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Algeria
Opposition to the Occupation
Whatever initial misgivings Louis Philippe's government may have
had about occupying Algeria, the geopolitical realities of the
situation created by the 1830 intervention argued strongly for
reinforcing the French presence there. France had reason for concern
that Britain, which was pledged to maintain the territorial integrity
of the Ottoman Empire, would move to fill the vacuum left by a
French pullout. The French devised elaborate plans for settling
the hinterland left by Ottoman provincial authorities in 1830,
but their efforts at state building were unsuccessful on account
of lengthy armed resistance.
The most successful local opposition immediately after the fall
of Algiers was led by Ahmad ibn Muhammad, bey of Constantine.
He initiated a radical overhaul of the Ottoman administration
in his beylik by replacing Turkish officials with local
leaders, making Arabic the official language, and attempting to
reform finances according to the precepts of Islam. After the
French failed in several attempts to gain some of the bey's territories
through negotiation, an illfated invasion force led by Bertrand
Clauzel had to retreat from Constantine in 1836 in humiliation
and defeat. Nonetheless, the French captured Constantine the following
year.
Data as of December 1993
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