AS I do not design to trace the Original of every Part of the Empire of Morocco, but to give an exact Account of its Extent, Bounds, Strength, Trade, and Go­vernment, so it will be suffici­ent to begin with as short a Re­lation as possible, of the Methods [Page 2] taken by the famous Muley Archyd, King of Tafilet, and Muley Ismaël his Brother and immediate Suc­cessor to re-unite the Kingdoms of Morocco, Fess, Tafilet, and Sus, with the vast Province of Dara, under the same Power; and form that mighty State which the latter Rules at this time in so Arbitrary a manner.

Muley Xerif, King of Tafilet, and Father to Muley Archyd, who by their Genealogy give themselves out for the Offspring of Mahomet and his Daughter Fatima, was suc­ceeded by Muley Hamet, the eldest of 84 Sons and 124 Daughters that surviv'd him. But Muley Ar­chyd, one of his Brothers, whose haughty and ambitious Spirit dis­dain'd to obey him, did not suffer him to wear the Crown long un­disturb'd, but with the assistance of some of the chief Alcaydes, whom he had engag'd to side with him, orm'd some Designs, whose Begin­nings, [Page 3] however, did not meet with a Success answerable to his ambi­tious Ends; for, the King having prevented them, caus'd the Alcaydes to be seiz'd and put to death, and shut him up in a Prison.

Yet that Prince having found means to escape, was rather exa­sperated than won by this mode­rate Usage; and, getting some Forces together, made some new Attempts, whose Success was no better than that of the former; since he was taken and confin'd a second time.

This restraint, tho' longer and closer than the first, did not pro­duce a better Effect; for, the Black to whose keeping the King had intrusted him, as to the most Faithful of his Servants, was not Proof against the wheedling Ca­resses and large Promises with which Muley Archyd ply'd him, to get his Liberty; and the Prisoner having plotted with his Keeper a­bout [Page 2] [...] [Page 3] [...] [Page 4] the manner of his Escape, got out at last: But, persuaded it was not safe to trust one that was thus false to his Master, lest he should happen to be serv'd so himself, the only Return he made to the Black's kind Office was to dispatch him out of the World, in his Flight, with a stroke of his Scimiter.

He took shelter at Zaovias, where the Morabite Benbucar govern'd, whom the Inhabitants of the Pro­vince of that Name had chosen to be their Prince, for the sake of his Vertue.

Those who are call'd Morabites in Africa are like our Hermits: They seem wholly apply'd to Learn­ing and Holiness, and retire to Desarts, whither the People, who have a very great Veneration for them, sometimes come to seek them out, and take them out of their solitude to set the Crown on their Heads, as they had done to Benbu­car.

[Page 5] Muley Archyd, concealing his Name and Quality, offer'd him his Ser­vice as a common Soldier; and that good old Man receiv'd him kindly; employing him afterwards in divers Capacities, upon the En­couragement which his Merit that exerted it self had given him; in all which Employments he behav'd himself so well, that in a little time he gain'd Benbucar's Esteem and Friendship.

At last he was discover'd by some Arabs of Tafilet, who had brought some Dates to sell, and immediately saluted him as their King's Brother. Upon which Ben­bucar's Sons suspected he was not come thus disguis'd into their Country without some Design, and resolv'd to have him put to death.

Accordingly they contriv'd to make him fall into an Ambuscade, out of which, however, he escap'd, and fled to Quivan, where, having al­so offer'd his Service to the Prince of [Page 6] the Country, as he had done to Benbucar, he so effectually disco­ver'd his extraordinary Worth, that he became his Master's chief Minister of State and Favorite.

But the Authority his eminent Post gave him, the Trust repos'd in him by that kind Prince, and the Love of his Subjects, which he had industriously purchas'd, prov'd only so many new Spurs to his Ambition. He persuaded himself it would not be less easie to him to Conquer that State where he was already so absolute, than to e­merge and rise as he had done. The Master's very Treasures serv'd the ungrateful Favorite to bait those on whom he cou'd not other­wise so well depend; and having thus successfully drawn them in, he in a short time with ease made himself Master of the Prince of Quivian, as also of his Treasures and Country; and conceiving that his Death was the surest means to [Page 7] secure these unjust Possessions to himself, he caus'd him to be made a­way, and then rais'd an Army with which he dispos'd himself to pur­sue his Resentment and former De­signs against his Brother.

