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The French presence, which had met with some resistance from the North African population, in the early 1830s extended only to Algiers, Bougie, and Bonemet. The French subsequently entered the [[Oran]] region and began to face significant resistance from [[Abd el-Kader|Emir Abd al-Kader]] (alternatively referred to as: Abdelkader or Abd el-Kader)<ref>Encyclopedia Brittanica, page 39</ref>, a Moroccan and leader of the Sufi Brotherhood, who attempted to create a state based on "egalitarian Islamic principles".<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=5mqlsUm193cC&pg=PA30&dq=french+invasion+of+algeria&lr=&ei=QLNpR-HDBIneiQG5gsl5&sig=V_OVFPba2K9j2CuPfiPugEv0ibY#PPA31,M1 The Agony of Algeria] By Martin Stone published by Columbia University Press, 1997. ISBN 0231109113, page 31.</ref>
The French presence, which had met with some resistance from the North African population, in the early 1830s extended only to Algiers, Bougie, and Bonemet. The French subsequently entered the [[Oran]] region and began to face significant resistance from [[Abd el-Kader|Emir Abd al-Kader]] (alternatively referred to as: Abdelkader or Abd el-Kader)<ref>Encyclopedia Brittanica, page 39</ref>, a Moroccan and leader of the Sufi Brotherhood, who attempted to create a state based on "egalitarian Islamic principles".<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=5mqlsUm193cC&pg=PA30&dq=french+invasion+of+algeria&lr=&ei=QLNpR-HDBIneiQG5gsl5&sig=V_OVFPba2K9j2CuPfiPugEv0ibY#PPA31,M1 The Agony of Algeria] By Martin Stone published by Columbia University Press, 1997. ISBN 0231109113, page 31.</ref>
In [[1839]], Abd al-Kader declared [[jihad]] against the French and thus began a period of full-scale war which lasted seven years.<ref>Stone, page 31</ref> The French Army signed two treaties with Abd el-Kader, however these treaties were broken due to miscommunication between the French in the field and the government in Paris. In response to the breaking of the second treaty, Abd el-Kader went on the offensive and drove the French back to the Algerian coast. In response, General Thomas-Robert Bugeaud led an ultimately successful French force numbering almost 100,000 troops (a third of the total French force) to Algeria. Bugeaud's campaign was bloody and devastating to the North Africans and the Algerian countryside. Although various pockets of the country remained independent, the war effectively ended in [[1847]] with the surrender of Abd al-Kader, and Algeria became French territory.<ref>{{cite web |title= Algeria, Colonial Rule|accessdate=2007-12-19 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=English |publisher=Encyclopedia Brittanica |page= 39 |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-220553/Algeria#487751.hook}}</ref>
In [[1839]], Abd al-Kader declared [[jihad]] against the French and thus began a period of full-scale war which lasted seven years.<ref>Stone, page 31</ref> The French Army signed two peace treaties with Abd el-Kader. One asserting French authority and the second establishing three French communes and a fourth, independent region controlled by Kader. However, these treaties were broken due to miscommunication between the French in the field and the government in Paris. In response to the breaking of the second treaty, Abd el-Kader went on the offensive and drove the French back to the Algerian coast. In response, General Thomas-Robert Bugeaud led an ultimately successful French force numbering almost 100,000 troops (a third of the total French force) to Algeria. Bugeaud's campaign was bloody and devastating to the North Africans and the Algerian countryside. Although various pockets of the country remained independent, the war effectively ended in [[1847]] with the surrender of Abd al-Kader, and Algeria became French territory.<ref>{{cite web |title= Algeria, Colonial Rule|accessdate=2007-12-19 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=English |publisher=Encyclopedia Brittanica |page= 39 |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-220553/Algeria#487751.hook}}</ref>


In 1848, following efforts by the Algerian settlers, the French government officially decreed that Algeria would henceforth be considered a [[Departments of France|département of France]], roughly analogous to a "county" in English.<ref>Encyclopedia Brittanica, page 40.</ref> Thus Algeria was recognized as an integral part of the French state, with a status similar to other French departments such as [[Côte-d'Or]], [[Paris]], or [[Bouches-du-Rhône]].<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=YHXBpzKjNCkC&pg=PA28&dq=french+colonization+of+algeria&lr=&sig=XEgw5LENQ7CJLGCq2PGd4GburhA Contemporary Politics in the Middle East] By Beverley Milton-Edwards published by Polity, 2006. ISBN 074563593, page 28.</ref> Three départements named Alger, [[Oran]], and Constantine were created.
In 1848, following efforts by the Algerian settlers, the French government officially decreed that Algeria would henceforth be considered a [[Departments of France|département of France]], roughly analogous to a "county" in English.<ref>Encyclopedia Brittanica, page 40.</ref> Thus Algeria was recognized as an integral part of the French state, with a status similar to other French departments such as [[Côte-d'Or]], [[Paris]], or [[Bouches-du-Rhône]].<ref> [http://books.google.com/books?id=YHXBpzKjNCkC&pg=PA28&dq=french+colonization+of+algeria&lr=&sig=XEgw5LENQ7CJLGCq2PGd4GburhA Contemporary Politics in the Middle East] By Beverley Milton-Edwards published by Polity, 2006. ISBN 074563593, page 28.</ref> Three départements named Alger, [[Oran]], and Constantine were created.

