[7][8] When Abdelkader laid siege to the city of Tlemcen in July 1836 to liberate it from General Louis-Eugène Cavaignac, he received news that some people had tried to rally the French and to rebel against him in Médéa.

[11][12] Abdelkader wanted give land to his younger brother Mustafa, and in turn named him khalifa of Médéa territory before returning to Tlemcen to continue the siege.

[17][18] The farm, managed by settlers Mercier and Saussine, was positioned with its 3,000 hectares of area at the entrance of Kabylia which remained in sight of the sustained advance of French colonization towards the plains of Oued Isser.

[19][20] Mustapha urged the marabouts of the zawiyas of the Beni Aïcha, the Issers, and the Amraoua to terrorize the French settlers to stop the invasion of the mountain range of Khachna, which precedes Djurdjura.

[24] During the expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha on May 17, 1837, the colonial forces lost because of bad weather, while the First Battle of Boudouaou on May 25 ended with the signing of the Treaty of Tafna on May 30.