Muley Mehemet, who had notice given him of this, did his part to prevent him; and to that end ha­ving taken the Field, several Bat­tels were fought between them, in which Muley Archyd having almost always worsted his Brother, re­duc'd him to shut himself up with­in the Walls of the City of Tafilet, where his Grief for his Misfortunes, and his Fear of his victorious Bro­ther's Cruelty hasten'd his death. Muley Archyd, thus rid of his chief Competitor, and in a fair way of enlarging his Conquests, pursu'd his Victories with so much Courage, Conduct, and good Fortune, that he soon made himself Master also of Sally, which was a free Town, and of the Kingdom of Fess, Mo­rocco [Page 8] and Sus, some of which yielded to the Power of his Arms, and the rest to the Terror which they spread over the Country.

He did not enjoy them so long a Time as his Age and Fortune seem'd to promise; for, in his own Palace, and in his Fortieth Year, he cou'd not avoid the stroke of Death, which he had so often de­fi'd in the Field. Having invited the Nobility on a certain Festival, and drank Wine to excess with his most intimate Friends, which he used to do often enough, he took a fancy in this condition to Curvet in his Gardens on a fiery Horse, that ran away with him with such a fury, as he wheel'd about under a Walk of Orange Trees, that one of their largest Branches broke his Scull, and, in three days, put an end to his Life.

Good Order and Peace, which that Conqueror began to establish in his Dominions, were soon ba­nish'd [Page 9] by that unexpected Death, which happen'd in the Year 1672. For, those of his Family whom he had entrusted with the Govern­ment of his Kingdoms, endeavour'd to secure to themselves the respe­ctive Countries where they Go­vern'd; but Muley Ismael, who prov'd the bravest, the most for­ward and esteem'd, was also the most successful.

He first caus'd himself to be pro­claim'd King of Tafilet, took Pos­session of his Brother's Treasures, then march'd into the Field with as many Men as he could get to­gether; and, having won some by Promises or Presents, overcame others by Force of Arms, and made himself Master of all.

Of all his Competitors, Muly Ha­met, his Nephew, was reduced with most difficulty; for, having likewise caus'd himself to be proclaim'd King of Morocco and Sus, and oppos'd him with numerous Forces, this occa­sion'd [Page 10] several Sieges and Engage­ments, which, however, were ge­nerally so much to his Disadvan­tage, that at last he was forc'd to submit as well as the rest, all his Attempts having only serv'd to give a greater lustre to the Con­duct and undaunted Valour of this Prince, who owes only to these two Qualifications the Sovereign Possession he now enjoys of all this Empire, whose extent is no less considerable than its Situation.

It spreads it self about 250 Leagues in length from North to South, and 140 in breadth, from East to West. Its limits on the East are the Kingdom of Algier, by which 'tis bounded at Tremesen; on the West, the Atlantic Ocean; the River Dara on the South; and the Mediterranean on the North, if you except three Fortified Places which the Christian Princes still hold on its Coasts, Ma [...]agan pos­sess'd by the Portuguese on the [Page 11] Ocean, and Ceuta and Melilla by by the Spaniards on the Mediter­ranean, the one at the Streights-Mouth, the other further up. The Spaniards had, not long since, two other very Strong Holds on the Ocean, Larache and Mamora, which they have suffered to be taken from them by Muley Ismael; the first in the Year 1681. the other in 1689. The English also had Tangier there, near the Streights, but left it some Years ago, having first ruin'd its Port and Fortifications.

So that the most considerable Sea-Port Towns the Emperour of Morocco has on the Ocean, are Santa Cruz, Safy, Sally, Mamora, Larache, Arzilla, and Tangier; and on the Mediterranean, Zaffarina, and Tetuan, if we may reckon the latter among the rest, it being sea­ted two Leagues within Land, and an open Town without any Forti­fications; yet pretty well built, and very populous.