Revision as of 16:23, 31 January 2008

File:Camus NYWT&S.jpg
Albert Camus, an author, and famous pied-noir.
Notre Dame D'Afrique, a church built by the French Algerian pieds noirs.

Pied-noir (plural pieds-noirs) (French: black foot; pronounced /pje.nwaʁ/) is a term used to refer to colonists of Algeria until the end of the Algerian War in 1962. Specifically, pied-noirs were French nationals of European descent, Sephardic Jews, and settlers from other European countries such as Spain, Italy, and Malta who were born in Algeria.[1][2][3][4] Prior to attaining independence, Algeria formed three Departements (Algiers, Oran and Constantine) and was considered an integral part of France.

The term Pied-noir is best known in reference to the Algerian War and the exodus of French Nationals (the pieds-noirs) which followed. The Algerian War was fought by nationalist groups such as the Front de Liberation National (FLN) against the colonial French government in response to political and economic inequalities as well as their perceived "alienation" from the French settlers.[5] Following Algeria's independence in 1962, over one million pied-noir settlers of French nationality returned to mainland France where they were disillusioned by what they saw as the French government's abandonment of Algeria.[6]

Perhaps one of the most well-known pieds-noirs is Absurdist author Albert Camus.

Origin of the term

Eugene Delacroix painting depicting women in Algeria

The origin of the term pied-noir (French: "Black foot") is difficult to determine. There are two proposed explanations for the expression's development: first, it has been suggested that colons (French: colonists) could be distinguished from the indigenous population by their black boots (as the French soldiers in Africa wore black boots);[7] second, it was asserted in the magazine Pieds Noirs d'Hier et d'Aujourd'hui that the phrase derived from pieds-noirs sailors assigned to the coal rooms because of their experience with a warm climate. Supposedly, this caused their feet to become black.[7]

At independence, European Algerians described themselves as Algerian in relation to metropolitan French, and as Europeans vis-à-vis the indigenous Arab and Berber population. During the 1920s and 1930s, the term Algerian came to be monopolised by indigenous Arab-Algerians as Algerian nationalism became a significant political force. By 1955, European Algerians started applying the term pied-noir to themselves.

History

French Invasion

Main articles: French Algeria and History of Algeria

European settlers began arriving in significant numbers to the Barbary Coast in the 1830s when France invaded Algeria, wresting the region from nominal Ottoman control. There are numerous reasons behind the precipitation of French military activity in Algeria. First, it has been posited that military action would be an excellent source of employment for veterans of the French Napoleonic Wars;[8] and second, that the war would mask internal discontent in France.[9] Finally, it has been contended that the Algerian Dey had been owed substantial sums of money, mostly for grain, by Napoleon's regime following the Italian Campaign of 1796.[9] The French invasion itself was purportedly instigated by an event in which the French consul was struck in the face with a fly-swatter by the Dey of Algiers, an appointed provincial ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards.[10]

The bombardment of Algeria by Admiral Duperré's forces in 1830.

In response to the "fan affair", military action began three years later. The government of Charles X (1824-1830), the last Bourbon king of France, chose to blockade Algeria and placed Admiral Duperré at the command of a six hundred ship armada which sailed to Algiers. Following the failure of the blockade, the French then sent a land expedition into the country.[11] Using Napoleon's 1808 plan for invading Algeria, General de Bourmont landed with a complement of 34,000 soldiers on June 18, 1830 at Sidi Ferruch, 27 kilometers (17 miles) west of Algiers. Following a roughly three-week campaign of fighting, the Dey Hussein capitulated on July 5, 1830 [12] and escaped to exile with his family aboard a French ship heading for the Italian peninsula, which was then under control of the Austrian Empire. Thus, after 313 years, the Ottoman Empire abandoned administration of Algeria. The French then proceded to expropriate Turkish property and organize the occupation of the Algerian territories.[13]

