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70-446: The region's remoteness and the poverty of its soil had long preserved it from land acquisitions by European settlers. Thus in 1906, of 933,000 hectares, fewer than 10,000 had come under European ownership. However even this small change upset the balance of life for local people, as the land taken by Europeans was the most productive. Even on poorer land, the new owners would prevent the nomadic tribes from passing across it unless they paid

140-559: A case against him. Carnières' defence was that he was relying on rumours he had picked up from Tunisians. The presiding judge described Zaouche as 'a man of good', and the Attorney General described his actions as worthy only of praise. Nevertheless, the court simply dismissed the case on the grounds that anything damaging Carnières had said about Zaouche was only of secondary importance, and that his primary aim had been to defend French interests. The court also ruled that Zaouche should pay

210-441: A fee for grazing their animals. Furthermore, the two years before the unrest had seen very poor harvests and the local people were sinking to severe hardship, so between 1904 and 1906 the tax revenue fell by half. All of these circumstances created a climate of tension between the local people and the colonists. The exceptionally harsh winter of 1905-06 was the last straw. At Thala, the snow fell uninterruptedly from 6–10 February and

280-517: A means to communicate with neighboring rulers. The marabouts' expanding influence in politics paired with their unique allegiance of the Muslim community eventually posed a real threat to the chiefs who had appointed them. In 1683, rising tensions between chiefs and the Muslim population led to a Muslim revolt in the Wolof kingdom of Cayor , which concluded with the installation of a marabout as Damel . In

350-454: A member of the Commission for Property Law, worked to safeguard Tunisian landholdings and modernise farming methods. He also advocated measures to make credit more easily available to small farmers and to build up a resilient social infrastructure of cooperatives. Provident societies could be established following a 1907 decree, but their formalities and restrictions meant that funding for farmers

420-680: A member of the Higher Government Council (Conseil Supérieur du Gouvernement) (1911–1912) as well as on various bodies such as the Commission for the Revival of Indigenous Arts, and the Mixed (i.e. Franco-Tunisian) Commission for the Collège Sadiki. At the same time, Zaouche spoke out about issues in public administration and argued for republican principles. He sought to preserve the integrity and distinctiveness of Tunisian institutions by emphasising

490-623: A number of articles for the socialist daily Le Libéral . He was one of the founders of the nationalist Young Tunisian movement, and had links with the Young Turks , with reforming Egyptian nationalists such as Muhammad Abduh and Mustafa Kamil Pasha , as well as with supporters of panarabism like Pierre Loti and Charles Géniaux . For the five years that Le Tunisien was published, he campaigned alongside Ali Bach Hamba — whose first cousin Chérifa he married — and other Young Tunisians, producing

560-532: A return to calm was necessary. Four members of the jury from the trial also supported the appeal, and the publication of Myriam Harry's article on 23 February tended to support this view. On 23 March the three death penalties were commuted to lifelong hard labour, but the six other sentences who had appealed for clemency were upheld. They were transported to the penal colonies in French Guiana . The Thala-Kasserine disturbances might be considered as initial events in

630-584: A reward for installing new roads and street lamps in Touba while in office, the Khalife-Général declared a ndiggël (a binding command issued by the Khalife-Général to all members of the Mouride Brotherhood) that proclaimed that all men must vote for Diouf. Although multiple Khalife-Général have issued ' ndiggël politique ' in support of a presidential candidate in previous elections, several marabouts of

700-585: A scandal in the French community in Tunisia, not for its portrayal of the settlers, but for the sympathy it expressed for the marabout, offering, if not a justification, at least an explanation for the revolt.' Five years later, in his work 'How France Will Lose its Colonies', Henri Tridon stated that 'In Tunisia we have a bitter memory of the article by Mme. Myriam Harry in the Kasserine Disturbances because of

