The Department of Algiers (french: département d'Alger, , ar, إقليم الجزائر) is a former
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 ...
department in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
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, relig ...
. The department of Alger existed between 1848 and 1974.
The origin of the administrative divisions
Considered as a French province, Algeria was departmentalised on 9 December 1848, thereby operating according to the same administrative structure as
metropolitan France
Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
. Three civil zones (
départements) replaced the three
beyliks into which the
Ottoman former rulers had divided the territory. The principal town of the central département, also called
Alger, became the
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
of the eponymous ''département''. The two other Algerian departments were
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 ...
in the west and
Constantine in the east.
Size and structure of the département
The département of Alger covered an area of , and comprised six
sub-prefectures: these were
Aumale
Aumale (), formerly known as Albemarle," is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. It lies on the River Bresle.
History
The town's Latin name was ''Alba Marla''. It was raised by Willia ...
,
Blida
Blida ( ar, البليدة; Tamazight: Leblida) is a city in Algeria. It is the capital of Blida Province, and it is located about 45 km south-west of Algiers, the national capital. The name ''Blida'', i.e. ''bulaydah'', is a diminutive ...
,
Médéa,
Miliana,
Orléansville
Chlef ( ar, الشلف, Berber: Clef) is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, i ...
and
Tizi-Ouzou
Tizi Ouzou or Thizi Wezzu (, Kabyle: Tizi Wezzu) is a city in north central Algeria. It is among the largest cities in Algeria. It is the second most populous city in the Kabylie region after Bejaia.
History
Etymology
The name ''Tizi Ouzou' ...
.
It was not until the 1950s that the
Sahara
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
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was annexed into departmentalised Algeria, which explains why the ''département'' of Alger was limited to what is the north-central part of Algeria today. Until 10 January 1957, when the Sahara regions received their own administrative structure, these territories were administered by the ''département'' of Alger.
Religious affiliations
The 1954 census recorded the stated religious affiliations of the population. The majority in the ''département'' of Alger declared themselves to be
Moslems
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
. In the city of Alger itself, however, 296,041 or 46% of the 645,479 people counted were declared to be non-Moslems. This placed Alger second only to the city of
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 ...
in terms of the proportion of the population stating that they were non-Moslems. Non-Moslem appears to have been seen as a surrogate description for people of European origin, or for Algerian Jews.
Reorganisation and independence
On 26 January 1956 population increases triggered the creation of three new stand-alone departments. These were the département of
Médéa, along with the coastal départements of and formed respectively from the southern, western and eastern portions of the ''département'' of Alger.
The very much truncated département of Alger now covered just 3,393 km², and was home to a population of 1,079,806. It was subdivided into the two
sub-prefectures of
Blida
Blida ( ar, البليدة; Tamazight: Leblida) is a city in Algeria. It is the capital of Blida Province, and it is located about 45 km south-west of Algiers, the national capital. The name ''Blida'', i.e. ''bulaydah'', is a diminutive ...
and
Maison-Blanche (modern ''Dar El Beïda'').
The 1957 departmental reorganisation was marked by a change in the "suffix" number appearing on automobile license plates and in other places that used the same code. Until 1957 Alger was department number "91": after 1957 the much diminished département of Alger became department number "9A". (In 1968, under a law enacted in 1964, the number "91" would be reallocated to
a new département comprising the southern suburbs of Paris.)
After independence the department continued to exist until 1974 when it was split into
Alger Province
Algiers Province ( ar, ولاية الجزائر, ', ; french: wilaya d'Alger or ) is a province (wilayah) in Algeria, named after its capital, Algiers, which is also the national capital. It is adopted from the old French department of Algiers a ...
and
Blida Province
Blida ( ar, ولاية البليدة) is a province (''wilaya'') in Algeria. Its capital is Blida. The Chréa National Park is situated here.
History
The province was created from parts of Alger (department) and El Asnam department in 1974.
I ...
.
People
*
Mohamed Deriche
Mohamed Deriche (, ), (born 1865 in Souk El-Had, Boumerdès Province, Kabylie, Algeria; died 1948 in Boudouaou, Algeria) was an Algerian Berber politician after the French conquest of Algeria.
Presentation
Mohamed Deriche was born in the Ka ...
(1865-1948), Algerian politician ;
*
Mohamed Seghir Boushaki
Mohamed Seghir Boushaki (), (born 27 November 1869 in Thénia, Boumerdès Province, Kabylie, Algeria; died 1959 in Thenia, Algeria) was an Algerian Berber politician after the French conquest of Algeria.
Presentation
Mohamed Seghir Bousha ...
(1869-1959), Algerian politician ;
*
Lyès Deriche
Lyes Derriche (, (born 1928 in Casbah of Algiers, Algiers, Algeria; died 2001 in El Madania, Algeria) was an Algerian politician.
Algerian War
Lyès Deriche, the son of Mouhamed Deriche, housed in his villa in the Algerian commune of Clos-S ...
, 20th-century leader of the Algerian national political movement against the French.
See also
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alger (Department)
Former departments of France in Algeria
States and territories established in 1848
History of Algiers
1848 establishments in Algeria
1962 disestablishments in Algeria