algeria came under Vichy control before being liberated by the Allies in Operation Torch , which saw the first large-scale deployment of American troops in the North African campaign . Gradually, dissatisfaction among

8549-436: The people of the territory. A UN visiting mission had concluded on 15 October, the day before the ICJ verdict was released, that Sahrawi support for independence was "overwhelming". However, the reference to previous Moroccan-Sahrawi ties of allegiance was presented by Hassan II as a vindication of his position, with no public mention of the court's further ruling on self-determination. (Seven years later, he formally agreed to

8652-733: The referendum, which has still not taken place as of 2019. Morocco has rejected the idea of the referendum as unworkable in 2000 and has suggested a plan of autonomy for Western Sahara within Morocco. That proposal has been rejected by the Polisario, and also by its Algerian backers; it was presented to the UN in April 2007. Spain is divided between its desire to preserve a good relation with Morocco, its southern neighbor with whom it shares terrestrial borders in Ceuta and Melilla , and its responsibility to

8755-595: The regency's authority was seldom applied in the Kabylia , although in 1730 the Regency was able to take control over the Kingdom of Kuku in western Kabylia. Many cities in the northern parts of the Algerian desert paid taxes to Algiers or one of its Beys. Barbary raids in the Mediterranean continued to attack Spanish merchant shipping, and as a result, the Spanish Empire launched an invasion in 1775 , then

8858-687: The region of Saguia El Hamra . They brandished Moroccan flags and Qur'an ; banners calling for the "return of the Moroccan Sahara ", photographs of the King and the Qur'an ; the color green for the march's name was intended as a symbol of Islam . As the marchers reached the border , the Spanish Armed Forces were ordered not to fire to avoid bloodshed. The Spanish troops also cleared some previously mined zones. According to Morocco ,

8961-507: The remaining Berber territory was annexed to the Roman Empire . For several centuries Algeria was ruled by the Romans, who founded many colonies in the region. Algeria is home to the second-largest number of Roman sites and remains after Italy. Rome, after getting rid of its powerful rival Carthage in the year 146 BC, decided a century later to include Numidia to become the new master of North Africa. They built more than 500 cities. Like

9064-460: The rest of North Africa, Algeria was one of the breadbaskets of the empire, exporting cereals and other agricultural products. Saint Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern-day Annaba, Algeria), located in the Roman province of Africa . The Germanic Vandals of Geiseric moved into North Africa in 429, and by 435 controlled coastal Numidia. They did not make any significant settlement on

9167-513: The specific structure of that State, they do not show that Morocco displayed any effective and exclusive State activity in Western Sahara. They do, however, provide indications that a legal tie of allegiance existed at the relevant period between the Sultan and some, but only some, of the nomadic peoples of the territory, through Tekna caids of the Noun region, and they show that the Sultan displayed, and

9270-475: The system was in place, fourteen of the twenty-nine deys were assassinated. Despite usurpation, military coups and occasional mob rule, the day-to-day operation of the Deylikal government was remarkably orderly. Although the regency patronised the tribal chieftains, it never had the unanimous allegiance of the countryside, where heavy taxation frequently provoked unrest. Autonomous tribal states were tolerated, and

9373-581: The territory and Morocco, or Mauritania, at the time of Spanish colonization ; and that these contacts were not extensive enough to support either country's demand for annexation of the Spanish Sahara. Instead, the court argued, the indigenous population (the Sahrawis) possessed the right of self-determination . This meant that regardless of which political solution was found to the question of sovereignty (integration with Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, partition, or independence), it had to be explicitly approved by

9476-556: The territory, according to a Spanish census taken that same year. While the Tropas Nómadas gave effective service during the greater part of the force's history, their loyalty was tested by the outbreak of the indigenous Polisario Front 's rebellion (1973–75). In May 1975 increasing instances of indiscipline culminated with two mutinies when the Saharan personnel of two motorized desert patrols overwhelmed their Spanish colleagues and took them as prisoners to Algeria. Following

