Colonisaton of Algeria and Confiscation of Land

Colonisaton of Algeria and Confiscation of Land

Lucrative Business and Easy Profit

The 1833 Law

In the very first years of French occupation, the authorities had begun a wide-scale confiscation of the lands. On September 8, 1830, all the state-owned land (beyliks) and those of the Algerian Turks were declared the property of France. On March 1, 1833, a law was issued on the expropriation of lands, the ownership of which had not been legalised by title deeds. In 1839, the lands of the rebellious Metija tribes and the Algerian Sahel were confiscated. All these lands either passed into the hands of the French colonists or became the object of desperate speculation. Land speculators, adventurers and nobles who had lost their estates in France came to Algeria in pursuit of easy profit and set up new feudal patrimonies on the fertile plains surrounding Algiers. They turned the landless Arab peasants into their serfs, khammases. Many of the colonisers surrounded themselves with Oriental luxury, erected palaces and acquired harems. The French generals and dignitaries participated in all these shady deals, grew rich and appropriated huge estates.

The “agrarian reform” carried out by the colonisers increased land plunder.

The 1843 Decree

In 1843-44, the French authorities issued decrees which ensured the rapid growth of French colonisation. On March 24, 1843, a decree was issued on the confiscation of the public habus (waqf), the religious lands.

The 1844 Decree

On October 1, 1844, the Europeans were permitted to buy private waqfs (on the basis of the new enzel). The decree of October 1, 1844, which was confirmed on July 21, 1846, declared as state property all land known as “no-man’s land” (all uncultivated land, for which no title deeds had been issued up to June 1, 1830). On the basis of these “laws” all the Algerian tribes were requested to present documentary proof of their land rights. Most of the tribes, which owned land on the basis of the usual rights, had no such documents, which was exactly what the colonisers counted on.

Mass expropriations began. In the Algiers district alone the French authorities expropriated 168,000 hectares, out of which the Arabs received 30,000 hectares and the French colonialists – 138,000 hectares. The same thing happened in all parts of Algeria.

July 01, 2019