Marshal Pélissier made Governor-General, with a vice-governor under him, a Director-General for civil affairs, and a Council of thirty members. In 1863, the Emperor Napoleon announced that he was willing to give the colony a new constitution, with a chamber of representatives for provincial affairs; he also addressed a letter to the Governor-General, in which he explained that Algeria was no colony in the strict sense of the word, but an Arab kingdom, and that the natives had the same right to protection as the colonists. In 1864, however, strife again arose between the colonists and the Arabs; and it was only after several engagements, during the months of April and May, that peace was restored by the submission of the conquered tribes. Pélissier having died in May, 1864, Marshal MacMahon was appointed to succeed him. In the following year, the Emperor himself made a journey to Algeria, and on March 5th issued a proclamation, in which, although explaining to the Arabs that the Regency must continue to be united to France, he promised to maintain their nationality, and at the same time gave them assurance that they should always remain in undisturbed possession of their territories. Yet these and other measures for conciliating the Arabs were all in vain; for, shortly after the Emperor's return to France, insurrections broke out in the province of Oran and elsewhere. In 1867 and 1868, a severe and general famine checked the military enterprises of the Arabs; and there was peace till 1870, when, owing to the Franco-Prussian War, the Emperor found it necessary to withdraw to Europe the greater part of the forces in Africa. MacMahon's place was then taken by General Durieu, as interim Governor-General, and the natives began to entertain hopes of freeing themselves from the yoke of France. The last serious rebellion was suppressed in 1871, and a civil government was then established. In 1881 France declared a protectorate over Tunis, in order to safeguard its interests in Algeria. Colonization was promoted after the Franco-Prussian War, by the offer of homes to those French Alsatians who did not care to remain under German rule. Algeria is now becoming a prosperous and valuable possession, and is strategically important as the base for the extension of French influence in Africa, especially across the Sahara to the Sudan and the west coast.
There is considerable literature relating to Algeria, that which is valuable being chiefly in French. For history, geography, and general description, consult: Gaffarel, L'Algérie, histoire, conquête, colonisation (Paris, 1883); Paul Leroy-Beaulieu, L'Algérie et la Tunisie (Paris, 1887); Battandier and Trabut, L'Algérie (Paris, 1898); Levasseur, La France et ses colonies (Paris, 1893); Cat, Petite Histoire de l'Algérie, Tunisie, Maroc (Algiers, 1888-91); Rousset, Les commencements d'une conquête; l'Algérie de 1830 à 1840 (Paris, 1887), and La conquête de l'Algérie, 1841-1857 (Paris, 1889). Several of the French officers who commanded in Algeria wrote memoirs of the campaigns. English works that may be consulted are Wilkin, Among the Berbers of Algeria (New York, 1900); Morell, Algeria (London, 1854); Nugent, A Land of Mosques and Marabouts (London, 1894); Bridgman, Winters in Algeria (New York, 1890); Playfair, The Scourge of Christendom (London, 1884), a record of piratical Algiers, based mainly on consular archives; also a Bibliography of Algeria, published by the Royal Geographical Society, London, 1888.
ALGERINE WAR, al'je-rGn'. See Barbary Powers, Wars with the.
ALGHERO, al-ga'ro, or ALGHERI, al-ga'r^.
An episcopal city on the northwest coast of Sardinia, 21 miles southwest of Sassari (Map: Italy, C 7). It is situated on a high, rocky shore, and the harbor is fortified. The cathedral dates from 1510; many of the houses are mediseval and the arsenal 'is fully equipped. The country produces wine, oil, indigo, and fruit, while from the sea come coral and shell-fish. The commerce has declined since the development of Porto Torres, the port of Sassari. Alghero is connected by fortnightly coasting steamers with the Italian peninsula and Cagliari; with the latter also by rail. West of the harbor are the beautiful grottoes of Neptune. In 1541 Charles V. landed at Alghero on his way to Africa, and spent several days in the Casa Albis, which is still pointed out to visitors.
ALGIERS, al-jerz' (Ar. AJ-/n^«'t/-, the islands,
referring to an island in its bay; Fr. Alger, al'zha', formerly al'zhar') . The capital and chief seaport of Algeria, situated on the west shore of the Bay of Algiers, in lat. 36° 47' N., and long. 3° 3' E. (Map: Africa, E 1). It is located on the slope of the Sahel chain, the rich verdure of the mountains giving a beautiful background to the dazzling white of the city, which has the shape of a triangle, while over all towers the Moorish citadel or Kasbah, over 400 feet above the sea. Algiers is divided into two parts. The lower part is occupied by the modern city, which has been brought into existence by the French, and which differs in no respect from any well-appointed European city. It has wide and well shaded streets, spacious squares with statues and parks, and five municipal buildings, mostly located in the Boulevard de la République. The city is lighted by gas, and the water is supplied by four aqueducts, built in the beginning of the seventeenth century. In strong contrast to the European Algiers is the old Moorish part of the city, which rises above the former, and which, in all essentials, continues to be what it was during the reign of the Turkish Deys. The streets are narrow and crooked and often impassable for vehicles. The houses are very plain from the outside, but their interiors bear all the marks of splendor and beauty so characteristic of Moorish architecture. The roofs are flat, and in the evening become centres of gayety, and are even used occasionally for social functions. An additional picturesqueness is given to the Moorish part of the town by the motley crowds on its streets, including the elegantly dressed Frenchman, the splendidly arrayed Moor, as well as the scantily clad native from the interior. The mosques are less numerous than they were before the French occupation, when their number was estimated at about one hundred. At present there are only four mosques used as regular places of worship, but there are numbers of tombs of saints or "kubas," which are also used occasionally for that purpose. The citadel or Kasbah was constructed in the beginning of the sixteenth century, and was the scene of many at-