[Page 12] The Inhabitants of Tetuan, who are said to be upwards of Fifteen Thousand, report themselves to be Andalusians, and most of them speak Spanish; for every one knows, that the Moors were pos­sess'd of Spain Six or Seven Hun­dred Years, and that after many vain Endeavours, which the Na­tives us'd to drive them out, Ferdinand, more Fortunate than the rest, wholly subdued them, and forc'd them seemingly to pro­fess the Roman Belief, while they secretly plotted the ruine of the State: But Philip III. having found out their Designs, expell'd them in 1610. Accordingly above One Hundred Thousand of both Sexes, Young and Old, left Spain, and the greatest part of them having shelter'd themselves in Africa, set­tled at Sally and Tetuan.

They are White-men, pretty well Civiliz'd, and very kind to Stran­gers and Christians. The French [Page 13] Consul, and all the Merchants who have a Settlement there, tho' of different Nations and Religions, besides the Duty of Three Crowns Levied on every Ship, Tartane or Bark that touch there, towards the maintaining of a little Hospital, and two Spanish Recollet Monks, equally contribute towards the further Charges about it. There is another at Sally, where the same Method is taken.

Of all these Sea-Ports, not one can be esteem'd a good Haven; Tangier, Mamora, and Sally might be thought the best; but there is no coming thither but over a Bar or Sand that absolutely hinders all great Ships from going in; for which Reason, neither the King nor his Privateers can fit out any other Vessels than Brigantines or light Frigats that go a Cruising, and rove on the Sea in hopes of taking some Merchant-men.

[Page 14] There never is any fix'd num­ber of these Ships, 'tis greater or less as there are old ones lost, or new ones built. It consists now in Twelve or Thirteen, of which Six belong to the King, and the rest to private Persons; they are generally of Eighteen or Twenty Guns, the biggest not exceeding Twenty four; but they have often Two hundred Men on Board, yet are generally in very ill plight, by reason of the want of Stores, Sails, Cables, and other Rigging in those Parts; so that if the Moors did not now and then get some from the English and Dutch, they would very soon and easily be reduc'd to a much smaller number.

It costs the King of Morocco no­thing to maintain his Ships; the Alcayde or Governour of the Port where they lye, pays the Officers and the Men; if they take any Prizes, one half is the King's, the other is divided between the Al­cayde [Page 15] and the Officers, who bestow also a small part of it on the Ships Company; but as for the Slaves, the King takes them all; paying Fifty Crowns for every one of those who do not belong to his Moiety.

Such Ships as are fitted out by private Persons, are kept wholly at the Charge of their Owners, who reimburse themselves out of the Product of the Prizes, of which the King has a Fifth, and all the Slaves, paying also Fifty Crowns for every one.

The Kingdom of Morocco, and that of Fess, are the largest and most considerable of the Four al­ready mentioned, and the head Cities of both have the same Names with them. The City of Morocco was formerly very Populous and most Famous for its Wealth and Beauty, but is now much fallen from its ancient State, and does not contain above 25000 Inhabi­tants; [Page 16] its Streets seem almost un­frequented, and none takes care to repair the decay'd Buildings, or prevent the Ruines, the num­ber of whose heaps encreases e­very day, which altogether dis­graces it. Its Palace and that Mosque so celebrated for its Large­ness and Ornaments, as well as for its Brazen Gates, and three Golden Balls, which were said to be Enchanted, are now dwindled to nothing. Muley Ismael has not been afraid of the vain Prognosti­cations of Malediction, with which those who should dare to take them away were Curs'd; his extream greediness of Gold, stronger in that Juncture than the Superstition so common to the Moors, prevail'd with him to cause them to be re­mov'd and buried among his in­visible and useless Treasure: I shall take an opportunity, before I have done to explain why I call it so.

