User:Tayeb188/Kingdom of Algiers (1710-1830)

The Kingdom of Algeria (مملكة الجزائر) is a monarchy in North Africa with access to the Mediterranean Sea. The inhabitants as well as European diplomats have called this kingdom kingdom of Algeria since the end of the XVIIe century. This monarchy was born after a revolution and coup d'état initiated by the Ojak of Algiers, who put an end to Ottoman tutelage for good. the deys that took power from the ojak initiated political and economic reforms within the kingdom, reviving pirate attacks in the Mediterranean Sea and eliminating thousands of Turkish janissaries for their conspirations and meddling in politics, thus weakening their role in the kingdom.

From the second half of the XVIIe century, the Algerian people began to question the Ottoman presence and administration in their territory. This challenge resulted in numerous revolts and reforms aimed at eradicating the porte direct control of the country. These reforms led to the arrival in power of the agha(s) between 1659 and 1671, then finally of the deys, chosen by the diwan of Algiers and governing with a Pasha sent by the Ottoman Empire. Despite the inferior power of the Pasha compared to that of the deys, the latter took a dim view of the sending of the Pasha by the Caliph and undertook a reform of quasi-independence from the Ottoman Empire, which lasted several decades before finally being completed. The state of Algiers during this period became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire before becoming completely independent.

The Algerian population is very diverse, mainly composed of Moors (Arabs and Berbers), with a minority of Turks, Kouloughlis and renegades. However, the Moors prefer to live a peasant life away from politics. More than 90% of the population is peasant and lives from agriculture. Thus, power was concentrated in the city of Algiers, inhabited by Moors as well as various nationalities.

In the XVIIIe century, the economy of the kingdom underwent a major transformation. In the previous century, the economy was essentially based on the sale of European slaves and the taking of ransoms, which brought in a lot of money for the state. However, technological advances in European weaponry gradually reduced this practice, although it did not cease completely. As a result, the deys saw the state's income dwindle and turned to taxes and levies on peasants and European countries to gain access to the Mediterranean Sea.

At the beginning of the XIXe century, the kingdom went through difficult times due to several famines as well as natural disasters that killed many inhabitants. In addition, numerous expeditions sent by European countries to stop piracy greatly weakened the country, as did numerous revolts of janissaries  against the  deys.

In the 1820s, the Kingdom of Algeria began to claim the compensation that France had promised to pay following the French Revolution, which had taken place three decades earlier. However, despite these legitimate demands, France refused to pay the sums due. Worse still, it took a military and expeditious decision by sending an expedition to Algeria in 1830, leading to the destruction of the Kingdom of Algeria and the beginning of French rule over Algerian territory.

Name
The term Kingdom of Algiers appeared in the mid-17th century, when European historiographers and diplomats sent to Algiers noted the independent status of the regency of Algiers in relation to the Ottoman Empire. They began to refer to it as the Kingdom of Algiers, because what constituted an independent kingdom was already present. The term can be found in various European books, maps, diplomatic letters and inscriptions throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The most popular are Laugier de Tassy's book entitled "L'histoire du royaume d'Alger" in 1724, Guillaume Delisle's map in 1707, as well as the geographer Rigobert Bonne's map in 1781 and the French geographer Pierre Duval's map of the kingdom of Algiers in 1677, as well as several other European maps. The letter from the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III to his counterpart Baba Ali for his election by the Diwan of Algiers, designating the state of Algiers as a 'Kingdom', is also noteworthy. Other terms used by historiographers of the time are the 'Republic of Algiers', the 'State of Algiers' or the 'State of El-Djazair'.

