Building roads to dominate: Roads in colonized Algeria in the 19th century

Abstract

After the alliance of the rising European powers against the Algerian state and its Ottoman allies, and at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the United States of America entered the conflict in the Barbary Wars, which put an end to the Algerian State in 1860 after the success of the French military campaign.

France exploited the victory and turned to an expansionist colonial policy in Algeria. For 70 years, the French army was able to eliminate all revolutions and forms of armed resistance and embarked on settlement projects that began by building roads, bridges, and then railways to provide security for European settlers and exploit agricultural and mineral resources.

The road-building process knew the contribution of successive governments in Paris, military and civilian bodies in France and Algeria, and even settlers, owners of funds, and banks contributed to the establishment of a good and effective transportation network that facilitated the process of penetrating the country, consolidating colonialism, and confirming domination over Algerian society for more than 132 years. In 1962, the Algerian people restored the sovereignty of the new republic of Algeria.

Key words

Colonisation, building roads, communication network, colonized Algeria, French Colonial Empire, European settlers.