Algeria. History and Origin

Traditionally, Algeria was part of the Maghreb—the North African lands that also included Morocco, Tunisia, and part of Libya. The name Maghreb, an Arabic word meaning the place of the sunset—the west, reflects Algeria's Arab history.

People have lived in what is now Algeria for at least 40,000 years. About 3000 B.C., nomadic Berbers migrated into the region - probably from Europe or Asia. During the 1100's B.C., the Phoenicians sailed from the eastern Mediterranean and established trading posts on the Algerian coast.

About 200 B.C., the Romans helped a Berber chieftain named Massinissa form a kingdom called Numidia in northern Algeria, where he ruled as king. The land was part of the Roman Empire from 46 B.C. until the Vandals, a barbarian tribe from northern Europe, took control of the country in the A.D. 400's. Later, Byzantines ruled the area.

During the A.D. 600's, Arabs invaded the Maghreb. The Arabs brought their religion, Islam, to the region. In time, the Berbers became Muslims (followers of Islam), and the Arabic culture and language spread throughout the region.

Spanish Christians captured coastal towns in Algeria during the early 1500's, but in 1518, a Turkish sea captain named Barbarossa took control of Algiers and drove the Spaniards out of most of Algeria. Barbarossa then joined the areas under his control with the Ottoman Empire, an Islamic empire based in Turkey.

Algeria remained part of the Ottoman Empire until the early 1 800's. During that period, Algerian pirates called corsairs provided Algeria with its main source of income by attacking and looting ships in the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1830, France gained control of northern Algeria. European settlers, given French citizenship and large sections of Algerian land, soon controlled Algeria's economy and government. Many Algerians rebelled against the French, but in 1847, the French defeated the rebel forces under Abdal-Qadir, a Muslim religious leader. By 1914, France controlled all of Algeria.

As part of France, Algeria fought on the side of the Allies during World War I (1914-1918). During World War II (1939-1 945), Algeria itself became a battleground. In 1940, France surrendered to the invading German forces of Adolf Hitler, and cooperative French officials set up a government under German control in Vichy, France. The Vichy government ruled Algeria until 1942, when Allied forces invaded Algeria and Morocco.

After the war, control of Algeria was returned to France. When France refused to give Algerians a greater voice in their government, many Algerians began to demand independence.

On Nov. 1, 1954, a revolution was launched by the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN), or National Liberation Front. A long and bloody war followed. The FLN ambushed, assassinated, and bombed French and other European settlers. The French, in turn, destroyed farms, forced millions of Algerians into concentration camps, and tortured rebel leaders. On July 3, 1962, after more than 250,000 French and Algerians had died in the fighting, France finally granted Algeria its independence.

Most of the European settlers left Algeria during or soon after the revolution. A rebel leader, Ahmed Ben Bella, became Algeria's first president. Ben Bella declared Algeria a socialist state.

In 1965, Ben Bella was overthrown by Houari Boumedienne, an army commander. Boumedienne launched a program of rapid economic development, using the money from oil and natural gas production to build fertilizer plants, steel mills, and factories.

Boumedienne died in 1978, and Chadii Bendjedid was elected president the following year. Bendjedid slowed industrial development and devoted more money to producing farm and consumer goods.

Until 1989, the FLN was the only legal political party. The first multiparty elections were held in 1991 and won by the main opposition party, the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). A military-dominated High State Committee seized power. Political violence began. In 1999, the armed branch of the FIS ended its fight against the government.