Algerian Independence From France
- Date
- 1962
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- North Africa (Algeria)
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
Algeria became independent on 3 July 1962, ending 132 years of French colonial rule after one of the twentieth century's bloodiest wars of decolonisation.
The Évian Accords, signed on 18 March 1962 between France and the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic, halted a conflict begun in 1954 by the National Liberation Front (FLN) and marked by guerrilla warfare, systematic torture, and the mass displacement of civilians. A referendum on 1 July returned an overwhelming vote for independence, and Algeria was proclaimed sovereign two days later. The war had cost hundreds of thousands of Algerian lives, mobilised 1.5 million French troops, and toppled France's Fourth Republic while bringing Charles de Gaulle to power. Independence triggered the exodus of nearly a million European settlers, the pied-noirs, and reprisals against the harkis who had fought alongside France. The FLN victory became an inspiration for anti-colonial and revolutionary movements worldwide, its theorist Frantz Fanon a touchstone for liberation struggles, while the wounds of the war continued to shape French and Algerian politics for decades.
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Empires active in 1962
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Solomonic dynasty1270 CE – 1974 CE
Related politics & governance events
- Construction of the Berlin Wall13 August 1961
- Founding of the People's Republic of China1 October 1949
- Establishment of Apartheid in South Africa1948
- Independence and Partition of British India14–15 August 1947
- Iranian RevolutionJanuary–February 1979
- Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika1985–1991 (from 11 March 1985)
Also relevant
Further reading
The wider story
The Ethiopians: A History
Standard general history of Ethiopia and its dynasties.
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