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New Anthropologies of Europe
Colonial Memory and Postcolonial Europe: Maltese Settlers in Algeria and France
"[I]ntersects with very active areas of research in history and anthropology, and links these domains of inquiry spanning Europe and North Africa in a creative and innovative fashion." --Douglas Holmes, Binghamton University
Maltese settlers in colonial Algeria had never lived in France, but as French citizens were abruptly "repatriated" there after Algerian independence in 1962. In France today, these pieds-noirs are often associated with "Mediterranean" qualities, the persisting tensions surrounding the French-Algerian War, and far-right, anti-immigrant politics. Through their social clubs, they have forged an identity in which Malta, not Algeria, is the unifying ancestral homeland. Andrea L. Smith uses history and ethnography to argue that scholars have failed to account for the effect of colonialism on Europe itself. She explores nostalgia and collective memory; the settlers' liminal position in the colony as subalterns and colonists; and selective forgetting, in which Malta replaces Algeria, the "true" homeland, which is now inaccessible, fraught with guilt and contradiction. The study provides insight into race, ethnicity, and nationalism in Europe as well as cultural context for understanding political trends in contemporary France.
Maltese settlers in colonial Algeria had never lived in France, but as French citizens were abruptly "repatriated" there after Algerian independence in 1962. In France today, these pieds-noirs are often associated with "Mediterranean" qualities, the persisting tensions surrounding the French-Algerian War, and far-right, anti-immigrant politics. Through their social clubs, they have forged an identity in which Malta, not Algeria, is the unifying ancestral homeland. Andrea L. Smith uses history and ethnography to argue that scholars have failed to account for the effect of colonialism on Europe itself. She explores nostalgia and collective memory; the settlers' liminal position in the colony as subalterns and colonists; and selective forgetting, in which Malta replaces Algeria, the "true" homeland, which is now inaccessible, fraught with guilt and contradiction. The study provides insight into race, ethnicity, and nationalism in Europe as well as cultural context for understanding political trends in contemporary France.
- GenresHistory
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2006
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 14, 2025
Incredibly niche but was a very layered examination of colonial legacies and immigration.
I went into this knowing next to nothing about Malta, and after reading this it seems almost as if most of their culture is a bastardization of all the cultures their colonizers brought with them. Adding to this, once Maltese moved to French-Algeria a whole new journey of identity began. The dissonance those immigrants’ future generations would embody one that feels a strong sense of French citizenship (and in some cases not) but a weak tie to Malta. Yet, many people still claim their Maltese heritage despite being very far removed from it. Kinda like Irish and Italian-Americans.
There’s so much more to unpack but it was an interesting read.
I went into this knowing next to nothing about Malta, and after reading this it seems almost as if most of their culture is a bastardization of all the cultures their colonizers brought with them. Adding to this, once Maltese moved to French-Algeria a whole new journey of identity began. The dissonance those immigrants’ future generations would embody one that feels a strong sense of French citizenship (and in some cases not) but a weak tie to Malta. Yet, many people still claim their Maltese heritage despite being very far removed from it. Kinda like Irish and Italian-Americans.
There’s so much more to unpack but it was an interesting read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review