Abd el-Kader

The French presence, which had met with some resistance from the North African population, in the early 1830s extended only to Algiers, Bougie, and Bonemet. The French subsequently entered the Oran region and began to face significant resistance from Emir Abd al-Kader (alternatively referred to as: Abdelkader or Abd el-Kader)[14], a Moroccan and leader of the Sufi Brotherhood, who attempted to create a state based on "egalitarian Islamic principles".[15] In 1839, Abd al-Kader declared jihad against the French and thus began a period of full-scale war which lasted seven years.[16] The French Army signed two peace treaties with Abd el-Kader. One asserting French authority and the second establishing three French communes and a fourth, independent region controlled by Kader. However, these treaties were broken due to miscommunication between the French in the field and the government in Paris. In response to the breaking of the second treaty, Abd el-Kader went on the offensive and drove the French back to the Algerian coast. In response, General Thomas-Robert Bugeaud led an ultimately successful French force numbering almost 100,000 troops (a third of the total French force) to Algeria. Bugeaud's campaign was bloody and devastating to the North Africans and the Algerian countryside. Although various pockets of the country remained independent, the war effectively ended in 1847 with the surrender of Abd al-Kader, and Algeria became French territory.[17]

In 1848, following efforts by the Algerian settlers, the French government officially decreed that Algeria would henceforth be considered a département of France, roughly analogous to a "county" in English.[18] Thus Algeria was recognized as an integral part of the French state, with a status similar to other French departments such as Côte-d'Or, Paris, or Bouches-du-Rhône.[19] Three départements named Alger, Oran, and Constantine were created.

Settlement

Initially, the French modeled their colonial system on that of their predecessors, the Ottomans.[20] This meant co-opting local tribes via a series of agreements. In 1843, the French began supervising the province directly by setting up the Bureaux Arabes (Arab Bureaus).[21] Originally, the Arab Bureaus were operated by military officials without financial interest in the region. Thus, due to their lack of monetary investment, the officers often sided with the locals in disputes.[22]

This system lasted until the 1880s with the fall of Napoleon III and the rise of the French Third Republic, when efforts to colonize and "confiscate" lands intensified.[23] The large-scale expropriation of Algerian land started with the creation of land speculation companies which took advantage of French colonial policy requiring indigenous tribal groups to abandon their properties. These large areas now available were taken by settlers. By the beginning of the twentieth century the Europeans held "1,700,000 hectares and by 1940 2,700,000 hectares, about 35 to 40 percent of the arable land of Algeria."[24]

The settlers were actively encouraged to emigrate to Algeria (in an attempt to "assimilate Algeria into France") via a number of efforts.[25] Some of these French initiatives, such as the earmarking of 50 million francs for the relocation of unemployed Parisians to Algeria, were generated by a desire to alleviate poverty in France.[26] Settlers came from all over the western Mediterranean region, particularly coastal and island regions in the present-day countries of Italy, France, Spain, and Malta.[27] Therefore, the "French" or pied-noir population was not exclusively from France, but rather from a range of European communities. They became known as colons, Européens, and eventually pieds-noirs.

Pied-noir relationship to Metropolitan France and Muslim Algeria

A map of French Algeria.

The pied-noir relationship to France and Algeria was marked by a number of factors. First, the settlers of European descent considered themselves French and were considered integrally French, characterized by Premier Pierre Mendes-France's quote in A History of the World from the 20th to the 21st Century: "France without Algeria would be no France."[28]. Hence, many of the European descendants viewed themselves as "French in Algeria" and thus did not see themselves as colonists, but rather as French in the same sense as a Parisian.[29]

Additionally, many of the pied-noirs arrived from a range of European nations. Hence, settlers' ancestry was not exclusively French and many did not have a connection to mainland France. Further, these settlers encompassed a wide range of socioeconomic stratum, including fishermen, peasants, as well as higher classes of large landowners.[30] In this characteristic, they were divided between the larger landholders grands-colons (French:Great colonists) who had amassed large estates, mostly through wine, citrus, olives, and vegetables; and petits-blancs (French:Little whites) who were small farmers. Moreover, although the pied-noirs considered themselves to be French, the actual physical connection with metropolitan France was tenuous. To demonstrate, in the book "Population Resettlement in International Conflicts: A Comparative Study" authors Arie Marcelo Kacowicz and Pawel Lutomski examine the repatriates following Algerian independence and note:

Of the 900,000 European “repatriates” from Algeria arriving in France in the spring and early summer of 1962 only 9 percent had visited the metropole often before the evacuation from Algeria. Eighteen percent had only visited “mainland France” once in their life. Forty-five percent had visited France “only a few times.” Indeed a full 28 percent had never before been to the metropole.

