French Algeria

French Algeria, also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted from the beginning of the French conquest in 1830 until the end of the Algerian War which resulted in Algeria gaining independence on 5 July 1962.

The French conquest of Algeria began in 1830 with the invasion of Algiers which toppled the Regency of Algiers, though Algeria was not fully conquered and pacified until 1903. It is estimated that by 1875, approximately 825,000 Algerians had been killed. Various scholars describe the French conquest as genocide. Algeria was ruled as a colony from 1830 to 1848, and then as multiple departments of France after the implementation of the 1848 French Constitution, a situation that lasted until Algerian independence in 1962. After a trip to Algiers in 1860, the French emperor Napoleon III became keen on establishing a client kingdom there which he would in rule in a personal union, expanding freedoms for the indigenous population and limiting colonisation. This project was futile, however, and the newly-established Third French Republic scrapped any plans for Algerian regional autonomy, even seeking to strengthen its hold by granting citizenship to Algeria's native Jewish population and propagating the Kabyle myth in what has been described as examples of divide and rule.

As a recognized jurisdiction of France, Algeria became a destination for hundreds of thousands of European settlers. They were first known as colons, and later as pieds-noirs, a term applied primarily to ethnic Europeans born in Algeria. The native Muslim population comprised the majority of the territory throughout its history. Gradually, dissatisfaction among the Muslim population, due to their lack of political and economic freedom, fueled calls for greater political autonomy, and eventually independence from France. The Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945 marked a point of no return in Franco-Algerian relations and led to the outbreak of the Algerian War, which was characterised by the use of guerrilla warfare by National Liberation Front, and crimes against humanity by the French (including torture, rape and regroupment camps). The war ended in 1962, with Algeria gaining independence following the Évian Accords in March 1962 and a self-determination referendum in July 1962.

During its last years as part of France, Algeria was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community.