Life Under Colonial Rule: Algeria

Napoleon III had an Arab dream.

At the beginning of French colonization in Algeria, the military was in charge. Depending on who was in charge of the military, there would be either limited of total occupation. The political rulers were fighting over how much freedom the Algerians would have. As France became more established in Algeria, the French people living in Algeria, called the colons, wanted more power. They brought the power away from the military.

When Napoleon III was in power, he had an "Arab dream." He really respected Algerian culture, and didn't want to impose too much French culture on them. A French defeat in Prussia caused his dream to be ruined.

The French hadn't thought about what to do with the native Algerians. They decided that there would be absolute subjugation to the French. They did this in order to help the needs of the colonization. In 1881, a Code de l'Indigénat was put into effect. It was made official that theses repressive measures would be put into place. Culturally, the way of life of the native Algerians was put on hold.

Economically, things started becoming bad for the Algerians around the 1840s to the 1860s. This occurred because the French started seizing on Algerian farmlands. Their economy was based on farming. This took the ower away from the Algerians, who becam dependant on loanes.