770-585: A simple, ascetic life. The spread in sub-Saharan Africa of the marabout's role from the eighth through thirteenth centuries created in some places a mixture of roles with pre-Islamic priests and divines. Thus many fortune tellers and self-styled spiritual guides take the name "marabout" (something rejected by more orthodox Muslims and Sufi brotherhoods alike). The recent diaspora of West Africans (to Paris in particular) has brought this tradition to Europe and North America, where some marabouts advertise their services as fortune tellers. An eshu of Quimbanda , Marabô,

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840-537: A steady stream of articles highly critical of the French Protectorate of Tunisia . For Abdeljelil Zaouche, education was the key to reviving economic growth and social stability. It was the only means of ensuring that positions in the civil service would be opened to Tunisians (from which they were excluded at the time) and a necessary prelude to building a competent and independent judiciary. Zaouche summarised his position by citing Danton : "After bread, education

910-693: A symbol of colonial rule. Ben Othman had convinced them they were invincible, telling them that the sticks they were carrying would spit fire when pointed at the infidels, and that the bullets of the settlers would melt like drops of water when they touched their bodies. However, when they reached Thala they found themselves facing a well-defended base where dozens of armed French settlers and Italian workers fired on them at close range, leaving between ten and fourteen of them dead. They were routed. Amor Ben Othman and his accomplices offered no resistance when they were arrested, and all their prisoners were set free. The trial of Ben Othman and fifty-eight of his associates

980-548: A venerated saint, and such places have become holy centers and places of pious reflection. Note zāwiyas are not places of formal pilgrimage, which are limited in Islam to the Hajj and to Jerusalem , but are rather places of reflection and inspiration for the pious. In Morocco: In Algeria : In Tunisia : In France : Abdeljelil Zaouche Abdeljelil Zaouche ( Arabic : عبد الجليل الزّاوش ; 15 December 1873 – 3 January 1947)

1050-485: A young Algerian marabout crossed the border and managed to raise an ignorant and fanatical population against isolated French settlers, demonstrate how dangerous it is to deprive the native population, and the young generation most of all, of all European contact. The French school, with its schoolmaster often serving also as postmaster, is one of the best means of bringing civilisation, one of the surest and cheapest weapons against superstition and fanaticism.' The decision

1120-664: Is attached/garrisoned') is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, romanized : sayyid and Sidi in the Maghreb ) and a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Sahara, in West Africa , and (historically) in the Maghreb . The marabout is often a scholar of

1190-773: Is believed to have carried this esoteric and shamanic role into Brazil. Contemporary marabouts in Senegal advertise on television and have hot lines. Marabouts have been prominent members of Wolof society since the arrival of Sufi brotherhoods from the Maghreb in the 15th century. Their advanced knowledge of the Quran and esteemed reputation have often allowed them to act as traders, priests, judges, or magicians in conjunction with their roles of community religious leaders. Additionally, because of their ability to read and write, village chiefs would frequently appoint marabouts as secretaries or advisers as

1260-468: Is compulsory, we will no longer see Muslim peasants hanging on the words of a Yacoub, as at Margueritte, or lending an obliging ear to the nonsense of an Amor ben Othman, as at Thala. Today, the Arab of the countryside is deprived of all intellectual culture; once he is enlightened he will be the first to mock the fanatics who emerge from the brotherhoods that all educated Muslims deprecate.' In fact, since 1897,

1330-556: Is pronounced amrabadh in Tarifit . Marabouts are known as sidi ( سيدي ) in Maghrebi Arabic . Many cities in Morocco got their names from local marabouts, and the name of those cities usually begins with "Sidi" followed by the name of the local marabout. Modern Standard Arabic for "saint" is " walī " ( ولي ). A marabout may also refer to a tomb ( Arabic : قُبّة qubba "dome") of

1400-653: Is the first need of the people." Tunisians, he argued, needed a basic education in the Arabic language, "to preserve his place in his own country." He also advocated reformed kouttab schools and mixed Franco-Arab institutions. He also argued for access for Tunisians to modern education institutions both in Tunisia and in France. He published a number of brochures, including "Native Education" ( L'enseignement des indigènes ) (1900) and "The Franco-Arab School" in which he argued for education for both sexes and all classes. The education of women

