RÉCIT DE L’INSURRECTION DE 1871 EN ALGERIE

We continue with our guest Ahcène Ath Ouarab Ouyahia in his fascinating account of the insurrection that began in 1871. This revolt, also known as the "Mokrani Revolt," was the most significant uprising against French colonial rule from the conquest of Algeria in 1830 until November 1, 1954. More than 250 tribes rose up, representing a third of Algeria's population at the time, and the uprising was led from the Kabylie region of the Bibans Mountains by Sheikh El Mokrani and his brother Boumezrag, as well as by Sheikh El Haddad, head of the Rahmaniya Sufi order. Severely repressed by the French army, this insurrection led to a little-known episode in Algerian history: the deportation of the insurgents to New Caledonia.