Tunisia

In the earliest known period of its history, the region now called Tunisia was part of the Carthaginian Empire (see Carthage). According to tradition, Phoenician traders founded the city of Carthage in 814 BC at a location slightly northeast of the site of modern Tunis. In subsequent centuries Carthage became the center of a mighty empire that dominated most of northern Africa and intermittently ruled the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia, and parts of Sicily. Beginning in 264 BC Carthage clashed with the expanding Roman Empire in a series of bloody struggles known as the Punic Wars. In the last of these, the Third Punic War (149-146 BC), Rome defeated the Carthaginians and completely destroyed their capital. From the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD most of the region now constituting Tunisia was part of the Roman province called Africa. During the 5th century the Teutonic tribe known as the Vandals moved south through the Iberian Peninsula, crossed the Mediterranean, and wrested the province from Roman control. After a century of Vandal rule, from about 430 to 534, the region was reconquered for Rome by the Byzantine general Belisarius. Arab, Spanish, and Turkish Rule The region was overrun by Arab adherents of Islam in the 7th century. The Arab conquerors ruled from the late 7th to the early 16th century. During that period they replaced the Roman-Christian culture with a Muslim way of life. During the Muslim era a succession of dynasties wielded power, notably the Aghlabites (800-909), the Fatimids (909-973), and the Zeirids (10th century). In the latter part of the 12th century the Normans, led by the Sicilian ruler Roger II, briefly occupied a number of important coastal points. The Arabs recovered the region later in the century, and the Arab Almohad (12th century) and Hafsite (1228-1574) dynasties succeeded to power.  Arab political supremacy came to an end in the early 15th century. During the period of Arab domination the region had come to be known as Tunis, or Tunisia, from its chief city. In 1534 the Mediterranean pirate Barbarossa II (Khayr ad-Din, 1483-1546), captured the city of Tunis. He was expelled by Spanish imperial forces in the following years. Spanish dominance in Tunisia was short-lived, however. In 1574 armies of the Ottoman Empire defeated the Spanish and assumed hegemony over Tunisia. Under the Ottoman Turks, Tunisia enjoyed a period of relative stability from 1574 to 1881. Imperial rule was effected through native administrators, who were known as deys of Tunis until 1705 and as beys thereafter. The first bey, al-Husayn ibn Ali (reigned 1705-1740), founded the Husaynid dynasty. Husaynid rule secured for Tunisia a limited degree of autonomy and a large measure of prosperity. An End to Piracy Piracy, long a major Tunisian enterprise, continued to flourish under Husaynid auspices. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries a number of maritime nations, among which were the American colonies, paid regular bribes to the Tunisian government as insurance against raids on their Mediterranean shipping. Between 1801 and 1805 and in 1815 the U.S. Navy curbed Mediterranean piracy by attacking Tunis and other corsair bases along the so-called Barbary Coast of northern Africa. As a result of the loss of its revenues from piracy the Tunisian government was plunged deeply into debt. The financial crisis was made especially acute by the unrestrained personal extravagances of the beys and by the necessity for frequent, costly government reprisals against rebel uprisings. The chief creditors of Tunisia were France, Italy, and Great Britain, all of which had imperialistic ambitions in northern Africa. In 1830 France conquered and annexed Algeria. At the Congress of Berlin in 1878, France agreed to abandon any claim to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus in return for a similar assurance by Great Britain in regard to Tunisia. A French army entered Tunisia from Algeria in 1881, ostensibly to subdue unruly tribesmen. In a series of sharp conflicts the French crushed native Tunisian opposition. On May 12, 1881, the reigning bey signed the Treaty of Kasser Said, known also as the Bardo Treaty, which acknowledged Tunisia to be a French protectorate. The two countries signed the supplemental Convention of Marsa in 1883. The French Protectorate French rule in Tunisia brought many important social and political changes. After 1884 a French resident general governed the country, although the bey was the nominal ruler. A sizable group of French settlers colonized the northern coastal region, filled administrative posts, and operated business enterprises. These settlers exerted a strong Westernizing influence. During the early 1900s the widespread diffusion in Tunisia of European democratic ideals produced vigorous independence movements known collectively as the Young Tunisians. For several decades French authorities successfully suppressed the fledgling patriotic movements. In 1920, however, various nationalist groups united and formed the Destour (Constitutional) Party, which advocated extensive democratic reforms. The Destour movement was disbanded in 1925, but it was revived during the economic depression of the 1930s. In 1934 the so-called Neo-Destour, or New Constitutional, Party was organized by the Tunisian patriot and statesman Habib Bourguiba. In contrast to the more moderate Destour Party, which looked for support