— Arie Marcelo Kacowicz and Pawel Lutomski, Population Resettlement in International Conflicts: A Comparative Study [31]

On the Algerian side, the relationship between those of European descent and Muslim Algerians was marked by pied-noir hegemony.[32] The Muslims were not considered French citizens and did not share the same circumstances politically or economically.[33] Economically for example, the indigenous population did not own most of the settlements, farms or businesses although they numbered nearly 9 million (versus roughly one million pied-noir) at independence. Politically, the Muslim Algerians had no representation in the Algerian National Assembly and limited influence in local governance.[34] Further, they were required to renounce their Muslim identity in order to obtain citizenship until the mid-twentieth century .[35] Moreover, education was only available to them at the primary level.[36] Hence, the settlers established near total dominance politically, economically, and in education; and the relationship between the pieds-noir and the Algerian was tense.

The Pied Noir population as part of the total Algerian population

File:Non-muslims in French Algeria.svg
Non-Muslim proportion of population in 1954 by département (post-1957 administrative divisions).
  0 % - 2 %
  2 % - 5 %
  5 % - 10 %
  10 % - 30 %
  more than 30 %

From roughly the last half of the 19th century until independence, the pied-noirs accounted for about 10% of the total Algerian population. Although they constituted a numerical minority, they were undoubtedly the prime political and economic force of the region.[37]

In 1959, the pieds-noirs numbered 1,025,000, and accounted for 10.4% of the total population of Algeria, a percentage gradually diminishing since the peak of 15.2% in 1926. However, some areas of Algeria had high concentrations of pieds-noirs, such as the regions of Bône (now Annaba), Algiers, and the area from Oran to Sidi-Bel-Abbès. Oran had been under European rule since the 17th century, and the population in the Oran metropolitan area was 49.3% European and Jewish in 1959. In the Algiers metropolitan area, Europeans and Jewish people accounted for 35.7% of the population. In the metropolitan area of Bône they accounted for 40.5% of the population. The département of Oran, a rich European-developed agricultural land of 16,520 km² (6,378 sq. miles) stretching between the cities of Oran and Sidi-Bel-Abbès, and including them, was the largest area of pieds-noirs density outside of the cities, with the pieds-noirs accounting for 33.6% of the population of the département in 1959.

The general Algerian Population vs. the Pied Noir population [38][39][40][41]
Year Algerian Population Pied Noir population
1830 1,500,000 14,000 (in 1836)
1851 2,554,100 100,000 (in 1847)
1960 10,853,000 1,111,000 (in 1959)

The Jewish Pied-noir Community

Main article: History of the Jews in Algeria
An Algerian Jew

Upon French arrival, Jews and specifically Sephardi Jews had been present along the Northern Coast of Africa for thousands of years. The community had grown progressively. First, many had been present since the time when "Phoenicians and Hebrew, engaged in maritime commerce, founded Annaba, Tipasa, Caesarea, and Algiers."[42] Many others arrived following the Reconquista in Spain and more came from Palestine running from the Egyptians and Titus. When the French invasion began, the number of Jews in Algeria was estimated to be 25,000.

The Algerian Jewish community became associated with the European-Algerians fairly quickly and in 1870 Adolphe Crémieux, the present Justice Minister, wrote a proposal allowing the French naturalization of Algerian Jews. This work was titled the décret Crémieux (French: The Crémieux decree) and granted French citizenship to the community. This had the effect of bringing the once mostly poor community into a more professional role. It was in this fashion in which the Jews of Algeria came to be, according to some sources, part of the pied-noir community.

However, this advancement for the Jewish community was not without resistance from part of the pied-noir community of European descent: in 1897 a wave of anti-semitic riots rolled through Algeria.[43] Additionally, during World War Two the The Crémieux decree was abolished under the Vichy Regime and Jews were barred from professional jobs. Their citizenship was restored in 1943 and many fled the country in 1962 with the rest of the pied-noir community following the Algerian War.[44]

The Algerian War and Exodus

The Algerian War

Main articles: Algerian War and Evian Agreements

For well over a century France maintained colonial rule in the Algerian territory. This predominance began to end following the growth of Algerian nationalism, and the creation of paramilitary independence groups such as the Front de Libération nationale (FLB) which appeared in response to inequalities between the pied-noir and the Algerians (see above). These concerns led to a war for independence which was waged in Algeria from 1954 until 1962 and is called the Algerian War. This conflict led to the relocation of about 900,000 Europeans and Jews (collectively, the pied-noir), which has been alleged to be the most massive relocation of people in Europe since the Second World War.

