{"id":9065,"date":"2022-01-07T04:00:37","date_gmt":"2022-01-07T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/?p=9065"},"modified":"2022-01-07T16:51:27","modified_gmt":"2022-01-08T00:51:27","slug":"tunisia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/tunisia\/","title":{"rendered":"Tunisia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/h2>\n

Tunisia,\u00a0officially the\u00a0Republic of Tunisia,<\/sup>\u00a0is the northernmost country in\u00a0Africa<\/a>. It is a part of the\u00a0Maghreb<\/a>\u00a0region of\u00a0North Africa<\/a>, and is bordered by\u00a0Algeria<\/a>\u00a0to the west and southwest,\u00a0Libya<\/a>\u00a0to the southeast, and the\u00a0Mediterranean Sea<\/a>\u00a0to the north and east; covering 163,610\u00a0km2<\/sup>\u00a0(63,170\u00a0sq\u00a0mi), with a population of 11 million. It contains the eastern end of the\u00a0Atlas Mountains<\/a>\u00a0and the northern reaches of the\u00a0Sahara<\/a>\u00a0desert, with much of its remaining territory\u00a0arable land<\/a>. Its 1,300\u00a0km (810\u00a0mi) of coastline include the African conjunction of the western and eastern parts of the\u00a0Mediterranean Basin<\/a>. Tunisia is home to Africa’s northernmost point,\u00a0Cape Angela<\/a>; and its capital and\u00a0largest city<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0Tunis<\/a>, located on its northeastern coast, which lends the country its name.<\/p>\n

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Tunisia on the Globe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From early antiquity, Tunisia was inhabited by the indigenous\u00a0Berbers<\/a>.\u00a0Phoenicians<\/a>\u00a0began to arrive in the 12th century BC, establishing several settlements, of which\u00a0Carthage<\/a>\u00a0emerged as the most powerful by the 7th century BC. A major mercantile empire and a military rival of the\u00a0Roman Republic<\/a>, Carthage was\u00a0defeated<\/a>\u00a0by the Romans in 146 BC, who occupied Tunisia for most of the next 800 years, introducing\u00a0Christianity<\/a>\u00a0and leaving architectural legacies like the\u00a0amphitheatre of El Jem<\/a>. After several attempts starting in 647,\u00a0Muslims conquered<\/a>\u00a0all of Tunisia by 697, bringing\u00a0Islam<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Arab culture<\/a>\u00a0to the local inhabitants. The\u00a0Ottoman Empire<\/a>\u00a0established control in 1574 and held sway for over 300 years, until the\u00a0French conquered Tunisia<\/a>\u00a0in 1881. Tunisia gained independence under the leadership of\u00a0Habib Bourguiba<\/a>, who declared the Tunisian Republic in 1957. Today, Tunisia is the smallest nation in North Africa, and its culture and identity are rooted in this centuries-long intersection of different cultures and ethnicities.<\/p>\n

In 2011, the\u00a0Tunisian Revolution<\/a>, triggered by the lack of freedom and\u00a0democracy<\/a>\u00a0under the 24-year rule of president\u00a0Zine El Abidine Ben Ali<\/a>, overthrew his regime and catalyzed the broader\u00a0Arab Spring<\/a>\u00a0across the region. Free multiparty parliamentary\u00a0elections<\/a>\u00a0were held shortly after; the country again voted for parliament on 26 October 2014,<\/sup>\u00a0and for president on 23 November 2014.<\/sup>\u00a0Tunisia remains a\u00a0unitary<\/a>\u00a0semi-presidential<\/a>\u00a0representative democratic<\/a>\u00a0republic<\/a>; and is the only North African country classified as “Free” by\u00a0Freedom House<\/a>,<\/sup>\u00a0and considered the only fully democratic state in the\u00a0Arab World<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Economist Intelligence Unit<\/a>‘s\u00a0Democracy Index<\/a>.\u00a0It is one of the few countries in Africa ranking high in the\u00a0Human Development Index<\/a>, with one of the\u00a0highest per capita incomes<\/a>\u00a0in the continent.<\/p>\n

