376. Algerian Revolution: Repression and Rebellion (Ep 2)

Hello and welcome to Empire with me, Anita Arnund. And me. William? Triple. This is episode two of our Algeria series. Now, last time we told the story of how France first colonised Algeria in the eighteen hundreds. And and we described the Corsair Republic with an economy built on slavery, the ho heroic resistance of Abdul Kader and the ultimate French victory through Absolutely brutal tactics. Now today we pick up that story with how the French ruled in Algeria and how VE Day and the Vietnam War were catalysts that lit the spark of Algerian resistance in the 30s and the 50s. It started one of the most vicious anti-colonial wars ever.

It's a really extraordinary story. understand how it got quite as vicious and brutal as it did. Anyone that's seen uh The Battle of Algiers, one of my favorite films, uh knows just how brutal it did become. You have to go right back to a crucial decision made in in Paris. in eighteen forty eight.

Uh and at that point. France had been fighting in Algeria for eighteen years and had killed an enormous number of people. And in an odd sort of way had no clear idea. what it was doing there. It had evaded for political reasons for a uh a dynasty which was no longer around. uh it had successfully conquered Algiers, it had successfully uh defeated the initial uh resistance of Abdul Qadir.

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