The New Student's Reference Work/Abd-el-Kader
Abd-el-Kader (äbd′el-kä′dĭr) (born 1806, died 1883), was emir or prince of the Arab tribes in Algeria. He is famous for his stubborn resistance to the French, who, in 1830, had driven out the Turks, the former rulers of the country. For eighteen years he fought with bravery and high generalship against the larger forces of the French. Five successive generals were sent against him, some of the tribes were bribed to desert, and the Moors were made to attack him. Yet he utterly defeated the French twice, and kept up a successful resistance till 1848, when he was defeated, and soon after captured and imprisoned for four years at Paris. In 1860 Abd-el-Kader was in Damascus, and, at great risk to himself, aided the Christians during the Mohammedan riots. In the later years of his life he was a pensioner of the French government.