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ZINE EL ABIDINE BEN ALI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tunisia is well integrated into the international community. It is a member of the\u00a0United Nations<\/a>,\u00a0La Francophonie<\/a>, the\u00a0Arab League<\/a>, the\u00a0OIC<\/a>, the\u00a0African Union<\/a>, the\u00a0Non-Aligned Movement<\/a>, the\u00a0International Criminal Court<\/a>, and the\u00a0Group of 77<\/a>, among others. It maintains close economic and political relations with some European countries, particularly\u00a0with France<\/a>,<\/sup>\u00a0and\u00a0Italy<\/a>,<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0which geographically lie very close to it. Tunisia also has an\u00a0association agreement<\/a>\u00a0with the\u00a0European Union<\/a>, and has also attained the status of\u00a0major non-NATO ally<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n

History:<\/h2>\n

Antiquity:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Farming methods reached the\u00a0Nile Valley<\/a>\u00a0from the\u00a0Fertile Crescent<\/a>\u00a0region about 5000 BC, and spread to the\u00a0Maghreb<\/a>\u00a0by about 4000 BC. Agricultural communities in the humid coastal plains of central Tunisia then were ancestors of today’s\u00a0Berber<\/a>\u00a0tribes.<\/p>\n

It was believed in ancient times that Africa was originally populated by\u00a0Gaetulians<\/a>\u00a0and Libyans, both nomadic peoples. According to the Roman historian\u00a0Sallust<\/a>, the demigod Hercules died in Spain and his polyglot eastern army was left to settle the land, with some\u00a0migrating<\/a> to Africa. Persians went to the West and intermarried with the Gaetulians and became the Numidians. The Medes settled and were known as Mauri, later Moors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ruins of\u00a0Dougga’s\u00a0World Heritage Site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Numidians and Moors belonged to the race from which the Berbers are descended. The translated meaning of Numidian is Nomad and indeed the people were semi-nomadic until the reign of\u00a0Masinissa<\/a> of the Massyli tribe.<\/sup><\/p>\n

At the beginning of recorded history, Tunisia was inhabited by\u00a0Berber<\/a>\u00a0tribes. Its coast was settled by\u00a0Phoenicians<\/a>\u00a0starting as early as the 12th century BC (Bizerte<\/a>,\u00a0Utica<\/a>). The city of\u00a0Carthage<\/a>\u00a0was founded in the 9th century BC by Phoenicians. Legend says that\u00a0Dido<\/a>\u00a0from Tyre, now in modern-day Lebanon, founded the city in 814 BC, as retold by the\u00a0Greek<\/a>\u00a0writer\u00a0Timaeus of Tauromenium<\/a>. The settlers of Carthage brought their culture and religion from Phoenicia, now present-day\u00a0Lebanon<\/a> and adjacent areas.<\/p>\n

After the series of wars with Greek city-states of Sicily in the 5th century BC, Carthage rose to power and eventually became the dominant civilization in the Western\u00a0Mediterranean<\/a>. The people of Carthage worshipped a pantheon of Middle Eastern gods including\u00a0Baal<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Tanit<\/a>. Tanit’s symbol, a simple female figure with extended arms and long dress, is a popular icon found in ancient sites. The founders of Carthage also established a\u00a0Tophet<\/a>, which was altered in Roman times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Carthaginian-held territory before the first First Punic War<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A Carthaginian invasion of Italy led by <\/span>Hannibal<\/a>\u00a0during the\u00a0<\/span>Second Punic War<\/a>, one of a series of wars with\u00a0<\/span>Rome<\/a>, nearly crippled the rise of Roman power. From the conclusion of the Second Punic War in 202 BC, Carthage functioned as a client state of the Roman Republic for another 50 years.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Following the\u00a0Battle of Carthage<\/a>\u00a0which began in 149 BC during the\u00a0Third Punic War<\/a>, Carthage was conquered by Rome in 146 BC.\u00a0Following its conquest, the Romans renamed Carthage to\u00a0Africa<\/a>, incorporating it as a province.<\/p>\n

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Ruins of\u00a0Carthage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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During the Roman period, the area of what is now Tunisia enjoyed a huge development. The economy, mainly during the Empire, boomed: the prosperity of the area depended on agriculture. Called the <\/span>Granary of the Empire<\/i>, the area of actual Tunisia and coastal\u00a0<\/span>Tripolitania<\/a>, according to one estimate, produced one million tons of cereals each year, one-quarter of which was exported to the Empire. Additional crops included beans, figs, grapes, and other fruits.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By the 2nd century, olive oil rivaled cereals as an export item. In addition to the cultivations and the capture and transporting of exotic wild animals from the western mountains, the principal production and exports included the textiles, marble, wine, timber, livestock, pottery such as\u00a0African Red Slip<\/a>, and wool.<\/p>\n

