ALGERIA UNDER THE FRENCH The settlement of the French in Algiers opened a new period in the history of North Africa. In the 16th century traders from Marseille set up coral fisheries on the Barbary coast, at Bone, at Calle and at the Bastion de France. France had maintained more continuous relations with the regency than any other Christian nation. A dispute arose with the dey in connection with the wheat supplied to the directoire by two Jews of Algiers, Bakri and Busnach. In the course of the negotiations which were undertaken to settle the question, the dey Hussein struck Deval, the French consul, with a fly-whisk (April 1827). The dispute became so bitter that after a blockade lasting three years it was decided to send an expedition. The command of the army was entrusted to Gen. de Bourmont, and that of the fleet to Admiral Duperre. A French force of 37,00o men landed at Sidi-Ferruch on June 14, 1830, and Algiers capitulated on July 5.
The French found, however, that although they had put an end to Turkish rule in Algeria, they were not yet in possession of the country. It had to be wrested yard by yard from the native popu lation. This task was not undertaken without much hesitation. The July monarchy wavered for some years between the idea of conquering the country completely, occupying a part of\it and evacuating it altogether. A section both of parliament and the press urged that Algiers should be given up. It was not until July 22, 1834 that a decree was issued appointing a governor-gen eral of French possessions in North Africa. From 1834 to 184o an attempt was made to confine the occupation to a few points on the sea-board, Algiers, Oran, Bougie and Bone, with the districts immediately surrounding them. There were frequent changes in the command of the army, and governors succeeded one another rapidly. In the course of ten years the successive governors were Bourmont, Clauzel, Berthezene, Rovigo, Voirol, Drouet d'Erlon, Clauzel again, Damremont and Valee. The ablest of these early governors was Clauzel, but he had neither the time nor the troops necessary to carry out his plans.
The resistance of the natives in the province of Constantine centred round the bey Ahmed, and in the rest of Algeria round Abd-el-Kader. An expedition against Constantine, undertaken in 1836, was a failure, and success was not achieved until the next year. In 1838 Marshal Valee organized the province of Constan tine. The administration was entrusted to important native chiefs who were subject to the authority of the commandant of the province.
Abd-el-Kader was a marabout of the district of Mascara, who in his early days was of little importance. The French at first tried to work with him, but the treaty signed by Gen. Desmichels (1834) and the treaty of Tafna (1837) greatly increased his pres tige among the natives. Abd-el-Kader, who possessed real military and diplomatic gifts, was the most formidable adversary whom the French ever encountered in Algeria. He attempted to create an administration, a regular army, and a system of taxation. His final downfall was largely due to the natives themselves, who re fused to sink their private quarrels and accept his leadership. In 1839 Abd-el-Kader, maintaining that the expedition which had linked up Constantine with Algiers was a violation of the treaty of Tafna, proclaimed a holy war and ravaged the prosperous settle ments which the French colonists had established in the Mitidja.
The Government then decided to prosecute the war in Africa with vigour, and sent out Bugeaud (1841-47). His arrival put an end to the long period of vacillation and uncertainty. Bugeaud was a man of energy and persistence and a first-class soldier. He was the real creator of the African army. He abandoned the system of small forces in block-houses, where they were decimated by sickness and by the boredom of inactivity. Instead, he sent out flying columns in all directions, burdened with the least possi ble baggage so that they could strike quickly and attack the ma terial interests of the enemy by carrying off his cattle and his crops. The war against Abd-el-Kader was long and wearisome. The principal events were the capture of Takdempt, Abd-el Kader's stronghold (1841), the taking of Smala by the duc d'Aumale (1842), Bugeaud's victory at Isly over a Moroccan army (1844) while the prince de Joinville was bombarding Tan giers and Mogador and finally the surrender of Abd-el-Kader to Lamoriciere (1847).
