ABSTRACT
This chapter concisely reviews the history of European colonialism in the Maghreb over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly by France. In doing so, it emphasizes the wide-ranging trauma inflicted by colonialism on the Muslim peoples of the Maghreb. After beginning with the 1798 French invasion of Egypt, the chapter turns to Algeria and France’s efforts to establish settlements, violently suppress opposition to its rule, and to justify its conduct in the region. The chapter also discusses the French conquest of Tunisia, the Italian conquest of Libya, and the Spanish and French conquests of Morocco. It concludes with a brief account of the independence of the Maghreb states.