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The Roman amphitheater in El Djem, built during the first half of the 3rd century AD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

There was even a huge production of mosaics and ceramics, exported mainly to Italy, in the central area of\u00a0El Djem<\/a>\u00a0(where there was the second biggest amphitheater in the Roman Empire).<\/p>\n

Berber bishop\u00a0Donatus Magnus<\/a>\u00a0was the founder of a Christian group known as the\u00a0Donatists<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0During the 5th and 6th centuries (from 430 to 533 AD), the Germanic\u00a0Vandals<\/a>\u00a0invaded and ruled over a kingdom in Northwest Africa that included present-day Tripoli. The region was easily reconquered in 533\u2013534 AD, during the rule of Emperor\u00a0Justinian I<\/a>, by the\u00a0Eastern Romans<\/a>\u00a0led by General\u00a0Belisarius<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Middle Ages:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Sometime between the second half of the 7th century and the early part of the 8th century,\u00a0Arab<\/a>\u00a0Muslim conquest occurred in the region<\/a>. They founded the first Islamic city in Northwest Africa,\u00a0Kairouan<\/a>. It was there in 670 AD that the\u00a0Mosque of Uqba<\/a>, or the Great Mosque of Kairouan, was constructed. This mosque is the oldest and most prestigious sanctuary in the Muslim West with the oldest standing\u00a0minaret<\/a> in the world; it is also considered a masterpiece of Islamic art and architecture.<\/p>\n

Tunis was taken in 695, re-taken by the Byzantine Eastern Romans in 697, but lost permanently in 698. The transition from a Latin-speaking Christian Berber society to a Muslim and mostly Arabic-speaking society took over 400 years (the equivalent process in Egypt and the Fertile Crescent took 600 years) and resulted in the final disappearance of Christianity and Latin in the 12th or 13th centuries. The majority of the population were not Muslim until quite late in the 9th century; a vast majority were during the 10th. Also, some Tunisian Christians emigrated; some richer members of society did so after the conquest in 698 and others were welcomed by Norman rulers to Sicily or Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries \u2013 the logical destination because of the 1200 year close connection between the two regions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Uqba ibn Nafi\u00a0led the Umayyad conquest of Tunisia in the late 7th century<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Arab governors of Tunis founded the\u00a0Aghlabid dynasty<\/a>, which ruled Tunisia,\u00a0Tripolitania<\/a>\u00a0and eastern Algeria from 800 to 909.<\/sup> Tunisia flourished under Arab rule when extensive systems were constructed to supply towns with water for household use and irrigation that promoted agriculture (especially olive production). This prosperity permitted luxurious court life and was marked by the construction of new palace cities such as al-Abassiya (809) and Raqadda (877).<\/p>\n

After conquering\u00a0Cairo<\/a>, the\u00a0Fatimids<\/a>\u00a0abandoned Tunisia and parts of Eastern Algeria to the local\u00a0Zirids<\/a> (972\u20131148). Zirid Tunisia flourished in many areas: agriculture, industry, trade, and religious and secular learning. Management by the later Zirid\u00a0emirs<\/a> was neglectful though, and political instability was connected to the decline of Tunisian trade and agriculture.<\/sup><\/p>\n

The depredation of the Tunisian campaigns by the\u00a0Banu Hilal<\/a>, a warlike Arab Bedouin tribe encouraged by the Fatimids of Egypt to seize Northwest Africa, sent the region’s rural and urban economic life into further decline. Consequently, the region underwent rapid urbanization as famines depopulated the countryside and industry shifted from agriculture to manufactures.<\/sup>\u00a0The Arab historian\u00a0Ibn Khaldun<\/a> wrote that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert.<\/sup><\/p>\n

