Within a generation, despite initial resistance, most Algerian Jews came to speak French rather than Arabic or Judaeo-Spanish, and they embraced many aspects of French culture. In embracing "Frenchness," the Algerian Jews joined the colonizers, although they were still considered "other" to the French. Although some took on more typically European occupations, "the majority of Jews were poor artisans and shopkeepers catering to a Muslim clientele."[8] Moreover, conflicts between Sephardic Jewish religious law and French law produced contention within the community. They resisted changes related to domestic issues, such as marriage.[12]
For the first two thirds of the 20th century, Algeria's high fertility rate caused its population to grow rapidly. However, about a decade after independence from France in 1962, the total fertility rate fell dramatically from 7 children per woman in the 1970s to about 2.4 in 2000, slowing Algeria's population growth rate by the late 1980s. The lower fertility rate was mainly the result of women's rising age at first marriage (virtually all Algerian children being born in wedlock) and to a lesser extent the wider use of contraceptives. Later marriages and a preference for smaller families are attributed to increases in women's education and participation in the labor market; higher unemployment; and a shortage of housing forcing multiple generations to live together. The average woman's age at first marriage increased from about 19 in the mid-1950s to 24 in the mid-1970s to 30.5 in the late 1990s.
Algeria's fertility rate experienced an unexpected upturn in the early 2000s, as the average woman's age at first marriage dropped slightly. The reversal in fertility could represent a temporary fluctuation in marriage age or, less likely, a decrease in the steady rate of contraceptive use.
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Slaves in Barbary could be black, brown or white, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish or Muslim. Contemporaries were too aware of the sort of people enslaved in North Africa to believe, as many do today, that slavery, whether in Barbary or the Americas, was a matter of race. In the 1600s, no one's racial background or religion automatically destined him or her for enslavement. Preachers in churches from Sicily to Boston spoke of the similar fates of black slaves on American plantations and white slaves in corsair galleys; early abolitionists used Barbary slavery as a way to attack the universal degradation of slavery in all its forms.
This may require that we rethink our belief that race was fundamental to pre-modern ideas about slavery. It also requires a new awareness of the impact of slave raids on Spain and Italy - and Britain - about which we currently know rather less than we do about slaving activities at the same time in Africa. The widespread depopulation of coastal areas from Malaga to Venice, the impoverishment caused by the kidnapping of many breadwinners, the millions paid by the already poor inhabitants of villages and towns to get their own people back - all this is only just beginning to be understood by modern-day historians.
Algeria, more formally the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a multiparty socialistic state based on French and Islamic law. Suffrage is universal and begins at age 18. The government established the multiparty system in September 1989. One year later, there were an estimated 30 to 50 legal parties. The right to form political parties is guaranteed, provided such parties are not based on differences in religion, language, race, gender, or region.
Since the 1980s, funds for the purchase of books and the renewal and maintenance of library collections, journal subscriptions, and laboratory equipment have been reduced dramatically. The reductions coincided with swelling enrollments from the post independence baby boom.
The population consists almost entirely of Arabs. They are primarily of Berber origin, particularly in the Kabilia and Aurès areas and in the Sahara oases, or admixtures of Berbers with invaders from earlier periods. The Berbers, who resemble the Mediterranean subrace of Southern Europe, are descendants of the original inhabitants of Algeria and are divided into many subgroups. They account for 99% of the population. The Kabyles (Kaba'il), mostly farmers, live in the compact mountainous section in the northern part of the country between Algiers and Constantine. The Chaouia (Shawiyyah) live in the Aurès Mountains of the northeast. The Mzab, or Mozabites, include sedentary date growers inthe Ued Mzab oases. Desert groups include the Tuareg, Tuat, and Wargla (Ouargla).
A customs union between Algeria and France allows regulations applicable in the metropole to apply also in Algeria, making Algeria a de facto adherent of GATT. By a special agreement with the European Union (EU), Algerian industrial products are granted duty-free entry into the EU market and agricultural products get seasonal tariff reductions, while Algeria gives reciprocal treatment to EU imports. Algeria has also concluded preferential customs agreements with Tunisia and Morocco and is a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), a trade union composed of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The UMA intended to create a free trade zone, but this had not yet come to fruition.
The money and credit law of March 1990 allowed majority foreign-owned joint ventures in almost all sectors except the hydrocarbon sector, electricity production, railroad transport, and telecommunications. The law provided for the safe transfer of capital and terms for international arbitration. The hydrocarbon law of November 1991 allowed foreign firms to exploit existing oil fields in partnership with the state oil firm. The Investment Code of October 1993 did not distinguish between investments made by foreigners or Algerians and granted new investors limited tax exemptions and reductions in duty on imported goods.
The principal health problems have been tuberculosis, malaria, trachoma, and malnutrition. By 1999, the incidence of tuberculosis was 45 in 100,000. In 2005, the average life expectancy was 73 years, which represented a steady increase. Infant mortality in 2005 was 31 per 1,000 live births. The government is interested in creating public awareness of birth control. As of 2003 an estimated 51% of women ages 15 to 49 were using some form of contraceptive. The total fertility rate decreased to 3.2 in 2000 from 5.0 in 1987. Malnutrition was present in an estimated 18% of all children under the age of five according to the most recent figures available as of 2000. The HIV prevalence among adults in 2004 was only 0.7 per 100 adults. As of 2004, there were approximately 9,100 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country.
Oran, Algeria's second largest city and most modern port, is the economic and cultural capital of a region rich in history and natural beauty. Situated on a high plateau that overlooks the Mediterranean, it is flanked on the west by the Djebel Murdjadjo which rises 1,500 feet; on the crest of this mountain are an historic fort, an abandoned cathedral, and the hermitage-like home of the marabout (dervish) Sidi Abdelkader El Djilali. Another picturesque site is Lion Mountain which stretches east, 10 miles along the coast. Situated between the Mediterranean coast and miles of vineyards, it is impressive in its graceful plunge to the sea.
Algeria's population growth has slowed significantly since the early 1990s, reaching 2.8 percent in 1998, down from 3.06 percent in 1987. The slowdown is mostly attributable to a falling birth rate, which is now 2.15 children per family. Population growth is expected to drop even further in the coming years. The success of the Algerian government's family planning policies has ensured wider access to contraceptives and family planning education. The Comite national de la population (CNP) was established in October 1997 to oversee and coordinate national planning policies.
Priority areas are banking and judicial reform, improving the investment environment, partial or complete privatization of state enterprises, and reducing government bureaucracy. The government has closed or sold off numerous state enterprises and a total of 1,200 were offered for sale in 2004. The government also has begun to privatize certain sectors of the economy and embrace joint venture investment opportunities with traditionally state owned and operated entities. In 2001, Algeria concluded an Association Agreement with the European Union, which was ratified in 2005 by both Algeria and the EU and took effect in September of that same year. The government is working toward accession to the World Trade Organization.
Algeria's most recent presidential election took place on April 8, 2004. For the first time since independence, the presidential race was democratically contested through to the end. Besides incumbent President Boutef-lika, five other candidates, including one woman, competed in the election. Opposition candidates complained of some discrepancies in the voting list; irregularities on polling day, particularly in Kabylie; and of unfair media coverage during the campaign as Bouteflika, by virtue of his office, appeared on state-owned television daily. Bouteflika was re-elected in the first round of the election with 84.99% of the vote. Just over 58% of those Algerians eligible to vote participated in the election.
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