Throughout the French Algerian era, the pieds-noir had controlled government, the majority of Algerian wealth and through parliamentary representation had been able to block most reform to Algeria. In the mid-1930s the indigenous population began performing increasing acts of protest. The colonists replied with increased efforts aimed to maintaining the contemporary order. As an example, the Algerian nationalist enumerated various complaints in the Manifesto of the Algerian People, which requested equal representation under the state and access to citizenship. The French response was to grant citizenship to only a number of worthwhile or "meritorious" Algerians (who numbered about 60,000 out of 9,000,000).[45] Further, in 1947 in an effort of reform, the French modeled a bicameral legislature with first house representing the pied-noirs and the second the Algerians. The European house's vote was seven times more valuable than the Muslim Algerian one.[46] Due to the lack of reform, the Algerian nationalist movements became increasingly radical and violent, culminating in the outbreak of total war in 1954.

File:Manifestation-1960.jpg
Clash between French Security Forces and French Algeria supporters in 1960.

At the onset of the war, the pied-noirs believed that the French military would be able to overcome any opposition by the FLN. However, in May 1958 the situation intensified following the seizure of power in Algiers by General Massu who, as head of a military junta demanded that Charles de Gaulle be named President in order to prevent the "abandonment of Algeria". In response, the French Parliament voted 329-224 to place de Gaulle back into power.[3][47]

Once de Gaulle assumed leadership of France, he made attempts to resolve the Algerian crisis by visiting Algeria within three days of his appointment. To the crowds of Algerian and pied-noir settlers he remarked "I have understood you."[48] De Gaulle organized a national referendum which introduced the proposal for Algerian self-determination which passed overwhelmingly. In response to what they felt was betrayal, numerous pied-noirs formed what was called the Organisation de l'Armee Secrete (OAS) and began attacking metropolitan France, the Algerians, and de Gaulle himself (once shooting his car).[49] The OAS was accused of particularly violent actions, including random murders and bombings which effectively nullified opportunities for reconciliation between the Algerian and European communities.[50] The bloodshed culminated in an attempted coup by retired generals (see Algiers Putsch of 1961). Following the generals arrest, in March 18, 1962 de Gaulle and the FLN signed the Evian accords which called for a cease fire. A few months later, in July, the Algerians voted in referendum 5,975,581 to 16,534 to become independent of France.[51] Considering that many settlers had witnessed various alleged massacres and torture was reported, and that the chance for reconciliation seemed slim, the pied-noir's confidence diminished.[52]

Exodus

File:Pied-noir-barricade.png
The pied-noir were exiled from their birth country. (Algiers, Jan. 1960)

The exodus to mainland (or metropolitan) France began once the pied-noirs became convinced that the country would become independent of France and accelerated after the 5th of July 1962 massacre, in which hundreds of militants entered European sections of the city, and began randomly attacking civilians, causing up to 3500 causalties or disappearances.[53][54][55] In Algiers, it had been reported by May 1961 that the pied-noir morale had sunk due to violence and assertions that the entire European community had been responsible for "terrorism, torture, colonial racism, and ongoing violence in general" and that the group felt "rejected by the nation as pied-noirs."[56] It was this combined with the Oran Massacre and the knowledge that the referendum was for an independent Algeria, which caused the pied-noir exodus to begin in earnest.[57]

The total number to leave Algeria numbered more than one million between 1962 and 1964.[58] Due to the violence and chaotic conditions caused by the war, many of the pied-noir left with only the material which they were able to carry in a suitcase.[59] Adding to the confusion was the fact that the French Navy was forbidden by the DeGaulle government from assisting in the transportation of French citizens.[60] By September 1962, cities like Oran, Bône, or Sidi-Bel-Abbès were left half empty. All administration, police, schools, justice, commercial activities stopped in a matter of 3 months after many were famously told to choose either: "la valise ou le cercueil" (French: "The suitcase or the coffin").[61] Only 100,000 pieds-noirs chose to remain, but they gradually left through the following decade, until in the 1980s there remained only a few thousand pieds-noirs in Algeria.[62].