The main Tunisian cities were conquered by the\u00a0Normans<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Sicily<\/a>\u00a0under the\u00a0Kingdom of Africa<\/a>\u00a0in the 12th century, but following the conquest of Tunisia in 1159\u20131160 by the\u00a0Almohads<\/a>\u00a0the Normans were evacuated to Sicily. Communities of Tunisian Christians would still exist in\u00a0Nefzaoua<\/a>\u00a0up to the 14th century.<\/sup>\u00a0The Almohads initially ruled over Tunisia through a governor, usually a near relative of the Caliph. Despite the prestige of the new masters, the country was still unruly, with continuous rioting and fighting between the townsfolk and wandering Arabs and Turks, the latter being subjects of the Muslim Armenian adventurer Karakush. Also, Tunisia was occupied by\u00a0Ayyubids<\/a>\u00a0between 1182 and 1183 and again between 1184 and 1187.<\/sup><\/p>\n

The greatest threat to Almohad rule in Tunisia was the\u00a0Banu Ghaniya<\/a>, relatives of the\u00a0Almoravids<\/a>, who from their base in\u00a0Mallorca<\/a>\u00a0tried to restore Almoravid rule over the Maghreb. Around 1200 they succeeded in extending their rule over the whole of Tunisia until they were crushed by Almohad troops in 1207. After this success, the Almohads installed Walid Abu Hafs as the governor of Tunisia. Tunisia remained part of the Almohad state, until 1230 when the son of Abu Hafs declared himself independent. During the reign of the\u00a0Hafsid dynasty<\/a>, fruitful commercial relationships were established with several Christian Mediterranean states.<\/sup>\u00a0In the late 16th century the coast became a\u00a0pirate<\/a>\u00a0stronghold.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Domes of the\u00a0Great Mosque of Kairouan. Founded in 670, it dates in its present form largely from the Aghlabid period (9th century). It is the oldest mosque in the\u00a0Maghreb.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ottoman Tunisia:<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

In the last years of the\u00a0Hafsid dynasty<\/a>, Spain seized many of the coastal cities, but these were recovered by the\u00a0Ottoman Empire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Conquest of Tunis\u00a0by\u00a0Charles V<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The <\/span>first Ottoman conquest of Tunis<\/a>\u00a0took place in 1534 under the command of\u00a0<\/span>Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha<\/a>, the younger brother of Oru\u00e7 Reis, who was the\u00a0<\/span>Kapudan Pasha<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0<\/span>Ottoman Fleet<\/a>\u00a0during the reign of\u00a0<\/span>Suleiman the Magnificent<\/a>. However, it was not until the\u00a0<\/span>final Ottoman reconquest of Tunis from Spain<\/a>\u00a0in 1574 under Kapudan Pasha\u00a0<\/span>Ulu\u00e7 Ali Reis<\/a>\u00a0that the Ottomans permanently acquired the former\u00a0<\/span>Hafsid Tunisia<\/a>, retaining it until the\u00a0<\/span>French conquest of Tunisia<\/a>\u00a0in 1881.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Initially under Turkish rule from Algiers, soon the\u00a0Ottoman Porte<\/a>\u00a0appointed directly for\u00a0Tunis<\/a>\u00a0a governor called the\u00a0Pasha<\/a>\u00a0supported by\u00a0janissary<\/a>\u00a0forces. Before long, however, Tunisia became in effect an autonomous province, under the local\u00a0Bey<\/a>. Under its\u00a0Turkish<\/a>\u00a0governors, the\u00a0Beys<\/a>, Tunisia attained virtual independence. The\u00a0Hussein dynasty<\/a> of Beys, established in 1705, lasted until 19570.<\/sup>\u00a0This evolution of status was from time to time challenged without success by Algiers. During this era the governing councils controlling Tunisia remained largely composed of a foreign elite who continued to conduct state business in the\u00a0Turkish language<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Attacks on European shipping were made by\u00a0corsairs<\/a>, primarily from Algiers, but also from Tunis and\u00a0Tripoli<\/a>, yet after a long period of declining raids the growing power of the European states finally forced its termination. Under the Ottoman Empire, the boundaries of Tunisia contracted; it lost territory to the west (Constantine<\/a>) and to the east (Tripoli<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Medina quarter of Tunis, 1899<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In the 19th century, the rulers of Tunisia became aware of the ongoing efforts at political and social\u00a0reform in the Ottoman capital<\/a>. The Bey of Tunis then, by his own lights but informed by the Turkish example, attempted to effect a modernizing reform of institutions and the economy.\u00a0Tunisian international debt grew unmanageable. This was the reason or pretext for French forces to establish a\u00a0protectorate<\/a>\u00a0in 1881.<\/p>\n

