Around 190 immigrants of Spanish origin, most of them

day labourer Day labor (or day labour in Commonwealth spelling) is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future, and outside the protection of labor and civil rights laws. It i ...

s working in the ''

esparto Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. '' Stipa tenacissima'' and '' Lygeum spar ...

'' harvest, were killed on 11 June 1881 in

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

(in the countryside around Saïda) by members of the insurgent movement led by Bou-Amama.

Development

The Franco-Algerian Company hired day labourers across the impoverished Spanish South-East to work in the ''

'' harvest in Algeria offering passage and travel to their families, although eventually day labourers were forced to pay for their travel and to buy their food at a company's store. Following the outbreak of a rebellion in Tunisia, the instability moved to Algeria in late April 1881, with Bou-Amama taking the lead of the movement against the French occupation. Then, on 11 June 1881, following the seizure of Khalfallah by insurgents, around 190 Spanish esparto harvesters (most of them from

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

, and the rest from

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

and

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

) were put to the sword in Khalfallah, in the surroundings of Saïda (to the south of Oran), whereas many of their wives were

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person w ...

, while the attackers also made 600 hostages and set 100,000 ''

quintal The quintal or centner is a historical unit of mass in many countries that is usually defined as 100 base units, such as pounds or kilograms. It is a traditional unit of weight in France, Portugal, and Spain and their former colonies. It is com ...

s'' of esparto on fire. News about the event arrived to

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

(17 June) and then Spain (18 June). For the rest of June and July many naked and hungry Spaniards moved to Oran to get a passage back to Almería. About 10,000 immigrants were repatriated to Spain.

Bibliography

;Notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saïda massacre, 1881 1881 in Algeria Massacres in 1881 June 1881 Algeria–Spain relations Conflicts in 1881 Immigration to Africa Massacres in Algeria Spanish diaspora in Africa African resistance to colonialism Military history of French Algeria Anti-Spanish sentiment Saïda Province Violence against women in Algeria Rape in Africa Hostage taking in Algeria Arson in Algeria 1881 fires