Algerian Revolution: 1954-1962
Algerian Revolution (1954-1962)
Introduction
The Algerian Revolution, also known as the Algerian War of Independence, was fought by the National Liberation Front (FLN) against the French government and military.
It lasted eight years and resulted in Algeria's independence in 1962.
Map of Imperial Africa in 1914
The map shows the various European powers that controlled territories in Africa.
France controlled a large area, including Algeria.
Algeria is a large territory in Northwestern Africa, the largest country in Africa today.
Algeria was part of a larger French imperial project that included French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, and French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia).
Special Status of Algeria within the French Empire
Algeria was arguably the most important part of the French Empire.
The French fought intensely to hold on to Algeria.
The French government and population were against the notion of losing Algeria.
Outline of the Lecture
History of French Algeria (1830-1954)
The French conquest began in 1830.
Understanding the political dynamics within Algeria's Muslim Arab population and anti-colonial politics before the FLN.
The Revolution (1954-1958)
The FLN began its guerrilla war.
The FLN transformed the political landscape of Algeria and France.
It destabilized politics in France.
The Revolution (1959-1962)
The FLN focused on its diplomatic strategy.
It sought support from other countries and conducted international public relations campaigns.
This strategy was key to their success.
The Algerian revolution and the FLN were admired and imitated by anti-colonial and revolutionary movements worldwide.
History of French Algeria (1830-1954)
Demographics and Ethnicity
Algeria was and is an overwhelmingly Muslim country.
Most of the population identified as Arabs, although a significant portion identified as Berber.
Berbers were the original ethnicity in North Africa before the Arab conquest.
About 30-40% of Algerians identify as Berber.
Arabic and Berber languages were spoken.
Politically, Algeria identified as an Arab country.
Political Status Before French Conquest
Algeria was part of the Ottoman Empire, but not a central part.
It was like a protectorate.
The Ottoman Empire could not aid Algeria when the French invaded in 1830.
French Conquest of Algiers
The French conquest began in 1830.
Initially, the conquest focused on Algiers, the city.
Political control was focused in the cities, typical of Ottoman North Africa.
The pretext for the French invasion was that the French government had borrowed money from Algerian merchants during the Napoleonic Wars and defaulted on the debts.
The French king needed a military victory to shore up his popularity and avoid paying the debts.
Gradual Conquest and Its Impact
The French military gradually conquered more territory over several decades.
The conquest damaged Algerian society.
There was resistance to the French conquest.
The French used brutal tactics, including a scorched earth strategy, destroying villages and the landscape.
The term “scorched earth” was coined by a French general during the conquest of Algeria.
There was a significant famine.
Historians estimate that perhaps as much as a third of the Algerian population died from war, famine, and the French conquest between 1830 and 1870.
There was deliberate cultural erasure, with the French burning down Islamic schools and centers of learning.
By the first half of the 20th century, most Algerians were illiterate.
Those who received education learned in French and the French educational system because the French had destroyed the existing educational system.
Algeria's Unique Status within the French Empire
Imperialism and colonialism are heterogeneous.
Colonialism differs even within the same empires.
Morocco became a French protectorate in 1912.
Other parts of French territory in Africa were formal colonies.
Algeria became part of sovereign French territory in the French political system and French law.
It was treated as part of France itself.
Significant European settlers came to Algeria, becoming French citizens.
By 1954, there were about 1,000,000 European settlers (Pied Noir) living in Algeria, compared to roughly 8,000,000 Muslim Algerians.
Citizenship in French Algeria was granted based on religion.
Christian settlers were granted French citizenship.
The Jewish minority was granted French citizenship in 1870.
Muslims were denied French citizenship unless they renounced their religion.
Only about 6,000-7,000 Muslims became French citizens.
There was a two-tier system.
Muslim/Arab Algerians could vote in elections for their own representatives, but their powers were limited.
The legal system was harsher for the Muslim/Arab majority.
The system had similarities to the Apartheid system in South Africa.
Geography
Almost all of the Algerian population lived in the northern part of the country, along the Mediterranean coast.
The big cities were Algiers, Oran, and Constantine.
South of the coast, there were high mountains and high plain territory (Atlas Telion, 0 Plateau, Ores, Atlas Saharian).
Most of Algeria was the Sahara Desert.
The French conquest was a gradual process.
Muslim Algerian Politics Before the FLN
There was an active political scene among the Muslim majority, even though they were not French citizens.
There were three different political trends:
Assimilationists: Argued that all Algerians should become French citizens.
The figurehead was Farehta Abbas, a pharmacist.
They wanted to reconcile the inequalities by making everyone a French citizen.
Abbas was not an Algerian nationalist but a French nationalist.
Islamic Modernists/Reformists: Led by the ulama (religious scholars).
The figurehead was Abdelhamey ben Badis.
This was an educational and cultural movement, not a political movement.
They were urging Algerians to practice correct Islamic customs and culture, promote the Arabic language, and compensate for the damage the French had done during the conquest.
Ben Badis insisted that there was an Algerian nation and that Algerians were not French and could never be French.
Popular/Populist Nationalists: Most of the FLN leadership came from this trend.
The figurehead was Masali Hajj.
He was a working-class person who was influenced by working-class French politics, socialism, and communism.
He created the North African Star, which got support from the French Communist Party.
He wanted an independent Algeria with social and economic justice.
He had an anti-establishment message.
Hajj returned to Algeria in 1930 and created a political party that became the most popular political force in Algeria in the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1945, the end of the Second World War, marked the beginning of the revolutionary age in Algerian politics.
The Seytif Mascara Massacre (May 1945)
Hundreds of thousands of Algerians had fought in the French army in the Second World War.
At the end of the war, Algerians felt like they were owed changes and reforms.
Tens of thousands of people marched protesting, looking for changes, in S'etif.
The French brutally put this down, massacring tens of thousands of people.
The French officer responsible for the massacre reported back to Paris that they had only bought ten years before the FLN started their revolution.
Sheikh Ben Badis
Leader of the Ulama, the religious movement.
He rejected the notion that Algerians should become French citizens.
He insisted that the Muslim population was not part of France, could not be part of France, and did not want to be part of France.
He advocated for learning Arabic properly, practicing proper Islamic customs, and rediscovering cultural and religious authenticity.
Masali Hajj
Represented the populist, left-wing nationalist trend.
He returned to Algeria in the early 1930s.
He created the PPA, which became the most popular political force in Algeria.
He advocated for improving the lives of everyone, sharing the wealth of Algeria, and making everyone's lives better.
Many of the founders of the FLN came from the PPA.