Factor endowments on the ‘frontier’: Algerian settler agriculture at the beginning of the 1900s

Abstract

This article examines rural settlement in Constantine, a département in French Algeria, at the beginning of the 1900s. By taking into account the timing of colonial settlement for almost 100 municipalities, it shows how the changing geographical conditions and the relative quantities of land and labour shaped the colonial land policy and settler modes of production. As fertile land grew scarcer on the settlement ‘frontier’, the ability of settlers to participate in the export market was increasingly dependent on the capacity to make use of modern agricultural techniques that required larger fields and intensive labour. Thus, the outcome of rural settlement was determined by the relative abundance of indigenous labour and the adaptation of the land policy to Algeria's agricultural needs. The results demonstrate that—even within a country itself and during the settlement process—the colonial land policy and settler modes of production change significantly, depending on the region being occupied.

Land Resources and Agricultural Exports Nexus

“…Bojnec (2013) made a comparative analysis of the land endowment and land market policies of North Macedonia, Turkey, and Croatia. Maravall (2020) examined the relationship between relative land and labor endowment and agricultural concentration in the case of Algeria. Huo (2014) draws attention to the fact that the irrigable agricultural land resources of developing countries significantly impact their competitive advantages in the export of agricultural products.…”

French Ecological Imperialism: A Postcolonial Approach

“…The settlers practiced monoculture agriculture, which required large fields, huge labor input, and intensive ploughing. In contrast, Indigenous farming practices involved small family-owned farms, mixed cropping, and periodic crop rotation to maintain fertility (Maravall 2019). In practice, while the settlers' techniques proved more financially profitable in the short run, they were more ecologically destructive than the Indigenous practices in the long run.…”

New evidence on wine in French international trade (1848–1913): Import discrimination as export quality promotion

“…To combine an ability to maintain high quality exports and reduce dependence on Spain and Italy for lower-quality imports, French authorities decided to support the development of the Algerian vineyard. 23 The literature was analysed for the rapid development of this sector 24 , its industrialization at the start of twentieth century 25 as well as its spectacular decline after independence in 1962, when France imposed import restrictions and tariffs on Algerian wine. 26 After having slowed the development of Algerian vineyard, in the middle of nineteenth century, by the way of tariff policy (Algeria imports wine from the 'Midi' 27 ), the 'Metropole' decided to push an "additional vineyard" considering more largely that 'by its agriculture, Algeria is only the extension of France'.…”