A study of French real estate policy during the colonial period in Algeria (1863-1897) and its impact on Algerian society.

Abstract

The issue of Algerian real estate ownership during the French colonial period is a significant issue in the modern and contemporary history of Algeria. Therefore, we wanted to shed light on this issue, as it touched on several political, social, economic, and even cultural aspects. For this reason, we will attempt to focus on the issue of land ownership and the policy pursued by the French colonial administration, by dismantling this type of land ownership, especially the issue of the confiscation of Algerian lands from 1863 to 1897 AD. Through this, the French occupation realized that land in Algeria is of great importance to the cohesion and solidarity existing among Algerian tribes and clans, and that it can only be controlled through division and dispersion to facilitate the process of subsequent control. Consequently, the issue of confiscating their lands and creating another force represented by European immigrants from various European countries ensured the continuity of France in Algeria.

To achieve this goal, it was necessary to enact an arsenal of laws and decrees that paved the way for its realization, namely complete control over the fertile and productive Algerian lands, in pursuit of prosperity and development for the French economy. Since this study is time-bound, it will address all laws related to this period and their impact on society. We will focus on Algerian society through the study of archival documents and sources related to the study, in order to achieve our objectives, the most prominent of which is to understand the policy pursued by the French colonial administration regarding real estate ownership in Algeria, in all its types and forms, and the extent of the success of the legal arsenal enacted by France in terms of legislation pertaining to real estate ownership. We will then arrive at the consequences of these laws, applied during the colonial period, especially during the French Second Empire and later the French Third Republic, and their impact on Algerian society.

Based on these objectives and to address this topic, we ask the following fundamental question: To what extent was the policy pursued by the French colonial authorities regarding land confiscation from 1863 to 1897 in Algeria, successful, and what were its effects and repercussions on Algerian society? in order for this research to be academic, In order for this research to be academic, we adopted a narrative, descriptive, analytical, and critical approach.

Occasionally, we used a comparative approach to compare the laws applied to the Algerian population and European settlers. This study, which deals with the issue of French land policy during the colonial period in Algeria, includes several elements, the most important of which are the types of land ownership in Algeria, prior to the French occupation, such as tribes lands, property lands, waqf lands, and other types. Then, we move on to the issue of confiscating lands in Algeria, from the indigenous population and granting them to the benefit of colonists and settlers of various nationalities. This was done through the enactment of laws issued by the French authorities from 1863 to 1897 AD, beginning with the Senatus Consulte Law of 1863 and ending with the Law of February 16, 1897. All of these aimed to achieve the goal of destroying and dismantling Algerian society and creating an alternative society completely similar to French society.

Consequently, the French authorities confirmed that their continuation and presence in Algeria were fundamentally linked to their success in expanding the settlement process and creating a society that was a mixture of the indigenous people and the European settlers. French real estate policy in Algeria was largely in favor of the settlers and did not take into account the interests of the indigenous population. Most of the laws and decrees enacted by France during this period, from 1863 to 1897, appeared to equate the settlers with the indigenous people, but in reality, they served the interests of the settlers. After reviewing archival documents, it became clear that these laws were premeditated.

Keywords: French occupation – real estate issue - land confiscation - laws – politics