Algeria 1840s: The Bureaux Arabes and French Rule

Algeria 1845: The Dahra Enfumades and the War on Civilians

In June 1845, French General Pélissier ordered the suffocation of hundreds of Ouled Riah tribesmen in caves near Dahra, on the Algerian coast. This episode examines the 'enfumades' — smoke-outs — that became a symbol of French colonial brutality. Lucas and Luna discuss the strategic context: the razzia tactics of Marshal Bugeaud, the resistance of Cheikh Boumaza, and the moral debates that erupted in Paris when the atrocity became public. They explore how the caves near the Chélif River were used as refuges, how French soldiers lit fires at the entrances, and how the victims — men, women, children — died of asphyxiation. The episode also covers the subsequent cover-up, the French parliamentary inquiry, and the legacy of the enfumades in Algerian collective memory. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and recent scholarship, the conversation asks: was this a calculated military tactic or a war crime? And how did it shape later resistance movements? Specific figures include General Pélissier, Marshal Bugeaud, Colonel de Montagnac, and Emir Abd el-Kader. The episode connects the Dahra enfumades to the earlier enfumades of the Beni Menasser in 1844 and to the broader logic of total conquest. #Algeria #FrenchColonialism #Enfumades #Dahra #OuledRiah #Bugeaud #Pelissier #CheikhBoumaza #AbdElKader #Razzia #WarCrimes #19thCentury #NorthAfrica #Resistance #ColonialViolence #History #FexingoHistory #AlgerianHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Algeria 1971: The Sonatrach Nationalization and Oil Revolution

In 1971, Algeria took control of its oil and gas industry, nationalizing Sonatrach and French interests. This episode explores the economic philosophy of Houari Boumediene, the role of Belaid Abdessalam, and how the nationalization transformed Algeria into a major energy player. It covers the Algiers Charter, the struggle with French companies like Total and Shell, and the lasting impact on OPEC and global energy politics. #Algeria #Sonatrach #Oil #Nationalization #HouariBoumediene #BelaidAbdessalam #OPEC #Decolonization #Energy #AlgiersCharter #1970s #NorthAfrica #History #FexingoHistory #AlgerianHistory #OilPolitics #Postcolonial #ThirdWorldism Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Algeria 1965: Houari Boumediene's Coup d'État

In June 1965, just three years after Algeria's hard-won independence, Colonel Houari Boumediene staged a bloodless coup that ousted President Ahmed Ben Bella, his former ally. This episode unpacks the political tensions that led to the takeover: the power struggle between Ben Bella's populist style and Boumediene's military pragmatism, the role of the ALN (National Liberation Army), the Oujda clan, and the entrenched rivalry with the wilaya commanders. We trace Boumediene's rise from a rural schoolteacher in the 1940s to his command during the War of Independence, his alliance with Ben Bella during the 1958 Provisional Government crisis, and his growing disillusionment as Ben Bella concentrated power and sidelined the army. We discuss the actual day of the coup—June 19, 1965—when tanks rolled into Algiers and the country was put under a three-day curfew. The episode also explores Boumediene's subsequent rule, his socialist but nationalist vision, the establishment of the Council of the Revolution, and the controversial decision to keep Ben Bella under house arrest for the next fifteen years. A crucial turning point that set Algeria's post-colonial trajectory toward authoritarian one-party rule. #Algeria #HouariBoumediene #AhmedBenBella #1965Coup #AlgerianHistory #PostIndependence #ALN #OujdaClan #NorthAfrica #ColdWar #ArabSocialism #CouncilOfTheRevolution #Wilaya #Algiers #June1965 #FexingoHistory #History #Decolonization Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Algeria 1945: The Sétif Massacre That Changed Everything

The Sétif and Guelma massacres of May 1945 were a violent watershed in Algeria's history. Tensions that had been building since the French invasion in 1830 finally exploded into an uprising and its bloody suppression. This episode traces the events leading up to May 8, 1945—VE Day in Europe—when an Algerian nationalist demonstration in Sétif turned into a massacre that claimed thousands of lives. We discuss the role of Ferhat Abbas's political evolution, the Parti du Peuple Algérien (PPA), the role of the ulama and Sufi marabouts, the town of Kherrata where the worst reprisals occurred, and the long-term impact on Algerian nationalism. The massacre convinced many Algerians that peaceful reform was impossible and that only armed struggle could achieve independence—a direct line to the Toussaint Rouge of 1954. We also examine the French official silence, the disputed death toll, and the way this event was suppressed from French memory until very recently. #SétifMassacre #Guelma #FerhatAbbas #PPA #VE1945 #Kherrata #Constantine #AlgerianNationalism #FrenchColonialism #May1945 #Ulama #Marabout #FLN #History #FexingoHistory #NorthAfrica #Decolonization #Massacres Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Algeria 1959: The Morice Line and the French Border Trap

This episode dives into one of the most decisive and controversial military tactics of the Algerian War: the Morice Line. Starting in 1957 and fully operational by 1959, this electrified fence system along the Tunisian and Moroccan borders was designed to choke off the FLN's external supply lines. We focus on the Battle of the Borders, where the ALN's attempts to breach the line led to devastating losses. Lucas and Luna explore the engineering of the barrier, the human cost of the minefields and machine guns, and the strategic dilemma it posed for the revolutionaries. Figures like Houari Boumediene, Abdelhafid Boussouf, and Lakhdar Bentobal come into focus as the ALN leadership debated whether to risk everything on a frontal assault. We also touch on the political fallout: the line deepened divisions between the internal wilayas and the external ALN, setting the stage for the post-war power struggles. A story of desperation, ingenuity, and the brutal arithmetic of modern counterinsurgency. #MoriceLine #BattleOfTheBorders #AlgerianWar #FLN #ALN #HouariBoumediene #AbdelhafidBoussouf #LakhdarBentobal #ChallePlan #ElectrifiedFence #Tunisia #Morocco #Counterinsurgency #SoukAhras #Ghardimaou #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]