The French government claimed to have not anticipated that such a massive number would leave; it said it believed that perhaps 300,000 might choose to temporarily go to metropolitan France and even amongst those that a large proportion would return to Algeria following a "cooling-off" period.[63] Furthermore, the French government had earmarked about two billion dollars (or roughly $1600 per pied-noir) for the absorption of the "repatriates". This fund was intended to assist in the relocation of the pied-noirs as well as partially reimburse the group for the loss of their property, which was valued roughly at twenty billion dollars.[64] Clearly, the French government vastly underestimated reality of the situation (about one million fled to mainland France). The arrival of the pied-noirs was hampered even further by the government following a policy in which it was not honest about the true numbers of refugees in order to avoid upsetting its Algeria policies, which were heavily influenced by French interest in large oil and gas deposits which had been discovered in the Algerian Sahara.[65] Consequently, little was planned for their return, and psychologically at least, many of the pied-noirs were alienated from both Algeria and France.[66]

Return to Mainland France

File:Harkis-anciens-combattants-pied-noirs-joint-protest-algiers.png
Harki veterans and Pied-Noirs perform a joint protest in support of French Algeria during the barricades week in Algiers. (January 27, 1960)

Many pieds-noirs settled in cities and suburbs throughout France. Others opted to migrate to New Caledonia, Spain, Australia, and North and South America.[67] Other Algerian Jews left for Israel, where they were granted instant citizenship and support from the Israeli state as olim. Of those remaining in France, many relocated to the South, particularly the Provence-Côte-d’Azur region, which offered a geographic territory and climate similar to North Africa.[68] However, the influx of new citizens had two notable effects upon the present population. First, pieds-noirs brought with them government funds earmarked for their assistance helping to bolster local economies. Second, the migration caused increased job competition in the markets to which they arrived. It was this effect that caused the present French citizens to have tense relations with the new arrivals. Due to this, it has been asserted that the pieds-noirs experience helped bolster an anti-North African sentiment.[69]

In some ways, the pieds-noirs were able to integrate well into the French community, at least relative to their Maghrebin and Muslim counterparts.[70] Their resettlement was made easier due to the economic boom which France experienced in the 1960s. However, the ease of assimilation depended on the individual's socioeconomic class. Integration was easier for the upper classes, many of which found the transformation less stressful than the shopkeepers and tradesmen who were often economically shocked by the change in lifestyle. Specifically, they were not prepared for the diminution of their situation. In Algeria, the pied-noir had dominated a lower status, indigenous group. Thus, many were surprised upon their arrival in mainland France that they were no longer enjoyed such a status, in fact, they were often treated as an "underclass or out-group" upon arrival.[71]

To assist the repatriated pieds-noirs, the French government assigned two billion dollars in reimbursement for lost property. However, this money was not immediately allocated. The community lobbied the government intensely and was able to have the majority of that amount distributed and also received an additional amount of 30 billion francs over a period of fifteen years.[72] However, many repatriates and others considered that the French government's efforts were not sufficient to match their loss of Algerian property.

Thus, the returned pied-noirs frequently felt "disaffected" from the overall French society.[73] The repatriates also suffered from a sense of alienation, which stemmed from the change in the French government's position towards Algeria. Until independence, Algeria was legally a part of France. However, after the war this stance changed and left many pied-noirs disillusioned and with an image that they were an "embarrassment" to their country.[74] Furthermore at times, the repatriates were stigmatized by the general French citizenry, who assumed that they had all been wealthy grands-colons. This effect was compounded because the pieds-noirs were unable to return to their native birthplace, Algeria.[75] Therefore, the pied-noirs were characterized by feelings of rejection from France, where they held citizenship, and from Algeria where they were born.[76]

References in popular culture

File:TheBattleofAlgiers.png
The Battle of Algiers DVD cover. This movie depicts the namesake battle in which the pieds-noirs fought against the Algerians associated with the FLN

Literary and cinematic references to the pied-noir and especially the pain following the exodus are many. Much work focuses on the ideal of a lost land for the pied-noir since they left the land of their birth. Examples include writer Jean Pélégri who takes the reader through his childhood homeland, a place in which he found "inspiration." In other authors' works the theme of suffering caused by anguish is frequently referenced.[77]

One of the most noted and widely known depictions of the pied-noir community is through the eyes of Meursault, the protagonist in Albert Camus's novel L'etranger (French: The Outsider or The Stranger). Meursault leads a life as an office clerk in Algiers and the novel itself is a widely recognized achievement of the Absurdist movement in literature.[78]

Also, the pied-noirs were featured in the 1966 film The Battle of Algiers which depicts the fight for Algerian independence from France, as the two sides participate in acts of increasing violence which ultimately lead to the introduction of French paratroopers in the city. The film is notable for its exhibition of both sides of the conflict committing brutalities, for example, the pied-noirs engage in lynch mobs against the Muslim community and the indigenous Algerians are depicted performing various acts of terrorism. Variously, the films also contains representation of torture and assassination.[4]