<\/span>French Tunisia (1881\u20131956)<\/span><\/h3>\n
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In 1869, Tunisia declared itself bankrupt and an international financial commission took control over its economy. In 1881, using the pretext of a Tunisian incursion into\u00a0Algeria<\/a>, the French invaded with an army of about 36,000 and forced the Bey to agree to the terms of the 1881\u00a0Treaty of Bardo<\/a>\u00a0(Al Qasr as Sa’id).<\/sup>\u00a0With this treaty, Tunisia was officially made a\u00a0French protectorate<\/a>, over the objections of Italy. Under French colonization, European settlements in the country were actively encouraged; the number of\u00a0French<\/a>\u00a0colonists grew from 34,000 in 1906 to 144,000 in 1945. In 1910 there were 105,000\u00a0Italians in Tunisia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During World War II, French Tunisia was ruled by the collaborationist\u00a0Vichy<\/a>\u00a0government located in Metropolitan France. The antisemitic\u00a0Statute on Jews<\/a>\u00a0enacted by the Vichy was also implemented in Vichy Northwest Africa and overseas French territories. Thus, the persecution, and murder of the Jews from 1940 to 1943 was part of the\u00a0Shoah<\/a>\u00a0in France.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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British tank moves through Tunis during the liberation, 8 May 1943<\/p>\n

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From November 1942 until May 1943, Vichy Tunisia was occupied by Nazi Germany. SS Commander <\/span>Walter Rauff<\/a>\u00a0continued to implement the Final Solution there. From 1942 to 1943, Tunisia was the scene of the\u00a0<\/span>Tunisia Campaign<\/a>, a series of battles between the\u00a0<\/span>Axis<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Allied<\/a>\u00a0forces. The battle opened with initial success by the German and Italian forces, but the massive supply and numerical superiority of the Allies led to the\u00a0<\/span>Axis surrender<\/a> on 13 May 1943.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/span>Post-independence (1956\u20132011):<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n

Tunisia achieved independence from France on 20 March 1956 with\u00a0Habib Bourguiba<\/a> as Prime Minister. 20 March is celebrated annually as Tunisian Independence Day.\u00a0A year later, Tunisia was declared a republic, with Bourguiba as\u00a0the first President<\/a>.\u00a0From independence in 1956 until the 2011 revolution, the government and the\u00a0Constitutional Democratic Rally<\/a>\u00a0(RCD), formerly\u00a0Neo Destour<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Socialist Destourian Party<\/a>, were effectively one. Following a report by\u00a0Amnesty International<\/a>,\u00a0The Guardian<\/a><\/i> called Tunisia “one of the most modern but repressive countries in the Arab world”.<\/p>\n

In November 1987, doctors<\/sup>\u00a0declared Bourguiba unfit to rule and, in a bloodless coup d’\u00e9tat, Prime Minister\u00a0Zine El Abidine Ben Ali<\/a>\u00a0assumed the presidency<\/sup>\u00a0in accordance with Article 57 of the\u00a0Tunisian constitution<\/a>. The anniversary of Ben Ali’s succession, 7 November, was celebrated as a national holiday. He was consistently re-elected with enormous majorities every five years (well over 80 percent of the vote), the last being 25 October 2009,\u00a0until he fled the country amid popular unrest in January 2011.<\/p>\n

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Habib Bourguiba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ben Ali and his family were accused of corruption and plundering the country’s money. Economic liberalization provided further opportunities for financial mismanagement,\u00a0while corrupt members of the Trabelsi family, most notably in the cases of\u00a0Imed Trabelsi<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Belhassen Trabelsi<\/a>, controlled much of the business sector in the country.<\/sup>\u00a0The First Lady\u00a0Leila Ben Ali<\/a>\u00a0was described as an “unabashed\u00a0shopaholic<\/a>” who used the state airplane to make frequent unofficial trips to Europe’s fashion capitals.<\/sup>\u00a0Tunisia refused a French request for the extradition of two of the President’s nephews, from Leila’s side, who were accused by the French State prosecutor of having stolen two mega-yachts from a French marina.<\/sup>\u00a0Ben Ali’s son-in-law\u00a0Sakher El Materi<\/a> was rumored as being primed to eventually take over the country.<\/p>\n

