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Algeria
Historical Setting
![[GIF]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/algeria/dz01_00a.gif)
Roman arch dedicated to Emperor Caracalla (r. A.D. 212-17)
at Djemila in northern Algeria
MODERN-DAY ALGERIA is a leading member state of the Arab Maghrib,
the term applied to the western part of Arab North Africa. Algeria
is inhabited predominantly by Muslim Arabs but it has a large
Berber minority. The most significant forces in the country's
history have been the spread of Islam, arabization, colonization,
and the struggle for independence.
North Africa served as a transit region for peoples moving toward
Europe or the Middle East. Thus, the region's inhabitants have
been influenced by populations from other areas. Out of this mix
developed the Berber people, whose language and culture, although
pushed from coastal areas by conquering and colonizing Carthaginians,
Romans, and Byzantines, dominated most of the land until the spread
of Islam and the coming of the Arabs.
The introduction of Islam and Arabic had a profound impact on
North Africa (or the Maghrib--see
Glossary) beginning in the seventh century. The new religion and
language introduced changes in social and economic relations,
established links with a rich culture, and provided a powerful
idiom of political discourse and organization. From the great
Berber dynasties of the Almoravids and Almohads to the militants
seeking an Islamic state in the early 1990s, the call to return
to true Islamic values and practices has had social resonance
and political power. For 300 years, beginning in the early sixteenth
century, Algeria was a province of the Ottoman Empire under a
regency that had Algiers as its capital. During this period, the
modern Algerian state began to emerge as a distinct territory
between Tunisia and Morocco.
The French occupation of Algeria, beginning in 1830, had a profound
impact. In addition to enduring the affront of being ruled by
a foreign, non-Muslim power, many Algerians lost their lands to
the new government or to colonists. Traditional leaders were eliminated,
coopted, or made irrelevant; social structures were stressed to
the breaking point. Viewed by the Europeans with condescension
at best and contempt at worst--never as equals--the Algerians
endured 132 years of colonial subjugation. Nonetheless, this period
saw the formation of new social classes, which, after exposure
to ideas of equality and political liberty, would help propel
the country to independence. During the years of French domination,
the struggles to survive, to co-exist, to gain equality, and to
achieve independence shaped a large part of the Algerian national
identity.
The War of Independence (1954-62), brutal and long, was the most
recent major turning point in the country's history. Although
often fratricidal, it ultimately united Algerians and seared the
value of independence and the philosophy of anticolonialism into
the national consciousness. Since independence in 1962, Algeria
has sought to create political structures that reflect the unique
character of the country and that can cope with the daunting challenges
of rebuilding a society and an economy that had been subject to
years of trauma and painful transformation.
Data as of December 1993
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