only in Tunisia, the Neo-Destour Party sought and received aid from extreme leftist or nationalist groups in France, Morocco, and Algeria. The Destour and Neo-Destour parties were forced by the government to dissolve in 1938. The French authorities in Tunisia cooperated fully with the Vichy government, which ruled in France after that country capitulated to Germany on June 22, 1940, during World War II. Tunisia was important in military operations. In November 1942, amphibious Allied forces landed in Algeria and Morocco. Germany poured troops and tanks into the northern regions of nearby Tunisia to resist the Allied advance. After several months of fighting the Allied forces pinned the German forces against the sea on the Cape Bon Peninsula, and on May 12, 1943, the Germans capitulated. The surrender marked the final defeat of the Axis powers in northern Africa. On May 15 the Allies transferred control of Tunisia to the Free French. The French authorities immediately arrested hundreds of alleged Fascist sympathizers and deposed the reigning bey as a collaborator. These actions provoked deep resentment among the Tunisian people and prepared the way for the postwar renewal of nationalist agitation. In 1945 France forced Bourguiba to seek refuge in Cairo. In the following year France granted Tunisia status as a semiautonomous associated state of the French Union. Further steps toward autonomy came in August 1947, when the French resident general formed a ministry composed chiefly of Tunisians; the French, however, retained the preponderance of political power. In September 1949, Bourguiba returned from exile and resumed his campaign for Tunisian independence. France, responding to the ensuing upsurge of nationalist sentiment, in 1951 appointed more Tunisians to ministerial posts and in the civil service. The following year the native Tunisian ministers attempted to air their grievances against the French before the United Nations Security Council, but they were prevented from doing so by a ruling that the dispute involved a domestic rather than an international question and hence did not fall under UN jurisdiction. Meanwhile, riots and political demonstrations occurred continually, especially in the northern region, rendering the French position in Tunisia increasingly untenable. The disorders continued unabated through the first half of 1954, during which time the French made, to no avail, repeated offers of limited reforms. Tunisian Resistance to French Rule  Anti-French disorders became increasingly violent late in July 1954. On July 31 the French premier Pierre Mendès-France arrived in Tunisia on a mission of conciliation. Mendès-France promised the protectorate full internal autonomy under a government composed of Tunisians. This statement proved acceptable to nationalist leaders, notably Bourguiba, and rioting came to a halt. Lengthy negotiations followed, and on June 3, 1955, the Tunisian premier Tahar ben Ammar and the French premier Edgar Faure signed a series of conventions and protocols that greatly increased the extent of Tunisian self-rule. France retained control of Tunisian foreign policy and defense, however. On September 17 the first all-Tunisian government in 74 years was installed in Tunis. Many nationalists actively opposed the new regime and pressed for an even greater measure of independence from France. Further French concessions were embodied in a historic protocol signed in Paris on March 20, 1956. The agreement in effect abrogated the Bardo Treaty of 1881 and recognized Tunisia as a completely sovereign, constitutional monarchy under the bey of Tunis. The first national legislative elections in Tunisian history, which took place on March 25, resulted in a decisive victory for the Neo-Destour Party. On April 8, Bourguiba was elected president of the first Tunisian National Assembly; on April 11, he was named premier. The assembly adopted a constitution transferring to the Tunisian people the legislative powers hitherto exercised by the bey. On November 12, 1956, Tunisia was admitted to the United Nations (UN). The political strength of the Neo-Destour Party was demonstrated again when on May 5, 1957, the party polled about 90 percent of the vote in various municipal elections. Women voted in those elections for the first time. The Republic On July 25, 1957, the National Assembly overthrew the last vestiges of the monarchy by deposing the bey, proclaiming Tunisia a republic, and electing Bourguiba president. On August 5, all beylical properties and funds were confiscated by the republic and applied to a debt of $3,840,000 owed by the bey to the state. Widespread dismissals of French civil servants were carried out in the months following. As a result, about a third of the French residents of Tunisia, fearing further anti-French actions, fled the country, taking considerable amounts of capital and diminishing sharply the available reserves of technological skills. Relations with France deteriorated in the late summer and autumn of 1957 as a result of clashes between French and Tunisian troops along the Tunisian-Algerian border. The clashes occurred when French troops, pursuing Algerian rebels, allegedly crossed the border into Tunisia. In the early months of 1958 the crisis in foreign relations was exacerbated still further. On February 8, French military planes flew across the Algerian border and bombed the Tunisian village of Sakiet-Sidi-Youssef (now Saqiyat Sidi Yusuf), killing 68 