The First and Only Swiss Colony

19 October 2021

Aymons de Ginges (1823-1893), the heir to the Barony of La Sarraz (Canton of Vaud), began his military career at the age of 16 in the service of the King of Naples, in the regiment of his father, Colonel Henri de Gingins, Baron de la Sarraz (1792-1874).

He returned to the land of Vaud and Château La Sarraz in 1850 before taking charge of the first and only Swiss colony.

Emperor Napoleon III (1808-1873) granted 20,000 hectares to the Compagnie Genevoise des Colonies suisses de Sétif in 1853 to establish a colony of ten villages at the gates of Kabylie in Algeria.

The company was founded by François-Auguste Sautter de Beauregard (1826-1885), a native of Geneva. One of its aims was establishing a colony in Algeria that would be populated by Swiss citizens.

The settlers came mainly from the canton of Vaud.  In 1854, the colony numbered almost 3,000 settlers. In 1858, Aymons de Ginges resigned from his position, but the Swiss colony continued to exist until 1956 (!).

(Source and further information: Musée du Château de la Sarraz, www.chateau-lasarraz.ch; University of Geneva, www.unige.ch).