Conquest of Algeria

The conquest of Algeria was done in several stages:

the Taken of Algiers, the July 5th 1830, by the French troops, ordered by Louis Auguste Victor de Ghaisne, count de Bourmont.
a wild French military campaign, of 1830 with 1857, for “to pacify” the Algeria. Marked by the resistance of Abd El-Kader and that of Lalla Fatma Soumer.
And of the operations of colonization of the populations and the territories and of exploration of the the Sahara.

Algerian origin

The regency of Algiers (left northern the modern Algeria) is declining since the beginning of the Napoleonean wars which limit the trade in the Mediterranean. Moreover, as from 1815, the fleets British and Frenchwoman dominate the Mediterranean. The incomes of the Dey of Algiers, the Turkish dignitary places from there (the regency of Algiers forms then part of the Ottoman Empire), drop. To compensate for the loss of the maritime incomes and the trade, this one increases the tax pressure, badly withstood by the farming community. To escape the central capacity, population nomadise. Moreover, the production of Algerian corn runs up against the competition of Eastern Europe, and the fall of the French Empire deprived the regency of Algiers of a large importer. The social crisis starts a political crisis, the dey of Algiers seems disputed by the Bey S. the threat of interior implosion does not cease developing in the Années 1820. The country is weakened.

French origin

Moved by the will to distract the attention from an agitated public opinion (Second Restoration), encouraged by the Russia, France starts again itself in the colonial campaigns with the conquest of Algiers (1830). The invasion takes for pretext a secondary diplomatic incident of importance and rather badly elucidated besides between the French representative, the consul Pierre Deval, and the dey of Algiers Hussein Dey, about an old financial dispute of thirty-one years between the French government and the regency of Algiers.

At that time, in 1799 and in order to nourish the soldiers of the forwarding of Egypt, Talleyrand negotiates a payment differed for two Jewish traders from Algiers, Bacri and Busnach, charged with importing Algerian corn into France. These were not paid, and could not discharge taxes imposed by the dey. In 1827, this one claims the payment of the two merchants, in order to levy taxes for which it has great need. Exasperated and judging itself offended by the famous French consul for his difficult and arrogant character and which let trail the business, it carries a blow of range to him. According to local sources, it did nothing but touch it end of its range to indicate the exit to him. Charles X then seizes the occasion to escape its difficulties intérieures.

The king, very preserving, wants to join again with monarchical prestige (it was made crown with Rheims according to the old rites), and thus decides to wash the honor of the country. A maritime Blocus is set up. The invasion is advised by Polignac, in order to save the French interior situation. The king joins again with the tradition of the Croisades of the catholics against the Ottoman Empire. The knighthood is of return, and Charles X even acknowledges to want to find the spirit of the victories of the Cortes , with the hope to conquer Africa. One seeks especially in a context of social disturbances where the revolt thunders to send in addition to the Mediterranean of the populations presenting a danger to the social order.

The catch of Algiers

Initially judged like risky, the countryside is finally quickly victorious. France unloads the June 14th 1830. Resistance is organized badly, but the French presence is disputed by the Caïd S, the chiefs of tribes. Algiers is taken the July 5th, after difficult combat. Besides Charles X hoped to use this victory to reinforce its legitimacy of king de France, inside the country, and to more easily make pass its 4 Ordonnances of Saint Cloud. But it was reversed in July (Three Glorious).

The French Army, made up of 37 612 men and ordered by the general of Bourmont, Minister for the war, leaves Toulon for Palma the May 16th 1830 on a French fleet of 567 ships, including 103 war buildings, ordered by the admiral Duperré. Thanks to the recognitions that Napoleon i made make on the ground with the commander of the Boutin genious, Bourmont can prepare the plan of unloading thoroughly. The fleet moves towards Algiers which it reaches the May 31st, but part of the ships being still with Palma, Bourmont awaits the June 14th to accost close to the peninsula of Sidi-Ferruch, 25 km in the west of Algiers.

The June 18th, the Dey of Algiers gathers an army with the haste of 50 000 men ordered by the Agha Ibrahim: 5000 Janissaries, 5000 Coulouglis (mongrel of indigenous Turks and women), 10 000 Algerian Moors and 30 000 Arabs of the beylicats of Oran, the Titteri and Médéa.

