Sources
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Naphtali Busnash". The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Naphtali Busnash was Chief of the Algerian Jews and statesman; born in Algiers in the middle of the eighteenth century; assassinated June 28, 1805.
He was engaged — first alone, and later with the firm Bakri Brothers — in the grain trade, of which the Dey Ḥasan, with whom Busnash was on friendly terms, granted him a monopoly. The firm of Bakri & Busnash soon attained a wide reputation, and Busnash became (according to some) the most influential man in Algeria. In 1800 he was appointed by the dey Mustapha—whom he had helped to attain to power—chief of the Algerian Jews, a post to which was attached the office of broker to the dey, and the consul-generalship of Ragusa. In this position Busnash displayed so much ability that he won the entire confidence of the dey, who practically left the government in his hands. It was he who received the consuls and settled differences between Algeria and foreign countries. His power did not, however, last. The janissaries and Muslim extremists reluctantly submitted to the domination of a Jew; but Busnash, after having escaped several attempts on his life, was at last shot dead by a janissary at the gate of the dey's palace.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Naphtali Busnash". The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Dey, from the Turkish honorific title dayı, literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the regencies of Algiers, Tripolitania, and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. Twenty-nine deys held office from the establishment of the deylicate in Algeria until the French conquest in 1830.
The Regency of Algiers was an early modern semi-independent Ottoman province and nominal vassal state on the Barbary Coast of North Africa from 1516 to 1830. Founded by the privateer brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Reis, the Regency succeeded the Kingdom of Tlemcen as an infamous and formidable base that waged maritime holy war on European Christian powers. Elected regents headed a stratocracy that haunted European imagination for three centuries but still gained recognition as a regional power.
Hussein Dey was the last Dey of the Deylik of Algiers.
David ben Joseph Coen Bakri was a financier and chief of the Algerian Jews.
Jacob Cohen Bakri was an influential businessperson and political figure in Algiers. He was involved in the Fly-whisk Incident which led to the French conquest of Algeria.
The invasion of Algiers in 1830 was a large-scale military operation by which the Kingdom of France, ruled by Charles X, invaded and conquered the Deylik of Algiers.
The French conquest of Algeria took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Regency of Algiers, and the French consul escalated into a blockade, following which the July Monarchy of France invaded and quickly seized Algiers in 1830, and seized other coastal communities. Amid internal political strife in France, decisions were repeatedly taken to retain control of the territory, and additional military forces were brought in over the following years to quell resistance in the interior of the country.
The Muradid dynasty was a dynasty of beys that ruled Tunisia from 1613 to 1702. They were succeeded in 1705 by the Husainid dynasty.
Pierre Deval (1758–1829) was French Consul-General in Algeria from 1814 to 1827. He is known for his diplomatic mission to the Regency of Algiers, and the diplomatic slights he received while there, which gave a pretext to the French invasion of Algiers in 1830.
Ottoman Tunisia, also known as the Regency of Tunis, refers to the Ottoman presence in Ifriqiya from the 16th to 19th centuries, when Tunis was officially integrated into the Ottoman Empire as the Eyalet of Tunis. The Ottoman presence in the Maghreb began with the takeover of Algiers in 1516 by the Ottoman Turkish corsair and beylerbey Aruj, eventually expanding across the entire region except for Morocco. The first Ottoman conquest of Tunis occurred in 1534 under the command of Khayr al-Din Barbarossa, the younger brother of Aruj, who was the Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Fleet during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. However, it was not until the final Ottoman reconquest of Tunis from Spain in 1574 that the Turks permanently acquired the former territories of Hafsid Tunisia, retaining it until the French occupation of Tunisia in 1881.
The Battle of Moulouya took place in May 1692 at a ford on the Moulouya river in Morocco. It was fought between the armies of the Alawi sultan Moulay Ismail and those of the Dey of Algiers Hadj Chabane.
The French-Algerian War of 1681–1688 was part of a wider campaign by France against the Barbary Pirates in the 1680s.
The Bakri-Busnach affair is the name of a commercial–political conflict between France and Algeria in the early 19th century; it centered on France's obligations to a commercial company owned by the Algerian Jewish families of Bakri and Bujanah. The affair is considered one of the causes of the French invasion of Algeria in 1830.
The "Odjak of Algiers" was a unit of the Algerian army. It was a highly autonomous part of the Janissary Corps, acting completely independently from the rest of the corps, similar to the relationship between Algiers and the Sublime Porte. Led by an Agha, they also took part in the country's internal administration and politics, ruling the country for several years. They acted as a defense unit, a Praetorian Guard, and an instrument of repression until 1817.
Baba Ali Chaouch, also known as Ali Soukali, or simply Ali I, was a ruler of the Deylik of Algiers from 1710 to 1718. He was the first dey of Algiers to be invested with the title of dey-pacha. The Sultan Ahmed III had Ali Chaouch's envoy given the caftan and the three tails, a sign of the dignity of a "pasha". This title was attributed to all his successors until 1830.
Mohamed ben Hassan or Muhammad III was the 12th ruler and Dey of Algiers. He ruled five months after his predecessor Baba Ali Chaouch.
The Tunisian–Algerian war of 1694 was a conflict between the Deylik of Algiers, and the Regency of Tunis.
Ahmed bin Ali Khodja, also known as Ahmed II was the Dey (Sultan) of Algiers between 1805 and 1808. He came to power after assassinating the previous Dey, Mustapha II and his close friend and associate, Boudjenah with the help of the janissaries of the Odjak of Algiers. The fall of Mustapha, and Ahmed's coming to power resulted in the Odjak's influence severely overinflating and severe instability for the next 10 years. Corruption became rampant in the country, and the Odjak became a sort of ruthless kingmaker council, and forced Ahmed and the next few upcoming Deys to bow to any will they had. Just in the first 30 days of his rule, he looted the property of the Jewish residents of Algiers, and committed several and massacres. His rule was marked with many revolts, from Kabyle tribes, Arab tribes, Darqawiyya Sufis, and even the population of Tlemcen. His unpopularity rapidly increased after sustaining a severe defeat in 1807 by the Tunisians resulting in Tunis losing any sort of Algerian influence, and despite his best efforts to make them happy, the Odjak of Algiers decided to remove him and kill him in 1808 in favor of Ali ben Mohammed, a leader in the Odjak.
The history of the Regency of Algiers includes political, economic and military events in the Regency of Algiers from its founding in 1516 to the French invasion of 1830. The Regency of Algiers was a largely independent tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. Founded by the corsair brothers Aruj and Khayr ad-Din Barbarossa, it became involved in numerous armed conflicts with European powers, and was an important pirate base notorious for Barbary corsairs.
Mustapha Pacha or Mustapha ben Ibrahim Pacha was the 20th ruler and Dey of Algiers. He ruled for seven years after his predecessor Sidi Hassan.