Chapter 2: India

However, both Arabs and Berbers faced a lack of rights in French North Africa. While in theory they could apply for French citizenship, they had to renounce their Islamic religion and culture to do so. This was a deliberate form of political discrimination. Without an offi cial nationality under French law, North Africans simply weren’t considered to ‘exist’. Higher taxes were imposed on the Muslim population, their land was taken away from them, and children were left uneducated by closing madrassas (mosque schools). The French government offered free transport and fi nancial assistance to encourage White Europeans to settle in North Africa. Referring to the shoes they wore, the North Africans called these settlers the pieds-noirs (‘black feet’). As they grew in status and number, they took the best agricultural land, forcing whole populations onto land more vulnerable to drought. For those who resisted, the offi cial policy was regime du sabre (rule of the sword). Villages were burned to the ground and tribal leaders beheaded, their skulls sent to be displayed in Parisian museums. In some cases, entire tribes of civilians were murdered. During one 1845 massacre, the Ouled Rhia tribe fl ed to take refuge in a cave, but French soldiers lit fi res outside and killed the Ouled Rhia by smoke inhalation. In 1852, the French authorities massacred almost the entire city of Laghouat. It became known locally as ‘khalya’ (‘emptiness’) or the ‘year of the hessian sacks’, due to the captives being tied up in sacks and buried alive in trenches around the city. It is estimated that 1 million Algerians were killed during French rule. Those who escaped death often found themselves deported as labourers elsewhere in the French Empire

Fact

The French remained in Algeria for over a century, until a war of independence ended their rule in 1962.

Algerian resistance to French rule

Despite their brutal tactics, the French colonial administration struggled to prevent serious rebellions. Abd al-Qadir was elected chief of a tribal confederation aged just 25. He negotiated a treaty with France in 1834 to act as an intermediary ruler over the western provinces of Algeria. However, he soon used this peace to widen his infl uence and began a destructive guerrilla war from 1837 that took the French years to subdue. In 1854, Lalla Fadhma N’Soumer led a Berber resistance movement. She defeated French Marshal Randon on several occasions and caused over 800 French deaths at the Battle of Tachekkirt.

In 1871, the Mokrani Revolt saw more than 250 tribes join up against French rule after a devastating famine. However, their poorly organised attacks and random raids failed to defeat the French military.

Algerian military leader Abd al-Qadir in 1875

Check your understanding

1. How did the French capture Algiers in 1830? 2. How did the French ‘divide and rule’ the Arabs and Berbers? 3. How were the Arabs and Berbers deprived of citizenship? 4. What did the pieds-noirs do? 5. Was the regime du sabre effective at controlling North Africa?

Unit 10: Global imperialism Knowledge organiser

1800 Dutch government takes control of Dutch East Indies from the VOC 1824 Battle of Ayacucho expels last Spanish viceroy from Latin America 1862 Sumatra and southern Borneo added to the Dutch East Indies

1822 Brazilian Independence declared by Prince Pedro 1830 French invasion of Algiers 1876 Leopold II establishes the International African Association

Key vocabulary

Algiers Port city of Algeria Asiento Licence to provide enslaved people to

Spanish America, issued by the Spanish crown Assimilation Process by which a minority group adopts the customs and traditions of a larger group Berlin Conference International conference of 14 European countries to discuss African colonisation in 1884–5 Chicotte Whip made of hippopotamus hide Castas System of racial hierarchy in Latin America Criollos White Europeans born in the Americas Cultuurstelsel Cultivation system used in the Dutch

East Indies Divide and rule Maintaining power by breaking up and weakening adversaries so they are less likely to rebel Force Publique Military force used in the

Belgian Congo Fukoku kyohei Slogan used by Imperial Japan meaning ‘Enrich the nation, strengthen the army’ Gran Colombia A nation ruled by Simon Boliver until it broke up into the modern nations of

Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia Indentured labour Contract signed as a job offer but with harsh conditions such as working for free in exchange for transport International African Association Belgian organisation founded by Leopold II in 1876 to start planning his colony in the Congo Joseon Royal dynasty of Korea Juntas Military offi cers who seize power and establish an authoritarian government Lobbying Attempting to infl uence politicians on an issue Nanshin-ron/Hokushin-ron Southern/Northern

Expansion Doctrine of Imperial Japan Nyai (or njai) Forced indigenous housekeeper and concubine in the Dutch East Indies