page_title: Kabyle people
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Kabyle people / History
caption_attribution_description: Cropped image of an engraving titled "Femme kebaïle". The engraving was published in Galerie des victoires et conquêtes de l'armée française et de tous les régiments depuis les premiers temps de la monarchie jusqu'à nos jours, Paris, 1850. (Although the title is "Kabyle woman", the image has sometimes been reused to illustrate texts about Lalla Fatma N'Soumer.)
context_page_description: The Kabyle people are a Berber people indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, one hundred miles east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking population of Algeria and the second largest in North Africa.
  Many of the Kabyle have emigrated from Algeria, influenced by factors such as the Algerian Civil War, cultural repression by the central Algerian government, and overall industrial decline. Their diaspora has resulted in Kabyle people living in numerous countries. Large populations of Kabyle people settled in France and, to a lesser extent, Belgium, Canada and United States.
  The Kabyle people speak Kabyle, a Berber language. Since the Berber Spring of 1980, they have been at the forefront of the fight for the official recognition of Berber languages in Algeria.
context_section_description: The Kabyle were relatively independent of outside control during the period of Ottoman Empire rule in North Africa. They lived primarily in three different kingdoms: the Kingdom of Kuku, the Kingdom of Ait Abbas, and the principality of Aït Jubar. The area was gradually taken over by the French during their colonization beginning in 1857, despite vigorous resistance. Such leaders as Lalla Fatma n Soumer continued the resistance as late as Mokrani's rebellion in 1871.
  French officials confiscated much land from the more recalcitrant tribes and granted it to colonists, who became known as pieds-noirs. During this period, the French carried out many arrests and deported resisters, mainly to New Caledonia (see: "Algerians of the Pacific"). Due to French colonization, many Kabyle emigrated into other areas inside and outside Algeria. Over time, immigrant workers also went to France.
  In the 1920s, Algerian immigrant workers in France organized the first party promoting independence. Messali Hadj, Imache Amar, Si Djilani, and Belkacem Radjef rapidly built a strong following throughout France and Algeria in the 1930s. They developed militants who became vital to the fighting for an independent Algeria. This became widespread after World War II.
  Since Algeria gained independence in 1962, tensions have arisen between Kabylie and the central government on several occasions. In July 1962, the FLN (National Liberation Front) was split rather than united. Indeed, many actors who contributed to independence wanted a share of power but the ALN (National Liberation Army) directed by Houari Boumediene joined by Ahmed Ben Bella seemed to had the upper hand because they of their military forces.
  In 1963 the FFS party of Hocine Aït Ahmed contested the authority of the FLN, which had promoted itself as the only party in the nation. Aït Ahmed and others consider that the central government led by Ben Bella is authoritarian and on September the 3rd 1963 the FFS (Socialist Forces front) was created by Hocine Aït Ahmed. This party regrouped people against the regime in place and a few days after its proclamation, Ben Bella sent the army into Kabylie to repress the insurrection. Colonel Mohand Ouelhadj had also taken part in the FFS and in the maquis because he considered that the moujahidin were not treated as they should be. At the beginning, the FFS wanted to negotiate with the government but since no agreement was reached, the maquis took up arms and its representatives swore not to give them up as long as democratic principles and justice were a part of the system. But after Mohand Ouelhadj’s defection, Aït Ahmed could barely sustain the movement and after the FLN congress on April 16, 1964 which reinforced the government’s legitimacy, he was arrested on October 1964. As a consequence, the insurrection was a failure in 1965 because it was hugely repressed by the forces of the ALN directed by Houari Boumediene. In 1965 Aït Ahmed was sentenced to death, but was later pardoned by Ben Bella. Approximately 400 deaths were counted amongst the maquis.
  In 1980, protesters mounted several months of demonstrations in Kabylie demanding the recognition of Berber as an official language; this period has been called the Berber Spring. In 1994–1995, the Kabyle conducted a school boycott, termed the "strike of the school bag". In June and July 1998, they protested, in events that turned violent, after the assassination of singer Matoub Lounes and passage of the law requiring use of Arabic in all fields.
  In the months following April 2001 (called the Black Spring), major riots among the Kabyle took place following the killing of Masinissa Guermah, a young Kabyle, by gendarmes. At the same time, organized activism produced the Arouch, and neo-traditional local councils. The protests gradually decreased after the Kabyle won some concessions from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
  On 6 January 2016, Tamazight was officially recognized in Algeria's constitution as a language that was equal to Arabic.
caption: Lalla Fatma N'Soumer of Tariqa led the resistance against French colonization 1851–57.
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