Rise of the Janissaries to power


When Ali Pasha came to Algeria, the country was witnessing a state of unparalleled rebellion and disobedience, then it turned into a revolution that lasted for several days after he came to Algeria in 1659. The Ojak of Algiers held a meeting in the court, in which they discussed the issue of the weakness of the administration of the pashas, and the resulting calamities and misfortunes that caused their interference in everything and their abandonment of the administrative tasks assigned to them. So they decided to arrest the Pasha and his followers, then put them in a galleon and sent them to Izmir, As soon as the Pasha arrived in Izmir, he wrote a report of the events he was exposed to and asked permission from its judge to inform Istanbul of that. The Grand Vizier of the ottoman empire Köprülü Mehmed Pasha got angry at the move of the Algerians, and because of his extreme anger, he summoned the Pasha from Izmir and ordered him to be killed, He also sent a firman to the Algerians telling them: ″finally, we will not send a governor to you, pledge allegiance to whoever you want, the Sultan does not need your slavery, we have thousands of kingdoms like Algiers, Algiers, if it was existing and if it was not, is the same thing, and after that, if you approach the Ottoman kingdoms, you will not be satisfied″. Köprülü Mehmed Pasha also sent another firman to the sailors on all the Ottoman coasts, and to the governor of Egypt and the sheriff of Mecca, asking them to prevent the Algerians from going to Hajj and not to sell weapons to them, and not to allow them to approach the Ottoman coasts. After the death of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, his son Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha was appointed as the grand vizier in his place, so the Algerians commissioned the captain Kara Mustafa Pasha to go to Istanbul and sent with him precious gifts and beautiful artifacts to the porte, so the grand vizier pardoned them after the captain pledged to him that the Algerians would abide by his orders. Accordingly, the Sultan sent Bushnaq Ismail Pasha, as a new pasha to Algiers in the 1661. The Algerians accepted the new Pasha as the representative of the Sultan, and handed him an administration of his own, and everyone went out to receive him, but they decided that the basic events and the actual administration were in the hands of their new rulers, the Odjak of Algiers, and they also decided to elect the janissary Agha every two months, so that he would not rule the country alone and tyrannize the matter, and in this way it can be said: The soldiers established a military republic. Khalil Agha was elected as the first Agha of Algiers, yet the insurrections that occurred and resulted in the establishment of the government of the aghas, made the matter less turbulent than before because of fear, and Ismail Pasha looked at the events that Algiers was going through as a spectator. The foreign powers believed that the real power had become in the hands of the Janissaries, and that the influence of the Pashas had diminished and weakened, and that they would not be able to move when they wished, and that piracy would face a very severe blow, and in this way security and stability would prevail on the seas, yet the Ojak was reliant on piracy to secure food and payment for the soldiers, so the corsairs attacked ships and coasts belonging to hostile governments more often.

Establishment of the Dey regime


In March 1671, the English fleet led by Sir Edward Spragge, attacked the city of Bejaia, and set fire to twelve ships that had taken refuge in one of the sites to avoid artillery bombardment on them. In response to that, the Algerians attacked the English consulate, so they looted it, and arrested the consul and all the employees of the consulate, then they put them in jail. In July of the same year, Edward spragge returned again to Algiers, attacked the port, and after he broke the iron chain used to close the port, he burned nine ships, while the other ships were drowned by the Algerians themselves. the Corsairs and the people of Algiers held Ali Agha responsible for what happened, and Ali Agha was a supporter of the French, so when France submitted complaints to him about the Corsairs attitude towards it, he punished them, the Janissaries then organized a rebellion against him, but he arrested the heads of the rebels and executed them, yet he was defeated in front of the majority of the population supported by the Corsairs, and was then executed. After the killing of Ali Agha, Algiers witnessed chaos and turmoil in its internal conditions. The soldiers attacked the inner castle and seized what was in it of money and livelihood, and within three days, five or six Aghas were changed, then everyone refused to take over the position of Agha, in the midst of this existing chaos, the Corsairs announced Their rebellion and disobedience and took advantage of the state of confusion in the city of Algiers, their disobedience came in the form of a coup, and it was decided after that to replace the Aghas with Deys, which cleared the way for the Corsairs to take over the reigns in the country, and thus their influence was strengthened and the influence of the Janissaries weakened. The Algerians decided to accept the implementation of the system of the Deys, which gave good results in Tunis, and stipulated that the elected Dey will spend all his life as head of government, and that the divan would assist him in his work, and that the Pasha will remain in Algiers, but without any work. the Corsairs played a prominent role in establishing the rule of the Deys. The first four Deys were members of the navy, because the navy was higher in number and stronger than the Janissaries, and so it took power from them, but the Office of the Janissaries still practiced its meetings as usual, but without authority, and whether the Dey is from the navy or the Janissaries, he is Forced to turn a blind eye on piracy, because pirates are assigned to fight Christian countries, and let this country be whoever it is, it is enough for it to be Christian.