1470-529: The Berber languages and in general refers to Sufi Muslim teachers who head a lodge or school called a zāwiya associated with a specific school or tradition, called a ṭarīqah "way, path" ( Arabic : طريقه ). However, Charles de Foucauld and Albert Peyriguère , both living as Catholic hermits among Berbers in the Maghreb, were called marabouts by the local population due to their saintly lives. The pronunciation of that word varies by language. For example, it

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1540-624: The Khalife-Général , have continued to play influential roles in Senegalese politics. Some have questioned the utility of having clientelist relationships between marabouts and government officials in a modern democracy. The new "grandson" generation of marabouts has cultivated a more independent and secular political outlook and have proven that they are willing to question the authority of their predecessors. In Senegal's 1988 presidential election, Khalife-Général Abdou Lahatte Mbakke supported Abdou Diouf for reelection. Both as public endorsement and as

1610-517: The Qur'an , or religious teacher. Others may be wandering holy men who survive on alms , Sufi Murshids ("Guides"), or leaders of religious communities. The term "marabout" is also used for the mausolea of such religious leaders (cf. maqam , mazar , in Palestine also wali /weli ). Muslim tariqah ( Sufi religious brotherhoods) are one of the main organizing forms of West African Islam, and with

1680-489: The "grandson" generation openly rejected the command by voting for the opposition instead. These marabouts believed that the ndiggël violated their secular political rights, which was a sentiment shared among many other Mourides in Touba. In 1997, a rural council of Touba Mosquée in Senegal issued a set of new taxes meant to fund an ambitions development project in the holy city. City merchants promptly voiced their displeasure of

1750-637: The French colonials who dominated the Conference. In 1910, a loan was proposed to fund the extension of the railway network, which was to be repaid by additional taxes on the Tunisian population. Zaouche used this as an opportunity to renew his attacks on French capital, arguing that the infrastructure paid for by ordinary Tunisians would bring them little benefit. If a loan was to be taken out, he argued, part of it should directly benefit Tunisians by being invested in schools and basic training. Zaouche also served as

1820-399: The French colonists and owner of the newspaper Colon français , used the edition of 26 November 1911 to accuse Zaouche of being the main instigator of the disturbances. On 30 November, Zaouche replied in his own newspaper, Le Tunisien , accusing Carnières of defamation. After unsuccessful attempts to have these accusations dealt with by other administrative or judicial means, Zaouche brought

1890-448: The Sahara, often are called marabouts. Those who devote themselves to prayer or study, either based in communities, religious centers, or wandering in the larger society, are named marabouts. In Senegal and Mali , these Marabouts rely on donations to live. Often there is a traditional bond to support a specific marabout that has accumulated over generations within a family. Marabouts normally dress in traditional West African robes and live

1960-774: The Sufi brotherhoods which dominate spiritual life in Senegambia. In the Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal , marabouts are organized in elaborate hierarchies; the highest marabout of the Mourides , for example, has been elevated to the status of a Caliph or ruler of the faithful ( Amir al-Mu'minin ). Older, North African based traditions such as the Tijaniyyah and the Qadiriyyah base their structures on respect for teachers and religious leaders who, south of

2030-408: The accomplices. The verdicts were handed down on 12 December. Ferhat was acquitted after claiming he had sheltered Ben Othman against his will. His advanced age (he was 65) was also taken into account. Harrat Ben Belgacem Ben Ali escaped the death sentence thanks to his youth (he was 20). Initial reports of the disturbances in the French press strongly emphasised the idea that 'religious fanaticism'

2100-486: The authorities did nothing to organise help and refused requests for seed. A few months previously, a marabout named Amor Ben Othman from Souk Ahras in Algeria had arrived in the region, One of his close associates was Ali ben Mohammed ben Salah, a local sheikh who had been dismissed by the central authorities for misappropriation of funds, who encouraged people to believe that Amor ben Othman had supernatural powers. Against

