French North Africa

French conquests in North Africa
Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in the 19th century
Date 1830–1934 Location North Africa Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Ottoman Empire Regency of Algiers Beylik of Tunis Moroccan rebels
Casualties and losses
3,336 killed in action, 92,329 dead in the hospital (1830–51)[1] 9,445 dead (1911–34)	Algerians 500,000–1,000,000 dead (1830–75)[2] Moroccans 100,000 dead (1911–34)[3]

French North Africa was a collection of territories in North Africa controlled by France during the 19th and 20th century colonial era, centering on French Algeria. At its height, it comprised most of the Maghreb.

In the nineteenth century, the decline of the Ottoman Empire, which had loosely controlled the area since the 16th century, left the region vulnerable to other forces. In 1830, French troops captured Algiers; and, from 1848 until independence in 1962, France treated Mediterranean Algeria as an integral part of France, the Métropole or metropolitan France.^[4] Seeking to expand their influence beyond Algeria, the French established protectorates to the east and west of it. The French protectorate of Tunisia was established in 1881, following a military invasion,^[5] and the French protectorate in Morocco in 1912. These lasted until 1955, in the case of Morocco, and 1956, when Tunisia gained full independence.

French North Africa came to an end soon after the Évian Accords of March 1962, which enabled the Algerian independence referendum of July 1962.^[6]

See also

• Algerian War
• Army of Africa (France)
• French Colonial Empire
• French conquest of Algeria
• French conquest of Tunisia
• History of Algeria
• July Monarchy#Colonization of Algeria
• Napoleon III of France#Algeria
• Nationalism and resistance in Algeria
• Pied-Noir
• Scramble for Africa

Notes

Further reading

• Edwards, Albert, Sketches of French North Africa (2009)
• Gottmann, Jean, Economic problems of French North Africa (1943)*Liebesny, Herbert J., The Government of French North Africa (1943)
• Thomas, Martin, French Empire Between the Wars (2005)
• Wallerstein, Immanuel M., Africa: The Politics of Independence and Unity (1961)