Algerian War: Effects of War Notes

Key Questions

1. What were the social and economic effects of the war?
2. What were the short term and long term political effects of the war?
3. What territorial changes took place as a result of the war?
4. What was the impact of the war on the role and status of women?

For Algeria

1. Human Cost

1. The Algerian War of Independence was one of the most violent conflicts of the post-1945 decolonization era.
2. More than 250,000 Algerians were killed during the conflict, with an additional 12,000 deaths caused during the final violent campaigns of the Organisation de l’Armée Secrète (OAS), which tried to block independence.
3. Thousands of civilians were uprooted from their homes as villages were destroyed or cleared during military operations.
4. The departing French settlers, known as the colons or pieds noirs, deliberately destroyed infrastructure, housing, and public facilities before leaving, creating long-lasting damage.
5. The suffering extended beyond fatalities, as many Algerians endured loss of livelihood, displacement, and trauma from widespread destruction.

2. Political Cost

1. The end of French colonial rule did not immediately bring political stability to Algeria.
2. After the signing of the Evian Accords in 1962, a new civil war erupted between rival nationalist groups over who would lead the new Algerian state.
   1. By the end of summer 1962, approximately 15,000 people had died in this internal conflict before Ahmed Ben Bella emerged as the leader.
3. Ben Bella established a one-party dictatorship under the FLN, sidelining and purging rivals such as Ferhat Abbas, a key figure of the independence struggle.
4. In 1965, Houari Boumédiène, with the support of the army, staged a coup against Ben Bella and established a military-backed regime. He ruled for 13 years, maintaining strict one-party control.
   1. Boumédiène promoted authoritarian socialism, but his policies failed to deliver on promises of higher living standards, leaving many Algerians frustrated.
5. Political instability continued into the 1990s. In 1991, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) won elections, but the results were annulled by the army, sparking another civil war.
   1. This second civil war between Islamist groups and the Algerian state was brutal, with estimates of between 150,000 and 200,000 deaths, further deepening Algeria’s cycle of violence.

3. Economic Cost

1. The war left Algeria’s economy devastated after more than seven years of armed struggle.
   1. Agriculture, which had been a vital part of Algeria’s economy, was heavily disrupted due to village burnings, destruction of farmland, and forced displacement of rural populations.
   2. The French colons destroyed buildings, businesses, and key infrastructure before leaving, stripping Algeria of much of its industrial and economic base.
   3. The mass exodus of nearly one million pieds noirs and tens of thousands of French administrators left the country without the skilled professionals, managers, and technical experts needed to run the economy.
2. Post-war governments attempted ambitious socialist economic policies, including land redistribution and nationalization of industries, but these were often poorly implemented.
   1. Dependency on oil and gas exports became the foundation of Algeria’s economy, making it vulnerable to fluctuations in global markets.
3. The costs of reconstruction after the war drained state resources, and despite reforms, many Algerians continued to face poverty and unemployment.
4. The economic hardship that followed independence played a key role in fueling later unrest and disillusionment with the ruling elite.

For the Colons

1. Nearly one million European settlers, known as pieds-noirs, fled Algeria following independence and relocated to France.
   1. The departing population included senior administrators, professionals, and business leaders, which created a vacuum in governance and economic activity.
   2. Algerians who had worked with the pieds-noirs were often punished or removed from positions of responsibility, leading to further instability.
2. In 1963, Ahmed Ben Bella, Algeria’s first president, legalized the expropriation of most foreign-owned land and nationalized hundreds of businesses abandoned by the French.