9579-528: The two last Spanish strongholds in Algeria. In the same year, they conquered the Moroccan Rif and Oujda , which they then abandoned in 1795. In the 19th century, Algerian pirates forged affiliations with Caribbean powers, paying a "license tax" in exchange for safe harbor of their vessels. Attacks by Algerian pirates on American merchantmen resulted in the First and Second Barbary Wars , which ended

9682-623: The way, especially in Cyrenaica , where they are still one of the essential elements of the settlement but most arrived in Ifriqiya by the Gabes region, arriving 1051. The Zirid ruler tried to stop this rising tide, but with each encounter, the last under the walls of Kairouan , his troops were defeated and the Arabs remained masters of the battlefield. The Arabs usually did not take control over

9785-399: The whole area between Constantine and Oran (although the city of Oran remained in Spanish hands until 1792). The next beylerbey was Hayreddin's son Hasan , who assumed the position in 1544. He was a Kouloughli or of mixed origins, as his mother was an Algerian Mooresse. Until 1587 Beylerbeylik of Algiers was governed by Beylerbeys who served terms with no fixed limits. Subsequently, with

9888-577: Was condemned by the international community, notably in the United Nations Security Council Resolution 380 . The march was considered an attempt to bypass the International Court of Justice 's Advisory opinion on Western Sahara that had been issued three weeks earlier. Morocco gained control of most of the former Spanish Sahara, which it still holds to this day. The refusal of the Saharawi people to submit to

9991-520: Was during this time that the Fatimids or children of Fatima , daughter of Muhammad , came to the Maghreb . These "Fatimids" went on to found a long lasting dynasty stretching across the Maghreb, Hejaz and the Levant , boasting a secular inner government, as well as a powerful army and navy, made up primarily of Arabs and Levantines extending from Algeria to their capital state of Cairo . The Fatimid caliphate began to collapse when its governors

10094-488: Was employed by medieval geographers such as Muhammad al-Idrisi and Yaqut al-Hamawi . Algeria took its name from the Regency of Algeria or Regency of Algiers, when Ottoman rule was established in the central Maghreb in early 16th century. This period saw the installation of a political and administrative organization which participated in the establishment of the Watan el djazâïr ( وطن الجزائر , country of Algiers) and

10197-547: Was later called the Algerian War began after the publication of the Declaration of 1 November 1954 . Historians have estimated that between 30,000 and 150,000 Harkis and their dependents were killed by the National Liberation Front (FLN) or by lynch mobs in Algeria. The FLN used hit and run attacks in Algeria and France as part of its war, and the French conducted severe reprisals . In addition,

10300-423: Was predicated on "civilising" the country. The slave trade and piracy in Algeria ceased following the French conquest. The conquest of Algeria by the French took some time and resulted in considerable bloodshed. A combination of violence and disease epidemics caused the indigenous Algerian population to decline by nearly one-third from 1830 to 1872. On 17 September 1860, Napoleon III declared "Our first duty

10403-413: Was recognized by other States to possess, some authority or influence with respect to those tribes. " The Green March caught Spain in a moment of political crisis. The caudillo General Francisco Franco , who had led the country for 36 years, was dying. Despite the overwhelming military and logistic superiority of the Spanish armed forces based in Western Sahara in relation to the Moroccan armed forces,

10506-485: Was replaced by the Saharan Police Troops ( Tropas de Policia del Sahara ) The new and expanded force was partially camel-mounted and operated inland. Roughly half of its personnel were recruited from the Saharan tribes, who were familiar with climate and conditions. The remainder were drawn from Moroccan Regulares and Mehal-la goumiers, seconded from the existing Spanish Army of Africa . First raised in

10609-405: Was that a conflict raged between the Polisario and the Moroccan government. The conflict has still not been resolved. Currently, there is a cease-fire in effect, after a Moroccan-Polisario agreement was struck in 1991 to solve the dispute through the organization of a referendum on independence. A UN peace-keeping mission ( MINURSO ) has been charged with overseeing the cease-fire and organizing

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