Colonialism is a cultural phenomenon that traces back hundreds of years and has affected nearly every region in the world. The countries of the Arab world and the Middle East have been significantly affected by the effects of colonialism. The 1800's were known as the "colonial era"" and most of the occupation in the Middle East took place during that era. While we are supposedly living in the days of "post colonialism, there are still signs of colonization evident in the Arab world today. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is very similar to the French colonization of Algeria in 1830, and although the occupiers had different reasons for occupying the territories, the people of both Algeria and Palestine suffered in many of the same ways.
In 1830, France conquered Algeria and remained in power until 1962. When the French noticed the abundant farmland in Algeria, they wanted to take over and use the land to benefit their own economy. The Pied Noire was sent to Algeria to change the demographics of the land and they came to think of Algeria as their own country. The French colonizers imposed many changes on the Algerians through the use of settler colonialism, segregation, and extreme prejudices. "The terms the settler uses when he mentions the native are zoological terms. He speaks of the yellow man's reptilian motions, of the stink of the native quarter, of breeding swarms, of foulness, of spawn, of gesticulations"" (Fanon 42). Although the settlers were the lower class citizens in France, they felt that they were superior to the Algerian natives. They felt that the natives were primitive and believed that they were on the same intellectual level as their children. A segregated social order was enacted that drew strict boundaries between the settlers and the natives. "The colonial world is a world cut in two. The dividing line, the frontiers are shown by barracks and police stations" (Fanon 39).