A History of Violence in the Early Algerian Colony

“This is an interesting and original manuscript which has the potential to make an impact in its field, and which certainly contributes to current debates in the scholarly literature on colonial violence an important and polished manuscript which combines provocative and original argument with presentation of hitherto-overlooked archival sources.” Stephen Tyre, University of St Andrews, UK

“Violence in its many forms, and colonial violence in particular, has been the focus of a wave of recent scholarly literature. Stimulated, no doubt, by the violence and imperialist activities of the twenty-first century, much of which has occurred in former colonial territories, one question that has preoccupied scholars with an interest in the subject is the extent to which violence in colonial territories was genocidal. In his thoroughly researched, cogently argued contribution to this literature, William Gallois looks at violence during the early years of military rule in French Algeria. When examining periods of conquest, as the military period was, the problem arises as to how to untangle the activities of warfare from those of massacres or genocide. The question is complicated further by the ongoing scholarly debate as to what exactly constitutes genocide. Gallois addresses these difficulties head on, engaging with the recent scholarship on genocide and evaluating the different stages of French military action in the colony.” – Patricia Lorcin, American Historical Review