Q&A · 1:59:23-1:59:47

Navarino eased but did not enable the conquest of Algiers

A Mediterranean answer distinguishes a battle that reduced resistance from one that made a later conquest possible in the first place.

Question

Did the destruction of the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet at Navarino open the way for French colonization of Algiers?

Short answer

It made the operation easier, but the French Navy already possessed such a large advantage that the surviving Algerian forces were unlikely to stop it.

Notes

The Battle of Navarino removed naval strength that might have complicated French action, so it belongs in the causal background. The French Navy still vastly outweighed the forces available around Algiers. Navarino therefore eased the path to invasion without making the conquest possible by itself.