The History of Algeria: Colonization, Resistance, and Independence — Fexingo History cover art

The History of Algeria: Colonization, Resistance, and Independence — Fexingo History

The History of Algeria: Colonization, Resistance, and Independence — Fexingo History

By: Fexingo
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Algeria's past is a crucible of civilizations, from the Numidian kingdoms and Roman Africa to the rise of the Rustamid imamate and the Ottoman regency. This show, hosted by Lucas and Luna, plunges into the violent rupture of French colonization after 1830 — the conquest that devastated the indigenous society, the land seizures that turned peasants into sharecroppers, and the settler colonialism that created a two-tiered world. We trace the resistance of Emir Abdelkader, the Kabyle uprisings, and the crushing of the Mokrani Revolt. The 20th century brings the rise of the Parti du Peuple Algérien (PPA), the Sétif massacre of 1945, and the formation of the FLN. The war of independence (1954–1962) is explored in its brutality: the Battle of Algiers, the use of torture, the internment camps, and the OAS counter-terror. Independence under Ben Bella gives way to Boumediene's military state, the 'socialist' experiment, the black decade of the 1990s civil war against the FIS and GIA, and Bouteflika's rehabilitation. We also examine the enduring legacies: the hirak protest movement, the trauma of the war of memory with France, and the struggle for democracy today. The Casbah of Algiers and the Atlas mountains stand as silent witnesses. This is not a linear timeline but a conversation about power, identity, and the long shadow of empire. #History #AlgerianHistory #NorthAfrica #FrenchColonialism #WarOfIndependence #FLN #EmirAbdelkader #BattleOfAlgiers #STifMassacre #OAS #Boumediene #BlackDecade #AlgerianCivilWar #Hirak #Decolonization #Maghreb #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo© 2026 Fexingo. All rights reserved. Hourly Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • Algeria's 1946–54: From Sétif to Toussaint Rouge

    Algeria's 1946–54: From Sétif to Toussaint Rouge
    Jul 2 2026
    In the years between the 1945 Sétif massacre and the 1954 Toussaint Rouge attacks that launched the Algerian War, a clandestine revolutionary movement took shape. This episode traces the formation of the Special Organisation (OS), the break with Messali Hadj, the rise of the nine historical leaders (neuf historiques), and the decision to launch armed struggle. We discuss the OS's 1949 attack on the Oran post office, the arrest and escape of Ahmed Ben Bella, and the split that created the FLN. Specific names, dates, and places anchor the narrative: Mostefa Ben Boulaïd, Larbi Ben M'Hidi, Rabah Bitat, the Aurès mountains, and the secret Soummam valley meeting that would follow years later. No broad strokes—just the gritty details of a revolution in waiting. #Algeria #FLN #ToussaintRouge #OS #MessaliHadj #AhmedBenBella #MostefaBenBoulaid #LarbiBenMHidi #Sétif #Aurès #Oran #AlgerianWar #decolonization #Maghreb #neufhistoriques #history #FexingoHistory #NorthAfrica Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 mins
  • Algeria's 1965 Coup: Boumediene's Rise and the End of Ben Bella

    Algeria's 1965 Coup: Boumediene's Rise and the End of Ben Bella
    Jul 2 2026
    In June 1965, less than three years after independence, Algeria's first president Ahmed Ben Bella was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by his own defense minister, Houari Boumediene. This episode explores the tensions that led to the coup: Ben Bella's increasingly autocratic rule, his rivalry with Boumediene, the role of the ALN (Armée de Libération Nationale) versus the FLN party, and the Oujda group of military commanders who had fought together during the war of independence. We discuss the coup itself on June 19, 1965, how it unfolded with almost no resistance, and the subsequent consolidation of power by Boumediene's Conseil de la Révolution. We also look at the broader context of Cold War alignments, Ben Bella's tilt toward Nasser and the Soviets, and the internal divisions within the FLN that made the coup possible. The episode touches on key figures like Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who served as foreign minister under Boumediene and later became president himself, and the legacy of the coup in shaping Algeria's military-dominated political system for decades to come. #Algeria #1965Coup #HouariBoumediene #AhmedBenBella #FLN #ALN #OujdaGroup #ConseilDeLaRevolution #ColdWar #Nasser #Bouteflika #AlgerianHistory #NorthAfrica #PostIndependence #FexingoHistory #HistoryPodcast #Coup #Maghreb Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
  • Abd el-Kader's 1832 Jihad Against French Algeria

    Abd el-Kader's 1832 Jihad Against French Algeria
    Jul 1 2026
    In 1832, a 24-year-old religious scholar named Emir Abd el-Kader united warring tribes of western Algeria to launch a jihad against French occupation. This episode traces his rise from a quiet zawiya in the Guetna valley to leading a 17-year resistance that forced France to negotiate. We explore how Abd el-Kader leveraged Sufi networks, built a proto-state with its own currency and administrative councils, and enacted chivalric rules of war that even his French adversaries respected. His strategy of hit-and-run raids and fortified mobile camps (zemala) kept the French army off-balance for a decade. But internal tribal rivalries and General Bugeaud's scorched-earth tactics — including the infamous enfumades of caves — ultimately crushed his emirate. The siege of his capital, the smala, in 1843 marked the end. Abd el-Kader surrendered in 1847, but his legacy as a scholar-warrior and humanitarian endures, especially after he saved thousands of Christians from massacre in Damascus in 1860. This is the story of Algeria's first anti-colonial icon. #AbdElKader #EmirAbdElKader #FrenchAlgeria #AlgerianResistance #Jihad #Smala #Bugeaud #Zemala #Sufi #Qadiriyya #TreatyOfDesmichels #TreatyOfTafna #Oran #Mascara #Damascus1860 #19thCentury #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 mins
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