Notable Pieds-Noirs

See also

Further reading

Footnotes

  1. ^ Remnants of Empire in Algeria and Vietnam: Women, Words, and War By Pamela A. Pears, Published 2004 by Lexington Books, ISBN 073910831X page 24.
  2. ^ "Algeria, Colonial Rule". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Brittanica. p. 40. Retrieved 2007-12-19. Settler colonization was of mixed European origin—mainly Spanish in and around Oran and French, Italian, and Maltese in the centre and east.
  3. ^ "Linternaute Encyclopedia". Dictionnaire (in French). www.linternaute.com. Retrieved 2007-12-19. Se dit des Français qui vivaient en Algérie, à l'époque de la colonisation
  4. ^ Shaming The Devil: Essays In Truthtelling By Alan Jacobs published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004. ISBN 080284894X, page 39.
  5. ^ France and Algeria: A History of Decolonization and Transformation By Phillip Chiviges Naylor, Published 2000 by University Press of Florida, ISBN 081303096X page 9.
  6. ^ Europe in the International Economy 1500 to 2000 By Derek Howard Aldcroft, Anthony Sutcliffe, Published 1999 by Edward Elger Publishing, ISBN 184376332X page 199.
  7. ^ a b "Pieds-noirs". Encyclopedie-1.com (in French). Retrieved 2007-12-19. allusion aux souliers vernis des premiers immigrants ou aux brodequins noirs des soldats de l'armée d'Afrique.
  8. ^ "Algeria, Colonial Rule". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Brittanica. p. 39. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  9. ^ a b Making Algeria French By David Prochaska published by Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 0521531284, page 45.
  10. ^ "Algeria, Colonial Rule". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Brittanica. p. 39. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  11. ^ Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Handbook (2006). "Country Profile: Algeria" (PDF). Library of Congress, Federal Research Division. The Library of Congress. p. 3. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
  12. ^ Encyclopedia Brittanica, page 39
  13. ^ A History of Islamic Societies By Ira Marvin Lapidus published by Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 0521779332, page 589.
  14. ^ Encyclopedia Brittanica, page 39
  15. ^ The Agony of Algeria By Martin Stone published by Columbia University Press, 1997. ISBN 0231109113, page 31.
  16. ^ Stone, page 31
  17. ^ "Algeria, Colonial Rule". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Brittanica. p. 39. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  18. ^ Encyclopedia Brittanica, page 40.
  19. ^ Contemporary Politics in the Middle East By Beverley Milton-Edwards published by Polity, 2006. ISBN 074563593, page 28.
  20. ^ Encyclopedia Brittanica, page 40
  21. ^ Lapidus, page 589
  22. ^ Algeria. (2008).Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 8, 2008, page 40, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-220553
  23. ^ Encyclopedia Brittanica, page 40
  24. ^ Lapidus, page 589
  25. ^ Encyclopedia Brittanica, 1910 By Hugh Chisholm published by The University Press, 1910. page 652.
  26. ^ Chisholm, page 652
  27. ^ Algeria: The Topography and History, Political, Social, and Natural, of French Africa By John Reynell Morell published 1854 by N.Cooke, page 348.
  28. ^ A History of the World from the 20th to the 21st Century By John Ashley Soames Grenville published by Routledge, 2005. page 524.
  29. ^ Grenville, page 524.
  30. ^ Grenville, page 524
  31. ^ Population Resettlement in International Conflicts: A Comparative Study By Jarie Marcelo Kacowicz and Pawel Lutomski published by Lexington Books, 2007. page 49.
  32. ^ multipls (1985). "Algeria". from Algeria: Country Study, 1985. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
  33. ^ Grenville, 524.
  34. ^ Algeria Country Study, http://www.mongabay.com/reference/country_studies/algeria/all.html. Section: Hegemony of the Colons
  35. ^ North African Women in France: Gender, Culture, and Identity By Caitlin Killian published by Stanford University Press, 2006. page 26. ISBN 0804754217
  36. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica, page 40.
  37. ^ multipls (1985). "Algeria". from Algeria: Country Study, 1985. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
  38. ^ Algeria: population growth of the whole country
  39. ^ Timelines : History of Algeria
  40. ^ The Agony of Algeria By Martin Stone published by Columbia University Press, 1997. ISBN 0231109113, page 32 (source for pieds-noir population in 1836 and 1847).
  41. ^ "Pied-Noir". Encyclopedia of the Orient. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  42. ^ Algeria, 1830-2000: A Short History By Benjamin Stora published by Cornell University Press, 2005. page 12. ISBN 0801489164
  43. ^ Stora, page 12.
  44. ^ Genocide: Critical Issues of the Holocaust By Alex Grobman published 1983 by Behrman House, Inc. page 132. ISBN 0940646382
