Episodi

  • The Exodus: Algeria's Pieds-Noirs After Independence — Fexingo History

    The Exodus: Algeria's Pieds-Noirs After Independence — Fexingo History
    Apr 25 2026
    In July 1962, after 132 years of French rule, Algeria became independent. But the story didn't end there. For the million-strong pieds-noirs community—European settlers born in Algeria—the ceasefire unleashed a panic. Within months, nearly all of them fled, abandoning homes, farms, and businesses in a chaotic exodus. This episode follows the final months of the Algerian War through the eyes of the pieds-noirs: the Organisation de l'Armée Secrète's desperate terrorism, the mass flight to ports like Oran and Algiers, and the painful arrival in a France that barely acknowledged them. We explore the harki—Algerians who fought for France and were left behind—and the cultural erasure of a century-old community. Drawing on oral histories and the work of historian Benjamin Stora, we trace how the Exodus shaped both Algeria's post-colonial identity and France's lingering amnesia.

    #PiedsNoirs #AlgerianWar #Exodus1962 #OAS #Harkis #BenjaminStora #Oran #EvianAccords #FrenchColonialism #AlgerianIndependence #MassFlight #PiedsNoirsExodus #Histoire #Decolonization #AlgeriaHistory #Mediterranean #FexingoHistory #History #AlgerianHistory #NorthAfrica

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    8 min
  • The Battle of Algiers: Guerrillas, Torture, and the Death of a City — Fexingo History

    The Battle of Algiers: Guerrillas, Torture, and the Death of a City — Fexingo History
    Apr 25 2026
    In 1956, the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) launched a campaign of urban guerrilla warfare in the Casbah of Algiers, targeting French police and pied-noir civilians. The French response was brutal: paratroopers under General Jacques Massu, systematic torture, and the construction of an intelligence apparatus that broke the FLN network by 1957. This episode traces the key players—from Saadi Yacef, the FLN commander, to Germaine Tillion, the ethnographer who pleaded for restraint—and the events that turned the Battle of Algiers into a symbol of anti-colonial struggle. We explore the use of women bombers, the French use of torture as a countermeasure, and the legacy of a conflict that still haunts Algeria and France. The battle may have been a tactical victory for France, but it was a strategic disaster, galvanizing international opinion against French rule.

    #BattleOfAlgiers #FLN #SaadiYacef #JacquesMassu #GermaineTillion #Casbah #Algiers #UrbanGuerrilla #Torture #PiedsNoirs #AlgerianWar #1956 #1957 #FrenchParatroopers #WomenBombers #AntiColonial #History #FexingoHistory #AlgerianHistory #NorthAfrica

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    5 min
  • The Sétif Massacre: Algeria's Road to War — Fexingo History

    The Sétif Massacre: Algeria's Road to War — Fexingo History
    Apr 25 2026
    In May 1945, as Europe celebrated the end of World War II, Algeria experienced a brutal crackdown that would become a watershed moment in its struggle for independence. This episode explores the Sétif and Guelma massacres, where French colonial forces and settlers killed thousands of Algerian civilians in response to nationalist demonstrations. Lucas and Luna untangle the events of May 8, 1945, the role of the nationalist leader Ferhat Abbas, and the impact of the massacre on the Algerian independence movement. They discuss the French official cover-up, the long-term consequences that led to the Algerian War, and why this event is still a deeply contested memory today. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and historical records, the episode sheds light on a pivotal moment that shifted Algerian nationalism from peaceful protest to armed resistance.

    #Algeria #History #STifMassacre #Guelma #FerhatAbbas #AlgerianNationalism #FrenchColonialism #VEDay #Massacre #1945 #NorthAfrica #AlgerianWar #NationalistMovement #ColonialViolence #Decolonization #FexingoHistory #Memory #CollectiveMemory #AlgerianHistory #WarOfIndependence

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    9 min
  • Algeria's Forgotten Revolution: The Kabyle Uprising of 1871 — Fexingo History

    Algeria's Forgotten Revolution: The Kabyle Uprising of 1871 — Fexingo History
    Apr 25 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Kabyle uprising of 1871, a massive revolt against French colonial rule that erupted in the mountainous region of Kabylia. They examine the leadership of Cheikh Mokrani, a prominent religious and tribal figure, and his alliance with the Rahmaniyya Sufi order. The discussion covers the causes of the revolt, including French settler encroachment and broken promises, the brutal suppression by French forces, and the lasting impact on Algerian identity and resistance. Key events like the Battle of Icheriden and the exile of Mokrani are detailed, along with the role of other figures like Cheikh El Haddad. The episode sheds light on this often-overlooked chapter in Algeria's struggle for independence.

