The three countries of the Maghreb: Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco all posses similarities and differences in their histories. In their pre-colonial history they had all been converted first to Christianity and then to Islam, originally eastern oriented, and lacked the features of a modern ‘state’. They also had small, elite urban populations, while the large, poorer, rural populations followed the Sufi tradition. Tunisia and Morocco became important centers for Islamic scholarship. Although the Ottoman Turks had conquered Tunisia and Algeria, Morocco resisted and remained independent.
For Algeria and Tunisia, Ottoman rule came in the form of the Mamluks. Ruling through local elites, they swore allegiance to Istanbul and their military consisted of Janissary elite troops combined with local militias. They would defend the land from foreign threats as well as collect tribute and taxes from rural areas. In Algeria, the Deys had power since 1689 and in Tunisia the Beys since 1705. This control was largely limited to the urban centers and the penetration of the countryside was limited. Tribal society had the most influence there.
Morocco developed very differently. Having been able to fend off Ottoman influence, the Alawi dynasty established itself in 1631. As Sufism was very strong in the area, the Sultan was dependent on these rural brotherhoods and the urban Ulama for legitimacy. The Sultan would go on Mahalla campaigns to flex his military might and to demand tribute from the al-siba tribes that did not swear direct loyalty to him. When the Sultan seemed weak or the tribes were dissatisfied with him, they would rebel and find a replacement from within the Alawi family.
Economically, the Maghreb had been largely self-sufficient. The Trans-Sahara trade routes as well as profits from privateering, combined with agricultural production provided the bulk of economic activity. In the beginning of the 19th century, the decline of the Ottoman influence in the Mediterranean, as well as European penetration into Africa adversely affected these profits.
The Maghreb’s first experience with colonization came in Algeria. Responding to a diplomatic slight, the French invaded. The ruling Dey was quickly overthrown, and the French immediately started seizing the native’s land and displacing their population. Along with a large population transfer from France came the complete dismantling of pre-existing Algerian society, religious institutions and schools.
The defeat of the Dey did not mean that resistance to the Europeans was to end. It continued in the form of ‘Abd Al Qadir, a Sufi intellectual who opposed the French invaders along with the privileged Ottoman system. He combined this ideology with economic and military development, which garnered much popular support. For this reason he is considered the father of Algerian nationalism. Even after his defeat Sufi resistance continued. The length of resistance proved to the French that they would be unable to have a partial occupation, and they proceeded to pacify and colonize all of Algeria. The continued fighting combined with the continuing French seizures of the most valuable Algerian land largely disrupted the internal economy leading to further uprisings and vast poverty.
By 1870, the Colons in Algeria had become a powerful political force in France and were pushed through their agenda of land grabbing and native oppression. Because of the large-scale opposition and devastation this caused among the native population, the French experience in Algeria became eventual model of what to avoid in Tunisia and Morocco. Starting in the middle of the 19th century, France, Spain and Britain and other colonial powers were exerting increasing influence on these relatively weak regions. They were able to secure increasing numbers of economic and political concessions for their countrymen, while weakening the native governments.
The difference was that although Algeria becomes a part of France proper, Tunisia and Morocco went from being spheres of influence to ‘Protectorates’ in 1881 and 1912 respectively. In Tunisia, a constitutional monarchy was established in 1861, but this served to limit the power of the local government and give additional rights to the large foreign populations there rather than strengthen the state. As was done in Morocco, a native government was kept in place to avoid the mistakes made in Algeria.
The forms of resistance for the Maghreb changed much since its first encounters with foreign powers. The resistance shifted from more tribal and Sufi resistance to more intellectual and unified resistance starting in the early 20th century. There were two factors involved in this. In Tunisia and Algeria, the western oriented, trained and educated elite sought assimilation with France. Modeling themselves off the Young Turks, the Young Tunisians and Young Algerians wanted to put their proto-nationalistic demands in terms that the French would understand and heed. Because of the very limited scope of their support, these movements were quickly crushed. Another, more powerful force would be more successful in achieving its demands.
The Salafi movement sought to reform Islam and instead of avoiding Westerners like the Sufis wanted, engage and deal with them. This force became strong and easily mobilized because of the phenomenon of mass-urbanization that transformed the previously rural population. The proximity and unity of these newly urban populations meant they were no longer divided by tribal loyalties but rather united in their oppression under the colonial system. Through them the various nationalist leaders were able to voice and mobilize their demands in such a way that the Europeans could no longer simply ignore. In Morocco, Abdul Karim would be an example of such a leader.
Further hurting the native economies and populations, the two world wars brought upon inflation, increasing taxes and requisition of native crops upon the Maghreb. Despite brief periods of prosperity, this period generally brought further economic ruin for much of the region. There was also vast native troop deployment across Europe in the defense of France. These sacrifices added increasing fuel to the fire of nationalism.
After the end of World War II, the great fight for democracy against fascism that many North Africans had fought bravely in, it became impossible for the French to ignore the powerful demands for independence. In an attempt to retain control, the French sough to ‘reform’ their colonial governments and reign in the nationalist movements. Algeria contained by far the largest Colon population and was the area that France focused most of its efforts in. They did this by granting Algerian Muslims for the first time the right to vote for members of Algerian Assembly. Responding to early nationalist candidate victories, the colon government responded with massive fraud and voter intimidation intended to defeat the nationalist candidates. As a result an increasing number of Algerians became disillusioned with looking to political processes to better their lot. By 1954 a guerilla war had been launched to defeat the French.
In Tunisia the nationalist political parties were also repressed and leaders were exiled or jailed. The Neo-Dustar party took the lead here and was able to mobilize large amounts of the population in protest. Repression of these protests led to widespread, violent insurrection by the fellagha guerillas. This left France without the means or will to retain control. It had no choice but to allow the return of the nationalist leaders and eventually a negotiated settlement which was reached. This process brought to light a major conflict between the two most prominent Tunisian leaders, the western-oriented Bouruiba and the Islamic-oriented Ben Yousef. Bouriba won out this conflict, Ben Yousef had to flee the country, and the future path of the country was set as Bouriba went on to claim the presidency for the next several decades.
Morocco had been an important partner for the Allied powers and the country was rewarded by a visit from President Roosevelt who spoke of a Moroccan independence based on the Atlantic Charter. Morocco was a unique example because of the political aptitude of the Sultan Sidi Mohammed II. Nationalistic himself, he was able to keep himself above the petty rivalries that plagued the broad nationalist coalition. Eventually his immense popularity made a French effort to thwart independence and to depose him short lived. Events in the third country in the Maghreb would set the backdrop for the granting of independence to both Tunisia and Morocco in March 1956.
Algeria followed a different path. Lacking a strong, unifying middle class, and a legacy of a continuity of institutions from which Tunisia and Morocco found strength, Algerians had to wait till the formation of the FLN to be fully united on the question of national independence. Successfully able to gain near unanimous internal support, as well as international approval, the Algerian War for Independence would become one of the bloodiest and most brutal wars of the post-WWII era. This eventually resulted in Algerian Independence in 1964 but this enormous conflict did incalculable damage to Algeria, left the country in ruin, and the FLN fractured. Algerians have paid a heavy toll ever since.
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