19th century
Tunis, Tunisia
The Tunis Catholic community had been served by the Sainte Croix Catholic church since 1837. In the last decade of the 19th century, a new Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to St Vincent de Paul was erected. Between 1897 and 1913, four further churches were built in Tunis for the expanding Catholic community.
19th century
Carthage, Tunisia
Christian communities had been present in Tunisia since the early Christian era, with Carthage the seat of their archbishop. In 1884, Carthage was re-established as an archdiocese, and work started on building a new cathedral. The archdiocese comprised all the parish churches of Tunisia, amounting to 50 in 1912.
19th century
Enfidha, Tunisia
The Roman Catholic Church of Enfidha, Tunisia, was inaugurated in 1907. It catered for a large Catholic community of European settlers, which included many peasants and sharecroppers. After 1964, when land belonging to foreigners was nationalised, most Catholics living in that area moved to Europe and the church was transformed into a museum.
19th century
Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie
La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
By the mid-19th century, the Jewish community in Tunisia had 25,000–30,000 members. Traditionally, the most important centre of Jewish religious life and studies in Tunisia was the island of Jerba, considered the home of one the oldest Jewish communities in North Africa. The synagogue of Ghirba, on Jerba, was and still is a centre of pilgrimage.
1857
Archives Nationales
Tunis, Tunisia
In Tunisia, the 1857 Fundamental Pact proclaimed the equality of all subjects regardless of religion. The Jewish communities now acquired rights previously denied to them and other non-Muslims, including the right to own land and serve as civil servants.
1897
National Library of France
Paris, France
Indigenous Tunisian Jews (Touensa) spoke Tunisian Arabic. Their food and customs were similar to those of their Muslim neighbours. However, they had a lower legal and social status: for example, they had to pay a special tax, could not bear arms, and men had to wear a black chéchia (Tunisian hat) instead of the red one reserved to Muslims.
Greek Orthodox church in Tunisia, on Rue de Rome
1901
Tunis, Tunisia
The Greek Orthodox Christians had for a long time a church in Tunis. In 1901, they built a new one dedicated to Saint George, designed by Italian architect Giuseppe Abita, in the European neighbourhood.
12 November 1905
State Archives of Livorno
Livorno, Italy
European Jews who migrated to Tunisia in the 19th century were mostly middle-class traders and professionals. They were socially and culturally different from indigenous Jews and followed different religious rites. Several of them supported the educational programmes of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, which opened a school in Tunisia in 1878, and four others soon after.
19th century
Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie
La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
Charles Lavigerie (1825–92) was the founder of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, better known as the White Fathers. In 1881, he was appointed apostolic administrator of Tunisia. In 1884, the Vicariate Apostolic of Tunisia was elevated to an archdiocese and he became archbishop of Carthage (the highest Catholic authority in Tunisia) and primate of Africa.