French Imperialism In Algeria

French Algeria is an African colony shaped by its rich history and strong Muslim majority. The French established this colony in 1827 as land to expand their growing population. Under French control, the native Algerian Muslims faced much discrimination and fell subject to colonist rule. As a result of this harsh rule and religious intolerance by the French, the Algerian natives declared war in order to gain their independence. One major area of discrimination by French colonists was in the government. Once the colonists arrived, they established political control over the natives. Local governments ruled over the cities and towns, and were lead by the rich, grand colons. Muslims had no ability to participate in these governments, including
Many of the French colonist practiced the Roman Catholic faith, which caused much conflict with the native Muslim faith (Dipiazza 29). Zurlo gives insight into this conflict when he explains, "Since only Christians and Jews were entitled to French citizenship, Muslims were largely excluded from the government." (32) The only way for Muslims to gain the rights of a French citizen was to denounce Islamic Law and accept French Law (Dipiazza 29). Very few Muslims were willing to do this, with fewer than 3,000 Muslims converting (Zurlo 32). However, some leaders showed sympathy for the Muslim faith like Napoleon III. Despite his hope to keep Algeria a French colony, Napoleon felt that France’s first duty was to the three million Arabs. He explained this belief when he declared that, "Algeria is not a French province, but an Arab country, a European colony, and a French camp." ("Algeria"). Despite some tolerance by French leaders, Muslims still faced much discrimination for their
The natives tried to fight the war mainly around the borders of the colony, where they held a tactical advantage of knowing the landscape. The natives would use small, effective attacks like ambushes, bombings, and assassinations on French colonist and soldiers (Dipiazza 31). Despite this guerrilla style of fighting, the French military was still far superior with advantages in technology, experience, and resources. One major factor in the French dominance during the war was the use of helicopters and airplanes. Air strikes were very effective in taking out large portions of native soldiers during the war ("A Bitter Fight For Algeria"). The largest battle during the war was the Battle of Algiers, taking place in the capital of the country. The battle would last for a full year, ending with the French defeating the FLN forces in the city. This resulted in the death of many FLN leaders, weakening the rebellion ("Algeria").despite the French having the technological advantage and winning many major battles of the war, the natives remained strong and kept