[Page 17] 'Tis pretended that these Gol­den Balls were set on the top of that Mosque by the Wife of that great Almanzor, so famous in Hi­story for having Conquer'd Spain; and that this Queen, to leave a Monument of her Grandeur to after Ages, laid out the greatest part of her Jewels and Dowry in the building of that Mosque; that these Balls had been plac'd on its top during such a Constellation of the Heavens as did not admit of their being remov'd; the Archi­tect, by the means of certain Spells and Conjurings, having also o­blig'd some Spirits to guard them. They even affirm, that several Kings who had attempted to take them away were always hinder'd by some accident; and the Moors, who are very credulous in point of Magick, had all along believ'd, that, according to the Import of this Spell, the Devil should break the Necks of those who should [Page 18] dare to take them away. But this King, less credulous and scru­pulous, has undeceiv'd them at last.

Safy and Mazagan, both on the Ocean, the latter a fine large City, in the hands of the Portuguese, who keep in it a good Garison, are the only Places in all the King­dom, which, besides the chief City, deserve to be mention'd; for though its extent, which is very large, be divided into Seven Pro­vinces, it is not very Populous, be­cause its Sandy Soil, dry and bar­ren in most places, neither admits of Plenty of Corn, nor of Cattle; and abounds in nothing but Ca­mels, which are cheap there, besides Copper, Wax, and Almonds, of which great quantities are vended in Europe.

'Tis thought there may be in its Plains about Thirty Thousand Huts of Aduars, which contain near One Hundred Thousand Men, pay­ing Garam, that is, who Yearly pay [Page 19] the King a Tribute of the Tenth part of all they have, to which they are liable as soon as they are Fifteen Years of Age.

An Aduar is a kind of a ram­bling or flying Village (there be­ing very few of another kind in all Africa) that consists of some Families of Arabs, who Incamp in Tents, which they pitch, now in one place, and then in ano­ther, according as the goodness of the Soil invites them to stay, and the subsistance of their Cattle, in which their Wealth wholly con­sists, requires it. Each Aduar has its Marabot, and submits to the Conduct of a Chief, whom they chuse among themselves; every Family has its Tent or Hut, in which they all lie pell-mell with their Oxen, Sheep, Camels, Poul­try, Dogs, &c. Their Misery and Nastiness are greater than can be imagin'd; yet from them the King draws his most settled and certain [Page 20] Revenues: A Black of his Guard is commonly sent to Collect their Tributes, and, tho' alone, bestows plentiful Bastonado's as he pleases on the least Delinquent, non da­ring either resist or complain.

When the Arabs remove their Aduars, they set their Wives and Children on Camels in some Wick­er Conveniencies cover'd with Li­nen-Cloth, and contriv'd like Ni­ches or Arches, but quite round, which wholly secure them from the heat of the Sun, yet at the same time afford them means to take the Air on which side they please. If they have not Camels enough to carry all their Lumber, they load with it their Bulls and Cows that wear Pack-Saddles; which I don't remember to have seen any where else.

The Kingdom of Fess, known of old by the Name of Mauritania Tingitana, is of no less extent than that of Morocco, and, like it, di­vided [Page 21] into Seven Provinces; but much more Fruitful, better Peo­pled, and affords a much greater plenty of all sorts of Corn, Cat­tle, Pulse, Kitchen-Herbs, Fruits, and Wax; its Fertility might yet be increas'd, were there more Care taken to Cultivate it, but the Goodness of the Soil, that produces almost of its self, the slothful Neg­ligence of the Natives, who con­tent themselves with what just serves for their Subsistance, and their scrupulous Obstinacy, in re­fusing an Exportation of Corn, cause above half the Lands to lie fallow.

They have some Mines of Iron, but do not know how to refine that Metal, and can put it to no other Use but making Nails, and other course Iron-work.

This Kingdom is bounded on one side by that of Morocco, and by that of Algier on the other. The River Sebou, whose Stream is very [Page 22] rapid, runs through it, and flow­ing about half a League from its Metropolis, afterwards loses it self in the Ocean at Mamora. That River is the finest in all the Em­pire of Morocco; and on its Banks, above Mamora, stands a large Fo­rest, that might yield Materials for the building many Ships. 'Tis al­so said, that not far from its Spring there is a very fine Bridge, made of Brick and Stone, and One hun­dred and fifty Fathom long; which would be a remarkable and extraordinary thing were it not ancient; for, they are so far from raising Publick Buildings at this time in that Country, that not the least Care is taken even to Repair the High-ways, for the easier Car­riage of Goods; tho' indeed it must be own'd, that as there is no Travelling in those Parts, but on Horse-back, or with Camels, 'tis not so absolutely necessary to repair the Ways, as in some other Countries.

