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SLAVERYINNORTHAFRICATHEFAMOUS

STORYOFCAPTAINJAMESRILEY

When

Captain

James

Riley

published

in

1817

the

account

of

his

and

his

crews

captureandenslavementatthehandsofagroupofNorthAfricantribesmenit

becameanimmediatehit,readersbeingenthralledbythisstarkreversaloftheusual

masterslavenarrativetheywereallsousedto.RobertC.Davis,authorofChristianSlaves,MuslimMasters,looksatthestoryinthecontextofothersimilartalesofEuropeansbeingtakenasslavesontheNorthAfricancoast.

In1817,theAmericanseacaptain,JamesRiley,publishedAnAuthenticNarrativeofthe

LossoftheAmericanBrigCommerce,WreckedontheWesternCoastofAfrica,intheMonth

ofAugust,1815,withanAccountoftheSufferingsoftheSurvivingOfficersandCrew,who

wereEnslavedbytheWanderingArabsoftheGreatAfricanDesertorZahahrah.More

recently,CaptainRileysmemoirehasbeenreprinted,thoughwithatitlethatbetterfits

modernsensibilities:Sufferingsin

Africa:

the

Incredible

True

Story

of

aShipwreck,

Enslavement,andSurvivalontheSahara(NewYork:Skyhorse,2007).Thisedition,along

withafictionalizedversionbyDeanKing,calledSkeletonsontheZahara:ATrueStoryof

Survival(NewYork:BackBayBooks,2005)enjoyrespectablesalesforreprintsofabook

nearlytwocenturiesold.

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CaptainRileysstoryisprettywellsummedupbytheoriginaltitleofhisbook.While

sailingfromGibraltartotheCapeVerdeIslands,Rileysmidsizedmerchantshipgot

lostinthefogandwreckedonthewestMoroccancoast.Trappedonshoreandhaving

runoutofbothfoodandwater,Rileyandthesurvivingcrewthrewthemselvesonthe

mercyofsomepassingBerbertribesmen,whopromptlyenslavedandcarriedthemoff

intothedesert.Abused,underfed,andoverworked,thecaptiveswerenearlydead

whentheirmasterssoldthemtoanArabtrader,whoboughttheAmericansonRileys

promiseofransomiftheyreturnedtothecoast.TherestofAnAuthentic

Narrativerecountsthesurvivorsslightlylessbrutaljourneyoverdesertandmountains

totheportcityofMogador(modernEssaouira)andtheireventualfreedom.

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Likemanyanotheradventurestory,CaptainRileystalewasessentiallyghostwritten.

TherealauthorwasRileysrespectablefriend,AnthonyBleecker[orBleeker],Esquire

ofNewYork,calledinasRileyhimselfputit,tosmoothdowntheasperitiesofmy

unlearnedstyle.StartingwithRileyslogbook,notes,andrecollections,Bleecker

appliedhisowntalents,judgements,anderudition,andinunderayearcameup

withanarrativerichinemotional,andevenspiritualthemes.Intheprocess,Bleeckerspunwhathadactuallybeenafairlyshortadventurethewholestory,fromthe

shipwreckuntilthesurvivorsreturntoMogador,lastedbarelytwomonths,ofwhich

onlythefirstthreeweekswerespentasslavesoftheBerbersintoanepictaleof

survivalagainstbothhumanandnaturalodds.

AnAuthenticNarrativewashardlythefirstChristianenslavementaccountthoughit

wasnearlythelasttobesetinNorthAfrica.Otherunluckytravellershadalsobeen

shipwreckedonthewildAtlanticcoastofAfrica,southofAgadir,andafewofthem

survivedtoproducesimilaraccounts.PaulBaepler,inWhiteSlaves,

African

Masters(Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,1999),offeredseveraltalesofbrutal

treatmentbysuchslaves,madeworse,ifpossible,bytheterrifyingandbleakSaharan

landscapesandbythedesperateconditionstheywereforcedtosharewiththenomadic

Berbers,whothemselveslivedonthemarginsofsurvival.OnewasbyRobertAdams,

anAfricanAmericansailorwhoseshipranagroundinthefogin1810,severalhundred

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milessouthofwhereRileycameashore.Adamswasaslaveforoverthreeyearsand

withhiswanderingmastersmadeitasfarasTimbuktu.Anothercastaway,the

AmericanwomanElizaBradley,supposedlyspenteightmonthsinBerberhands,

thoughsomehavequestionedheraccountasaworkofanonymousfictionthatalso

plagiarizeslargesectionsfromJamesRileysbestsellingaccount.

ThecaptivityaccountsofRiley,Adams,andBradley(ifindeedsheexisted)werenot

typicalexamplesofthegenre,however.FarmorecommonwerethestoriesofEuropean

andAmericanChristianswhofellintothehands,notofnomadicBerbersbutofBarbary

corsairs.Ofthesewehavescoresofexamples,publishedandunpublished,inlanguages

rangingfromLatinandSpanishtoItalian,French,Portuguese,English,Dutch,German,

andIcelandic.TheearliestdatebacktoMigueldeCervantes,aslaveinAlgiersfrom

157580;amongthelastwastheItalianpoetFilippoPanantisNarrativeofaResidencein

Algiers,publishedthesameyearasRileysAuthenticNarrative.Thecorsairswho

capturedthemwereprofessionalslavers,rangingtheentirelengthoftheMediterranean

and(after1600)outintotheAtlantic,asfarafieldastheCapeVerdeIslandsand

Iceland.Thesefreebooterstooktheircaptivesfrommerchantships,fishingboats,and

anyvillagetheycouldsack,sellingthemintheslavemarketsofSalonMoroccos

Atlanticcoast,orinAlgiers,Tunis,andTripoli,ontheBarbaryCoast.Somecaptives

theverywealthyandmanywomenwereboughtbydealerswhospecializedin

ransomingandwereoftenwelltreated,moreashostagesthanasslaves.Thegreat

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majoritywereproperlyenslaved,though,workedhardbytheirmasters,regularly

beatenandsoldwhentheywerenolongerfitorprofitable.Atleastaneighthofthe

captiveswereallocatedtothestate,itsshareinrecompenseforsupportingthecorsairs.