Independent human rights groups, such as\u00a0Amnesty International<\/a>,\u00a0Freedom House<\/a>, and Protection International, documented that basic human and political rights were not respected.<\/sup> The regime obstructed in any way possible the work of local human rights organizations.\u00a0In 2008, in terms of\u00a0Press freedom<\/a>, Tunisia was ranked 143rd out of 173.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Post-revolution (since 2011):<\/span><\/h3>\n
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The Tunisian Revolution\u00a0was an intensive campaign of\u00a0civil resistance<\/a>\u00a0that was precipitated by high\u00a0unemployment<\/a>,\u00a0food inflation<\/a>,\u00a0corruption<\/a>,<\/sup>\u00a0a lack of\u00a0freedom of speech<\/a>\u00a0and other\u00a0political freedoms<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and poor\u00a0living conditions<\/a>. Labor unions were said to be an integral part of the protests.\u00a0The protests inspired the\u00a0Arab Spring<\/a>, a wave of similar actions throughout the Arab world.<\/p>\n

The catalyst for mass demonstrations was the death of\u00a0Mohamed Bouazizi<\/a>, a 26-year-old Tunisian street vendor, who set himself afire on 17 December 2010 in protest at the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation inflicted on him by a municipal official named\u00a0Faida Hamdy<\/a>. Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizi’s death on 4 January 2011, ultimately leading longtime\u00a0President<\/a>\u00a0Zine El Abidine Ben Ali<\/a> to resign and flee the country on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power.<\/p>\n

Protests continued for banning of the ruling party and the eviction of all its members from the transitional government formed by\u00a0Mohammed Ghannouchi<\/a>. Eventually the new government gave in to the demands. A Tunis court banned the ex-ruling party RCD and confiscated all its resources. A decree by the minister of the interior banned the “political police”, special forces which were used to intimidate and persecute political activists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Tunis on 14 January 2011 during the\u00a0Tunisian Revolution<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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On 3 March 2011, the interim president announced that <\/span>elections to a Constituent Assembly<\/a> would be held on 24 July 2011.<\/span> On 9 June 2011, the prime minister announced the election would be postponed until 23 October 2011. <\/span>International and internal observers declared the vote free and fair. The\u00a0<\/span>Ennahda Movement<\/a>, formerly banned under the Ben Ali regime, came out of the election as the largest party, with 89 seats out of a total of 217.<\/span>\u00a0On 12 December 2011, former dissident and veteran human rights activist\u00a0<\/span>Moncef Marzouki<\/a> was elected president.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In March 2012, Ennahda declared it will not support making sharia the main source of legislation in the new constitution, maintaining the secular nature of the state. Ennahda’s stance on the issue was criticized by hardline Islamists, who wanted strict sharia, but was welcomed by secular parties.\u00a0On 6 February 2013,\u00a0Chokri Belaid<\/a>, the leader of the leftist opposition and prominent critic of Ennahda, was assassinated.<\/p>\n

In 2014, President\u00a0Moncef Marzouki<\/a>\u00a0established Tunisia’s\u00a0Truth and Dignity Commission<\/a>, as a key part of creating a national reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Tunisia was hit by two terror attacks on foreign tourists in 2015,\u00a0first killing 22 people<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0Bardo National Museum<\/a>, and\u00a0later killing 38 people<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0Sousse<\/a>\u00a0beachfront. Tunisian president\u00a0Beji Caid Essebsi<\/a> renewed the state of emergency in October for three more months.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet<\/a>\u00a0won the 2015\u00a0Nobel Peace Prize<\/a> for its work in building a peaceful, pluralistic political order in Tunisia.<\/p>\n

Tunisia’s first democratically elected president\u00a0Beji Caid Essebsi<\/a>\u00a0died in July 2019. After him\u00a0Kais Saied<\/a>\u00a0became Tunisia’s president after a landslide victory in the\u00a02019 Tunisian presidential elections<\/a> in October 2019.<\/p>\n