[Page 23] There are neither Publick Wag­gons, Carriers, nor Posts settled in those Kingdoms; so that all Cor­respondencies, which indeed are not frequent there, are only kept by the means of Expresses on Foot or on Horse-back, who, however, go and come with speed, and cost but little; first, because the Men and the Horses are hardy and in­ur'd to Toil; and then by reason of the cheapness of the Provisions, of which a small pittance satisfies them.

Upon urgent and important E­mergencies they make use of Dro­medaries, a sort of Camels only differing from the rest by their Swiftness and Leanness, which are natural and altogether peculiar to this kind of them; for 'tis observ'd, as the Natives report, that a Drome­dary can carry a Man as many times ten Leagues a Day as it has been Days asleep, and blind immediate­ly after its Birth: So that if it slept [Page 24] six Days as soon as it was born, it performs sixty Leagues a Day, and proportionably more or less.

I saw one of this kind at Mic­keness, with which some endea­vour'd to make me believe, the King's Uncle travell'd one hundred Leagues in a Day; but this seems to me to be stretch'd somewhat be­yond Truth; those who assur'd me of this, add, that the Fatigue which attends this way of Travel­ling is equal to its Speed, and that it would be impossible to hold out, or bear the Dromedary's most pre­cipitate Ambling, did not he that rides him cause himself to be ty'd fast to the Saddle, and cover his Mouth for fear of being stifled; and indeed, if this be true, there is no doubt but that a Traveller must needs find himself intolera­bly tir'd, at the end of such a Journey.

The Aduars of Arabs, in the Kingdom of Fess, are judg'd to [Page 25] consist of about Three hundred thousand Men paying Garams. Its Metropolis, that gives it its Name, is absolutely the finest, richest, and most trading City in all the Em­pire of Morocco: 'Tis divided into two, one call'd the Old, and the other the New Town, both fairly built, and stock'd with above Three hundred thousand Inhabitants; the Old Town is Peopled with Whites­men, and the New with Blacks; and both have so many Gates, Bridges, Fountains, and Piazza's; so many Gemmes or Mosques, Colleges, and stately Structures, that the large Description which Dapper gives of it, in his History of Africa, no less deserves the studious Reader's per­usal, than all these Things them­selves are worthy the Curiosity of such Travellers as go thither. As for my Part, not having been per­mitted to come to it, tho' it lies but a Day's Journey from Mic­keness, [Page 26] I am oblig'd to trust to what others tell us of it.

The other Places of Note in this Kingdom, are Theza, Mickeness, Mamora, Arzilla, Larache, Sally, Tangier, Ceuta, Alcasar, and Te­tuan.

Mickeness is the Place where the King resides, and lies pretty high up in the Land: 'Tis but a little Town, but so crouded with Inha­bitants, the Number of which is said to exceed Sixty thousand, that there is no passing through its Streets, which besides are very nar­row, without justling one another; I shall speak of it more at large before I have done.

Theza is a little fortifi'd Place between Fess and Morocco.

The other Towns lie on the Sea-Coast, and are all Populous e­nough, and Places of great Trade: They might have a greater Tra­fick yet, were their Havens bet­ter; [Page 27] but, as I have said, the Barr that lies all along the Coast does not permit any such.

Tetuan and Sally are the Ports where Ships most easily and fre­quently arrive: For which reason many Merchants of divers Nations have settled there, and the King of France has establish'd a Consul in each Place, for the Conveniency and Safety of Trade; at least they are appointed with that Intent, which yet I may say is render'd ineffectual by the barbarous and mean-interested ways of those E­nemies of Civility and all sense of Honour, who, as I have seen, have a greater Consideration for the least Factor, with regard to the Gain they hope to reap by him, than for a Consul, whose Cha­racter, as being unprofitable to them, is every Day expos'd to the Insults of their capricious ill Hu­mours, and Contempt.

