Ali Bach Hamba

Biography

Bach Hamba was born in 1876 in Tunis into a family of Turkish origin, his brother, Mohamed Bach Hamba, was the editor of "Revue du Maghreb". He studied at the Sadiki College prior to achieving a masters and then a doctorate in law at the Aix-Marseille University. In 1907 he and Bechir Sfar created a political group, the Young Tunisians (influenced by the Young Turks), with a French language weekly, "Le Tunisien", to speak for the interests of their countrymen. They sought for equality and demanded for rights in accordance with the terms of the protectorate. In 1909 they were joined by Abdelaziz Thâalbi, and the movement acquired a religious as well as a constitutional character, with an Arabic as well as a French edition of "Le Tunisien". The popularity of the new party was demonstrated in 1911, when it protested against the Italian invasion of Libya. In November 1911, a riot, quelled by troops, led to the proclamation of a state of siege. When in February 1912 an Italian tram-driver knocked down and killed a child, the Tunis Tram Boycott was organised, and Tunisian employees fought for equal pay with the Italian personnel. The government declared there had been a political plot and exiled Bach Hamba and Thaalbi. This popular protest and the workers’ demands was the first clear manifestation of a Tunisian national consciousness.