Bugeaud also set up the department for native affairs and Arab bureaux, which was established by the ministerial order of Feb. 1, 1844. The department, which was now staffed with officers well acquainted with the language, institutions and customs of the population, had to administer the country and supervise the native chiefs. Bugeaud regarded colonization as a necessary auxiliary to conquest. His aim was to transform Algeria into a French terri tory by rural colonization. He permanently settled 40,00o French colonists in Algeria. Bugeaud's colleagues were Lamoriciere, Bedeau, Changarnier and the duc d'Aumale for military affairs, Daumas, Leon Roches, Lamoriciere and Cavaignac for native affairs, and Guyot for colonization. He had what his predecessors had lacked: time, full powers and an army of i oo,000 men. By 1848 the conquest of Algeria could be regarded as accomplished.
Algeria is so near to France that it has always quickly reflected events occurring either in the domestic or foreign affairs of that country. Thus the revolution of 1848 led to important changes in the organization of Algeria. It was declared a French territory, and was divided into departments similar to those of France, each administered by a prefect. New colonists, largely recruited from the unemployed of Paris, were sent out. Algeria was included in the French customs system by the Act of Jan. II, 1851.
After the coup d'etat Gen. Randon (1851-57) was appointed governor-general. He completed the conquest of Algeria by the subjection of Kabylia of the Djurjura (1857), which was the only part of the Algerian Tell not yet under French influence. Here he constructed the Fort-Napoleon (Fort-National) as a "thorn in the flesh" of the country. The policy of colonization was con tinued, and the first railways constructed.
In 1858 the governor-generalship was abolished and replaced by a ministry of Algeria and the colonies. This office, however, only had a brief existence; it was held by Prince Jerome Napoleon and the comte de Chasseloup-Laubat. The governor-generalship was re-established by the order of Nov. 24,1860. The new gover nor-general was Marshal Pelissier (186o-64) who was succeeded on his death by Marshal de MacMahon (1864-7o). The emperor Napoleon III. had views of his own about Algeria, which he ex plained in two open letters in 1863 and 1865. He said that Algeria was an Arab kingdom, and he did not encourage colonization. In place of Bugeaud's policy of populating the country, he adopted the policy of economic development by great financial companies. These views were embodied in the senatorial decree of April 22, 1863, which gave the tribes ownership of the lands which they held by no matter what right, and in the senatorial decree of July 14, 1865, which declared the natives French subjects and gave them facilities for acquiring rights of citizenship. Napoleon III.'s inno vations were on the whole unpopular. State property in Algeria suffered, and colonization was hampered and discouraged.
The revolt of the Ouled-Sidi-Cheik (1861-83) in the south Oran district did not affect the rest of Algeria. Its long duration is to be explained by the fact that the adjoining country, Morocco, was in a state of anarchy, and the insurgents were thus able to find in it both a refuge and support. As a result of the famine from which the native population suffered in 1868 and the agri cultural enquiry carried out by the comte le Hon, a draft consti tution was drawn up by Armand Behic, according to which Algeria would have obtained a considerable measure of autonomy.
The revolution of Sept. 4, 187o was followed in Algeria by a period of agitation and disturbance which produced the most de plorable effect upon the native population. A series of orders were promulgated which aimed at the complete assimilation of Algeria to France, in accordance with the demands put forward by the colonists on the fall of the empire. One of the decrees naturalized the Algerian Jews en bloc. The native insurrection which broke out in March 1871 and lasted until Jan. 1872 was not a rising of oppressed peoples against the oppressor, or a national struggle for freedom, since no nation existed; still less was it a religious war. It was simply the result of the defeats which France had suffered in Europe and of the anarchy which ensued. The leaders were the great native chiefs who felt their interests and privileges to be in danger, particularly Mokrani, bach-aga of Medjana. It raged most severely in the province of Constantine and Kabylia. The revolt was put down with severity; the insurgent tribes had to pay a heavy indemnity, and their lands were sequestrated.
