North Africa (1828–1971 CE): Colonial Rule, Anticolonial Resistance, and National Independence

Geographic & Environmental Context

The subregion of North Africa includes Morocco (with the Western Sahara), Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Anchors included the Atlas Mountains, the Tell plains, the Western Sahara desert corridor (later Spanish Sahara, with Río de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra), the Saharan oases, and the Mediterranean ports of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Casablanca, and Tangier. From fertile valleys to arid desert, the region’s environments were reshaped by European conquest, settler colonization, and the struggles for independence.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

The 19th century saw cycles of drought and famine across the Maghreb, devastating rural populations in Algeria and Morocco. Locust swarms exacerbated hardship. In the 20th century, irrigation projects and colonial plantations transformed the Tell and oases, while mechanized drilling extended wells into the Western Sahara. By mid-century, desertification intensified, placing stress on nomadic pastoralists.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Algeria: Invaded by France in 1830, Algeria became a settler colony. Vineyards, wheat fields, and citrus groves expanded, while Indigenous communities lost land through confiscation. Rural revolts erupted, most famously under Abdelkader (1832–1847).

• Tunisia: Declared a French protectorate in 1881. Olive cultivation and grain exports were commercialized; Tunis and Sfax grew as administrative and commercial centers.

• Morocco: The Alaouite dynasty endured until the French and Spanish protectorates were imposed in 1912, with Tangier as an international zone. Rural tribes and the Rif War (1921–1926) challenged European control.

• Libya: Conquered by Italy in 1911 from the Ottomans. Settlers colonized Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, facing fierce resistance from the Sanusi order under Omar Mukhtar (1923–1931) until his capture and execution.

• Western Sahara: Formally annexed as Spanish Sahara (1884), divided into Río de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra.Spanish rule was consolidated in the 20th century with coastal outposts at Villa Cisneros (Dakhla) and La Güera. Phosphate deposits at Bou Craa (discovered 1947) became central to Spain’s colonial interests.

Technology & Material Culture

Colonial regimes built railways, ports, and roads to export grain, oil, wine, phosphates, and petroleum. European-style cities rose alongside Indigenous medinas. Mosques, zawiyas, and Sufi shrines remained cultural anchors. In Libya and Algeria, resistance fighters wielded rifles and guerrilla tactics. In Morocco and the Western Sahara, nomads sustained camel caravans, tents, and oral poetry while gradually adapting to modern arms and vehicles introduced in mid-century.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Saharan caravans dwindled as steamships and railroads dominated trade, though camel routes persisted into the 20th century.

• Colonial export networks: Algeria’s wine and wheat fed French markets; Tunisia exported olives and phosphates; Morocco exported citrus, leather, and phosphates.

• Western Sahara: Connected to the Canary Islands and Spain by shipping routes; nomadic Sahrawis crossed borders with Mauritania and Morocco.

• Migration: Thousands of Algerians, Moroccans, and Tunisians migrated to France as laborers during both World Wars and afterward.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

Islam remained the core of identity, reinforced through the Sanusi order in Libya, reformist ulama in Algeria, and Sufi brotherhoods across Morocco and Tunisia. Oral poetry and tribal traditions preserved Saharan identity. Colonial regimes sponsored European schools, churches, and cultural institutions, but local resistance emphasized Arabic language, Islamic law, and national symbols. Postwar nationalism produced flags, anthems, and revolutionary heroes, linking independence to cultural revival.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

Villages intercropped cereals and legumes to survive drought. Nomadic tribes in the Sahara adjusted grazing routes and relied on kinship networks. During famines, zawiyas and religious waqf lands distributed food aid. Resistance fighters exploited deserts and mountains as refuges against colonial armies. In the 20th century, conservation of oases and state irrigation schemes aimed to stabilize fragile ecosystems, though often at high social cost.

Transition

By 1971 CE, North Africa had undergone sweeping transformation:

• Algeria achieved independence in 1962 after a bloody war led by the FLN.

• Tunisia became independent in 1956 under Habib Bourguiba.

• Morocco regained independence in 1956 under Mohammed V and Hassan II.

• Libya became independent in 1951 under King Idris; a 1969 coup brought Muammar Gaddafi to power.

• Western Sahara remained under Spanish control as Spanish Sahara, its Sahrawi population marginalized even as Bou Craa phosphate mines and fisheries drew colonial investment.