2170-490: The background of the extreme winter conditions, The presence of Amor ben Othman served as a catalyst for local despair. On 26 April some dozens of Fraichiche bedouin from the Ouled Néji, Gmata, Hnadra and Hrakta subclans who were encamped on the plain of Foussana , near Kasserine , attacked the farm of a French settler named Lucien Salle who was known as a violent, brutal, and greedy man. They were unaware that Salle himself

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2240-790: The costs of the action, which tended to support the view among colonists that the accusations were well-founded. Exonerated by the court, Carnières continued his attacks on Zaouche and the Young Tunisians in his newspaper. Zaouche pursued the matter at the Court of Appeal in Algiers , where Carnières' standing in the settler community in Tunis counted for less. The Algiers court found in Zaouche's favour and awarded him costs with interest against Carnières, taking into account his bad faith and his intention to defame. However,

2310-467: The court also decided, 'considering the circumstances', not to announce its decision in the Tunis newspapers, which meant that it went largely unnoticed. From April 1917, Zaouche served for 17 years as caïd of Sousse , but did not abandon the cause of the national movement. He published many reports on education and agriculture, and created special support funds for the farmers of the Sahel and encouraged

2380-634: The creation of professional bodies and the establishment of a self-regulating industrial and commercial sector. He foresaw new cooperatives, new municipal institutions and new, modern technical education as the keys to future success. He was instrumental in getting the small shopkeepers (Djerbiens) to form a cooperative to buy goods in bulk at a discount. He also created the Es-Saadia cooperative, with more than 800 balgha -makers in Tunis and more than 100 in Kairouan , purchasing raw materials and supporting training and

2450-517: The discrimination faced by Tunisian students who wished to study at the Lycée Carnot de Tunis, which was the only institution giving access to modern university studies. After the destruction of the First World War and the fall in French agricultural production, the French colonists stepped up the expropriation of land in Tunisia, soon controlling 4m hectares or 20% of the cultivable land. Zaouche,

2520-612: The emergence of the Tunisian national movement (one of the French prisoners testified that he had heard the raiders declare that they planned to march on El Kef and Tunis). However it is striking that the original group of around fifty insurgents did not succeed in mobilising any of their neighbours. Furthermore, although there were many Europeans at the mines of Ain Khemouda, close by the place where they had set off on their day of killing and looting, they had chosen to walk 12 kilometres to attack

2590-526: The farm of Lucien Salle, who was particularly hated. The most recent research concludes that 'born spontaneously from poverty and the particular conditions of the region, the Thala insurrection was not followed by unrest in any other part of the country and remained entirely separate from the claims of the movement which affected Tunis at the time.' Marabout A marabout ( Arabic : مُرابِط , romanized :  murābiṭ , lit.   'one who

2660-449: The fervour created by the marabout's presence aura to trigger the attacks. Ferhat, who had provided Amor Ben Othman with accommodation, was likewise accused of having sheltered the organiser of the murders, taken part in preparatory meetings and kept the captured French people prisoner. At the end of the hearings, the prosecutor, Liautier, demanded four death penalties and many sentences of lifelong forced labour, with lighter penalties for

2730-418: The future, which means political actors may have to adjust or fundamentally alter their clientelist relationships with marabouts and Khalife-Général . The term marabout appears during the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb . It is derived from the Arabic murābiṭ "one who is garrisoned": religious students and military volunteers who manned ribats at the time of the conquest. Today, marabout means "saint" in

2800-499: The houses were buried in snowdrifts 2.5m deep. Indeed, some houses collapsed under the weight of the snow. For eight days, the town was completely cut off from the world. Many thousands of animals, already in poor condition as winter started, succumbed to the cold and the lack of provisions. The local Fraichiche nomads lost 9,000 sheep and another 9,000 goats which starved as the pastures were deep in snow. Some people were surviving on wild beets and boiled mallow. Faced with this distress,

2870-738: The importance of appointing individuals of competence, probity and independence. He was a co-founder of the Collège Sadiki alumni association and of the Cercle tunisien (an intellectual club interested in current affairs which sought to articulate the defence of Tunisian interests), and President of the Khaldounia . He was also a shareholder and board member of a number of newspapers, including La Dépêche tunisienne , Le Progrès , La Poste tunisienne , L'Autonome and, in Paris, of Le Temps . Zaouche also edited

