The ''First Assault of Dellys'' in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, opposed the

troupes coloniales The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...

under Corvette captain Félix-Ariel d'Assigny (1794-1846) to the resistance fighters of the town of

Dellys Dellys ( ar, دلّس, Berber: Delles) is a small Mediterranean town in northern Algeria's coastal Boumerdès Province, almost due north of Tizi-Ouzou and just east of the Sebaou River. It is the district seat of the daïra of Dellys. The town ...

Kabylia Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which ...

of the ''

Igawawen Igawawen or Gawawa, mostly known as Zwawa (in Kabyle: Igawawen, in Arabic: زواوة, and in Latin: Jubaleni''Revue archéologique, Société française d'archéologie classique'' (in French), p. 28) were a group of Kabyle tribes inhabiting the ...

''.

Historical Context

When the Emir Mustapha organized on 8 May 1837 the first attack of his

n allies against a colonial agricultural farm in Reghaïa within

Mitidja Mitidja, (Arabic: , Berber: Mettijet ⵎⴻⵜⵙⵉⵛⵝ) is a plain stretching along the outskirts of Algiers in northern Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , ...

plain, the French response was not long in coming against the attackers. The then French governor of Algiers, General Damrémont, then ordered the

Kabyles The Kabyle people ( kab, Izwawen or ''Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', ) are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking populat ...

to be punished by a military expedition on 17 May 1837 commanded by Colonel Schauenburg by land, and General Perregaux by sea against the tribes of Beni Aïcha, Issers and Amraoua. The Kabyle rebels then retaliated by attacking the Boudouaou military camp on 25 May 1837, which was under the command of Captain de La Torré. General Damrémont took advantage of this uprising east of Mitidja to set up an imposing military campaign on 27 May 1837 towards the valley of

Oued Isser The Oued Isser is a river of Algeria. It begins in Médéa Province, is the main river, with Oued Sébaou of the Medea, which runs through the Lower Kabylie of Djurdjura (or the current province of Boumerdès) Wilaya of Bouira, then flows into ...

in order to suffocate this insurrectionary stronghold which harassed the colonial power of Algiers, by involving General Lixières. It was then that the Sufi

marabout A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Sah ...

s of Zawiyet Sidi Amar Cherif negotiated a cease-fire with the French which made it possible to stop the hostilities between the two belligerents.

Naval expedition

General Damrémont had opted in May 1837 to stop hostilities between the French and the Kabyles by reversing the balance of power by land and by sea. The commander of the navy in Algiers, named Félicité-Louis-Urbain Menouvrier-Defresne (died 1848), therefore sent on 28 May 1837 in the morning a fleet of two boats from the port of Algiers to dock in the port of

and submit the

Casbah of Dellys The Casbah of Dellys () is a historic kasbah or medina quarter, the old town in the city of Dellys, Algeria. The kasbah is known for Ottoman Algeria-era buildings and cityscape. Today it is a favorite spot for tourism in Boumerdès Province. Hist ...

in this city to colonial power, under the command of the

corvette captain Corvette captain is a rank in many navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette (small warship). The equivalent rank in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth, and United States is lieutenant commander. The Royal Canadian Navy uses ...

and chief of staff Félix-Ariel d'Assigny. The end of the fighting in the Issers plain then accelerated the abdication of this coastal town which was thus deprived of its protective shield from rebels who encouraged it to be and remain a subversive center distant from a few tens of kilometers of the Casbah of Algiers.

Disembarkation of Dellys

The steamboat Le Cerbère and the

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. S ...