North Africa, long a crossroads of Saharan caravans and Mediterranean seaports, entered the modern era with its states independent and assertive—except for the Western Sahara, where the unfinished struggle for decolonization would soon ignite.

Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi, preaching in western Arabia in 1837, forms the Senussi or Sanussi, a Sufi order dedicated to converting desert Bedouin to a life adhering to strict Koranic interpretation.

A member of the Walad Sidi Abdalla tribe, and a sharif tracing his descent from Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed, Senussi had studied at a madrassa in Fez.

He had then traveled in the Sahara preaching a purifying reform of the faith in Tunisia and Tripoli, gaining many adherents, and thence moved to Cairo to study at Al-Azhar University, where the pious scholar was forceful in his criticism of the Egyptian ulema for what he perceived as their timid compliance with the Ottoman authorities and their spiritual conservatism.

He also argued that learned Muslims should not blindly follow the four classical schools of Islamic law but instead engage in ijtihad themselves.

Not surprisingly, he was opposed by the ulema as unorthodox and they issued a fatwa against him.

Senussi had gone to Mecca, where he joined Ahmad Ibn Idris Al-Fasi, the head of the Khadirites, a religious fraternity of Moroccan origin.

On the death of Al-Fasi, Senussi had become head of one of the two branches into which the Khadirites had divided, and in 1835 he had founded his first monastery or zawia, at Abu Kobeis near Mecca.

Middle Africa (1840–1851 CE): European Encroachment, Wadai's Expansion, and Anti-Slavery Initiatives

Between 1840 and 1851 CE, Middle Africa—encompassing modern Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Angola including its Cabinda enclave—witnesses expanding European influence, increasing anti-slavery activities, and continued power struggles among local kingdoms, especially in the region around modern-day Chad.

French Establishment in Gabon

France consolidates its territorial ambitions along the coast of modern Gabon, establishing formal protectorates through treaties with Gabonese coastal chiefs in 1839 and 1841. In 1842, American missionaries from New England establish a mission at the mouth of the Komo River, signaling deeper Western engagement with local populations.

In 1849, French authorities capture an illegal slave vessel and free the enslaved Africans aboard. These liberated captives establish a settlement near the mission station, naming it Libreville (meaning "free town"). This symbolic act highlights France’s increasing involvement in anti-slavery operations while laying foundations for further French colonial expansion in Gabon.

Wadai’s Expansion and Military Strength

The Sultanate of Wadai, located northeast of the Sultanate of Bagirmi, continues to strengthen significantly during this era. Originally a non-Muslim state emerging in the sixteenth century as an offshoot of Darfur (in modern western Sudan), Wadai had converted to Islam early in the seventeenth century under the leadership of Abd al-Karim, who had overthrown the ruling Tunjur group. By the early nineteenth century, Wadai, under Sultan Sabun (r. 1804–c.1815), had expanded its power, establishing prosperous trade routes northward via Ennedi, Al Kufrah, and Benghazi, minting its own coinage, and importing military advisers, firearms, and armor from North Africa.

In 1838, political instability due to a disputed succession invites interference from Darfur, which seeks to install its preferred candidate, Muhammad Sharif, on Wadai’s throne. Sharif, however, rejects Darfur’s interference and decisively asserts his own authority. Rapidly consolidating his power, Sharif becomes one of Wadai’s strongest and most capable rulers. Under his rule, Wadai’s military campaigns extend westward into the territory of Kanem-Borno, eventually establishing Wadai’s hegemony over the Sultanate of Bagirmi and kingdoms as far away as the Chari River.

Notably, while in Mecca, Sharif had met the founder of the influential Senussi Islamic brotherhood, a movement especially prominent in Cyrenaica (in present-day Libya). This connection provides Wadai with a powerful ideological basis for resistance to later French colonization, making the sultanate a potent regional force into the twentieth century.

British-Spanish Relations and Anti-Slavery Efforts on Fernando Pó

During this period, the island of Fernando Pó (modern Bioko, part of Equatorial Guinea) becomes the focus of European anti-slavery initiatives. In 1827, Britain had moved the headquarters of the Mixed Commission for the Suppression of Slave Traffic to Fernando Pó without official Spanish consent, leasing a base at Malabo to assist British naval patrols combating the Atlantic slave trade. Due to economic and political pressures, Spain had found it profitable to lease the territory to Britain, especially as Spain’s earlier abolition of slavery in 1817 had reduced the colony’s economic attractiveness.

