The Kabyle people are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria. The Kabyle were relatively independent of outside control during the period of Ottoman Empire rule in North Africa. They lived primarily in three different kingdoms: the Kingdom of Kuku, the Kingdom of Ait Abbas, and the principality of Aït Jubar. The area was gradually taken over by the French during their colonization beginning in 1857, despite vigorous resistance. The Kabyle people are mainly Muslim, with a small Christian minority. Africa illustrated by William. R. Smith; illustrated by the most eminent artists, 1889 (cropped and cleaned).