The climate of the region bordering on the Mediterranean has always been conducive to human habitation and bones from the neolithic cultures have been found there.

At the time of the last ice age the climate of the Sahara was quite different from what is now. There are traces of rivers and lakes, but the most striking evidence of the wetter climate of the time is in the cave and rock art of sites in the middle of the Sahara. This art shows animals such as hippopotamuses as well as gazelles.

The humans depicted in this art are of the Negroid type that exists in sub-Saharan Africa.

With the waning of the ice age the climate of the region became progressively drier until it was a desert.

The Berbers

According to a theory associated with Colin Renfrew agriculture was developed around 8000 BCE in the Anatolia or its vicinity. The peoples who assimilated this technology migrated away. Those who migrate to the north became the ancestors of the Ind-Europeans, those who migrated east became the Dravidians and those who migrated west into North Africa became the Berbers. The language of the Berbers is related to some languages of the Middle East. The name Berber was given to the people by Arabs who thought the language sounded incomprehensible, like the speakers were saying ber... ber... ber. The Berbers' name for themselves was Amazigh, (the free people). Their language was Tamazight.

Incidentally the name for coastal North Africa, al Maghrib is Arabic for the island between the two seas, the sand sea of the Sahara and the Mediterranean. But that came much later.

The Greeks, Phoenicians, Carthagenians and the Romans

The Greeks and later the Phoenicians established trading towns on the coast and controlled a bit of the hinterland surrounding the town. By the sixth century BCE some Greek authors made reference to the aborigine people of North Africa and their way of life. Later the Romans conquered the area. The Roman administrator and historian, Gaius Crispus Sallust, says of natives of North Africa.

North Africa was first occupied by Libyans and Getulians, who were a barbarous people, a heterogeneous mass, or agglomeration of people of different races, without any form of religion or government, nourishing themselves on herbs, or devouring the raw flesh of animals killed in the chase; for first amongst these were found Blacks, probably some from the interior of Africa, and belonging to the great negro family; then whites, issue of the Semitic stock, who apparently constituted, even at that early period, the dominant race or caste. Later, but at an epoch absolutely unknown, a new horde of Asiatics of Medes, Persians, and Armenians, invaded the countries of the Atlas, and, led on by Hercules, pushed their conquests as far as Spain.

The Greeks established trading stations in the Mediterranean but most of them were on the European side. Likewise the Phoenicians established trading stations. One of those trading stations, in what is now Tunisia, grew into a major power in its own right, Carthage.

The Carthagians built an empire that included the Iberian Peninsula as well as the western coast of North Africa. The Carthagenian Empire impinged upon the Roman Empire and Rome finally conquered and destroyed Carthage after several wars. The Romans built cities and facilities in North Africa but they and their European successors had almost no lasting impact on the culture of area. The influences of the Phoenicians, Carthagenians and Romans were limited to the cities. They made their peace with the Berber tribes near the trading stations, even hiring them as mercenaries.

Jugurtha

Jugurtha was the illegitimate son of the king of Numidia (roughly what is now coastal Algeria). When the king died his brother became king. This king took Jugurtha, his nephew, under his protection and eventually formally adopted him. Jugurtha was brave and smart. He cooperated with the Romans and even fought as their ally as the commander of Numidian troops in Spain. He developed relationships with important Roman politicians.

When Jugurtha's uncle, the king of Numidia, died Jugurtha as his adopted son received a share of power. He proceded to try to eliminate his two cousins. One he had assassinated, the other he militarily challenged. Jugurtha's forces were victorious and the cousin king fled with some of his supporters to a fortress in what is now the city of Constantine. Jugurtha's forces soon captured the fortress and proceded to slay all of the occupants. This included some prominant Roman businessmen.

This provocation was too much to ignored and the Roman Senate declared war on Jugurtha. The Roman invasion force was not successful. Jugurtha found it very easy to wage a classic guerilla war against the Romans of the cities. Finally the Roman commander chose to negotiate a peace treaty with Jugurtha. The terms of the treaty were so unusally favorable to Jugurtha that the Roman demanded that the he come to Rome and explain how he got such favorable terms. Jugurtha was given safe conduct to Rome. He went there but official in charge of the Senate ordered him not to speak. This might sound like an enemy of Jugurtha was preventing him from giving his testimony, but it was actually a supporter of Jugurtha keeping him from being grilled by his enemies. Jugurtha had strong support in the Senate and he was allowed to return to Numidia. However in Rome at that time there was another claimant to the throne of Numidia. Jugurtha saw the opportunity to rid himself of a rival so he had that rival assassinated.

This action was too much for the Senate and they declared the treaty abrogated. Rome was again at war with Jugurtha.

