French colonization of New Caledonia was achieved in the nineteenth century mainly through convict labor. he penal colony was a land of exile for French convicts, but also for people from northern Africa, with a massive over-representation of Algerians. he Algerian convicts had to create a new life for themselves on Kanak lands by becoming "colonists against their will." heir unique experience was fostered by a speciic process of "invention of tradition" well before historical research allowed for the contextualizing -within a coherent frame- of their harsh life of Muslims in exile and of the story of how their descendants came to be rooted in this land. After having detailed the reasons for the presence of "Arabs" on a Melanesian Island and the painful path followed by this community to reach a stage of re-appropriation of its past, the author questions the possible role that the "Caledonian Arabs" could play in a reconciliation process utterly needed in New Caledonia between the Kanaks and the other "children of the land. © 2018 Societe des Oceanistes. All Rights Reserved.

Convicts Caledoun New caledonia Algeria Common destiny

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