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From 1866-1868 Algeria was struck by a severe famine, a result of drought, locusts and the disruption caused by and mismanagement of agriculture by colonial authorities. Coming only 20 years after the Irish Famine, numerous comparisons between the two were drawn. #TheHunger 
As in Ireland, the colony continued to export foods throughout the crisis and some suspected the end of colonial social engineering behind the poor response, though it is more likely that the authorities had not grasped the scale of the crisis.
Governor General MacMahon, a descendant of nobility and darling of Irish nationalists, drew on the experience of 
authorities in the 1840s, setting up soup kitchens and raising charitable funds. The direct application of metropolitan practices is disruptive to social order
nobility and darling of Irish nationalists, drew on the experience of authorities in the 1840s, setting up soup kitchens and raising charitable funds. The direct application of metropolitan practices is disruptive to social order
The crisis gives rise to tensions between colonial modernisers, who blame 'backwardness' of Algerian agricultural techniques for the famine, and some Algerians who point to the disruption to food supply caused by the expropriation of territory.
The crisis also gave rise to tensions between Church and the colonial state. Msgr Lavigerie seized on the crisis as a means to promote Church's role in Algeria and to push for proselytising in the 'land of Saint Augustine', something strongly resisted by the colonial authorities.
Lavigerie's actions contributed to a major scandal, when 1800 Algerian children were committed to Catholic orphanages during the Famine, causing outrage among the Muslim population and the Church's critics, with echoes of souperism in Famine Ireland. https://academic.oup.com/fh/article/20/3/240/2543512
When McMahon refuted claims that the children were being saved from Algerian/Muslim practices of cannibalism by saying cannibalism was a natural if horrific response to famine seen in Ireland, this caused controversy in the Irish press, where the famine was followed closely.
Cardinal Cullen wrote to MacMahon rejecting his claim, and asserting that Ireland never witnessed 'the frightful scenes of violence and murder of which the followers of the Koran have for months past offered the sad spectacle in Algeria", arguing their faith sustained the Irish
Some Irish nationalists, who looked to France as an ally, with the nationalist newspaper The Nation, condemning British hypocrisy and triumphalism over the famine in Algeria and blaming the crisis on the supposed backwardness of the Algerian population.
The famine was followed with great interest/horror in Ireland and papers carried lists of donations from prominent Irish figures to the cause of famine relief. I'd love to write a proper analysis of what this coverage tells us about limits of Irish anti-imperialism in 19th Cent.
Shortly after this famine ended, there was a failed attempt to install Irish settlers from Cork on land in eastern Algeria that I have tweeted about before and will speaking about (online) next semester so keep an eye out for that.
The famine was also a key contributory factor the last major anti-colonial rebellion in 19th Century Algeria, the Mokrani Revolt. This insurrection saw settlers expelled from large sections of Eastern Algeria before brutal repression by French authorities.
Lack of sources make it hard to assess the toll of the famine but Bertrand Thaite, a specialist on the famine, suggests between 10% and 33% of the population died. It is a major event in the history of Algeria that is really understudied.
It would be great to see it incorporated into a broader study of colonial famines in the 19th and 20th century, along with Ireland, India and many other territories where impact of colonialism exacerbated natural disasters with mortal consequences.
