French protectorate of Tunisia in the context of "Indirect rule"

French North Africa (French: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is a term that is often applied to the three territories that were controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era: Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In contrast to French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa, which existed as federations of French colonies and administrative entities in their own right, French North Africa was never more than a term of convenience to refer to the three separately-governed territories, which had different forms of colonial regime.

The French conquest of Tunisia occurred in two phases in 1881: the first (28 April – 12 May) consisting of the invasion and securing of the country before the signing of a treaty of protection, and the second (10 June – 28 October) consisting of the suppression of a rebellion. The French protectorate of Tunisia that was established lasted until the independence of Tunisia on 20 March 1956.

The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 11 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert War), in Morocco and Algeria (Operation Torch), and in Tunisia (Tunisia campaign). The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe. The United States entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942.

Fighting in North Africa started with the British raids on Italian Libya on 11 June 1940 after Italy's entry into the Second World War on the German side. On 14 June, the British 11th Hussars and part of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, (1st RTR) crossed the border from Egypt into Libya and captured Fort Capuzzo. This was followed by an Italian counter-offensive into Egypt and the capture of Sidi Barrani in September. The British recaptured Sidi Barrani in December during Operation Compass. The Italian 10th Army was destroyed and the German Afrika Korps was dispatched to North Africa in February 1941 in Operation Sonnenblume to reinforce the Italians and prevent an Axis defeat.

At the outbreak of World War II, Charles de Gaulle was put in charge of the French 5th Army's tanks (five scattered battalions, largely equipped with R35 light tanks) in Alsace, and on 12 September 1939, he attacked at Bitche, simultaneously with the Saar Offensive.

In late February 1940, Paul Reynaud told de Gaulle that he had been earmarked for command of an armoured division as soon as one became available. In late March, de Gaulle was told by Reynaud that he would be given command of the 4th Armoured Division by 15 May. The government appeared likely to be restructured, as Édouard Daladier and Maurice Gamelin were under attack in the aftermath of the Allied defeat in Norway, and had this happened de Gaulle, who on 3 May, was still lobbying Reynaud for a restructuring of the control of the war, might well have joined the government. By 7 May, he was assembling the staff of his new division.

Habib Bourguiba (3 August 1903 – 6 April 2000) was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1957 to 1987. Prior to his presidency, he led the nation to independence from France, ending the 75-year-old protectorate and earning the title of "Supreme Combatant".

Born in Monastir to a poor family, he attended Sadiki College and Lycée Carnot in Tunis before obtaining his baccalaureate in 1924. He graduated from the University of Paris and the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) in 1927 and returned to Tunis to practice law. In the early 1930s, he became involved in anti-colonial and Tunisian national politics, joining the Destour party and co-founding the Neo Destour in 1934. He became a key figure of the independence movement and was repeatedly arrested by the colonial administration. His involvement in the riots of 9 April 1938 [ar; fr] resulted in his exile to Marseille during World War II.

The Beylik of Tunis (Arabic: بايلك تونس) was the legal form of present-day Tunisia, between 1705 and 1881. It was ruled by the Husainid dynasty until the establishment of the French protectorate of Tunisia. The term beylik refers to the monarch, who was called the Bey of Tunis. Under the protectorate, the latter remained nominally the head of state, with the Husainids remaining as largely symbolic sovereigns.

The Beys remained faithful to the Sublime Porte, but reigned as monarchs after gradually gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire. Between 1861 and 1864, the Beylik of Tunis became a constitutional monarchy after adopting the first constitution in Africa and the Arab world. The country had its own currency and an independent army, and in 1831 it adopted its flag, which is still in use today.