The Dey of Algiers


The dey has no other authority than that of ordering the application of civil and military laws, directing the fortifications of the city, organizing troops and maintaining correspondence with the different tribes, to pacify and maintain order and assure them against all oppression by showing them the advantages of peace and the disadvantages of war. Public finances, the organization necessary for this administration, and the appointments of ministers and other heads of his court also enter into his attributions. According to Hamdan khodja, one of the duties of the Dey is also to seek to penetrate the feelings of the inhabitants of the regency; to know the conduct of its governors and the manner in which justice is administered. The fulfillment of this duty is always a subject of conference between the Divan and the Dey, whenever the council meets, the bonds of interest and marriage between the members of the divan and the inhabitants of Algiers make these first competent to deliberate on the advantages of the country and on what happens in the administration. Their efforts always tend to public prosperity and safety. On the death of the reigning Dey-Pasha, according to the established regime, the Divan is assembled, and the one among them who fulfills all the necessary conditions is elected and proclaimed Pasha. Immediately he is made to sit on a sofa intended for the sovereign, after having him dressed in the kaftan of the Dey who has just died, he then takes the oath required by law and his accession is celebrated. When the nomination is completed, the Divan designates a envoyee who receives the mission to go and notify the Ottoman Porte of the death of the Pasha and the new election which has just been made by the Divan: on this occasion, an address is written, bearing the signature and the seal of all the members of the Divan, notably the cady, the mufthy and the nakib-eî-aschraf. The notables of the city also approve of this choice and attest to the capacity of the person chosen as new Dey. The decision taken regarding the adoption of the new system stated that the Dey would be elected by the Divan, but the Janissary would often not abide by that and would not obey him. If the Dey resigned or died, out of 28 members of the Divan, 12 members will oppose the new election, if not more, and in this case the person who wins will have taken the decision In advance to declare himself Dey, so nothing happens except for the divisions that often end in fighting between the Corsairs and the Janissaries, or between the Janissaries themselves, but if the Dey is appointed by force, the killers go directly to the Djenina  Palace, and claim that they are not satisfied with the actions of the Dey, and announce the appointment of a new Dey, In such a situation, bloodshed occurs, chaos and fighting may last for several days, then they come after that raising the green flag as a sign of resorting to understanding and entering into negotiations, and during the period of understanding and negotiation the chaos continues, despite the firing of artillery, announcing the end of the disputes. The new (elected) Dey is protect by his supporters by holding their swords in their hands, after which the process of kissing his hand begins, and then the end and completion of the process of electing the Dey is announced, after which the new Dey sends the governors to the various parts of the state, and they do their part restore security and stability. The Dey is forced to live and reside in the Djenina Palace(Qasr al-Jiniyyah) under the protection of his bodyguards while not losing sight of him for a single moment, in the first day of his rule, he is accompanied by the members of the Divan to make the friday prayer in the Djamaa el Djedid mosque and then they take him to his Palace, his pension is the same as that of the Janissaries, because the government secures his food and the food of his family, and the gifts and money that come to him by appointing jobs and aids, fine penalties, and from pirates and the ransom of prisoners and the proceeds of ambassadors and gifts of consuls and Beys are considered a reward for him in return for his Work, and if the Dey is killed, the government confiscates his money and property, and if his family and heirs manage to survive, then they are counted among the happy ones Juan Cano described the life of the Dey as a "rich man, but not the master of his treasury, a father without children, a husband without a wife, a tyrant without freedom, a master of slaves and a slave of his subjects".

