Approaches to the economy of colonial Annaba, 1870–1920

Abstract

Opening ParagraphThe Annaba economy today is Algerian. It is run entirely by Algerians except for the steel mill outside of town. The goods provided are tailored to its mostly Algerian customers (jillabas, harissa, henna), plus selected Western goods made in Algeria or imported from Europe (plastic buckets and gas bottles, Peugeot sedans for those with the money and connections, sitcoms for the few with TVs, commercial films for everyone). Goods are dispensed primarily in a modern suq, or bazaar, although the government also runs a supermarket and department store. French and other Europeans are physically absent from Annaba today for the most part, but Western economic influences persist, like only partly covered-over layers of historical sediment laid down orignally in the colonial period.