French Guiana (France) / All works
Essay
L'Algérie pour les Algériens
Not translated into English
Ismaÿl Urbain · 1861
Synopsis
The pamphlet, signed Georges Voisin, proposes a Franco-Algerian association, against the idea that all nations should be bent to a single model. Inspired by Saint-Simonianism and the movement of nationalities, it defends the project of an Arab kingdom in Algeria and addresses the emperor so that he may devise a policy towards the native populations.
Context
Published in 1861 under the pseudonym Georges Voisin, the year in which the author joined the governor-general's council, the pamphlet enjoyed a succès d'estime without bringing him promotion. It was followed in 1862 by L'Algérie française, indigènes et immigrants, published anonymously. Claude Vigoureux notes that these essays fed the imperial project and provoked the anger of the Europeans of Algeria; Napoleon III, who took the author as his interpreter during his journey of 1865, wanted to put this Arab kingdom into effect.
Who it is for
For reading a founding text of the idea of an associated Algeria, written by a Guianese man who converted to Islam.
Prizes and reception
The colonists and the economic interests of Algeria strongly opposed the project it defended.