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2940-402: The judgment of marabouts is so influential, the success or failure of a politician would be almost entirely contingent on the support of more prominent marabouts. Because of this, politicians would try to appease marabouts by agreeing to promote their Sufi brotherhood's best interests in turn for their endorsement, with some politicians believing that winning an election would be impossible without

3010-598: The main settler lobby had insisted on an end to primary school education for Muslim children and the Thala-Kasserine Disturbances were perhaps the result. In his Nouveau dictionnaire de pédagogie et d’instruction primaire , Benjamin Buisson, Director of the Boys' Normal School in Tunis and brother of Ferdinand Buisson, former Director of primary school education in France, wrote 'The events of Kasserine and Thala, in which

3080-842: The most trusted and revered source of leadership in Wolof communities. French colonizers had difficulties adjusting to ruling over Muslim societies. Particularly in West Africa, constructing institutions of colonial rule that did not favor certain constituencies while neglecting others proved to be a tricky task. The French opted for forms of indirect rule through the local aristocracy in an effort to maintain order and keep administrative costs down, but found that many subjects detested these colonial chiefs and rulers and tended to gravitate towards their local marabouts. Marabouts were admired for their transparency and righteousness as they were known to renounce political powers, while ensuring economic, social, and religious stability within their communities. Since

3150-469: The new taxes and threatened to kick the rural council, whose members were all appointed by the Mouride Khalife-Général, out of the city. Although tax revolts are not uncommon elsewhere, this incident was particularly noteworthy as the merchants' blatant refusal exhibited a departure from typical state-society relations in Senegal. Declining economic performance in Senegal may lead to more taxes in

3220-617: The planting of olive trees. On 18 May 1934, he became Mayor of Tunis, and on 7 October 1935, Minister of the Pen . From April 1936 until the confrontation with the French Resident General Esteva in December 1942, he was Minister of Justice. He resigned from this position in protest, together with all the other ministers in the cabinet of Hédi Lakhoua at the request of the Bey. Founder of

3290-533: The rifle fire at Thala. Witnesses also said he had struck Delrio two blows with the sabre. Mohamed Ben Belgacem Ben Goaïed was accused of the murder of Delrio, on whom he had fired at close range. He had also been seen brandishing his weapon and shouting 'See, Mohammed, how we convert the Christians to Islam!'. At the Salle farm, he had chased after Domenico Mira, but spared his life when he converted. Amor Ben Ali Ben Amor

3360-557: The settlers saw the cause as being the lax and cowardly colonial policy which led to a lack of security in remote regions, and a failing justice system. These elements were reassured by the convictions which were for criminal offences, ignoring any idea of a political dimension. Nonetheless, other voices emphasised the lack of education in the Thala region and ascribed the unrest to this. Abdeljelil Zaouche wrote on 25 December 1906 in Le Temps 'The day when, in North Africa, primary education

3430-714: The spread of Sufi ideas into the area, the marabout's role combined with local practices throughout Senegambia , the Niger River Valley , and the Futa Jallon . Here, Sufi believers follow a marabout, elsewhere known as a murshid "Guide". Marabout was also adopted by French colonial officials, and applied to most any imam , Muslim teacher, or secular leader who appealed to Islamic tradition. Today marabouts can be traveling holy men who survive on alms, religious teachers who take in young talibes at Qur'anic schools, or distinguished religious leaders and scholars, both in and out of

3500-618: The support of a marabout. This political dynamic, based on patronage and exchanges, would lead to a somewhat of an alliance between marabouts and the French colonizers. Along with endorsing certain politicians in exchange for favors, French colonial administrators sought out marabouts and heads of Sufi brotherhoods to act as intermediaries between colonial administrators and West African Muslims to ensure appropriate allocation of power and resources to avoid any potential conflict. After Senegal gained its independence from France in 1960, marabouts and leaders of Sufi Brotherhoods (also marabouts), or

