European settlement of Algeria

Consisting primarily of French people, other populations included Spaniards in the west of the country, Italians and Maltese in the east, and other Europeans in smaller numbers.

Known as Pieds-Noirs, European colonists were concentrated on the coast and formed a majority of the population of Oran (60%) and important proportions in other large cities like in the capital Algiers and Bône.

[3] However, the indigenous Algerian Muslims remained a large majority of the territory's population throughout its history, and before the invasion and colonization of Algeria by France, Europeans were practically absent.

The very bloody and bitter war concluded in 1962 when Algeria gained complete independence following the March 1962 Evian agreements on 3 July 1962.

On the eve and during Algerian independence in 1962, more than one million Pied-Noir settlers of French nationality immediately fled or were evacuated to mainland France.