[Page 28] Sally is more known and cele­brated than the rest, on the ac­count of its Privateers and Haven, which, however, is only fit to har­bour Shipping of small Bulk and Draught. 'Tis also considerable for its Forts, for its two Towns divided, as at Fess, into Old and New, and for its great Trafick: Its Inhabitants, who are not above Twenty thousand, take upon them­selves the Name of Andalusians, like those of Tetuan; it had for­merly some beautiful Buildings, which the Wars and its Rebellions have almost all ruin'd. It has put the Kings of Morocco to some trouble for some time, when it strove to cast off their Yoke; but Muley Archyd reduc'd it in 1666, by the great Victory he obtain'd over the famous Gayland Lord of Tetu­tuan, Arzilla, and Alcasar, under whose Protection it had put it­self. Its two Towns are parted by the River Guerou, that on the South­side [Page 29] has two Castles on the top of a little Hill by the Sea; these have a Communication by the means of a great Wall, and contain about Thirty Pieces of Canon in no very good order; above the old Castle, at the mouth of the River, there is a small Fort with three Iron and three Brass-Guns in it, from twelve to fifteen Pounds Shot, to facili­tate the Retreat of those Pyrats when the are chas'd in.

Alcasar is also become famous by the bloody Battle, which Sebastian King of Portugal lost near it, with his Life, in the Year 1578, in the Plain between that Town and the River Mukazem: It is little, thin­ly Peopled, and very ill built, but stands most pleasantly by that Ri­ver, with fine Gardens all round it. Gayland most commonly chose to reside there in a large Palace, which is now altogether ruin'd. I cannot forbear to mention, by the way, that this Town may be said [Page 30] to be the Nest of all the Storks in that part of Barbary, and their Number exceeds that of its Inha­bitants; I never saw so many to­gether in one Place; which yet is less strange if we consider that they are safe and secure there; for, the Moors account it a Sin to kill any of them, and most strictly forbid it; because they believe that God, at Mahomet's Request, transform'd into those Birds a Company of A­rabians, who robb'd those that went on Pilgrimage to Mecca.

Ceuta, as I have said, belongs to the Spaniards, who, besides that considerable Port, hold another call'd Melilla in the same Kingdom, and on the Sea-side towards Algi­er, or also Pennon de los Velez, a little Fortress built on the Point of a Rock that's surrounded by the Sea, and almost impregnable by its situation.

The Kingdom of Sus is conti­guous to that of Morocco, about [Page 31] its South-West Part; 'tis but small, very indifferently Peopled, and even, in a good part of it, almost uninhabited. There may be some Fifteen thousand Aduars of Arabs in its Plains, all brave, daring Souls, and impatient of the Yoke: It has cost this King a great deal of Time to subdue them; neither has he yet been able to effect that wholly; the Inhabitants of two Mountains still remaining free and disclaiming his Tyranny, at the same time that they are govern'd by a Chief, whom they chuse a­mong themselves.

The most considerable Towns in that Kingdom are Illec and Ta­rudante, both large and very popu­lous, with respect to the rest of the Country, each having about Fifty thousand Inhabitants. The King sends no Alcaydes thither, as he does to the Towns of his other Domi­nions, and only sends a Captain, to whom they give the Title of Bas­char, [Page 32] who has some Officers under him, to put his Orders in Execu­tion through the whole Kingdom; but this with moderation. The Moors are treated here much more gently, or rather much less cruel­ly than at Morocco, or at Fess, and only pay the yearly Tribute, with­out being liable or constrain'd to pay any extraordinary Tax or Ga­rams. This milder Usage is an ef­fect of the King's Politicks, lest a severe Treatment should awake their Inclination to rise against him, which the Situation of the Country does very much encou­rage.

That Part of the Kingdom which is inhabited yields a reasonable quantity of Corn, Pulse, Kitchen-Herbs, Fruit, and Olives: Its Moun­tains abound in Copper-Mines, and are also said to have some Gold.

Santa Cruz lies on the Ocean, within the Extent of this King­dom, [Page 33] and is a Town of pretty good Trade, either for such Goods as are sent thither from Morocco, or such as are the Product of the Country, which are also Copper, Bees-Wax, and Almonds; and, be­sides these, very fine Ostridge Fea­thers.

