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 The most serious native insurrection since the time of Abd al Qadir broke out
in 1871 in the Kabylie and spread through much of Algeria. The revolt was
triggered by Crémieux's extension of civil (that is, colon) authority to
previously self-governing tribal reserves and the abrogation of commitments made
by the military government, but it clearly had its basis in more long- standing
grievances. Since the Crimean War (1854-56), the demand for grain had pushed up
the price of Algerian wheat to European levels. Silos were emptied when the
world market's impact was felt in Algeria, and Muslim farmers sold their grain
reserves-- including seed grain--to speculators. But the community-owned silos
were the fundamental adaptation of a subsistence economy to an unpredictable
climate, and a good year's surplus was stored away against a bad year's dearth.
When serious drought struck Algeria and grain crops failed in 1866 and for
several years following, Muslim areas faced starvation, and with famine came
pestilence. It was estimated that 20 percent of the Muslim population of
Constantine died over a three-year period. In 1871 the civil authorities
repudiated guarantees made to tribal chieftains by the previous military
government for loans to replenish their seed supply. This act alienated even
pro-French Muslim leaders, while it undercut their ability to control their
people. It was against this background of misery and hopelessness that the
stricken Kabyles rose in revolt.
On March 14, 1871, the Kabyle rebellion was launched
under the leadership of Muhammad al-Muqrani who raised 25,000 troops and 100,000 followers. On April 8 the leader of the Rahmaniyya Sufi order, Sheik al-Haddad, joined the Kabyle rebellion as a holy war against the French. He mustered 120,000 troops and spread the revolt to the eastern Sahara. Al-Haddad and his Sufi followers were forced to surrender in June 1871.
Al-Muqrani was killed and his uprising suppressed in January 1872.
In the aftermath of the 1871 uprising, French authorities imposed stern
measures to punish and control the whole Muslim population. France confiscated
more than 500,000 hectares of tribal land and placed the Kabylie under a régime
d'exception (extraordinary rule), which denied the due process guaranteed
French nationals. A special indigénat (native code) listed as offenses
acts such as insolence and unauthorized assembly not punishable by French law,
and the normal jurisdiction of the cudah was sharply restricted. The
governor general was empowered to jail suspects for up to five years without
trial. The argument was made in defense of these exceptional measures that the
French penal code as applied to Frenchmen was too permissive to control Muslims.
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