War in Algeria
The War on Freedom
The Algerian Fight for Independence
Patrick Faley
Period 2
May 6th 2013
“We kill because we are afraid of our own shadow, afraid that if we used a little common sense we'd have to admit that our glorious principles were wrong.” ~Henry Miller The French unfairly kept nagging Algeria to the point that war was a necessity to gain independence! It started in the 1830’s and was a continued problem till the war arose in the 50’s. The French should never have annexed Algeria and should have left the peaceful nation alone. The French and Algerians began a war that in the end caused bloodshed and finally a solution to their problems. I feel the war was unethical in terms of the “why” but in the end Algeria finally became free. The Algerian war for independence began in 1954 and ended in 1962 when French President Charles De Gaulle pronounced Algeria an independent country on July 3. ( "Military." Web. 07 October 2001) During the 1950’s the Algerian struggled against France and its white settlers for sovereignty and hatred arose in both countries. There were a small number of Frenchmen and women who aided the Algerian liberation movement in defiance of their government and the reactions of the majority. (French Resistance... History Today. 02 May 2009). The French conquest began back in 1830. In 1848 Algeria was annexed as three French departments. During the 19th century there were two different waves of migration from the French. In 1954, French Algeria was a society rigidly polarized along racial lines, economically, politically and culturally. On the one hand there were a million French settlers and on the other there were 9 million Algerians. So the outset relationship between Algeria and France, French and Algerians, was a racist, colonial one based on violence. Colonialism began with violence and it was ended by violence. (French Resistance... History Today. 02 May 2009) The Algerian war started with the insurrection organized by
The Algerian Fight for Independence
Patrick Faley
Period 2
May 6th 2013
“We kill because we are afraid of our own shadow, afraid that if we used a little common sense we'd have to admit that our glorious principles were wrong.” ~Henry Miller The French unfairly kept nagging Algeria to the point that war was a necessity to gain independence! It started in the 1830’s and was a continued problem till the war arose in the 50’s. The French should never have annexed Algeria and should have left the peaceful nation alone. The French and Algerians began a war that in the end caused bloodshed and finally a solution to their problems. I feel the war was unethical in terms of the “why” but in the end Algeria finally became free. The Algerian war for independence began in 1954 and ended in 1962 when French President Charles De Gaulle pronounced Algeria an independent country on July 3. ( "Military." Web. 07 October 2001) During the 1950’s the Algerian struggled against France and its white settlers for sovereignty and hatred arose in both countries. There were a small number of Frenchmen and women who aided the Algerian liberation movement in defiance of their government and the reactions of the majority. (French Resistance... History Today. 02 May 2009). The French conquest began back in 1830. In 1848 Algeria was annexed as three French departments. During the 19th century there were two different waves of migration from the French. In 1954, French Algeria was a society rigidly polarized along racial lines, economically, politically and culturally. On the one hand there were a million French settlers and on the other there were 9 million Algerians. So the outset relationship between Algeria and France, French and Algerians, was a racist, colonial one based on violence. Colonialism began with violence and it was ended by violence. (French Resistance... History Today. 02 May 2009) The Algerian war started with the insurrection organized by