Abd al-Kadir's Uprising

a people’s uprising in Algeria against the French occupation authorities under the leadership of Abd al-Kadir; it lasted from 1832 until 1847.

In the course of the uprising the Arab and Berber tribes of Oran Province inflicted several defeats on the French troops and forced them to sign peace treaties in February 1834 and May 1837. France recognized Abd al-Kadir’s authority over a large part of western Algeria, where the rebels had set up an emirate state during the resistance to the invaders. In addition to a tribal militia, the emirate had a regular army; it also set up the production of arms and munitions and built several lines of fortification.

On Oct. 18, 1838, the French broke the peace treaty of 1837. In 1843 the French Army occupied the territory of the emirate, which had been weakened by the betrayal of big feudal landowners. Abd al-Kadir went into hiding in Morocco but returned from exile in 1845 and assumed the leadership of the Algerian population, who had never laid down the struggle and who rose once more. In 1847 the rebels were defeated, and Abd al-Kadir was captured.