3570-586: The suppression of the mejba ( poll tax ), which accounted for a sixth of the government's income and was used to pay a number of officials. including caïds , khalifas and cheikhs . Tunisia's declining agriculture made the mejba ever more unbearable to the people, and had triggered a number of uprisings, including the major Mejba Revolt of 1864–65. His proposals for replacement sources of public income included reductions in taxes on labour and increases in taxes on (colonial) capital as well as on mining and extractive industries. These proposals were vigorously opposed by

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3640-539: The tender portrait she painted of the marabout, who had instigated the insurrection and the massacres which followed.' Appeals from those convicted were rejected on 31 January 1907. A plea for clemency for those condemned to death was then sent to the French Minister of Justice. It was supported by the Resident General Stephen Pichon , who felt that the tribe had been punished sufficiently and that

3710-409: The warrior marabouts, Muslim resistors turned to local marabouts for guidance and protection from their oppressors. After three decades of war and conflict, the warrior marabouts were gradually ousted from the Wolof states as French colonists began to take a tighter hold on the region. As confidence in the leadership abilities of chiefs and rulers declined as a result of the conflict, marabouts emerged as

3780-477: The well-being of its members. The success of the Es-Saadia cooperative encouraged the grocers and ironmongers to for a Commercial Union that he led himself. Parallel social organisations emerged in other sectors, including Le Progrès (woolen cloth) in 1910, Ikbal (foodstuffs) in 1911, Les Sociétés tunisiennes in 1912, Itidal (glassware) in 1913, l'Aide mutuelle (grains et spices) in 1914 and La Renaissance économique (farming equipment) in 1920. The Jellaz Affair

3850-469: The years following the revolt, relations between marabouts and Wolof chiefs remained relatively calm until a period of militant Islam in the Wolof states in the middle of the 19th century. Militant marabouts primarily of Tukulor (l origin, called "warrior marabouts," completely rejected the authority of local chiefs and sought to install a theocratic Muslim state. As the authority of chiefs and royal armies were undermined by propaganda and military force used by

3920-426: Was a Tunisian politician, reformer, and campaigner in the Tunisian independence movement. Zaouche was born into a wealthy bourgeois family which had arrived in Tunis from Andalucia via Algeria in the eighteenth century. His father, Tahar , and his uncle, Hassan , occupied high-ranking positions under Ali Bey . They were, respectively, General of the royal guard and Brigadier-General in charge of tax-raising. He

3990-587: Was a controversy which broke out in 1911 over a proposal by the City Council of Tunis to register the land. Zaouche, a member of the Council, raised the alarm at one of its sessions, warning of a huge public backlash. The Council withdrew the proposal, and Zaouche went to the cemetery in person to try and prevent violence, but such was the anger and tension that several days of riots across the city, in which several people lost their lives. Victor de Carnières , leader of

4060-586: Was a theme to which he frequently returned in his speaking and writing, and which was also taken up by other Young Tunisian spokesmen such as Sadok Zmerli and Khairallah Ben Mustapha . He was a member of the Commission on the Modernisation of Teaching at the University of Ez-Zitouna after the student strike of 1910, as well as on the mixed (Franco-Tunisian) Commission for the Reform of Sadiki College . He denounced

4130-414: Was absent, and when they arrived at his farm they were met by his brother Henri, who was quickly killed with a single shot. When his servant Domenico Mira tried to help him, he was stabbed and his life only spared because he recited the shahada . Salle's mother had her throat cut while she lay in bed. Another servant, Tournier, was taken prisoner and he too saved his life by reciting the shahada, whereupon he

4200-603: Was accused of the murder of Delrio, whose skull he had smashed with a blow from a spade. He had then prepared the bonfire to burn his body. Harrat Ben Belgacem Ben Ali was accused of taking part in the murder of Delrio by stabbing him several times with a dagger. Ali Ben Mohamed Ben Salah and Amor Ben Othman were accused of inciting the murders, but Ben Othman's culpability was diminished following testimony from doctors who had examined him and attributed his limited intelligence to historic attacks of epilepsy. The real instigator appeared to be Ali Ben Mohamed Ben Salah who had exploited