    #Algeria #Kabylia #CheikhMokrani #Rahmaniyya #1871Uprising #FrenchColonialism #Resistance #NorthAfrica #BerberHistory #BattleOfIcheriden #ColonialHistory #AlgerianWar #Kabyle #SufiOrder #19thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #AlgerianIndependence #AlgerianHistory #WarOfIndependence

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    6 min
  • The Scorched Earth: French Colonization of Algeria — Fexingo History

    The Scorched Earth: French Colonization of Algeria — Fexingo History
    Apr 24 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna delve into the brutal French conquest of Algeria after the fall of Abd el-Kader. They explore the policy of 'scorched earth' implemented by General Bugeaud, the destruction of the tribal system, and the controversial 1845 'enfumades'—the suffocation of entire communities in caves. The discussion covers key figures like Marshal Thomas-Robert Bugeaud and the Emir's eventual surrender in 1847. Lucas sheds light on the land confiscations that dispossessed Algerians and the establishment of settler colonialism, setting the stage for decades of resistance. The episode also touches on the 1871 Mokrani Revolt, a major uprising led by Cheikh Mokrani and the Rahmaniyya Sufi order, which was brutally suppressed. Luna's sharp questions draw out the human cost and the long-term consequences of these events, tying them to the broader narrative of Algeria's struggle for independence.

    #Algeria #FrenchColonization #ScorchedEarth #Bugeaud #AbdElKader #Enfumades #MokraniRevolt #SettlerColonialism #Rahmaniyya #CheikhMokrani #Algiers #ColonialHistory #NorthAfrica #Resistance #LandConfiscation #History #FexingoHistory #19thCentury #AlgerianHistory #FrenchColonialism

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    6 min
  • The Emir and the Desert: Abd el-Kader's War — Fexingo History

    The Emir and the Desert: Abd el-Kader's War — Fexingo History
    Apr 23 2026
    In the 1830s, as French forces pushed deeper into Algeria, a young religious scholar from the Mascara region raised a desert army and built a state. Abd el-Kader ibn Muhieddine became the most formidable leader of Algerian resistance, waging a guerrilla war that forced France to sue for peace. This episode follows his rise: from the Treaty of Desmichels, which recognized his sovereignty, to the Smala, his mobile capital of 20,000 people that moved across the Sahara. We explore his use of razzias, a traditional North African raid technique, his patronage of Sufi brotherhoods, and his eventual surrender after the French violated the Treaty of Tafna. But Abd el-Kader's story doesn't end with exile—he later saved thousands of Christians from massacre in Damascus. The episode also examines the controversy around General Bugeaud's scorched-earth tactics, the 'enfumades' where French troops asphyxiated hundreds in caves, and how Abd el-Kader's legacy as both a warrior and a humanist continues to shape Algerian national identity.

    #AbdElKader #AlgerianResistance #FrenchColonization #EmirAbdElKader #BattleOfMacta #TreatyOfTafna #Smala #Razzias #Sufi #GeneralBugeaud #Enfumades #AlgeriaHistory #19thCentury #NorthAfrica #ColonialWars #GuerrillaWarfare #History #FexingoHistory #AlgerianHistory #FrenchColonialism

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    6 min
  • The Casbah of Algiers: Algeria's Story Begins — Fexingo History

    The Casbah of Algiers: Algeria's Story Begins — Fexingo History
    Apr 23 2026
    In the pilot episode of The History of Algeria, we begin in the shadow of the Casbah of Algiers, a labyrinth of whitewashed walls and narrow alleys that has witnessed millennia of change. Lucas and Luna explore Algeria's deep past, from the Berber kingdoms of Numidia, like the reign of King Masinissa in the 2nd century BCE, to the arrival of the Phoenicians who founded trading posts such as Hippo Regius. We touch on the Roman conquest, the Vandal invasion, and the Byzantine reconquest, setting the stage for the Arab-Islamic expansion that would reshape North Africa. Lucas paints a vivid picture of the landscape—the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara's edge—and poses the central question: how did this land become a crucible of colonization, resistance, and eventual independence? The episode previews themes of identity, religion, and foreign domination that future episodes will explore, from the Ottoman regency to French colonialism and the brutal war of liberation. This is not a dry timeline; it's a story of a people and a place, told with warmth and specificity.

    #Algeria #History #NorthAfrica #Casbah #Numidia #Masinissa #Phoenicians #Berbers #RomanEmpire #HippoRegius #Vandals #Byzantine #AtlasMountains #Sahara #FexingoHistory #Colonization #Resistance #Independence #AlgerianHistory #FrenchColonialism

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    5 min