Albert Camus was born on November 7, 1913 in Mondovi, Algeria to Lucien Camus, whose family had settled in Algeria in 1871. Camus was considered Pied-Noir, which refers to a person of French ancestry born in the French North African colonies. His parents were working class; his mother was a housekeeper, and his father was a wine presser. When Albert was only a year old, his father was drafted to fight for France in World War One, and was killed at the Battle of the Marne.
The harsh economic and political realities of French Algeria were impressed upon Camus from a young age. Combined with his hatred of war, Camus' awareness of economic exploitation impacted his political life. He was a...
