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For thousands of years, one country has stood at the crossroads of the Mediterranean and the Sahara.
It has been ruled by Numidian kings, Romans, Arabs, Ottomans, and Europeans.
Its modern independence came only after one of the most violent decolonization struggles in history. A conflict still shapes the country today.
Learn more about the long and complicated history of Algeria on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
The history of Algeria goes back farther than that of almost any other country.
Archaeological discoveries at a dig known as Ain Boucherit indicate that Algeria’s historical roots extend back well over a million years. Excavations at the site have uncovered some of North Africa’s earliest known artifacts, including cut-marked animal bones and stone implements.
Dating back as far as 2.4 million years, these stone tools suggest that early human ancestors inhabited North Africa and used tool technology much earlier than previously recognized.
The recorded history of the region begins with the emergence of early North African groups who came together as the Berber people, who, early in their history, faced expansion from the city-state of Carthage.
The Carthaginians were an offshoot of the Phoenicians who settled in what is today Tunisia and tried to expand their power along the North African coast, including Algeria.
The Carthaginians didn’t try to conquer the stronger Berber tribes deeper in the region. Instead, they focused on establishing market towns for trade and tribute, and overall, their relationship was mostly positive.
As Carthage expanded, the Berber population changed as well. By the fifth century BC, Berbers in Algeria had adopted new farming methods, implemented trade and political reforms, and overall expanded their economy.
This progress led to the emergence of two major Berber kingdoms in the third century BC: the Masaesyli and the Massyli.
Once independent, both kingdoms turned against Carthage. The Massyli, in particular, used their separation to unite their territories, creating the kingdom of Numidia.
Numidia is regarded as the pinnacle of Berber civilization. After gaining independence, they joined Rome against Carthage in the Second Punic War. But after years as a Roman ally and then a client state, Numidia lost its independence, and much of Numidia was annexed by Rome in 46 BC.
Under Roman rule, Algeria’s coastal areas saw the construction of new Roman buildings, while much of the interior focused on growing grain for export. Many native Berbers were displaced and had to return to tribal life.
Roman North Africa became a major center of early Christianity. Christianity spread widely in towns and among parts of the Berber population, and by the late fourth century much of settled North Africa had been Christianized. Augustine of Hippo, one of Christianity’s most influential theologians, lived in what is now Algeria
Roman rule ended in the early 5th century, when the Vandals, a Germanic people, invaded and established a kingdom in North Africa.
Eventually, the Byzantine Empire defeated the Vandals, and while Byzantine rule didn’t affect Algeria much, major cities and coastal areas were incorporated into African administrative regions.
Many inland groups stayed independent until Byzantine control ended in the late seventh century, when Islam was introduced. The Umayyad Dynasty launched military expeditions and campaigns across North Africa.
An Umayyad commander named Uqba ibn Nafi led the spread of Islam into Algeria, using a base in what is now Tunisia to move westward.
After the Arab conquest, Algerians gradually adopted Islam. As Arabs arrived, Byzantine influence faded, and local leaders joined the Islamic armies, accelerating the religious change.
Fast forward several centuries, and Algeria was thriving. It became a cultural crossroads, known for its art, poetry, and trade.
In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the Spanish Empire became interested in Algeria and started capturing key coastal trading ports.
To counter this threat, Algerian leaders turned to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans sent brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa to help protect them from the Spanish.
The brothers agreed and managed to stop the Spanish threat. Afterward, Algeria became an autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire, known as the Regency of Algiers.
From 1516 to 1830, Algeria was part of the Regency of Algiers. During this period, it became a major naval power in the Mediterranean and operated mostly independently, making its own treaties and paying only a small tribute to Constantinople.
Ottoman influence in Algeria ended after 1830. Around this time, tensions with France grew over unpaid debts. France used the conflict as an excuse to invade Algeria, end Ottoman rule, and dismantle the Regency of Algiers, even though many Algerians by this time had a strong sense of national identity.
When the French invaded, local tribes and the Ottomans joined forces to defend Algeria. Despite their efforts, the French managed to expand their control.
Resistance broke out across Algeria. In the west, Emir Abdelkader led a strong fight against the French, most notably at the Battle of Macta on 28 June 1835, a significant Algerian victory. But after years of struggle, harsh French tactics eventually prevailed. Abdelkader surrendered in 1847, and Algeria was officially annexed in 1848.
The conquest caused an enormous demographic catastrophe. Some historians estimate that hundreds of thousands of Algerians died from warfare, famine, disease, and displacement, with one influential estimate putting the toll at roughly 825,000 by 1875.