Under a new command the Roman force were more successful. Jugurtha finally had to seek a haven in the neighbor kingdom of Mauretania (what is now northern Morocco and western Algeria). The king of Mauretania was Blocchus, a monarch who had previously tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a treaty with Rome. Earlier Blocchus had supported Jugurtha's rebellion against Roman domination but the Mauretanians were not very successful against the Roman military and Blocchus withdrew his support for Jugurtha. Blocchus was the father of one of the wives of Jugurtha so Jugurtha felt confident of Blocchus' loyalty to him.

Jugurtha however reasoned without knowing the resourcefulness of a man Rome had sent to aid the Roman forces in Numidia. This man's name was Sulla. He was reputed to have the courage of a lion and the cunning of a fox. Sulla fearlessly journeyed to Mauretania to deal with Blocchus. Blocchus could have turned Sulla over to Jugurtha, but he did not. Sulla was able to convince Blocchus that his self interest lay in an alliance with Rome. All Blocchus had to do was lure Jugurtha into an ambush. Jugurtha was captured and turned over to the Romans.

Sulla's commander sent Jugurtha to Rome were he was imprisoned. The commander however was jealous of Sulla's brilliant coup which ended the rebellion in Numidia. Jugurtha was kept alive long enough to be used in the victory celebration, called a triumph, that Sulla's commander presented in Rome. Later Jugurtha was executed in prison.

The Coming of Islam and the Arabs to North Africa

It took only about fifty years after the death of Mohammad for Islam to reach al Maghrib in the form of raids into the coastal plains. By 710 massive conversions to Islam were being carried out.

There were two Bedouin tribes from the western side of the Arabian peninsula, the Bani Hilal and the Bani Salim, who migrated into Upper Egypt, the southern part. The text of Morocco: A Country Study refers to these Bedouin tribes as infesting Upper Egypt. They were marauders. When the Fatamids, a Shi'ite group, conquered Egypt and established a Caliphate in Cairo they decided to deal with the problem of the Bedouin tribes in Egypt by encouraging them to migrate westward to reassert Egyptian suzerainty over that region. The Bedouins, later known as Halilians, swept slowly across the Maghrib region of North Africa. They conquered and destroyed cities and they turned farm land into pastureland. The historian Ibn Khaldun described the advance of the Halilians across the Maghrib as being like a swarm of locusts. However the migration of the Hilalians had a significant demographic impact on the Maghrib. It brought a large number of Arabs into its population. Prior to that time the Arabs constituted a small elite among a predominantly Berber population.

The Hilalians

There were two Bedouin tribes from the western side of the Arabian peninsula, the Bani Hilal and the Bani Salim, who migrated into Upper Egypt, the southern part. The text of Morocco: A Country Study refers to these Bedouin tribes as infesting Upper Egypt. They were marauders. When the Fatamids, a Shi'ite group, conquered Egypt and established a Caliphate in Cairo they decided to deal with the problem of the Bedouin tribes in Egypt by encouraging them to migrate westward to reassert Egyptian suzerainty over that region. The Bedouins, later known as Halilians, swept slowly across the Maghrib region of North Africa. They conquered and destroyed cities and they turned farm land into pastureland. The historian Ibn Khaldun described the advance of the Halilians across the Maghrib as being like a swarm of locusts. However, Morocco suffered less from the Hilalians than the territory of the Maghrib to the east of it. However the migration of the Hilalians had a significant demographic impact on Morocco. It brought a large number of Arabs into its population. Prior to that time the Arabs constituted a small elite among a predominantly Berber population.

(To be continued.)

The Rebellion

When World War II broke out in Europe the French army recruited Algerians. Some of the leaders of the Algerian Revolution, such as Ahmad Ben Bella, fought for the French and later for the Free French under General De Gaulle.

Ahmad Ben Bella

Ahmad Ben Bella was born in a small town in western Algeria to a farm family. French was his mother tongue. Ben Bella says that the discrimination by the French colonialists against the Algerians like himself was not severe. He and other Algerians played in sports against the students from the French colonialist families.

Ben Bella was a conscientious student but his father pushed him to finish school earlier and he failed a major examination.

(To be continued.)

The Attempt to Create a Social Welfare State
in Independent Algeria

Medical Care

At independence the Algerian population had some very serious health problems. Tuberculosis was the most serious danger. Malaria too was a serious threat in the spring and autumn when standing water was available for misquitoes to propagate in. Flies spread the eye infection trichoma which could lead to blindness. In addition pneumonia was always an ever present risk. Likewise the infectuous diseases scarlet fever, diphtheria and venereal diseases were a danger.