An effort by Spain to sell Fernando Pó outright to Britain in 1841 fails due to intense opposition from Spanish parliamentarians and public opinion. Consequently, in 1844, Britain formally restores Fernando Pó to Spanish sovereignty, and the island becomes officially known as part of the Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea ("Spanish Territories of the Gulf of Guinea"). Despite returning Fernando Pó, British influence in the region continues strongly, illustrated by the actions of Governor John Beecroft, who uses the island as a launching point for the British seizure of Lagos—the first significant British territorial acquisition in what will become Nigeria.

Legacy of the Era

The period between 1840 and 1851 thus witnesses intensified European intervention in Middle Africa, driven by anti-slavery motives and imperial ambitions. The establishment of Libreville symbolizes an emerging colonial infrastructure, while Wadai’s aggressive military expansion under Muhammad Sharif sets the stage for later confrontations with European colonizers. Simultaneously, the strategic and diplomatic maneuverings over Fernando Pó underscore European rivalries and shifting colonial alliances that significantly shape the region’s political landscape in subsequent decades.

Sharif conducts military campaigns as far west as Borno and eventually establishes Wadai's hegemony over Bagirmi and kingdoms as far away as the Chari River.

In Mecca, Sharif had met the founder of the Senussi Islamic brotherhood, a movement that is strong among the inhabitants of Cyrenaica (in present-day Libya) and that will become a dominant political force and source of resistance to French colonization.

Indeed, the militaristic Wadai will oppose French domination until well into the twentieth century.

North Africa (1840–1851 CE)

French Colonial Consolidation and Abdelkader’s Defeat

The period from 1840 to 1851 witnesses a critical phase in the consolidation of French control in Algeria, marked by the decisive suppression of Abdelkader’s resistance, intensified colonial settlement, and evolving geopolitical dynamics in the broader region.

French Military Consolidation and Abdelkader’s Resistance (1840–1847)

After the deliberate breach of the Treaty of Tafna by French forces in 1839, hostilities resume vigorously. Abdelkader El Djezairi, the charismatic leader of Algerian resistance, intensifies his guerrilla warfare, targeting French settlements on the Mitidja Plain and briefly threatening Algiers itself. Initially successful through mobile warfare tactics, Abdelkader ultimately faces overwhelming French military resources, enhanced by the appointment of General Thomas Robert Bugeaud as Governor-General in 1840. Bugeaud employs ruthless scorched-earth tactics and aggressive counterinsurgency strategies, systematically weakening Abdelkader’s forces and support networks.

Reinforcements continue to pour into Algeria until Bugeaud commands 108,000 troops, approximately one-third of the entire French army. French forces repeatedly target Abdelkader's strongholds, adopting tactics including the burning and asphyxiation of noncombatants hiding in caves. By 1843, French troops capture Abdelkader’s fortified stronghold, Smaala, marking a significant turning point. Internal dissension among the tribes and military setbacks lead to Abdelkader’s surrender to General Louis Juchault de Lamoricière on December 23, 1847. Despite promises of safe conduct to the Middle East, Abdelkader is exiled and imprisoned in France.

Expansion of French Colonization and Administration

With Abdelkader defeated, French colonization accelerates. European settlers—colons or pieds noirs—from France, Italy, and Spain, increasingly occupy land confiscated from indigenous Algerian communities. Authorities systematically expropriate pastoralists and farmers, intensifying rural colonization. A class divide emerges between grands colons (wealthy landholders) and petits blancs (smallholders and laborers), further structuring colonial society.

Administrative reforms in 1845 establish three distinct commune types: communes de plein exercice with significant European populations enjoying self-government; mixed communes, governed jointly by European and indigenous representatives; and communes indigènes, under strict military control. Algeria’s incorporation as an integral part of France in 1848 sees its organization into three civil territories—Algiers, Oran, and Constantine—each with limited self-governance predominantly for settlers. Indigenous representation remains heavily restricted.

The bureaux arabes—specialist units staffed by Arabists—play dual roles in administering and surveilling the indigenous population, often mediating between settlers and the military regime.

Ottoman Authority and Regional Dynamics

In Tripoli, restored Ottoman administration temporarily stabilizes the region. The Ottoman governor attempts reforms, but tribal autonomy and regional unrest persist. Administrative control largely remains confined to coastal towns, with minimal influence over inland tribes. The administrative division includes four subprovinces (sanjaks), each subdivided into districts, but effective Ottoman authority is limited.