The Kingdom of Tafilet is of no great extent, having no Town of Note besides one of its Name, which is fenc'd only with a Wall, but has a pretty good Castle.

This Kingdom, that lies beyond Mount Atlas, and was formerly known by the Name of Numidia, is all of it in an ungrateful sandy Tract of Land, between the De­sarts of Zahara and the Province of Dara; It has on the East the Kingdom of Morocco, from which 'tis parted by Mount Atlas; and tho' it yields no Wheat or other Corn, abounds in Dates; all those that are imported through every Part of Europe come thence; for, [Page 34] the King of Morocco will not suf­fer any to be exported out of o­ther Places. That Fruit is their daily Food, instead of Bread, with Camel's Flesh; for, the driness of the Country affords no sustenance to other Cattle, unless it be a kind of Sheep that wears neither Horns nor Wool, which yet is said to be always very fat and well-tasted there: The Horses are fine, and in great number; and wholly feed upon Dates.

Its small extent does not hinder the King from esteeming and trea­ting it is the most Noble of all these Kingdoms, because among the Moors it passes for the first that follow'd their Prophet and his Alco­ran; so that its Inhabitants, that are not very numerous, would think it a dishonour to themselves and their Law, were they govern'd by any but the Progeny of that Pro­phet; which obliges the King to have always one of his Sons there [Page 35] as their Governor. He who Com­mands there at present is call'd Muley Bensar, and is no less gree­dy and absolute in point of Ex­actions and Garams than his Fa­ther's Alcaydes are in other Parts; this pretended Nobility no excu­sing the People from it.

That Country produces some Indico, the Trade of which is joyn'd by the Inhabitants to that of their Dates; they also have a Manufactory of certain Linnen-Cloth, strip'd with Silk Moresco-fashion, call'd Hayiks, which being much worn through all Barbary, are of a quick sale, and a gainful Commodity, to their no small Re­lief towards the Payment of their Garams.

The ancient Kings of Tafilet styl'd themselves also Lords of Dara, a large Province adjoyning and be­longing to the Kingdom, and also much the same with it as to the [Page 36] Soil, Product, Inhabitants, and way of living.

This is what, in few words, may be said, relating to the Extent, Si­tuation, and Quality of these King­doms: If any is not satisfied with this compendious Information, he may, if he pleases, consult Dapper and Marmol in their Historical and Geographical Descriptions of Afri­ca. As for me, whose Intent is only to give an Idea of their pre­sent State and Government, I thought it would be sufficient for my Purpose, to draw this Extract from the Whole, that I might af­terwards apply it as the perfor­mance of my Orders and Subject requir'd it.

The Moors are generally but in­different Soldiers, and not very Brave; yet can manage a Horse and use a Lance with Dexterity, and are strong and indefatigable; they have Wit but not Politeness, and are Jealous, Lustful, Lyars, Su­perstitious, [Page 37] Hypocrites, Cheats, Cruel and Faithless. Those that live along the Coast of Mauritania Tingitana, and in the Kingdom of Fess, are the least unciviliz'd; and of all the Christians, whose irrecon­cilable Enemies they are, being pre­judic'd with this inveterate hatred by their Law, the French are those they esteem and fear the most.

I cannot but observe, that were these Countries in any other Hands than those of these Infidels, who, by reason of their native rustical Temper, and wilful Ignorance (that makes them confine their Studies to that of the Alcoran) neglect them, and are incapable of know­ing their Value, they might be made a State equally delicious and flourishing, as well for its Situati­on, and the Pleasantness and Salu­brity of its Climate, temperate e­nough every where on this side Mount Atlas; as, for the Fruitful­ness, and other Qualifications of its [Page 38] hale and hardy Inhabitants, for the quantity, coolness and wholsom­ness of its Waters, for the plenty and goodness of the Food it af­fords for Cattle, Horses, &c. For the generousness of its Soil, that yields its Fruits almost without help, and would be wonderful Fertile were Care taken to culti­vate it; for the pleasing and pro­fitable variety of its Woods, Plains, Mounds, small Hills and Vallies; for the good Taste of its Pulse, Kitchen-Herbs, Fruits, and Wine; and for its convenient Situation for Trade, and the Transportation of all its Wares.