Theyweresettoworkonstateprojectsbuildingtheharbor,orfortifications,digging

inquarries,servingaslongshoremen;orrowinginthegalleys.Thosesoldtoprivate

masterswereeitherusedashouseservantsorfarmlaborersorrentedouttopotters,

tanners,constructionbosses,orwatersellers.Aluckyfewmanagedrunshopsor

taverns,payingtheirmastersamonthlyfeefortheprivilege.Womennotsuitablefor

ransominggenerallyendedupintheharemofwealthycorsairsortherulingpasha,

eitherasservingmaidsorconcubines.

IllustrationfromWilliamOkeleysEbenezer:or,aSmallMonumentofGreatMercy(London,1675).

WhereasCaptainRileyexperiencedhiscaptivitywithintheconfinesofasmalland

sociallysimplenomadicband,thoseEuropeanstakentoBarbarywerethrowninto

crowdedcitiesthatteemedwithmyriadsofslaves,freeChristians,renegadeChristians

(whohadtakentheturban),Turkishjanissaries,Jews,Arabs,Berbers,Greeks,and

blackAfricans.InitsheydayAlgierswasimmenselypowerful,oneoftherichestcities

ontheMediterranean,and,likeSal,akindofmerchantrepublic,runbythesame

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corsairswhohadgrownrichthroughslaving.EachofthoseBarbaryslaveswhowrote

aboutitportrayeddifferentaspectsofcaptivityFrancisKnightandJooMascarenhas

portrayedlifeasgalleyslaves;EmanueldArandaandChasteletdesBoysdescribed

manyotherkindsofslavelabor,plusthedauntingtaskofarrangingtheirownransom.

LouisMarotandWilliamOkeley,ontheotherhand,werefairlysuccessfulslave

entrepreneurs,whoalsomanagedtoescapefromtheirbondage;theAmericanJoseph

FossandtheItalianFilippoPanantiwroteatlengthabouttheconditionsofslavery

duringtheinstitutionslastyears.Manyofthesecaptivitynarrativesarenowbeing

republished.Thosethathavenotareoftenavailableonline,foranyonewhoknows

wheretolook.

Nevertheless,itisJamesRileysspareaccountofslaveryandinitsbarestandbleakest

terms

that

has

consistently

outsold

all

the

rest

of

these

narratives

combined.

Its

AmericandebutwassoonfollowedbyaBritisheditionandwithinayearaFrench

translation,titledNaufragedubrigantinamricainElcommerce,perdusurlacteoccidentale

dAfrique,aumoisdaot1815(Paris:LeNormant,1818);thefollowingyearsawa

Germanversion.Backhome,AnAuthenticNarrativewasrepublishednofewerthan

eighteentimesby1860.Likeanybestseller,thebookalsoaccrueditsshareofcelebrity

blurbs.HenryDavidThoreauandJamesFenimoreCooperbothpraisedit,and,above

all,AbrahamLincolnincludeditinhis1860campaignbiographyalongwithPilgrims

ProgressandTheBibleasoneofthebooksthathadshapedhisyouthfuldevelopment.

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DetailofanillustrationofaslavemarketinAlgiersfromPierreDansHistorievanBarbaryenendeszelfsZee

Roovers(Amsterdam,1684)

ThemodernappealofAnAuthenticNarrativecertainlystretchesbeyonditsillustrious

AmericanreadershiptherehavebeentwoFrenchrepublicationsinjustthelasttwo

years.Itspopularitysaysagreatdealaboutthepublicsnewfascinationwiththe

Muslimworldandthewholeclashofcivilizationsthesis,whichhassodominated

politicaldiscoursesince9/11.PerhapsitisnosurpriseRileysstoryhastakenagreater

holdonthemodernimaginationthanthosesetinthecitiesofBarbary.Hisaustereand

desperatetalerevolvesaroundarestrictedcastofcharacters,likeaChekhovplay

RileyhimselfandhisfewAmericancomrades;theirnamelesshandfulofBerber

tormenters;theArab,SidiHamet,whoeffectivelyrescuedthem;andtheEnglishconsul,

WilliamWillshire,whoredeemedthemandsetthemfree.Thesimplicityandintimacy

ofRileysstorywhichcloselyresemblescontemporaryAmericancaptivityaccounts,

wheresettlersfellintothehandsofAmericanIndianspresentsanuncluttered

narrativearc,aDanteantaleofthedescentofalostwandererintothehellofbondage

anddespair,onlytoriseagainthrougharedemptionearnedbysteadfastness.Itisatale

fitforthemovies(DeanKingmadeadocumentary),whichmayexplainitsenduring

popularityincomparisonwiththemorecomplexandsubtleBarbaryenslavement

narratives,wherevictimsandpersecutors,thedamnedandthesaved,therighteous

andthefoolishareoftensomuchhardertotellapart.

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RobertC.DavisisaprofessorofItalianRenaissanceandpremodernMediterraneanhistoryat

OhioStateUniversity.Hehasappearedinanumberoftelevisiondocumentaries,on

shipbuilding,Carnival,andtheMediterraneanslavetrade,inadditiontoauthoringnumerous

booksincluding

Christian

Slaves,

Muslim

Masters:

White

Slavery

in

the

Mediterranean,

the

BarbaryCoastandItaly,15001800in2004.