French Imperialism In Algeria Essay

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France was the European colonial power that ruled the area of the Barbary Coast in North Africa that was originally known as Algiers. The Northern region was officially incorporated into France and became an administrative division (or départment) of France, and the entire area that is now the country of Algeria was subject to settler colonial rule from June 1830 to March 1962.
Algeria’s location on the northern coast of Africa, in close proximity to Europe, made it the target of European conquest as early as 800 BC. The original inhabitants of Algeria were known as the Berbers. They were peaceful farmers and herders that have been routinely conquered by foreign invaders throughout history. Over time, foreign rulers like the Romans and the …show more content…
Dialectical Arabic was the native language for the majority of the population, but compulsory replacement with French caused people to become detached from modern intellectual, political and technological discourse. Part of the original French ideal was to “civilize” the country. In truth, in 1830, the literacy rate in Algeria was 40%, which was quite high even by modern standards. The traditional Quranic schools were shut down in an effort to convert to a French system, but very few were ever replaced, and advanced education declined drastically for many years. In addition, generations of students were cut off from education in literary Arabic, causing a serious deficit in indigenous Arabic and Islamic cultural values. The country’s original footprint was much smaller than today, and was concentrated mainly on the Mediterranean coast in the Maghreb region. After the French invasion, the occupation extended from the Mediterranean coast to the independent Berber republics in the southern Maghreb region. By the time of the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century, the French had already achieved a strong foothold on the coast and the acquisition and colonialization of huge areas of unprofitable desert to the south was motivated by a more complex mixture of interests that included the idea of forging an empire. The end result was the straight, chevron-shaped southern border of the country that exists today, which cuts across the land of several Berber
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