With the U.S.-Algeria World Cup clank looming , we thought we ’d take a few transactions to find some interesting fact about the North African country . Here ’s the scoop on our Group C contender .
They Swing a Mean Fan
From the seventeenth century through the other 19th 100 , the rulers of the Regency of Algiers were known as deys . This organisation began to change in 1827 , though . The decree Dey notice himself in a rather heated literary argument with the French consul Pierre Deval , and at one item the Dey miss his temper and whacked Deval with his fan . France used this mild aggression — and the Dey ’s refusal to justify — as justification for a encirclement of Algiers .
The situation bit by bit whirlpool out of ascendency , and on June 14 , 1830 , King Charles X sent Gallic soldiery and ships to overrun Algiers . Within a few weeks the French had conquered the Algerians , and Algeria became a Gallic colony .
By 1954 , though , Algerians were fed up with their colonial rulers and began waging a guerrilla war against the French . By 1962 , eight yr of barbarous dispute contribute way to Algerian independency from France .
The Soccer Team Has a Cool Nickname
Algeria ’s football game squad goes by the nickname Les Fennecs , which transform into " the Desert Foxes . “ The Desert Foxes may not be known as a traditional soccer powerhouse , but they ’ve had some success in the past . The squad make headway the African Cup of Nations when it host the tourney in 1990 , and it had previously made it to the World Cup in 1982 and 1986 . The team has never made it to the looker round of the tourney despite a stunning upset of 1974 title-holder West Germany at the 1982 Cup .
There’s Some Old Bad Blood With the U.S.
If you commend your American chronicle , pirates from the Barbary States " “ a collection of North African state including Algiers " “ induce quite a headache for American sailors in the other 19th century . Eventually tensions between the U.S. and the Barbary States grow to a degree in which the First Barbary War break out .
The American personnel under the dictation of the Marines and a aggregation of Greek and Arab mercenaries soundly clobber the North African forces , but the plagiarisation trouble did n’t go aside . By 1815 the Barbary plagiariser had begun assault American ship in the Mediterranean again , so the U.S. Navy returned to North Africa .
The Algerians did n’t put up much of a competitiveness this clock time . Commodore Stephen Decatur , Jr. quickly captured the Algerian flagship and one of Algeria ’s brig , and the Dey regress all American captive and cede the U.S. gratis shipping right in the area .
It’s Sandy
Over 80 percent of Algeria ’s land area is covered with Saharan sand . plain , the desert is n’t the most hospitable place to live , so all of the people have sagely crammed themselves in along the Mediterranean coastline . More than 90 pct of Algeria ’s universe is carry into just 12 percentage of the country ’s estate area .
They Provided a Setting for Camus
They’ve Got Gas
Looking for natural accelerator pedal ? Head to Algeria . According to the CIA ’s World Factbook , Algeria is the world ’s fourthly - large natural gas exporter . The area also boasts the humankind ’s 15th - big natural gas reserves . As you might imagine , all of these hydrocarbon are what power the nation ’s economy ; they calculate for 30 % of Algeria ’s gross domestic product and 95 % of its export revenues .
Everyone’s a Soldier
Military service is mandatory in Algeria , so citizens age 19 to 30 drop six months in conscript breeding and 12 months working on civil projects .
Their Flag Has a Story
When the Desert Foxes take the field , you ’ll see the Algerian flag , which features greenish and white band with a red star and crescent . What ’s the symbolization ? The green stage Islam , while the red stands for liberty and the snowy signifies honor . The crescent has longer tips than you ’ll see on most Islamic flags ; Algerians think the elongated peak bring them happiness .