The governor-generalship, which had been abolished in 187o, was re-established in 1871. Algeria now had a civilian governor general coming under the ministry of the interior instead of the ministry of war. The post was entrusted to Admiral de Gueydon, a broad-minded and energetic man and an excellent administrator. He was a strong partisan of colonization, which was energetically resumed. The Native Property Act of 1873 was intended to facili tate the acquisition of Mohammedan lands by Europeans. The colonization policy was pursued under the governorship of Gen. Chanzy (1873-79). In 1881 the European population reached the figure of 376,000, of whom 14o,000 were settled on the land.
From 1881 to 1896 the policy of complete assimilation of Algeria to France once more prevailed. The civil lands were greatly extended so as to cover the whole of the Tell and a large part of the higher plateaux. The districts which were almost en tirely inhabited by natives were given the name of mixed com munes, and civilian administrators were appointed to deal with them instead of the officers of the Arab bureaux. Finally, by the decrets de rattachement of Aug. 26, 1881, Algerian affairs were allotted to the various ministries of France itself, so that the posi tion of the governor was reduced merely to that of an agent for the transmission of instructions. The disadvantages of this system were not long in making themselves felt; attention was drawn to them in the able reports of Burdeau in 1892 and Jonnart in 1893, and in the speeches of the governor-general, Jules Cambon (189'— 97). The senate appointed a committee known as the Commission des XVIII., which sat from 1892 until 1896 under the chairman ship of Jules Ferry, in order to study the changes which should be introduced in the legislation and organization of Algeria. It declared definitely against the system of attachment to French ministries.
An order issued on Dec. 31, 1896 revoked the orders of 1881 and restored the govemor-general's powers so that he once more became the head of the administration of Algeria. The decentrali zation was completed by the orders of Aug. 23,1898, which estab lished the system still in force. The powers of the governor were defined, the Superior Council was reorganized, and in addition to that body, which was composed of officials and elected members, there was set up a new assembly, nearly all of whose members were elected. This body, which is known as the Algerian financial delegations, has three sections providing separate representation for colonists, non-colonists and natives. The Act of Dec. 19, i9oo entrusted the two bodies mentioned above with the right of vot ing the budget, subject to the supervision of the home government and of parliament. A separate budget for Algeria was instituted, the expenditure being divided into obligatory and optional expend iture. Civil personality was conferred on the colony, and it was empowered to contract loans. The intention of these measures was to give the Algerians the opportunity of managing their own affairs. By the Act of Dec. 24, i9o2 the southern territories were transformed into an administrative unit distinct from north Al geria, and were also granted civil personality and a separate budget. This measure was necessitated by the fact that since 19oo the territory of Algeria had been considerably extended towards the south, owing to the occupation of the oases of Touat, the pacification of the central Sahara and the joining up of North Africa and the Sudan.
The system set up in 1898-19oo has, generally speaking, worked well. The policy followed has been, while maintaining the right of suzerainty of the home country, to provide the colony with a suitable administrative system not by automatically transferring to it the legislation and institutions of France but by adapting them in a careful and practical way. The governors-general of Algeria since 1898 have been either civil servants or members of parliament on mission. Their names are as follows: Laferriere (1898), Jonnart (19oo), Revoil 0900, Jonnart again (1903), Lutaud (19I I), Jonnart for a third time (1918), Abel (1919), Steeg (1921), Viollette (1925) and Bordes (1927). Many of the governors-general have been able statesmen; but it is regrettable that their terms of office should have been so short.
The policy adopted towards the native population has through out the 2oth century constantly progressed in the direction of greater liberality. Native conscription was instituted by the order of Feb. 3, 1912; this accelerated the movement and led to the almost complete abolition of the system .under which certain acts constituted offences in the case of natives only, and natives were tried by special courts. During the World War of 1914-18 the Algerian natives showed the utmost loyalty in spite of all foreign incitement to rebel. They furnished 173,000 fighting men and 119,000 workers and the losses in killed and missing amounted to 25,000 soldiers. The Arab taxes were abolished by the order of Nov. 3o, 1918; all inequalities and privileges in the matter of taxa tion have now disappeared. Under the Act of Feb. 4, 1919, con cerning the admission of natives to political rights which was drafted by Governor-General Jonnart, they are represented in all the deliberative assemblies of Algeria by elected members possess ing the same rights as the French members. The electorate has also been considerably extended.
