The events unfolding in Tunisia have captured the attention of the world. However, many people, myself included, knew very little about Tunisia when these riots began. I've attempted to put together a brief history of Tunisia to help provide the context.
Tunisia has a long history stretching back to antiquity, but the real history of these events begins with the French occupation. The Ottoman Empire controlled Tunisia at the start of the 18th Century. The Ottoman Empire had decayed significantly such that Tunisia had relative freedom to pursue most of their desired policies. Yet, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire opened up its former territory to the European powers. At the Congress of Berlin, the European powers carved up the Ottoman Empire and they decided that France should receive Tunisia. France used the pretext of a small tribal raid into Algeria as a pretext for invading Tunisia. Soon enough, Tunisia fell under French control.
The French left the structure of the Tunisian government intact, but decisively took control. The Tunisian leader known as the Bey retained nominal control, but the French demanded that the Bey help neutralize those who might resist by bringing them into the government. They used Tunisians to collect taxes, police the people, and enforce military rule. In this way, the French could appear to keep their hands clean by forcing the Tunisians do the dirty work. However, the Tunisians had little real say in their political or economic life. This situation continued until after World War II.
World War II significantly weakened the French and they soon had to deal with the Tunisian independence movement. Initially, the independence movement lead by Habib Bourguiba only demanded a gradual move towards independence. Yet, he hardened his stance to armed resistance when the French refused to support even gradual independence. The struggle ultimately succeeded and on March 20 1956, Tunisia followed other French territories and gained independence with Bourguiba acting as president. Nevertheless, very little changed for the Tunisian people despite independence.
Bourguiba maintained most of the policies found under the French. He ostensibly supported democracy, but in fact banned the organization of opposition and human rights groups. He even had himself declared president for life. He continued to run the country without any real elections. It was not democracy, but Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who removed Bourguiba's by having his doctors declare him incompetent. At which time, the European favored Ben Ali took power.
Ben Ali continued business as usual. Despite a few social reforms, he denied the people freedom to organize, freedom of speech, and any meaningful elections. He continued to align himself with Western powers and helped the United States with its “War on Terror.” For his actions, the West continued to look the other way or to make vague demands for “reform.” The wealth gained by Tunisia remained firmly in the hands of the rich and the connected as the Tunisian people suffered. This left the perfect conditions for an uprising. All it needed was a spark.
The spark came in the form of Mohamed Bouazizi. Bouazizi worked as a street vendor selling produce and faced regular harassment from the corrupt police. On December 17, Bouazizi was again harassed by police through physical attacks and the theft of his produce. He demanded satisfaction from the governors office where they refused to hear him and threw him out. In protest, he set himself on fire and later died from those wounds. Protesters carried out a peaceful protest which was met by police brutality and repression. This only fanned the flames and soon riots broke out all across Tunisia. Ben Ali dissolved the government on January 14th with the promise of new elections, but he was forced to resign at four PM the same day. By that evening he had fled the country.
Ben Ali shares overwhelming similarities to the corrupt Bey's before him. He served as little more than a tool for foreign powers to keep the people in check. However, the Tunisian people have risen up and have demanded democracy rather than business as usual and thus have captured the imagination of the world.
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