Algeria vs. kenya

ALGERIA VS KENYA

By: Kristie Cordeiro

Algeria before colonization• By the 5th Century B.C.

were identified as Berbers by the Greek

• Islam and Arabic reached Algeria in the 8th century

• Became a province in the Ottoman Empire for 300 years

Algeria before colonization• Base of piracy in the Mediterranean and slavery of

Christians• Islam was the dominant religion• Arabic was the dominant language• Highly fertile soil

French Interest• Desire to increase trade• Spread French culture and

religion• Respond to diplomatic tensions

with Algeria’s ruler• French army invaded Algeria in

1830

Citizens and Subjects• French citizens: small farmers who were able to ascend to a

status they could not reach in mainland France• Colonial policies turned Muslims into second class citizens

• By the 19th century those who followed Islamic Laws were seen as “subjects”

• By 1936: out of 4.5 million, only 2,500 Muslim Algerians chose to become citizens

Citizens and Subjects• Settlers bought the most fertile areas for a low price• Most Algerians were farmers on small plots of land

• Many faced poverty and malnutrion• Moved to Algerian cities to work for settler farms

“[W]e have not come to Algeria to oppress and

exploit them, but to bring them the benefits of

civilization…” – Emporer Napoleon III

Assimilation• “Process by which one culture becomes more like another

culture” • By 1954 there were almost one million Europeans in

Algeria• 80% were born there

“The Muslim native is French; nevertheless he shall continue to be governed under Muslim law… He may, on application, be granted the rights of French citizenship; in this case, he shall be governed under the civil and political laws of France” – Senate

decree

Assimilation• French politicians supported Algerian assimilation,

but strongly opposed increase of Muslim rights• Encouraged Algerians to speak French, limited the

influence of Islam and taught them French curriculum

• Labeled Arabic as a foreign language• Limited pilgrimages to Mecca

Resistance to colonialism• Islam allowed for an

imposition of identity and cultural pride

• Algerians fought alongside the French during WWI and WWII• Some remained in Europe• Some studied at European

universities• Inspired by inequality and

political ideologies demanded change

• In the 1920s and 30s Algerian nationalist groups began to form

Nationalist leaders and groups • May 8 1945: demonstrations to show the link between the

end of fascism and the desire to end colonialism• Demonstration turned into a violent revolt• Resulted in the deaths of thousands of settlers and Algerians• Many Algerians joined the nationalist cause

“ [The Muslim Algerian Nation]… has its culture, its tradition and its characteristics, good or bad like every other nation of the earth. And… we state that this Algerian nation is not France, cannot be France, and does not wish to be France.” – Sheikh Abdul-hamid

Ben Badis

• National Liberation Front (FLN)• Terrorist attacks targeting European population• ALN – guerilla units • Nearly all nationalist movements joined the FLN

• Algerian National Movement• Supported by France• Rival of FLN• Support of Algerian expatriates in France

• Café Wars in French soil• FLN came out as the strongest movement

“Colonialism… demands the simultaneous existence of two societies, one oppressing the

other…” – Ferhat Abbas

Frantz Fanon• Afro-french psychiatrist and revolutionary• Joined the FLN in November of 1954• Defended the right to use violence to fight

for independence

“human beings who are not considered as such shall not be bound by principles that apply to

humanity, in their attitude towards the colonizer”

Algerian War• 1954: France lost the war against Vietnam, and faced

uprisings in Tunisia and Morocco• FLN led one of the most violent struggles for violence in

the 20th century• Fought between Algerian militants and the French army,

white settlers and Algerians recruited by France• Lasted 8 years: 1954-1962• Focus on urban areas Algiers

FLN• FLN targeted Europeans in

Algeria with bombs and terrorist attacks

• Psychological effects

• FLN attacks on police and on the population led the French military to torture, execute and imprison thousands of Algerians• By the end of 1950s two million

Algerians had been placed in detention camps stop FLN

• One million Algerian casualties• Thousands of French military and

settlers died

Independence• French military methods were highly successful but were

highly criticized internationally• By the end of 1950s public opinion was against France• March 1962 the French military negotiated a cease fire with the

FLN

• Charles De Gaulle • “soon came to realize that

Algerian independence was inevitable”

• July 3 1962 – France recognizes Algeria’s independence

September 1962, Ahmed Ben Bella elected the first president of Algeria

Learn more!