Diwan of Algiers


The divan was originally the assembly of the main Janissaries of the odjak militia in Algiers, one of the pillars of the Regency of Algiers along with the taifa of the rais. Over time, the divan evolved from an internal organ of the odjak to an institution of the regency. In the 18th century, the public divan was a council composed of high officials, notables, and the principal officers of the Janissary militia, totaling around 700 members. The diwan elected the dey of Algiers at the beginning of their tenure. However, as the power of the dey grew stronger, the influence of the divan decreased until it was no longer regularly convened by the early 19th century. The power revolved around the dey and the ministers he appointed, who formed a separate institution called "the government body". This council exercised real power and marked the end of the intervention of the divan in the succession of the deys. One can only be part of the divan after having fulfilled certain conditions required by the regulations, it is necessary to have given proofs of experience and capacity and to have served in the army and navy, almost all those who belong to it are of advanced age and married to natives. The head of this divan is called Agha of soldiers(Aghat el-Askar); he carries a saber and a kind of relic which contains the regulations of the regency or the charter, the aga must always carry it with him and never part without it. He rides a horse covered with ornaments, and every morning he goes to preside over the divan. The payment of soldiers is made only in the presence of this president or chief, for in Algiers the state treasury is only opened in the presence of the khoja or state notary and a special commission of which each member holds a key, each of the members of this commission presents himself with his register to ascertain the entry and exit of funds from the treasury. The dey himself cannot dispose of the public treasury, he presents himself as a simple soldier to receive his pay, or civil list.

It enters into the attributions of the president of the divan to make the execution of justice possible, in his room, on the person of the Turks who failed in the discipline or who broke the laws, like also to administer justice towards the Kologhlas, who are the children or descendants of the Turks.

In cases within the jurisdiction of military usages and regulations, the judges of any dispute, litigious, criminal or correctional, contact the cady for his opinion and for the application of the laws; if there is any penalty to inflict, it is the president of this divan who orders its execution, which must take place in the premises of the divan, which gives effect to the decision of the cady. Turks or their descendants cannot enter any prison, except that of the divan. The cady himself, in different cases, goes to the divan to have his judgments executed, for soldiers are never judged by civil laws, but by military laws. The office of president of the divan lasts only two months; each member is president in turn, by order of seniority, and disputes are decided by a majority of votes. Any member of the divan who finds himself invested with the dignity of president receives double pay. All that relates to the high external or internal policy of the regency is decided by the divan. When there is some disorder in the interior, for example: a revolt that sparks among tribes of the interior, they take information on this subject and give their opinion on the means that one must take to restore order.

The government body
The Dey of Algiers, in conjunction with the Diwan of Algiers, appointed a group of five ministers to govern Algiers. These ministers included :
 * the Khaznadji, who acted as a Prime Minister for the country and oversaw the treasury.
 * the Agha al-Mahalla, who served as the supreme chief of the army and minister of internal affairs, and was responsible for governing the Dar as-Soltan region of Algiers.
 * The Khodjet al-Khil was responsible for managing fiscal responsibilities, collecting taxes, and had the ceremonial role of "secretary of horses", and was assisted by a "Khaznadar".
 * The Wakil al-Kharaj served as the minister of the navy of Algiers and foreign affairs.
 * the Bait al-Maldji was responsible for managing the tribes of the Makhzen of Algiers. These ministers were chosen by the Dey of Algiers.

Bey
The Bey holds the position of governor over the three provinces of Algiers. The three provinces are each governed by a separate Bey, namely the Bey of Titteri, the Bey of Constantine, and the Bey of Mascara (later the Bey of Oran] after its reconquest). The Bey is appointed by the Dey of Algiers and possesses administrative power over the provinces under their jurisdiction. Along with other notable government officials, the Bey is responsible for collecting taxes to fund the treasury of Algiers. Despite being charged with collecting taxes for Algiers, the reign of the Bey is effectively independent from that of the Dey.