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Kais Saied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On 25 July 2021, amid ongoing demonstrations concerning government dysfunction and corruption frustrated by rises in\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>\u00a0cases,\u00a0Kais Saied<\/a>\u00a0suspended parliament for 30 days, dismissed the prime minister and withdrew immunity of parliament members<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Geography:<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Tunisia is situated on the\u00a0Mediterranean<\/a>\u00a0coast of Northwest Africa, midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the\u00a0Nile Delta<\/a>. It is bordered by\u00a0Algeria<\/a>\u00a0on the west and southwest and\u00a0Libya<\/a> on the south east. An abrupt southward turn of the Mediterranean coast in northern Tunisia gives the country two distinctive Mediterranean coasts, west\u2013east in the north, and north\u2013south in the east.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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View of the central Tunisian plateau at\u00a0T\u00e9boursouk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Though it is relatively small in size, Tunisia has great environmental diversity due to its north\u2013south extent. Its east\u2013west extent is limited. Differences in Tunisia, like the rest of the Maghreb, are largely north\u2013south environmental differences defined by sharply decreasing rainfall southward from any point. The Dorsal, the eastern extension of the Atlas Mountains, runs across Tunisia in a northeasterly direction from the Algerian border in the west to the Cape Bon peninsula in the east. North of the Dorsal is the Tell, a region characterized by low, rolling hills and plains, again an extension of mountains to the west in Algeria. In the\u00a0Khroumerie<\/a>, the northwestern corner of the Tunisian Tell, elevations reach 1,050 metres (3,440\u00a0ft) and snow occurs in winter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The <\/span>Sahel<\/a>, a broadening coastal plain along Tunisia’s eastern Mediterranean coast, is among the world’s premier areas of olive cultivation. Inland from the Sahel, between the Dorsal and a range of hills south of Gafsa, are the\u00a0<\/span>Steppes<\/a>. Much of the southern region is\u00a0<\/span>semi-arid<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>desert<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Topographic Map of Tunisia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Tunisia has a coastline 1,148 kilometres (713 mi) long. In maritime terms, the country claims a contiguous zone of 24 <\/span>nautical miles<\/a>\u00a0(44.4\u00a0km; 27.6\u00a0mi), and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22.2\u00a0km; 13.8\u00a0mi).<\/span><\/sup> The city of Tunis is built on a hill slope down to the lake of Tunis. These hills contain places such as Notre-Dame de Tunis, Ras Tabia, La Rabta, La Kasbah, Montfleury and La Manoubia with altitudes just above 50 metres (160 feet). The city is located at the crossroads of a narrow strip of land between Lake Tunis and S\u00e9joumi.<\/span><\/div>\n

Economy:<\/h2>\n
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Ranked the most competitive economy in Africa by the\u00a0World Economic Forum<\/a>\u00a0in 2009;[119]<\/a><\/sup> Tunisia is an export-oriented country in the process of liberalizing and privatizing an economy that, while averaging 5% GDP growth since the early 1990s, has suffered from corruption benefiting politically connected elites. Tunisia’s Penal Code criminalizes several forms of corruption, including active and passive bribery, abuse of office, extortion and conflicts of interest, but the anti-corruption framework is not effectively enforced.\u00a0However, according to the\u00a0Corruption Perceptions Index<\/a>\u00a0published annually by\u00a0Transparency International<\/a>, Tunisia was ranked the least corrupt North African country in 2016, with a score of 41. Tunisia has a diverse economy, ranging from agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and petroleum products, to\u00a0tourism<\/a>, which accounted for 7% of the total GDP and 370,000 jobs in 2009.\u00a0In 2008 it had an economy of US$41 billion in nominal terms, and $82 billion in\u00a0PPP<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The agricultural sector accounts for 11.6% of the GDP, industry 25.7%, and services 62.8%. The industrial sector is mainly made up of clothing and footwear manufacturing, production of car parts, and electric machinery. Although Tunisia managed an average 5% growth over the last decade it continues to suffer from a high unemployment especially among youth.<\/p>\n

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Tunisia Export Treemap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The\u00a0European Union<\/a>\u00a0remains Tunisia’s first trading partner, currently accounting for 72.5% of Tunisian imports and 75% of Tunisian exports. Tunisia is one of the European Union’s most established trading partners in the\u00a0Mediterranean region<\/a> and ranks as the EU’s 30th largest trading partner. Tunisia was the first Mediterranean country to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union, in July 1995, although even before the date of entry came into force, Tunisia started dismantling tariffs on bilateral EU trade. Tunisia finalized the tariffs dismantling for industrial products in 2008 and therefore was the first non-EU Mediterranean country to enter in a free trade area with EU.<\/p>\n

