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The Kabyl (Kabail) are Indo-European Berber-speaking people who have lived in North Africa since the Roman empire. The Berber people of Algeria are called Kabyle from the Arabic word for tribe, qaba 'il (pi. qabila). Some are also called the Chaouis, and live mainly in the Aures Mountains. The Kabyl live in the mountains of eastern Algeria, Tunisia, and oases of the Sahara, living in the Tell and Sahara Atlas Mountains, in a region named Greater Kabylia and Lesser Kabylia. Berbers have resisted the Arabs for centuries. When the French took control of Algeria in the 1830s they were opposed by many local Kabyl. One important resistance fighter was the Lalla, Fadhma (Fatma) n'Soumer, an inspiring leader likened to Joan of Arc, but ultimately unable to stop French advances. In 1871 Mohamed El-Mokrani (1815–71) led the Cheikh Mokrani Rebellion in resistance to French attempts to exercise authority over the previously independent tribes before he was killed. The Kabyl arose in a mass revolt but were suppressed. The tribes that resisted had their lands taken, while others were exiled to New Caledonia in the Pacific, where the French also sent Paris Commune organizers. Through a process of suppression, the French dominated the region, but repeatedly faced resentment and recurring protests. The French attempted to gallicize the Kabyl through various means, including disseminating the ... log in or subscribe to read full text