Territorial administration
Algiers was generally divided into several Beyliks, the most important of which are: the Beylik of the center, also known as the domaine of the Crown or "Dar Es-Soltan", the Beylik of the west, the Beylik of the east and the Beylik of the south. The administration of the western Beylik was established in 1563, and the emirate of the southern Beylik was established in 1548, while The center of the eastern beylik was the city of Constantine. As for the capital of the western beylik, it was moved to Mazouna in 1710, then to Oran in 1791 AD. The capital of the southern Beylik was in Médéa, which was called the Beylik of Tetri, as for the central Beylik, it includes the city of Algiers and Blida with some nearby ports. As for El Kala, Sebaou, Blida (Bahr al-Azzun), they are called the Black Country and independent leaders have been appointed for them. As for Tlemcen, it has been given a special status, and sometimes Ténès and Bejaia were linked to the southern Beylik, and sometimes they were considered a separate provinces. The Beys divided their Beliks into chiefdoms, so the prince in his regions was empowered to exercise a mini administrative system, thus they succeeded in managing their Beyliks with the help of some of their commanders and governors, and among the privileges granted to the tribes, because these tribes that enjoyed a special privilege are known as the Makhzen tribes, under the Beylik system, each province was divided into outan, or counties, which were governed by caïds under the authority of the Bey to maintain order and collect taxes from tributary regions, the administration relied on makhzen tribes. This system allowed the State of Algiers to expand its authority over the north of Algeria for three centuries. Despite this, society remained divided into tribes and was dominated by maraboutic brotherhoods and local djouads, or nobles. As a result, certain regions only loosely acknowledged the authority of Algiers, leading to numerous revolts, confederations, tribal fiefs, and sultanates that contested the regency's control. As for the Bey of Constantine, he relied on the strength of the local tribes, and at the forefront of those tribes were the Beni Abbas tribes in Medjana and the Arab tribes in Zab region and Hodna, and the sheikhs of these tribes were called the Sheikh of the Arabs. The Algerian Beylik was like any other Sanjak of the Ottoman Empire in terms of the application of land feudalism, the properties in it were divided into Timar, Ziamet, and a private property, but that one did not last very long, as it was abolished and those properties were transferred to private property of the divan, and allocated the revenues of those properties to the military administration.

Levy warriors
The levy militia, which consisted of Arab-Berber warriors, made up the vast majority of the Algerian army and numbered in the tens of thousands. These warriors were primarily recruited from loyal tribes and clans, usually those that were part of the Makhzen. In the Beylik of Oran alone, the militia numbered up to 50,000 troops. The soldiers were equipped with traditional local weapons, such as muskets (typically moukahlas) and swords (either Nimchas or Flyssas). Unlike the state, which did not provide weaponry, soldiers were responsible for obtaining their own weapons, and it was expected that they owned a musket, which was a common possession among peasants and tribesmen. Many of these soldiers had been trained since childhood and came from warrior tribes, making them relatively effective, particularly in swordsmanship.

Economy


Initially using various forms of Ottoman and old Zayyanid and Hafsid coins such as the Mangır (a sub-unit of the Akçe), Algiers soon developed its own monetary system, minting its own coins in the Casbah of Algiers and Tlemcen. The "central bank" of the state was located in the capital, and was known locally as the "Dâr al-Sikka".

In the 18th century the main categories of currencies produced locally and accepted in Algiers were:

Algiers also had some European (mainly Spanish) and Ottoman coins in circulation.
 * Algerian mahboub (Sultani), a gold coin weighing about 3.2g, with an inscription detailing the year it was produced and the year it will be decommissioned. Its production was discontinued under the reign of Baba Ali Bou Sebâa (1754-1766)
 * Algerian budju, and the Algerian piastre, two types of silver coinage, the most widely used types of currency in Algeria. A budju was worth 24 mazounas and 48 kharoubs and was further divided into "rube'-budju" (1/4 boudjous), "thaman-budju" (1/8 budju)
 * minor conversion coins made of copper or billon, such as mazounas or kharoubs
 * minor coins of small value such as the saïme or pataque-chique