Transportation:<\/h2>\n

The country maintains 19,232 kilometres (11,950 mi) of roads,\u00a0with three highways: the\u00a0A1<\/a>\u00a0from Tunis to Sfax (works ongoing for Sfax-Libya),\u00a0A3<\/a>\u00a0Tunis-Beja (works ongoing Beja \u2013 Boussalem, studies ongoing Boussalem \u2013 Algeria) and\u00a0A4<\/a>\u00a0Tunis \u2013 Bizerte.<\/p>\n

There are 29 airports in Tunisia, with\u00a0Tunis Carthage International Airport<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Djerba\u2013Zarzis International Airport<\/a>\u00a0being the most important ones. A new airport,\u00a0Enfidha \u2013 Hammamet International Airport<\/a>\u00a0opened in 2011. The airport is located north of Sousse at Enfidha and is to mainly serve the resorts of Hamammet and Port El Kantaoui, together with inland cities such as Kairouan. Five airlines are headquartered in Tunisia:\u00a0Tunisair<\/a>,\u00a0Syphax airlines<\/a>,\u00a0Karthago Airlines<\/a>,\u00a0Nouvelair<\/a>, and\u00a0Tunisair Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Road Map of Tunisia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The railway network is operated by\u00a0SNCFT<\/a> and amounts to 2,135 kilometres (1,327\u00a0mi) in total.<\/sup>\u00a0The Tunis area is served by a\u00a0Light rail<\/a>\u00a0network named\u00a0Metro Leger<\/i>\u00a0which is managed by Transtu.<\/p>\n

Flag of Tunisia:<\/h2>\n

The red and white\u00a0flag of\u00a0Republic of Tunisia<\/a>, adopted as the national flag in 1827, has its origins in the\u00a0naval ensign<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Kingdom of Tunis<\/a>\u00a0adopted in 1831 by\u00a0Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud<\/a>. The current official design dates to 1999.<\/p>\n

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Flag of Tunisia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the Tunisian\u00a0embassy<\/a>\u00a0in France, the color red represents the blood of\u00a0martyrs<\/a> killed during the Crusades before the advent of the Ottomans on 1574. However, the Tunisians invited the Turkish to liberate them from the Spanish invaders and from what was left of the Hafside dynasty.\u00a0Another interpretation is that the “red Beylical flag spread light throughout the\u00a0Muslim world<\/a>“.\u00a0The white symbolizes\u00a0peace<\/a>, the disk symbolizes the radiance of the nation as the sun, while the crescent and five-pointed star represent unity of all Muslims and the\u00a0Five Pillars of Islam<\/a>, respectively.<\/p>\n

According to Ludv\u00edk Mucha, author of\u00a0Webster’s Concise Encyclopedia of Flags & Coats of Arms<\/i>, the white disk located in the center of the flag represents the\u00a0sun<\/a>. The red crescent and the five-pointed star, two ancient symbols of Islam, were most notably used on Ottoman flag and have since appeared on many flags of Islamic countries. The crescent is, from the viewpoint of an Arabic observer, supposed to bring good\u00a0luck<\/a>. The color red is a symbol of resistance against Turkish supremacy.\u00a0Whitney Smith states that the crescent was first emblazoned on standards and buildings in the Punic state of\u00a0Carthage<\/a>, located in present-day Tunisia. Since appearing on the Ottoman flag, they were widely adopted by Muslim countries, and have become known as symbols of Islam, when in fact, they may be cultural symbols.\u00a0Likewise, the sun is often represented with the crescent on ancient Punic artifacts and is associated with the ancient\u00a0Punic religion<\/a>, especially with the\u00a0Sign of Tanit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The red and white flag of Republic of Tunisia, adopted as the national flag in 1827, has its origins in the naval ensign of the Kingdom of Tunis adopted in 1831 by Al-Husayn II ibn Mahmud. The current official design dates to 1999.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[19,48,59,5,6,7,87,18,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9065"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9065"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9569,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9065\/revisions\/9569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}