HIST112 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Ali La Pointe, Algerian War, French Colonial Empire
HIST112 Lecture Notes Wednesday 12th April 2017
The war was about the Algerians trying to obtain independence.
Poteoo’s The Battle of Algies 9
- Was made quite recently after the end of the war.
What is the film about?
- A war film based on the most prominent battle of the Algerian war of independence
(1954-62) against the French Colonial government in North Africa.
- Warefare between Arabs and Europeans.
- FLN were hunted by French paratroopers. Depicts the methods the French employed
to neutralise the FLN leadership.
- The French won the battle but ultimately lost the war.
Historical Background to the Film
- French invaded and captured Algiers in 1830. Algeria has been invaded and occupied
numerous times prior.
- French wanted to civilise the country – make it French.
- Algeia’s soial fai suffeed duig the oupatio: litea plueted.
- It became a destination for thousands of European immigrants.
- 1825-1847 – 50 000 French people emigrated to Algeria.
- They received much land.
- By the early 20th century, Europeans made up the majority of the population.
Lead up to the Algerian War
- Increasing dissatisfaction among the Arab population who lacked both political and
economic status.
- 1936 Blum Voillette proposals for greater equality for Algerians. Was blocked by the
French assembly. Wanted to allow Algerians to live by Muslim rules.
- Many argue that this lead to the rise of the FLN.
- During world war two things died down but rose again in 1945.
- On VE day, Muslim protestors arrived to protest. Their march turned into a
massacre.
- There was a constitution set up – 60 people representing French, 60 people
representing Algerians. Algerians were with less power. Was unacceptable.
- FLN tried to draw international attention to the area.
- JFK publically supported Algeria.
- September 30 1956
Historical events depicted in the film
- From the perspective of Ali la Pointe, a criminal who is recruited by the FLN
- 7 jan 1957 – Jaues Eile Massu’s paatoopes egi to fight ak agaist FLN.
- Casbah areas of Algeria controlled by use of ID checks
- Those taken into detention are tortured to reveal intelligence. Many die during their
captivity.
- 28 Jan 1957 – Jaues Eile Massu’s paatoopes set i to eak a geeal stike.
- March 1957 – Lai Be M’hidi, top FLN leader, captured and commits suicide.
- Djamila, Zohra, and Hassiba, historical FLN women, did plant bombs in the locations
the film depicts.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The war was about the algerians trying to obtain independence. Was made quite recently after the end of the war. A war film based on the most prominent battle of the algerian war of independence (1954-62) against the french colonial government in north africa. Depicts the methods the french employed to neutralise the fln leadership. The french won the battle but ultimately lost the war. French invaded and captured algiers in 1830. Algeria has been invaded and occupied numerous times prior. It became a destination for thousands of european immigrants. French wanted to civilise the country make it french. Alge(cid:396)ia"s so(cid:272)ial fa(cid:271)(cid:396)i(cid:272) suffe(cid:396)ed du(cid:396)i(cid:374)g the o(cid:272)(cid:272)upatio(cid:374): lite(cid:396)a(cid:272)(cid:455) plu(cid:373)(cid:373)eted. 1825-1847 50 000 french people emigrated to algeria. By the early 20th century, europeans made up the majority of the population. Increasing dissatisfaction among the arab population who lacked both political and economic status. 1936 blum voillette proposals for greater equality for algerians. Wanted to allow algerians to live by muslim rules.