Tunisians and wounding 100. French government representatives announced later the same day that the raid had been conducted in retaliation for the machine-gunning of French planes flying over the area on February 7. Tunisia became a member state of the Arab League on October 1. On October 15, however, Tunisia ended its diplomatic relations with Egypt (then called the United Arab Republic). In November Tunisia resigned from the league. France and Tunisia, on April 15, 1959, signed an agreement continuing French technical assistance. In 1960, Tunisia agreed to make part payment for land confiscated from French nationals; France would pay the balance. A new constitution was promulgated on June 1, 1959. On November 8, the first elections under the constitution were held. Unopposed, Bourguiba was reelected president, and the Neo-Destour Party won all seats in the National Assembly. Following French rejection of a Tunisian note demanding the immediate evacuation of the naval base at Bizerte, Tunisian troops on July 19, 1961, began a siege of the base. In the next two days French forces broke the blockade and surrounded the entire city, taking a toll of 1300 Tunisian lives. Both sides accepted a UN Security Council resolution of July 22 calling for a cease-fire. The UN General Assembly, in addition, on August 25 called on France to quit Bizerte altogether. Shortly thereafter both sides withdrew to the positions occupied before the fighting. After prolonged discussions between France and Tunisia, beginning in 1962, France completely withdrew from Bizerte in October 1963. Tunisia Tightens Its Ties with the Arab World During 1963 and 1964 Tunisia moved toward closer economic and political cooperation in northern Africa. The border dispute with Algeria was settled, and schemes of technical cooperation were drawn up. Tunisian relations with Morocco also improved. During 1965-1966 Tunisia supported the establishment of the Maghreb Permanent Consultative Committee to work for greater North African regional cooperation. Meanwhile, during 1963-1964, Tunisia had moved to strengthen ties with the Arab East, especially Egypt. In May 1964 the National Assembly enacted the expropriation of all foreign-owned lands, which mainly affected about 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres) belonging to French families. France's reaction was to cancel all financial assistance to Tunisia, leaving the country in serious economic crisis. One implication of the nationalization of land was the beginnings of a greater emphasis toward socialist collectivism. During the elections of November 1964, renewed emphasis was placed on "Tunisian Socialism," and the Neo-Destour Party changed its name to Parti Socialiste Destourien. In that election President Bourguiba, the sole candidate, won by 96 percent of the votes; the Destour Party won all 90 of the National Assembly seats. In April 1965, Bourguiba's newly forged ties with the Arab East were shattered when he unexpectedly proposed a negotiated settlement between the Arab states and Israel on the basis of the 1947 UN resolution. This was rejected by both Israel and most Arab states led by Egypt. Differences between Tunisia and other Arab states were further exacerbated when relations with Egypt were severed, and Tunisia began to boycott Arab League meetings. In 1966 a rapprochement was achieved between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, but relations with Egypt further deteriorated. In the Yemeni war Tunisia supported Saudi Arabia. When the Arab-Israeli diplomatic confrontation intensified in April-May 1967, Tunisia gave full support to the Arab cause, and diplomatic relations with Egypt were restored. Bourguiba was reelected to a third term in November 1969. In December the National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment providing for a premier, to be appointed by the president, who would assume the presidency in case of death or disability. This was expected to ensure a continuation of the moderate domestic and foreign policies laid down by Bourguiba. In March 1975, he was named president for life "in recognition of services rendered." In the early 1970s Tunisia pursued peaceful economic development, particularly of its petroleum resources. Relations with France and China improved, but Bourguiba expressed his distrust of U.S. and Soviet intentions in the Middle East. In 1982 Tunisia gave refuge to Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat and several hundred of his followers who had been forced out of Lebanon. Domestic rioting early in 1984 forced Bourguiba to rescind price increases on basic foodstuffs. Relations with Libya were severed in 1985 after Libya expelled some 30,000 Tunisian workers. Later in the year an Israeli air raid demolished the headquarters of the PLO near Tunis. In November 1987 Prime Minister Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali assumed the presidency after the president was declared senile. While retaining the secret police, Ben Ali freed political prisoners, legalized most opposition parties, and eased restrictions on the press. Although several parties contested the April 1989 elections (Tunisia's first free elections since 1956), his Democratic Constitutional Assembly Party won all 141 seats in parliament, and Ben Ali was elected to the presidency unopposed. In the early 1990s he cracked down on Muslim fundamentalists. In 1994 Ben Ali was again reelected to the presidency unopposed.