The French in Algiers

An account of the early days of the Legion in North Africa



The 18th and 19th centuries saw a significant acceleration in colonisation as the European powers scrambled to take over underdeveloped countries and their peoples and rule them as satellite states. This was invariably an arrangement founded in blood and was fiercely resisted. The British claimed India, the Dutch their holdings in the East Indies and France established itself in North Africa-among other places. Beyond the coastal region the African land was often barren desert or mountainous and this type of terrain is, of course, the breeding ground of necessarily tough and resilient people who naturally take poorly to subjugation. There was the potential for almost continual tribal warfare and there arose a corresponding French response which included-in terms of forces-the Chasseurs d'Afrique and the legendary French Foreign Legion. This book contains two accounts of the French in Algiers. The first is a personal account by Clemens Lamping, a young lieutenant in Oldenburg service, who in 1839 found his way into the ranks of the Legion; all legion accounts are fascinating and this one detailing Legion life in the first half of the 19th century is no exception. It is joined here by an interesting account of captivity by the Arabs which provides an interesting insight into the 'enemy' camp.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.