French North Africa

French North Africa was a collection of territories in North Africa controlled by France and centering on French Algeria. At its height, it was a large part of the Maghreb.

The origins of French North Africa lay in the decline of the Ottoman Empire. In 1830, the French captured Algiers; and, from 1848 until independence in 1962, Algeria was treated as an integral part of France. Seeking to expand their influence beyond Algeria, the French established protectorates to the east and west of it. The French protectorate of Tunisia was established in 1881, following a military invasion, the French protectorate in Morocco in 1912. These lasted until 1955, in the case of Morocco, and 1956, when full Tunisian independence arrived.

Until its independence, French Algeria had been a part of metropolitan France (i.e., not an overseas territory), since before the First World War.

French North Africa came to an end soon after the Évian Accords of March 1962, which led to the Algerian independence referendum of July 1962.

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