This is what baffled me, and I was wondering what made the French settlers come to Algeria in the first place.
Why the Europeans (not all French) emigrated there?
Or both?
Why the Europeans (not all French) emigrated there?
Or both?
Best,
Why wouldn't they? it's close by, free land, untapped riches; etc.?
That is pretty much why all Europeans settled in Africa honestly.
Mostly because it's close by, relatively rich, and not occupied by any European power?
About the time, it was because France was finally stabilised after the Revolution and Napoleon
Technically speaking, most of the "Algeriens" (as in identified as Frenchmen, not as Arabs) were actually Italian or Spanish immigrants or Sephardic Jews.
Yup, basically the TL here is: France loses all its colonies after the 7 year war, then the revolution happens, then Napoleon tries to conquer Europe. A king is put in place.
Now, everybody sees it as more beneficial to put energy in the conquest of far away land rather than the conquest of Europe as France was still quite an agressive country. It just happens that France owes a ton of money to the Bey of Algeria (the local representative of the Ottoman rulers). During negotiations, the bey hit the French representative with his fan, a gesture which was offensive but not completely bonkers aggressive either. France used that as a pretext to go to war and conquer extremely rich and fertile regions while the rest of Europe watched as, for once, they weren't the ones on the bad side of French guns and cannons.
It was also a matter of pride as France sought to regain some semblance of colonial Empire after getting thrown out of North America and India
Yup, basically the TL here is: France loses all its colonies after the 7 year war, then the revolution happens, then Napoleon tries to conquer Europe. A king is put in place.
Now, everybody sees it as more beneficial to put energy in the conquest of far away land rather than the conquest of Europe as France was still quite an agressive country. It just happens that France owes a ton of money to the Bey of Algeria (the local representative of the Ottoman rulers). During negotiations, the bey hit the French representative with his fan, a gesture which was offensive but not completely bonkers aggressive either. France used that as a pretext to go to war and conquer extremely rich and fertile regions while the rest of Europe watched as, for once, they weren't the ones on the bad side of French guns and cannons.
It was also a matter of pride as France sought to regain some semblance of colonial Empire after getting thrown out of North America and India
twovultures said:Couscous? That shit's delicious, definitely worth the trouble of a conquest to get.
Randomwriterguy said:But with so many rebellions of Algerians how could the colons have confidence to come?
And plus, are there any alternative "Algerias" France might have conquered?
SlideAway said:Technically speaking, most of the "Algeriens" (as in identified as Frenchmen, not as Arabs) were actually Italian or Spanish immigrants or Sephardic Jews.
Yup but a lot of these took the French nationality after a while or during the wars (source, family history )I thought that the French were around 50% of the Euros there?
Also add Maltese to the list