  45. ^ Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Handbook (2006). "Country Profile: Algeria" (PDF). Library of Congress, Federal Research Division. The Library of Congress. p. 3. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
  46. ^ Killian, page 26.
  47. ^ Grenville, page 528
  48. ^ Grenville, page 528
  49. ^ Grenville, page 528
  50. ^ The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair By Martin Meredith published by Public Affairs, 2006.IISBN 1586483986 Page 74.
  51. ^ Killian, page 27.
  52. ^ Kacowicz & Lutomski, page 50.
  53. ^ [1], CHRONOLOGIE DE LA GUERRE D'ALGÉRIE, LES JOURNAUX D'ALGER
  54. ^ [2], List of Massacres
  55. ^ Shephard, page 213.
  56. ^ The Invention of Decolonization: The Algerian War And the Remaking of France By Todd Shepard published by Cornell University Press, 2006.ISBN 0801443601 Page 213.
  57. ^ Shephard, page 213
  58. ^ Memory and Violence in the Middle East and North Africa By Ussama Samir Makdisi, Paul A. Silverstein, Published 2006 by Indiana University Press, IISBN 0253217989 page 160.
  59. ^ Meredith 74
  60. ^ Kacowicz & Lutomski, page 50.
  61. ^ Colonial Myths: History and Narrative By Azzedine Haddour, Published 2000 by Manchester University Press, ISBN 0719059925 page 180.
  62. ^ Yves Courrière, La guerre d'Algérie (book 4, Les feux du désespoir)
  63. ^ Shephard, page 214.
  64. ^ Kacowicz & Lutomski, page 50
  65. ^ Kacowicz & Lutomski, page 50.
  66. ^ France and Algeria: A History of Decolonization and Transformation By Phillip Chiviges Naylor, Published 2000 by University Press of Florida, ISBN 081303096X page 9.
  67. ^ "French migration to South Australia (1955-1971): What Alien Registration documents can tell us". Vol. 2, Issue 2, August 2005. Flinders University Languages. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
  68. ^ "French migration to South Australia (1955-1971): What Alien Registration documents can tell us". Vol. 2, Issue 2, August 2005. Flinders University Languages Group. Retrieved 2007-12-25. The importance of the Provence-Côte-d'Azur region as a major provider of French migrants in the 1960s may be explained by the relatively high number of Pieds noirs who resided in the Mediterranean south of France once they were repatriated from the North African colonies. It was attractive to them because it offered a similar environment in terms of climatic and geographic conditions, (rural and urban landscape) to that of the region they had been forced to leave (Garnier 2004). Our data show that 42% of the migrants born in the French North-African colonies resided in the Provence-Côte-d'Azur region immediately prior to migrating to Australia.[24] It is also interesting to note that 89.8% of Pieds noirs arrived in Australia from 1962 onwards, as opposed to 78.2% for the France-born population and 71.5% for the overseas-born population.
  69. ^ Kacowicz & Lutomski, page 50-52.
  70. ^ "Decolonization Immigrations and the Social Origins of the Second Generation: The Case of North Africans in France". International Migration Review 36 (4), 1169–1193. Volume 36 Issue 4 Page 1169-1193, December 2002. State University of New York at Albany2CNRS, Paris. Retrieved 2007-12-25. e show that the pied-noir population exhibits signs of rapid integration with the native French, while the Maghrebin population remains apart. A logistic regression analysis reveals that, based on a few characteristics of their parents, one can distinguish the Maghrebin from the pied-noir second generations with a high degree of accuracy.
  71. ^ Kacowicz & Lutomski, page 50-52.
  72. ^ ALL Kacowicz & Lutomski, page 50-52.
  73. ^ Europe in the International Economy 1500 to 2000 By Derek Howard Aldcroft, Anthony Sutcliffe, Published 1999 by Edward Elger Publishing, ISBN 184376332X page 199.
  74. ^ Images of the Algerian War: French Fiction and Film, 1954-1992 By Philip Dine, Published 1994 by Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198158750 page 199.
  75. ^ "Grappling with ghosts:In its post-colonial era, France rethinks its identity". Monday, March 6, 2006. In the Fray, Identity Magazine Group. Retrieved 2007-12-25. The displaced, many of whom were not of French heritage had never set foot in France, often resettled in Marseille and other southern hubs, where large communities remain today. Suffering from stigmatization and cut off from their birthplace, these colonial refugees are living testaments to a past that continues to haunt.
  76. ^ Naylor, page 9.
  77. ^ Memory and Violence in the Middle East and North Africa By Ussama Samir Makdisi, Paul A. Silverstein Published 2006 by Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253217989 page 160.
  78. ^ Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Handbook (2006). ""The Stranger: Introduction." Novels for Students". Novels for Students, Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Detroit, Gale, 1998 eNotes.com. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
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