The French colonial policy in Tunisia between 1920 and 1930 and its influence on the Greek community

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe Greek presence in Tunisia dates back to the middle of the sixteenth century, when merchants and ex-slaves, once victims of the pirates operating in North Africa, settled primarily in the ports of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. During that period, Tunisia was part of the Ottoman Empire, and from1705 a semi-independent hegemony. The French invasion of North Africa was a crucial point in the Greek community's long presence in Tunisia. The French colonial policy brought tremendous changes in the social life of people residing in multinational Tunisia, including Greeks. The decade between 1920 and 1930 marked a series of reforms in the governmental structures of Tunisia. These events also affected Greek residents in Tunisia. Although they retained their religious identity, their ethnic orientation became directly dependent on these political and social changes, since that is when the majority of Greeks acquired French citizenship. It is important to examine whether this shift was accompanied by a transformation of the Greek national identity and the extent of its influence within the actual Greek community.