The history of Algeria and Alicante has been linked by commercial, social and institutional ties. In fact, in the African country it is said that Oran is the most Spanish city in Algeria and Alicante the most Algerian city in Spain. Their links go back to the XNUMXth century. Not in vain, the emblematic Alicante fortress of Santa Bárbara Castle and that of Santa Cruz, in Oran, were used to defend both territories from Turkish invasions. But, without a doubt, the XNUMXth century marks the historical moment in which relations between Spain and Algeria and, more specifically, between Alicante and the country on the other shore of the Mediterranean were strengthened.
With the colonization of Algeria by France in 1830, the African country began to be populated by French, Italians, Maltese and, of course, Spanish. Among this Spanish immigration, the people of Alicante were one of the most numerous groups, both because of their proximity to the African coasts and because of the characteristics of the work to be carried out in the French colony.
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many people from Alicante emigrated to Algeria and even became French nationals. Alicante at the beginning of the XNUMXth century had an eminently agrarian population, which mainly cultivated small and dispersed plots. This was an obstacle to agricultural development and modernization. In addition, there were many day laborers, little work and almost no alternative industry. This encouraged many people from Alicante to emigrate to Algeria in search of an opportunity and with the dream of making a fortune.
Algeria receives a new boom in Alicante immigrants from 1846. A very serious drought in the Spanish Levant worsened living conditions, making Alicante one of the poorest areas in the country. The most thriving areas such as Alcoy, which had an incipient industry, or work in the port of Alicante could not absorb the demand for work. It is then when many workers from the Alicante orchard cross to the other shore of the Mediterranean. A journey that is later followed by immigrants from dry land such as Mutxamel, Benimagrell, Santa Faz or Villafranqueza.
Migration for economic reasons is joined by another at this time: the flight motivated by political persecution from 1840. Carlist and liberal liberals, along with military deserters and fugitives from justice, also travel from Alicante to Algeria. According to a study by Bonmatí Antón, about 20.000 people from Alicante migrated in these years. Oran, just 140 nautical miles from Alicante, became one of the points with the highest Spanish concentration. In the African city, the emigrants from Alicante were highly appreciated for being a prosperous population, which had managed to get ahead and had the favor of the French administration.
The slight boom in the Spanish economy around 1850 made many people from Alicante return to their land. But the African country once again received a considerable number of Levantine exiles who escaped the reprisals of the victors of the Spanish Civil War, starting in 1939. After the long hiatus of the Civil War and the post-world war, the relationship was institutionalized with the trips of various municipal commissions between Oran and Alicante, starting in 1952.
This rebound in emigration came to a halt in 1954, with the beginning of the Algerian war of independence, which led many people from Alicante to return to their place of origin. The hostilities and instability that the conflict entailed make many return to Spain. Since independence in 1962, Algeria has become a socialist and Muslim country. The political relationship with Franco's Spain is practically nil from that moment on: the transit by sea between Alicante and Oran is interrupted for years, as well as the relationship between the administrations of the two cities.
In the 80s, with the arrival of democracy in Spain, municipal contacts were renewed, promoted by the socialist mayor José Luis Lassaletta. Relations that culminated with the signing of the twinning between the two cities on June 27, 1985. During the following 3 years there were various exchanges, above all cultural, which were interrupted with the suspension of the Alicante-Oran maritime line, in October 1988. The maritime route resumed a year later, but it was not until the 90s that contacts were resumed within the framework of twinning. Although since then institutional relations have been reduced to mere declarations of intent, exchanges in the private and commercial sphere have not ceased.
According to the Spanish ambassador to Algeria, Fernando Morán Calvo-Sotelo, this country is strategic for Spain and Alicante. “The exchange of visits is constant and at an economic level we are the second buyer in Algeria and the fourth seller. On the other hand, 60% of the country's income comes from oil or gas, which makes it highly dependent on these sales and therefore is trying to diversify its economy and attract foreign capital. As for imports, they must buy all kinds of products from abroad. All this makes Algeria an attractive territory for both investments and exports of Alicante products. "
Currently, the improvement of communications by land, sea and air has facilitated the flow of movements between the Alicante capital and Algeria. Only 25 minutes separate Oran from Alicante by plane. Several daily flights make this journey from El Altet airport and both Spanish and Algerian shipping companies cover this sea route. The greater ease of communication has made the relations between the two territories go beyond the purely commercial. In fact, there are already many Algerians who have their own house in Alicante, El Campello, San Juan or Benidorm. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics, one in four Algerians living in Spain (about 16.000) has settled in Alicante. One last and significant piece of information underlines this close relationship: Spanish is already the second most studied language by Algerians.
To these facts we must add the situation in which the historic maritime connection between these two cities is found; the company's passenger ship Algerian Ferries that covers the Alicante-Oran line. Due to the health crisis caused by COVID-19, Alicante lost 180 million euros since the service was interrupted in March 2020 until May 1, 2021, according to a noticia posted by La Vanguardia. The elimination of 120 stops of the ferry that connects the city with Oran eliminated commercial traffic that represents one and a half million euros of income per landing for Alicante shops and warehouses. Hundreds of Algerians visit Alicante to buy clothes, footwear, food products, perfumery and cosmetics, as well as appliances and technology.
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