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With the decline of the local Berber dynasties in the 15th and 16th centuries, the valuable coastal strip of north Africa (known because of the Berbers as the Barbary coast) attracted the attention of the two most powerful Mediterranean states of the time: Spain in the west, Turkey in the east.
The Spanish-Turkish rivalry lasted for much of the 16th century, but was gradually won by the Turks when they allowed Turkish pirates, or corsairs, to establish themselves along the coast. The territories seized by the corsairs were given a formal status as protectorates of the Ottoman empire. The first such pirate established himself on the coast of Algeria in 1512. Two others are firmly based in Libya by 1551.
Tunisia was briefly taken in 1534 by Khair ed-Din (known to the Europeans as Barbarossa). Tunisia was recovered for Spain in 1535, then brought under Ottoman control in 1574.
Algiers was occupied by the French in 1830, but the French conquest of Algeria was not complete until 1847 - after prolonged resistance from the Berber hinterland, which has never been effectively controlled by the Turks on the coast.
April 16, 1898, The Morning Star
Sandusky, Ohio, U.S.A.
BIZERTA
REMARKABLE HARBOR FRANCE BUILT IN AFRICA.
A Natural Anchorage West of Tunis Which is Assuming a Commanding Position on the High
Road of Trade to the East--Its Powerful Advantages
On the whole coast line of the Mediterranean Sea there is no point that occupies a more central position than the one selected by the Phoenicians for their western emporium of Byrea. Here, an antiquity, stood the commercial Carthage and in the mediaeval ages Tunis, both levying tribute on the seas from their unassailable stronghold. But modern science has modified everything. Since the invention of steam and long range guns this harbor has lost its military importance. But while Tunis has seen its day as a shelter for men-of-war, some forty miles to the west there is a natural harbor which is assuming a commanding position on the high road of trade to the East. This is Bizerta.
Bizerta dates back to a very great antiquity. It was founded by colonists from Tyre and known under the name of Hippo Zaritus; Diodorus Sieulus calls it Hippo Akra.
During the reign of the Bey Hamouda Pasha, Bizerta was several times bombarded by the Venetian fleet, under the command of the dreaded Knight Emo. The first time was in 1784. The next year of the Venetian Admiral appeared again and burned entirely Sfax and Bizerta. His last campaign was in 1786, when Sfax, Bizerta and Soussa were bombarded once more. Since that time Bizerta has played no part in history, and as the harbor kept filling up more and more with drifting sand its commercial importance fell in proportion, until very recently it was decided to restore its former prosperity.
The obstacles were twofold, natural and political. When the French assumed control over Tunisia, they had to do so in the face of the open opposition of Italy and the latent anger of England, who, although she grabbed Cyprus as a bribe, was displeased to see a neighbor play the same game. For years, France was compelled to use much caution in the slow assimilation of this new territory. Treaties were in existence between the regency and foreign countries and had to be disposed of by degrees, in order not to irritate susceptibilities. It is only lately that the most obstructive treaty, "the Anglo-Tunisian convention," was abolished. This has given France free hand. In the meantime her Navy Department had always kept its eyes open on Bizerta. The position of this city, 714 miles from Gibraltar, 424 from Marseilles, 300 from Naples, 1,000 from the Piraeus, and 1,168 from Port Said and the Suez Canal, is particularly inviting.
In was in 1886 that the first attempt was made to render the old port of Bizerta accessible to moderate sized vessels. It has been so much filled up by sand that there was hardly three feet of water left. The embankments were crumbling, while a bar had formed at the entrance, completely obstructing access. The old quays were repaired, the port dug out, the bar dredged to a depth of ten feet, and the old jetty extended eastward to protect the entrance. Meanwhile the French hydrographic service was engaged in an extensive survey of the ground preliminary to the greater work to be done. This took until 1889, when a general plan was adopted. Two jetties of about 3,275 feet were built, leaving a free access of 1,297 feet between their extended arms, forming an outer artificial harbor of over 200 acres area, in which the largest vessels can find a safe anchorage. From this point starts the canal which connects the sea with the inland salt water lake of Bizerta, where the anchorage has a minimum depth of thirty feet. The mud and sand dredged in excavating the canal was used to fill up the flats on the north side, where the European Bizerta now stands, near the new embankments and the railway terminus.
The canal was inaugurated in 1895 and In July of the following year the Ironclads, Brennus, Redoubtable, and Chanzy entered through the canal and anchored in the Sebra Bay. For some years this port has been frequented by large steamers, and they will increase in number when better coaling facilities are provided. The lighthouse on the island of Cani, about twelve miles off Bizerta, is a point that must be sighted by all vessels passing from the western to the eastern Mediterranean. At this station on the high road to India a permanent torpedo post has been located already, with five torpedo boats, and the coast guard ironclad Tempete, under cover of the new batteries. But this is only a first step, now that France is free from foreign interference in Tunisia, Bizerta is to be made into another Toulon as a powerful base of naval operations and a shelter for fleets operating in the Levant. Both France and Tunisia have been called upon to contribute to the construction of a naval arsenal in this natural, unassailable recess.
