Algeria’s indigenous inhabitants are Berbers, which still make up about 30% of the population. They had been living in the region for a long time, even before the arrival of the Carthaginian state built by Phoenicians around 800 BC. After the Romans defeated the Carthaginians and the destruction of their city in 146 BC, several Berber kingdoms emerged, but gradually Roman influence continued to expand and in 24 AD, the Romans brought Berber country into their empire.
With the arrival of Christianity in the second century AD, many Berbers converted to the new religion. Subsequent occupation of Algeria came in succession, starting with Vandals, and followed by the Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans and the French. The invasion and occupation of the region by the Arabs between 800 and 1100 AD had the most lasting impact on the culture of Algeria.
After the Moors and Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, many settled in Algeria. From 1518 onwards, the Ottomans brought Algeria formally into the empire until the French invaded the territory in 1830 and subsequently turned it into a Department in 1848. During the period of the French occupation of 120 years, there was an influx of French and other Europeans into Algeria, which left their marks on the landscape of the country and on the local culture generally. Political and economic powers were in the hands of the French, and the local population had little say. With the spread of nationalism after WW II, the French faced increasing pressure and open confrontation started in 1954. A long and brutal war ensued. Finally in 1962, Algeria gained independence and more than one million Europeans left the country.
Log In