La Lionne that presented themselves on 28 May 1837 in the cove of the port of Dellys found no Algerian resistance when French soldiers landed on the shore as the victors. The two boats arrived in the cove which forms Cape Bengut and presented themselves in front of the town of Dellys where the ship Le Cerbère anchored in thirteen fathoms of water within cannon-range of the Dellys Casbah, while La Lionne continued to keep under sails. The two crews then took the necessary measures to begin the attack and the destruction of the houses of the Casbah placed in amphitheater and degraded. The population of the city was frightened by these devastating preparations, and then immediately sent a dinghy aboard Le Cerbère to enter into life-saving talks to save the city from its impending destruction. The French soldiers had for mission to subdue this Kabyle and strategic city, and to summon its inhabitants to send their notables as hostages and negotiators to Algiers, and to compensate the farmers Mercier and Saussine, owners of the farm which suffered the looting and sacking of the First Raid on Reghaïa dated 8 May 1837 under the command of Emir Mustapha. This is how the commander d'Assigny, who had received strict and severe orders to be executed in the rebel town in the Amraoua region, having asked the Algerian delegation for a prompt response of submission to the injunctions of General Damrémont.

Capitulation

The notables of the town of Dellys organized on 28 May 1837 the capitulation and

surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

of the town to the French armed force in order to protect the townspeople and their property from possible military reprisals. But these notables were not in a position to comply with the city's surrender injunctions, and they had to appoint eight dignitaries from among the main inhabitants who came aboard the Le Cerbère vessel to meet Commander Félix-Ariel. It is thus that the

mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (''fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important role ...

El Mouloud ben El Hadj Allal, the cadi Si Ahmed El Mufti, the

of Zawiyet Sidi Amar Cherif and the principal inhabitants and notables of Dellys went aboard the ship ''Le Cerbère'', and were brought in the night of 29 May 1837 as hostages to Algiers by the commander d'Assigny. The few difficulties which marred the talks on the ship, as regards the surrender, led to this transfer of this delegation to Algiers where they were waiting for a favorable decision to be taken in their regard. These notables of Dellys agreed with General Damrémont to pay compensation to the French settlers Mercier and Saussine who had suffered losses in the attack of the Amraoua and other Kabyles dated 8 May 1837 against their farm of Reghaïa. The counterpart of this reimbursement consisted in releasing the notables of Dellys and letting them return home as part of a lasting peace pact. At the end of this naval expedition, an honor was awarded to the French soldiers who took part in it, and more particularly to their leader Félix-Ariel d'Assigny who led it, because the expected results were obtained without bloodshed.

Factory of Dellys

The deputies of the Issers and the notables of Dellys asked General Damrémont after their release to commit to establishing a French

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

in the city of Dellys in return for a lasting ceasefire in the Amraoua region. But the French governor of Algiers told them that a stationary military regiment would have to be installed to protect this trading post in Kabylia. Damrémont's response also noted that trade between Algiers and Dellys was not yet flourishing enough to justify the investment and expense that this trade measure would entail.Notes historiques sur la Grande Kabylie de 1838 à 1851 / par le colonel Robin , Gallica
/ref> But the city of Dellys with its 2,000 inhabitants at the time, its small fishing port, and its ten buildings dedicated to the coveted trading post, could make prosper a trade and a juicy exchange between this very cultivated country area and the city of Algiers by supplying it with grains and fruits.

Gallery

File:Damrémont par Julien.jpg,

Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont Charles-Marie Denys, comte de Damrémont (8 February 1783–12 October 1837) was a French general and military governor of French Algeria. He was killed in combat during the siege of Constantine. Early life Charles-Marie Denys was born in Cha ...

File:Photo aérienne de Reghaia.jpg, Raid on Reghaïa (1837) File:Col de Ténia.jpg,

Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha The Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of ''Beni Aïcha'' of the ''Igawawen''. Historical Conte ...

(1837) File:Photo boudouaou marine 08102014.jpg, First Battle of Boudouaou (1837) File:Oued Isser واد يسر - panoramio.jpg, First Battle of the Issers (1837)

External links

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Bibliography

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References

French conquest of Algeria Conflicts in 1837 1837 in Algeria Battles involving Algeria Battles involving France May 1837 events 1830s in Algeria Invasions by France {{Mil-hist-stub