Gezicht op Allee de Palmiers in Jardin d'essai du Hamma te Algiers

This photograph of the Allee de Palmiers in Algiers was created by Étienne Neurdein, though the exact date is unknown. It’s a fairly straightforward image of a public garden, but it invites questions about the relationship between France and its colony, Algeria. The Jardin d’essai du Hamma was established in 1832, just two years after France began its occupation of the country. The garden quickly became a site for acclimatizing plants from around the world, so they could be studied and cultivated for commercial use. The photograph itself might be seen as playing a role in this project, providing visual documentation of the landscape and its resources. It’s important to remember that the camera doesn’t just record reality, it also constructs it. What does it mean, then, that this garden, and this photograph, were created in the context of French colonialism? To understand this image better, we might consult archives, travel accounts, and other documents that shed light on the social and political history of Algeria under French rule.