4270-483: Was also a pupil of Émile Durkheim , Émile Boutroux , Henri Poincaré , Antoine Aulard and Ernest Lavisse . He graduated in law and returned to Tunis in 1900, where he involved himself in public affairs. In 1901, together with the Ramella brothers, he founded a flour mill, and in 1903, he hosted a visit by Muhammad Abduh . In 1903, he set up the first scientific press in the Arab world, Al Matbâa Al Ilmiya . Zaouche

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4340-663: Was born in his family's mansion in La Marsa to an Italian mother. His secondary education was at the Collège Saint-Charles in Tunis and then the lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris where he took his baccalauréat . In 1894, he matriculated at the law faculty in Paris while also studying at the Institut des sciences politiques and the Collège de France . Strongly influenced by Jean Jaurès , he

4410-510: Was both limited and slow. In 1913, he spoke in favour of the creation of the Tunisian Chamber of Agriculture to represent the interests of small farmers and retailers to the government. The French protectorate of Tunisia allowed tariff-free imports for French goods, which often undercut local manufacturers. Foreign industries set up in Tunisia, and local craftsmen and manufacturers could not complete. The general economic decline this created

4480-487: Was forcibly circumcised. The farm was looted, and three employees, Graffaud, Martin and Sagnes, who lived nearby on a stud farm, were taken prisoner after accepting forced conversion to Islam. The insurgents now moved on to another farm owned by a settler named Bertrand. In contrast with Salle, Bertrand had worked to establish good relations with his Fraichiche neighbours. At this farm three occupants all converted to avoid death but one, an Italian named Delrio, refused, so he

4550-485: Was greatly resented by Zaouche. He argued forcefully for education and training to allow local businesses to reskill, and for access to credit on modest terms to allow them to retool and explore new markets. He also spoke in favour of tariff protection for local markets and export incentives for Tunisian manufacturers to export into French Algeria. He argued for comprehensive legislation to protect workers, providing for equality in access to positions, salaries and taxation; for

4620-510: Was held in Sousse from 21 November-12 December 1906. Two of the accused were still at large and were tried in absentia. The trial lasted 22 days and as it unfolded the respective roles of the accused became clearer. Numerous witnesses accused Salah Ben Mohamed Ben Saad of having struck the first blow against Henri Salles, using a sabre found in the house. He was also implicated in the murder of Madame Salle, killed by Ahmed Ben Messaoud, who had died in

4690-537: Was killed and his body burned. The farm was not however looted and the bedouin moved on to the mines at Jebel ech Chambi where all the Europeans were summoned to convert. All the prisoners were made to wear Tunisian dress and sent to the marabout Amor ben Othman, who had remained behind at the encampment. The next day, encouraged by their success, they decided to attack the French civil administration office in Thala, Tunisia ,

4760-596: Was noted for the emphasis he placed on economic issues – agriculture, manufactures and trade. He devoted much of his work to advancing professional qualifications, management standards, creativity and competitiveness. In 1908, Zaouche took part in the first mixed session of the Tunisian Consultative Conference and chose to be a rapporteur and member of the Finance Commission of the Tunisian section of this body. From its first session, Zaouche demanded

4830-571: Was the cause. Parallels were drawn with events in Aïn Torki (Margueritte) in Algeria in 1901. There too, incited by a marabout, Europeans had been forced to convert or die. The newspapers emphasised the small number of settlers in the region, which, they maintained, meant that challenging the protectorate itself could not have been the motive for the attacks. This was also the opinion of the French Resident General. The more extreme elements among

4900-433: Was therefore taken to press ahead with opening new schools. By 1908 the number of Tunisian school pupils had recovered to its previous level in 1897. On the 23 February 1907 the novelist Myriam Harry , who had attended the trial, published a piece of reportage about it. It was noteworthy for the sympathetic tone it adopted towards the accused. According to the historian Charles-André Julien , 'Myriam Harry's account caused

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