Monday, October 14, 2024, marked the 185th anniversary of a pivotal event in the history of North Africa, which is the first official adoption of the name "Algeria" by French colonialism. This decision stems from a letter by the then French Minister of War, Antoine Virgile Schneider, addressed to the Governor General of the "French Kingdoms in North Africa," Sylvain Charles Valée, on October 14, 1839.
This historical document, considered one of the most significant in the French national archives, represents the actual beginning of what became known as "French Algeria," which later turned into the "State of Algeria" after its independence in 1962, following the self-determination referendum initiated by General Charles de Gaulle.
The letter, drafted by Schneider from his office in Paris, came five months after he assumed the role of Minister of War, and nine years after the beginning of the French colonization of the "Algerian Regency," which was under Ottoman rule.
In the letter, the French Minister informed Governor General Valée that the colonized lands in North Africa would officially be named "Algeria," instead of previous terms such as "French possessions in North Africa" or "the old Algerian Regency."
Schneider considered the new name to be shorter, simpler, and more precise, stressing the need for its adoption in all official correspondences and documents. He recommended that this change be implemented by all civil and military authorities in the colony.
This document is a living testament to the absence of a "state" in the sovereign sense in the current region of Algeria before the French colonization, as it was under Ottoman rule between 1516 and 1830, and then under French occupation until 1962. This history, which the current Algerian regime attempts to deny, was confirmed by former French President Charles de Gaulle in his 1959 speech, where he noted that Algeria had never been a sovereign state since the beginning of history.
In his speech, De Gaulle also mentioned that Algeria had been successively invaded by various civilizations and nations throughout its history, starting with the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines, followed by Arabs from the Levant, Arabs from Cordoba, the Turks, and the French, emphasizing that Algeria had never been an independent or sovereign state at any time.
