Ottoman Administrative Documents in Algeria and Their Role in Preserving National Memory and Heritage

In this presentation, titled: we focus on the study of archival documents, which form the foundation of research into the memory, heritage, and identity of nations. These archival documents, mostly created for administrative and organizational purposes, include letters addressed to members of the Ottoman administration, personal status contracts, financial transactions, and commercial exchanges. Such documents are of immense significance to nations, as they encapsulate their history, present, and the foundation of their future. The information they contain represents the memory of a nation across different eras, making archives the cornerstone upon which historical events are recorded and documented to preserve the memory of nations.Archives can be utilized to conduct numerous studies that shed light on customs, traditions, and various aspects of daily life. As such, archives constitute the raw material from which most historians, sociologists, and economists derive their primary sources to form an understanding of past realities. Thus, archives are crucial as they hold the details and stories of past lives. Archival documents serve as witnesses that reveal everything about the activities of Algerian society during the Ottoman era.The archive of the Eyalet of Algiers is partially preserved in Algeria, while most of it was transferred to French archival centers during the colonial period. This presentation seeks, first, to identify the nature of Ottoman documents available in Algerian archives and, second, to trace the fate of Algerian Ottoman documents after the occupation and examine how French officials handled Algeria’s official memory embodied in these archival documents.