Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Arab Bureau
References
Britannica AI Icon

Arab Bureau

French colonial administration
Also known as: Arab Bureaus, Bureaux Arabes
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

The term "Arab Bureau" refers to a group of officers within the French colonial administration in Algeria. These officers possessed intimate knowledge of local affairs and languages, often sympathizing with the local population rather than the European colonists. This created a paradox where despotic military rule, administered by the Arab Bureaus, offered Algerians a better situation than civilian government. The establishment of French rule in Algeria from 1830 to 1847 was marked by violence and a lack of understanding between rulers and the ruled, leading to significant population loss for Algerians.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
2 Britannica Sources
  1. World War I - The Egyptian frontiers, 1915–July 1917
  2. Algeria - Colonial rule

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.