The customs fee on imports and exports in the state of Algiers was set at 11%, it was also applied to leather, honey, and booty earned by pirates, and it ranged between 5-8%. Also, fees were imposed on money left without a heir, as well as on the port, and on luxury places and brothels. There are fees Inheritance, stamps, and financial fines, and these fees were not subject to a specific fixed system, but rather they differed from stage to stage, and imports were estimated in general about 500 thousand ducats of gold, while imports in excess of the need of the Beys and leaders in their regions were sent to the center. In order to collect the specified taxes, a detachment of soldiers was formed once a year and began its work between the months of May and October, it roamed the villages and tribes and collected the taxes imposed on them. This detachment was called the local collections detachment or "Al-Mahalla. While collecting taxes, the people bear the expenses of feeding the detchments and their expenses in addition to the allocated taxes, in addition, the soldiers used to collect additional fees of their own, and the detachment came to collect supplies and money sufficient for them for a year which made the population angry at the detachments and often submitten complaints against them, and somtimes tribes went into open revolts, as for the area of the castles belonging to the Sultan of Kuku, its tribes enjoyed some kinds of privilege, and among these tribes were the Benu Abbas tribe, which used to pay a percentage of the annual tax, but this privilege was later canceled, and the revenues of the private Divan of Algiers were sufficient for the soldiers, and for this reason the surplus was sent to the treasury, as for some of the Beys of the Beyliks, they undertook measures to secure food for the soldiers present in the Beylik, and committed to paying the annual tax, the following is its amount: The imports and expenses of Algiers were inspected and audited based on an order from Istanbul, and for this reason a special book was appointed to organize accounting in the state.
 * Eastern Beylik: (The Arabs used to call it Constantina) and it was charged with paying 140,000 piasters annually, and feeding the soldiers stationed in it, numbering 300 Spahi soldiers and 150 local soldiers.
 * Southern Beylik: charged with paying 4,200 piastres annually and feeding 500 spahi soldiers.
 * Western Beylik: charged with paying one 100,000 piasters annually and feeding 2000 Kouloughlis soldiers and 1500 local soldiers.
 * Leader of Blida: charged with paying 40,000 piasters
 * Leader of the Black country: charged with paying 25,000 piasters and 100 slaves.

Architecture
During this period Algiers developed into a major town and witnessed regular architectural patronage, and as such most of the major monuments from this period are concentrated there. By contrast, the city of Tlemcen, the former major capital of the region, went into relative decline and saw far less architectural activity. Mosque architecture in Algiers during this period demonstrates the convergence of multiple influences as well as peculiarities that may be attributed to the innovations of local architects.

The residential palace of the ruler in Algiers, the Janina or Jenina ('Little Garden'), was situated at the center of a larger palatial complex known as the Dar al-Sultan in the lower part of the city. This complex served as the ruling palace until 1816, when the Dey moved to the qasba following a British bombardment of the city that year. The only example of architecture from the Dar al-Sultan complex that is still preserved today is the Dar 'Aziza Bint al-Bey, believed to have been built in the 16th century.

But then from the Dey Ali bin Ahmed, all the sultans leave the palace of the Janina for the citadel of Algiers as the main residence of the deys.

Society
The society of the kingdom was characterized by its diversity. While the majority of the population was composed of Moors (Arabs and Berbers), they generally preferred to live a rural peasant lifestyle and stay away from politics. As a result, it allowed minority groups to continue to rule the kingdom, such as the Kouloughlis and Turks who migrated to the kingdom as volunteers for the odjak. These groups held notable power over the country as they were part of the Diwan, responsible for the security of Algiers, including the Dey's palace and important economic locations. The Kouloughlis, in particular, held an increasing amount of power over time as many of the Dey's were Kouloughlis and played an intermediary role between the population and the government. Additionally, Jews played a crucial role in the history of the kingdom, particularly at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. They were primarily traders and eventually came to dominate the trade of the kingdom, particularly in the wheat trade with the Kingdom of France and Italian cities. Some Jewish families even created trade companies and received significant benefits as they were close to the Dey and paid taxes for their trades. Furthermore, some Jews were charged by the Dey to watch over the population and provide their opinion on the Dey, granting them a form of power within the kingdom.