The Torre chica: Reconstruction of the history of Sidi Fredj (Algeria)

• Ouassila Menouer ^[1]
  1. [1] Laboratory ETAP, IAU, University of Blida1, Blida, Algeria
• Localización: FORTMED2023. Defensive architecture of the mediterranean : vol. XIII, XIV, XV / Marco Giorgio Bevilacqua (dir. congr.), Denise Ulivieri (aut.), 2023, ISBN 978-84-1396-129-3, págs. 195-200
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
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• Resumen

  • Today, Sidi Fredj or Sidi Ferruch implies one of the most famous touristic and seaside sites from west of Algiers (the capital of Algeria). It refers, historically, to the place of landing of the French fleets on June 14, 1830, a historic event which had been followed by the capture of the city of Algiers on July 5 of the same year. However, before this date, the place had another name with a Spanish connotation: Torre chica. The expression means ‘the little tower’. This was built near a zaouia called Sidi Fredj from where the Arabic designation of the place. Beyond its contemporary reputation touristic and the historical event that was followed by more than a century of colonization of the country, what was the history of the locality before 1830? What was the history and role of the torre-chica in this place? What is the history of the Spaniards in this place? This present essay is a contribution to reconstruct the history of the place called Sidi Fredj, a place that, before 1830, bore the name of the tower that punctuated it: the torre chica. The research is essentially based on the exploration of historical documentation (texts, archives, etc.) and the reading of plans and maps kept in the general archives of Semonças in Spain and in the archives of French military engineers at the castle of Vincennes, in France.