Kenya before colonization• Arabs who settled with the Bantu

people introduced Islam and Arabic to the Swahili culture

• During 17th century, Swahili area came under control of Omani Arabs• Increased slave trade

• City of Mombasa important port city• Diplomatic relations with Ming Dynasty

Zheng He• Welcomed Vasco da Gama

British interest• Under British rule for 68 years

• Arrival of the Imperial British East Africa Company

• Initial focus on Uganda• Railroad through Kenya to connect Uganda with

the Indian Ocean• Authorities encouraged Europeans to live in

Kenya demand for railroad travel• Some of the most fertile land in all East Africa

• Cash crops: tea and coffee

• WWI• 400,000 mobilized in Carrier troops

• WWII• Military base• 98,000 men on military duty

Segregation• Indirect rule local leaders enforced

colonial authority• Laws:

• Heavy taxes and confiscation of fertile lands• gave settlers privileges and eliminated

competition from Africans and Indians• prohibited African and Indian farmers from

growing tea and coffee• Segregated housing, bathrooms, hotels,

restaurants• Political and economic privileges were based

on race

• Most of the fertile land belonged to Europeans• Africans became farm laborers• Some Africans were relocated to reserves

Resistance to colonialism• Violent resistance against:

• Levy taxes, draft African men for the military, force communities off their lands

• African political organizations began to form in 1920s• Groups were divided among ethnic

lines few saw themselves as Kenyan

• After WWII a revolt began among the Kikuyu, Kenya’s largest ethnic group

Mau Mau revolts• 1952-1960• Mau Mau group of Kikuyu against

British forces and anti-Mau Mau Kikuyu• Mau Mau fighters attacked government

supporters set on fire• British began punishing whole villages

for the deaths and torturing Mau Mau suspects

• Home Guard: Kikuyu loyal to the government• Raped and abused villagers in areas

patroled

• More than 11,000 Africans were killed

Mau Mau revolts• British were successful at ending the conflict• 1960: British acknowledged things wouldn’t return to the

way they were time for independence• European settlers fiercely opposed it

• Negotiation for independence lasted for 3 years• Maintain close relationship between the two

• December 12 1963: Independence• Jomo Kenyatta became first prime minister

• Internationalist• Algeria:

• France had recently lost the war against Vietnam and face uprisings in Tunisia and Morocco which led nationalists to believe that defeating the French was feasible

• After the defeat of fascist Germany, Algerians raised awareness to the comparison between fascism and imperialism

• Kenya:• After defeating the Axis alliance, who desired to expand their empires, Britain chose to maintain

economic ties to Kenya, but allow its independence• Nationalist• Algeria:

• Decolonization of Algeria was the result of efforts of resistance movements such as the FLN, who battled against French oppression

Kenya:• Decolonization of Kenya was the result of efforts of resistance movements such as the Mau Mau

Kikuyu, who battled against House Guard and British oppression• Metropolitanist• Kenya:

• After British containment of the Mau Mau, they could still maintain control over the region, but instead they chose to construct diplomatic relations with an independent country where they would keep close economic relationship

• Algeria:• Failed attempts of French assimilation led to dissatisfaction and oppression, contributing to a

feeling of intense nationalism

Nationalism (benedict and fanon)

• Fanon “Nationalism is paradoxical to liberation”

• Kenya:• Many different ethnic groups

came together in order to fight for independence• Kikuyu Mau Mau and Home Guard

• Benedict Anderson imagined communities

• Kenya:

Kemper• “nationalism is a local response

employing local cultural forms to new circumstances”

• Algeria:• With the increase of French

repression, the Muslim Algerians, with the influence of the FLN, experienced a sense of community

• Muslim Algerians developed a sense of community with the increase of French repression and subsequent influence of the FLN

A. G. Hopkins• Decolonization is a process of globalization

• Algeria:• After French defeat in Vietnam and uprisings in Tunisia and Morocco convinced the nationalists were convinced that France could be challenged and defeated

Gayatri Spivak

• “The subaltern has no voice”• Both Algerians and Kenyans were able to fight for imperial freedom through violent guerrilla demonstrations

World System

World System• Algeria:

• France core• Periphery during

colonialism• Remained a periphery

• Kenya:• Britain core• Periphery during

colonialism• Export relations between

the two countries continued after independence

Relevance• Similarities:

• both settler colonies• Use of guerilla tactics

• Kenya in rural areas• Algeria in

• Differences:• France aimed at assimilating the

Algerians into the French culture• Britain aimed at segregating the natives

and the settlers for economic interests• Algerian resistance movements were

largely urban• Kenya resistance movements were

largely rural