Abd el Kader
SOLD November 2014 |
CDV-format albumen print showing the Algerian independence fighter Abd el Kader circa 1866, by Abdullah Frères, Constantinople. With photographers imprint front "Abdullah Frères Phot." and on reverse "Abdullah Frères / Photographes de sa Majeste Imperiales Le Sultan / Pera / Constantinople / Maison Martinet / Grand Hotel"
Abd el Kader lead a long-lived resistance movement to France's invasion of Algeria throughout the 1830s and 1840s. His resistance though ultimately unsuccessful gained widespread and positive international attention, including inspiring the name of the town of Elkader, Iowa. After final French victory in 1847 Abd el Kader was held a prisoner in France until being released to Turkey in 1852. In 1860, living in Damascus, he helped protect Christian minorities during violent anti-Christian riots, leading to a positive revival of his reputation in the West and even in France.