Rise of the Sanusi Movement in Cyrenaica

Muhammad ibn Ali as Sanusi, founder of the Sanusi religious order, establishes a network of lodges in Cyrenaica after his return from Mecca. His austere Islamic teachings attract widespread Bedouin adherence. The Sanusi movement emphasizes practical spirituality, strict adherence to Islamic law, and disciplined self-sufficiency, laying the foundations for future political influence across the region.

European Pressures on Morocco and Tunisia

Morocco increasingly attracts European interest, notably from France, to protect Algeria’s western border and control Mediterranean trade. Diplomatic tensions between European powers escalate, highlighting Morocco's strategic vulnerability.

In Tunisia, European economic influence, particularly from France and Britain, foreshadows later colonial intervention. Despite nominal Ottoman suzerainty, Tunisia experiences growing European financial and political control, setting the stage for future dominance.

By 1851, North Africa’s trajectory is shaped decisively by French colonization, indigenous resistance and accommodation, regional movements such as the Sanusi order, and intensifying European geopolitical ambitions.

The founder of the Sanusi religious order, Muhammad ibn Ali as Sanusi (1787-1859), had possessed both the popular appeal of a marabout and the prestige of a religious scholar.

Early in his spiritual formation, he had come under the influence of the Sufis, a school of mystics who had inspired an Islamic revival in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and had incorporated their asceticism into his own religious practices.

Born near Oran in Algeria, he had traveled widely, studying and teaching at some of the outstanding  Islamic centers of learning of his day, and his reputation as a scholar and holy man had spread throughout North Africa.

In 1830 he had beeen honored as the Grand Sanusi (as Sanusi al Kabir) by the tribes and towns of Tripolitania and Fezzan while passing through on his way to Mecca.

The Grand Sanusi, disturbed by division and dissension within Islam, believes that only a return to the purity of early Islam and its insistence on austerity in faith and morals can restore the religion to its rightful glory.

On the basis of his perception of the state and needs of Islam, the Grand Sanusi had organized a religious order, founding its first lodge (zawiya; pi., zawaayaa) near Mecca in 1837.

Disagreement with the Turkish authorities, however, had forced his return to North Africa.

He had originally intended to return to Algeria, but the expansion of the French occupation there determined that he settle in Cyrenaica, where the loose hold exercised by Turkish authorities permits an atmosphere more congenial to his teaching.

The tribesmen of the interior are particularly receptive to his ideas, and in 1843 he founds the first Cyrenaican lodge at Al Bayda.

The Grand Sanusi does not tolerate fanaticism.

He forbids the use of stimulants as well as the practice of voluntary poverty.

Lodge members are to eat and dress within the limits of religious law and, instead of depending on alms, are required to earn their living through work.

No aids to contemplation, such as the processions, gyrations, and mutilations employed by Sufi dervishes, are permitted

The Grand Sanusi accept neither the wholly intuitive ways described by the Sufi mystics nor the rationality of the orthodox ulama; rather, he attempts to adapt from both.

The Bedouin had shown no interest in the ecstatic practices of the Sufis that are gaining adherents in the towns, but they are attracted in great numbers to the Sanusis.

The relative austerity of the Sanusi message is especially suited to the character of the Cyrenaican Bedouin, whose way of life has not changed markedly in the centuries since the Arabs had first accepted the Prophet's teachings.

The leaders of the Sanusi movement encourage the Bedouin to render to the Grand Sanusi a reverence that verges on veneration of him as a saint, an act forbidden in orthodox Islam.

In fact, the tribesmen regard him as a marabout and, indeed, this is the indispensable basis of their attachment to him.

In no other way could an outsider like Muhammad ibn Ali have won their allegiance.

The Sanusi order ultimately permits its leaders to transform their baraka as holy men into a potent political force capable of holding together a national movement.

Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi's connections with the Wahhabi movement have caused him to be looked upon with suspicion while in Arabia by the ulema of Mecca and the Ottoman authorities.

Finding the opposition in Mecca too powerful, Senussi settles in Cyrenaica, Libya in 1843, where in the mountains near Derna he builds the Zawia Baida ("White Monastery").

Here he is supported by the local tribes and the Sultan of Wadai, and his connections extend across the Maghreb.