Kouloughlis
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Estimates range between 10 million to 30 million Percentage of Turkish origin: At least 5% of Libya's population 5%-25% of Algeria's population.) 25% of Tunisia's population) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam |
Kouloughlis, also spelled Koulouglis,Cologhlis and Qulaughlis (from Turkish kuloğlu "children of servants" or "children of slaves", from "servant/slave" + "son of") was a term used during the Ottoman period to designate the creole offspring of usually Turkish men and local Berber or Arab women in the Barbary coast, a region situated in the western and central coastal regions of North Africa. The phrase comes from the fact that the rulers of the Ottoman Empire conquered much of Arab world and sent Turkish people to the conquered lands. Whilst the terminology was commonly used in Ottoman Algeria, Ottoman Libya, and Ottoman Tunisia, it was not used in Ottoman Egypt to refer to Turco-Egyptians. Unlike the Franco-Algerians (pieds-noirs) and the North African Jews, descendants of the Kouloughlis have largely integrated into their local societies after independence.
According to the Turco-Libyan historian , throughout the 300 years of Ottoman rule in North Africa, the Ottoman administration ensured that Turkish soldiers from the Ocak, rather than the Janissaries, formed at least 5% of the regions population. Turkish-speaking Anatolians were considered to be the ideal migrants to ensure the Turkification of the region. Furthermore, the authorities placed a ban on Turkish speakers from using the Arabic language; this allowed the Turkish language to remain the prestigious language of the region till the nineteenth century. Koloğlu has estimated that approximately 1 million Ottoman soldiers from Anatolia migrated to the Cezayir Eyalet (Ottoman Algeria), the Tunus Eyalet (Ottoman Tunisia), and the Eyālet-i Trâblus Gârp (Ottoman Tripolitania), usually departing from the port of Izmir.
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