The Algerians of the Pacific were a group of men native of Algeria

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

authorities to

labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (especi ...

s on the island of

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, after taking part in the 1870–1871 uprising against colonial rule in Algeria. Their arrest took place in 1871, and 212 persons were tried together in 1873, in the city of

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...

. Most were sent over to prisons in metropolitan France –

Oléron The Isle of Oléron or Oléron Island (french: île d'Oléron, ; Saintongese: ''ilâte d'Olerun''; oc, illa d'Olairon or ; la, Uliarus insula, ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France (due west of Rochefort), on the southern side of the ...

and

Saint-Martin-de-Ré Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, literally ''Saint-Martin of Ré''; Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'') is a commune in the western French department of Charente-Maritime.Île de Ré Île de Ré (; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin: ''ile de Rét''; en, Isle of Ré, ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait. Its highe ...

) – then, as these were due to be closed, to

Quélern Quélern is a hamlet in Roscanvel, in the department of Finistère (Brittany), in western France. Fortifications Fortified lines The Quélern lines defended the entrance to the goulet de Brest against capture from behind the defences of the Rosca ...

(near

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

). At the same time, 29 of them were kept in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

;

Antoine Chanzy Antoine Eugène Alfred Chanzy (18 March 18234 January 1883) was a French general, notable for his successes during the Franco-Prussian War and as a governor of Algeria. Biography Born in Nouart in the department of Ardennes, France, the son of ...

, the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

, attempted to have them removed from the public's eye by proposing they should be sent to the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in th ...

. They too were ultimately transported to Quélern, through

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. A third group was imprisoned together with former

Communards The Communards () were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. After the suppression of the Commune by the French Army in May 1871, 43,000 Communards ...

Thouars Thouars () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. On 1 January 2019, the former communes Mauzé-Thouarsais, Missé and Sainte-Radegonde were merged into Thouars. It is on the River Thouet. Its inhabitants are known as ...

. Due to malfunctions in the communication between ministries, the distinction made between sentences to

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

(traditionally, to

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

) and deportation (to New Caledonia) was no longer made – all were sent to New Caledonia in the end. Their arrival on the island coincided with transports of Communards, who were to leave precious testimonies of the Kabyles' presence. However, the Kabyles were left behind when the Communards were granted an

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

in 1879, and remained in exile despite campaigns to raise sympathy among the French public. An amnesty was awarded only in 1895, and they were not able to return to Algeria until after 1904. Some descendants of the deported still live in New Caledonia. One of them, Taïeb Aïfa, served as the mayor of

Bourail Bourail is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Geography Bourail is a rural town of Grande Terre, New Caledonia's main island. The municipality stretches between the mounta ...

from 1977 to 2001. In , south of Bourail, there is a '' Cimetière des Arabes'', or "Cemetery of the Arabs"; over time, the community began to identify as "Arabs" rather than with a Kabyle or local designation. One elderly Algerian-Caledonian traces this to an occasion when the Algerians arrived to perform labour during

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

dressed in white robes, whereupon the native Caledonians decided that they must be "Arabs". Time: 11:50-12:05

Notable deportees

Cheikh Boumerdassi Cheikh Mohamed El-Boumerdassi ( ar, الشيخ محمد البومرداسي) was one of the principal leaders of the popular Mokrani Revolt uprising of 1871 against the French occupation of Algeria. Early life ''Mohamed ben Hamou ben Abdelk ...

References

*Mehdi Lallaoui, ''Kabyles du Pacifique'', 1994, Éditions Au nom de la mémoire. *http://www.iisg.nl/collections/new-caledonia/: article and list of names of the deported (2011) {{Berber diaspora 19th century in Africa

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Arab diaspora in Oceania Berber diaspora Deportation Ethnic groups in New Caledonia French Third Republic History of New Caledonia

Law enforcement in France 19th century in Oceania 19th century in New Caledonia 1873 in Algeria 1873 in Oceania

Notable deportees

See also

References