The policy of populating the country with French colonists has been pursued as far as circumstances permitted. A new nation is being created in Algeria by fusion between the French elements and the various foreign elements, mainly Spanish, who were more or less automatically naturalized by the Act of June 26, 1889. Two thousand lives were lost and .L5,000,000 worth of damage done in floods in western Algeria in Nov. 1927. In 1928 there were further floods. In that year preparations were begun for celebrating in 1930 the centenary of the French occupation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.—Bibliographies: Sir R. Lambert Playfair, A BibliogBibliography.—Bibliographies: Sir R. Lambert Playfair, A Bibliog- raphy of Algeria (1887) ; Supplement to the Bibliography of Algeria (1898) ; C. Tailliart, Essai de bibliographie methodique et raisonnee de l'Algerie jusqu'a 1924 (1925) . General History: E. Mercier, Histoire de l'Afrique septentrionale (1888-91) ; E. Cat, Petite histoire de l'Algerie (1891) ; Maurice Wahl, L'Algerie, 5th ed. (1908) . Pre historic and Classical Period: S. Gsell, Les monuments antiques de l'Algerie (19o1) ; Histoire ancienne de l'Afrique du Nord, in course of publication • 7 vols. have appeared (1913-27) ; L. Bertholon et E. Chantre, Recherches anthropologiques dans la Berberie orientale (1913) ; M. Boule, Les hommes fossiles 3rd ed. (1927) ; Eng. trans. J. E. and J. Ritchie, Fossil Men (1923) . Arabs and Berbers in the Middle Ages: Histoire des Berberes, trans. Baron W. MacGuckin de Slane (1856, reprinted 1925) ; G. Les Arabes rn en Barberie du XIenie au Xlyee siècle (1913) ; Manuel d'art musul man (1927, bibl.). Turkish period: E. Masqueray, "Les revolutions de l'Afrique du Nord jusqu'au XVIeme siècle," in Lavisse and Ram baud's Histoire Generale, vol. 4 (1895, bibl.) ; H. D. de Grammont, Histoire d'Alger sous la domination turque (1887) ; E. Plantet, Corre spondance des deys d'Alger avec la cour de France (1889) ; P. Masson, Histoire des etablissements et du commerce francais dans l'Afrique barbaresque (1903) . French period: Tableau des etablissements f rancais dans l'Algerie (183o-66) ; Statistique generale de l'Algerie (1866 ff .) ; Pellissier de Reynaud, Annales algeriennes (1854) ; H. d'Ideville, Le marechal Bugeaud (1881) ; Eng. trans. C. M. Yonge, Memoirs of Marshal Bugeaud (1881) . C. Rousset, La conquete d'Alger (1886) Les Commencements d'une conquete; L'Algerie de 183o a (1887) ; La conquete de l'Algerie (1889) ; H. de Peyerimhoff, Enquete sur les resultats de la colonisation officielle (1906) ; Jules Cambon, Le gouvernement general de l'Algerie (1918) ; G. Esquer, La prise d'Alger (1923, bibl.) ; Paul Azan, L'emir Abd-el-Kader (1925) ; Collection de documents inedits sur l'histoire de l'Algerie cores 1830 (in course of publication 1914– ) ; Augustin Bernard, L'A f rique du Nord pendant la guerre (1926) ; E. Larcher and G. Rectenwald, Traite elementaire de legislation algerienne, 3rd ed. (1923) ; Arthur Girault, "Principes de colonisation et de legislation coloniale," vol. iv. l'Afrique du Nord . (A. BE.)