Until the June 28th, Bourmont is satisfied to counteract, because the material of seat is not unloaded yet. The June 29th, begins the decisive attack against Fort the Emperor (Sultan-Khalessi), principal fortification of Algiers, occupied the July 4th. The dey Hussayn proposes negotiations at once and capitulates the following day. The French troops enter Algiers. The July 7th, order is given to evacuate the Casbah. The July 15th, the dey Hussayn embarks for Naples and the Janissaries for minor Asia. A commission of government and a municipal council instituted by Bourmont replace the Turkish administration. The task force had 415 died, including one of four wire of Bourmont.

Before the future of Regency is not fixed, Bourmont goes from front, pushes until Blida, makes occupy Bône and Oran in the first fortnight of August. August 11th, the new Minister for the war, the general Gerard communicates officially the news to him of the Revolution of July. Bourmont, faithful to the Bourbon, refuses to lend oath to the new king Louis-Philippe Ier after the fall of the mode of Charles X and is replaced by the general Clauzel (September 2nd 1830- February 1831), who enters into negotiation with the beys of the Titteri, of Oran and Tunis so that they accept the protectorate of France. It makes occupy Seas-el-Kébir, Oran, Bône and Médéa, but the government withdraws troops to him and it must give up its projects of conquest of all the old Regency of Algiers. C `is him which supports the creation of the first regiments of Zouave S.

The resistance of Abd El-Kader

July 26th, 1830, the religious leaders call with resistance and the Djihad. Finally, it is the mode of the Monarchie of July which is intended with the Algerian leaders to organize a new local order, but of many tensions of being able remain, and a resistance is organized in particular with Abd El-Kader, starting from 1832. The tribes meet in an ideal of Holy war in order to constitute an autonomous territory, against France and the Ottoman Empire. In 1837, a peace is negotiated, Abd El-Kader controls two thirds of the territory. In 1839, after French awkwardnesses, the war begins again because Abd El-Kader wishes to drive back the French. Those react violently, and in 1843, they gain a great victory. A kind of Guerilla is set up, for finally being slowly driven back towards the Morocco. A French intervention with the Morocco will make lose this support, Abd El-Kader must go, the French Army of Africa then controls all North-West of Algeria.

Last resistances and the creation of Algeria

The Algerian territory, which did not include/understand current south-Algerian, is thus officially annexed by France, but in the facts, all the area of Kabylie still resists. The successes gained by the French Army over resistance with Abd el-Kader, reinforce French confidence, and make it possible to issue, after debates, the conquest of Kabylie.

Between 1849 and 1852, the French domination extends to the Petite Kabylie. In July 1857, of the tribes of Grande Kabylie go, the capture of the maraboute Lalla Fatma Soumer does not put a term at resistance but the kabyles will be still raised until the beginning of the year 1870. As opposed to what one could think, the conquest did not have north in the south, since the mountains once again were the last refuge of independence. In the south, the catch of Laghouat and Touggourt, the tender of Blessed-MR.' zab of the Mzab (1852) and that of Souf, move back the limits of Algeria until the large desert. The France can then start the work of colonization of the Algérie.

The population balance

In its work the illustrated demography of Algeria (page 260) HTTP: /gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k103772b the doctor and demographer Rene Ricoux, heat in favor of the colonization which decides against the " crossing with the natives musulmans" , because that would fatally give birth according to him to " a race déclassée" , affirms that the demography of Arabic that " their characteristics condemn to slow but inescapable a disparition" show a spectacular fall and continues since 1830. Of 3 million which were the " indigènes" at the time of the conquest, they are nothing any more but 2.125.051 in 1872, according to the figures of the last census quoted by Ricoux. According to him this evolution results from slaughters but also from the new conditions imposed to the natives, in néo convinced darwinist it charges that to the law of the natural selection who wants that weakest disappear with the profits of the " races supérieures". He declares in his work " waste in 42 years was of 874.949 inhabitants, that is to say an average of 20.000 deaths per annum. During the period 1866-1872, with the massacres by the French Army, the reduction was much more alarming still: in six years, there was disappearance of 527.021 natives; it is an average either of 20.000 annual deaths, but 87.000." (The illustrated demography of Algeria, op.cit., p.260 and 261)

According to Olivier the Court Grandmaison, the colonization of Algeria resulted in the extermination of the third of the population, whose causes are multiple, massacres, deportations, famines or epidemics, but closely dependant between them. What prohibits to hold the two last for natural phenomena without relationship with the fatal pacification of this territory and testifies to the exterminating dimension of the company.

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