Early life of Habib Bourguiba married Moufida and searched for a job as a lawyer, to provide the needs of family. He quickly started a journalistic career in order to defend the Tunisian personality. Bourguiba's paternal family originated from the Ottoman Empire nobility. In Albanian, Bourguiba meant "prisoner". The family lived in Istanbul before leaving the city for the Sirte coast in Libya. In 1795, the great-grandfather of Habib Bourguiba, Hadj Mohamed Bourguiba Al Kebir, left Tripolitania to settle in Tunisia, because of the eruption of troubles between Libya and the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, he moved to Monastir, in the "Tripolitanian quarter" with his family,
Habib Bourguiba August 1902, or possibly 1901. Bourguiba's mother gave birth to him when she was 40, which, according to Bourguiba, was a source of great shame for her. His father, who was 53 years old, wondered whether he could raise him properly. Despite financial hardship, Ali Bourguiba gave great importance to the education of his children. He was enrolled in the army by general Ahmed Zarrouk, and spent nineteen years of his life campaigning before retiring. Eager to avoid such a fate for his last child, he decided to ensure Habib obtained his "Certificat d'études primaires", which would dispense him from