Unlike most colonies, after France annexed Algeria in 1848, it became a legal part of Metropolitan France. More than a million French settlers, called pied-noirs, moved there.
Algeria was vital to France because it was a huge market for French goods, and offered a strategic military location in the Mediterranean. Furthermore, its location just across the Mediterrean sea made it easy for France to control.
Unlike other colonies, Algeria was split into official French departments. The slogan was “Algeria is France.” It was the only African territory considered part of the French Republic, and sent representatives to the French parliament.
But in reality, most Algerians were not treated as French. They lacked full political rights and citizenship, which were reserved for the European minority and a few others. The majority of the local population were treated as subjects, not citizens.
During World War II, Germany defeated France, and Algeria fell under the rule of Vichy France. Algeria was liberated in 1942 during Operation Torch.
Many local Algerians called for real equality and integration with France. Many Algerians fought in the war and worked in factories, and they were promised reforms like voting rights. But these promises were not kept. For many Algerians, this led them to believe that only an armed struggle could end European rule.
This came to a head in 1954, when the Front de Libération Nationale, or the FLN, began to prepare for the Algerian War of Independence.
The Algerian War was a brutal fight between the FLN and France. It’s considered to be one of the most important anti-colonial struggles in history.
The FLN used guerrilla tactics and urban attacks against the French military and pieds-noirs. Since Algeria was considered part of France, the fighting was fierce. The French government responded with heavy counterinsurgency, and many Europeans there saw independence as a betrayal.
Both sides of the conflict committed serious war crimes. The FLN targeted European civilians on August 20, 1955, at the Philippeville massacre, where between 3,000 and 5,000 French were killed. In response, the French killed many more Algerians.
In May 1958, French settlers and military officers in Algeria formed a Committee of Public Safety and demanded a government committed to keeping Algeria French. The resulting constitutional crisis helped bring Charles de Gaulle back to power and resulted in the collapse of the Fourth French Republic.
After taking power, de Gaulle realized the conflict couldn’t continue and said in 1959 that Algerians had the right to decide their future. This angered pro-French military groups, who attempted to stage a coup.
Algerian independence finally came through a sequence of negotiations and referendums rather than a single vote. In January 1961, French voters, including voters in Algeria, approved Charles de Gaulle’s policy allowing Algerians to determine their own political future.
Negotiations between France and the FLN then produced the Évian Accords, signed on March 18, 1962, which established a ceasefire and laid out a process for transferring sovereignty.
French voters overwhelmingly approved the agreements in a second referendum on April 8, with about 91 percent voting yes. Finally, on July 1, 1962, voters in Algeria were asked whether Algeria should become an independent state cooperating with France under the Évian terms. More than 99 percent of votes cast favoured independence.
France formally recognized Algerian independence on July 3, and Algeria celebrates July 5, 1962, as its Independence Day
Algeria’s first president was FLN leader Ahmed Ben Bella. His time in office was short, as he was overthrown in a June 1965 military coup led by Houari Boumédiène. (boo-med-e-en)
Over time, Algeria started to liberalize and promote Arabisation, while also relying more on oil. But an economic recession in the 1980s caused social unrest and led to the formation of new political parties.
In 1991, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) saw electoral success. Fearing an Islamic government, authorities canceled the elections, which triggered a civil war, that lasted until 2002. The fighting was brutal between the government and Islamic insurgent groups.
The FIS tried to crush political opposition, leading to splinter groups fighting for their own state. The violence included massacres, assassinations, bombings, and government abuses. As many as two hundred thousand died, and tens of thousands disappeared.
The conflict finally ended in 2002 when the rebels suffered from a combination of surrenders, defeats by security forces, and the loss of public support after committing mass killings.
After the civil war, Algeria began to recover. The government, backed by the military, focused on national security and keeping tight control over the country.
A key step was the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, passed in 2005. It gave immunity and amnesty to Islamic fighters, as well as sweeping immunity to members of the security forces and state-backed militias.
Since then, Algeria’s economy and society have improved. While progress is mixed, Algeria has made big steps toward recovery. Nonetheless, it was also affected by the Arab Spring protests in 2011 and 2012.
Algeria’s economy still isn’t very diverse, as it is mostly driven by oil and gas, but this has helped it achieve one of Africa’s highest GDPs.
Algeria’s history has been shaped by geography, conquest, and the struggle to define its own identity. Berbers, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Arabs, Ottomans, and the French each left a lasting mark on the country.
Independence in 1962 ended more than a century of French rule, but it did not end Algeria’s problems. Yet despite political upheaval, civil war, and dependence on oil and gas, Algeria has remained one of the most important countries in all of Africa.