In 1830, in the days before the outbreak of the July Revolution against the Bourbon Restoration in France, the conquest of Algeria was initiated by Charles X as an attempt to increase his popularity amongst the French people. The invasion began on 5 July 1830. Afterwards Algeria would become a French territory from 1830 to 1962, under a variety of governmental systems.
Shortly after the July Monarchy of Louis Philippe I was overthrown in the Revolution of 1848, the new government of the Second Republic ended Algeria's status as a colony and declared it in the 1848 Constitution an integral part of France. Three civil departements — Alger, Oran, and Constantine — were organized under a civilian government.
For continuation after independence, see: List of heads of state of Algeria