So that I cannot but grieve, when I think, that so rich a Treasure is, as it were, buried in the very Cen­tre of Sloth, Ignorance, and Inhu­manity.

I ought now to give a particu­lar Account of the Manners, Incli­nations and Qualifications of the [Page 39] Prince who is Master of that Em­pire.

His Name is Muley Ismael, and he takes the Title of Grand Xe­riffe, that is, the First and most Pow­erful of Mahomet' s Successors; for, as I have said, he pretends to be descended from that Prophet, by Aly and Fatima, his Son-in-Law and Daughter; and is prouder of this Parentage than of the long Train of Kings of his Family: Which sufficiently shows, that his Prede­cessors, who us'd also to style them­selves Miramoulins, which signifies Emperors of the Faithful, made use of a Religious Pretence for their own Establishment.

And now, since I have mention'd this, it may not be amiss to say something of their Religion. The Alcoran is its Foundation, and the Moors and Arabs, who explain that Book after a particular way, fol­low the ridiculous Expositions, which their Doctor Melish, one of [Page 40] the four Chiefs of Mahomet's Sect has left them of it, grounding their Faith on certain Fundamen­tal Points, without which, they give out, 'tis impossible to be sav'd.

They hold that there is but One GOD, without any Trinity of Per­sons; that JESUS CHRIST was a great Prophet, born of a Virgin whose Name was Mary; that his Incarnation was such as we believe it, and even foretold her by the Arch-Angel Gabriel, God's Embas­sador; that he was the holiest of Men, and wrought many Miracles; but that he did not die, as we believe, having been assum'd into Heaven; where he is in Body and Soul, and that when Judas would have betray'd him to the Jews, one of his Disciples, whom God caus'd to appear in his likeness, was cru­cified in his stead, and that 'tis this Disciple we adore.

[Page 41] They also believe that the same Jesus Christ is to return to live forty Years on Earth, to re-unite all Nations under one Belief; that he will be laid in the Tomb which Mahomet caus'd to be plac'd on the Right-hand of his; that those who profess'd the Doctrine of Christ till Mahomet's Coming, shall be sav'd; but that what we now be­lieve, differs from what he taught (which also the persecuting Jews kept him from bringing to Per­fection) and that therefore those who will not follow the Precepts of their Prophet, whom they call God's great Favorite, and the Ex­plainer of his Will, and who was sent by God only to finish what the other had but begun, are to be damn'd eternally.

They admit the Books of Moses, the Psalms of David, the Gospel (as Sergius has expounded it to them) and the Alcoran as Holy Writ.

[Page 42] They believe a Heaven and a Hell, the Resurrection and Prede­stination; placing the Eternal Bles­sings, that are to be the Reward of the Faithful, in a sight of the So­vereign Being, of his Angels, and of Mahomet; and, besides, in the Enjoyment of Seventy Virgins, with whom they are continually to be wrapt in Extasies of Delight without impairing, or rather anni­hilating, their Virginity; they are also fondly possess'd with the Hopes of indulging their Appetites with all sorts of most delicious Food, and of bathing themselves in Ri­vers of Milk, Honey, and Rose-Water; nay, they even believe that the very Excrements of the Body shall evaporate in most grate­ful Sweats, and that they are to take up their Lodging in Banquet­ting-Houses and stately Palaces, built with Pearl and precious Stone.

[Page 43] They have a Lent or Ramadan, which lasts thirty Days, and keep it so strictly, that they do not only religiously abstain from eating or drinking the least thing, from the very dawn to the first appearance of the Stars on the Evening, but also forbear smoaking Tobacco, and smelling any Perfumes; indeed I must needs own that they make themselves large amends for this abstinence at Night, passing it ge­nerally at that time in all manner of Luxury and Licentiousness.

On the Eve of that Ramadan, they prepare themselves for its ob­servation by publick Rejoycings, that are attended with discharges of Fusils and Muskets, and with repeated Acclamations of Allah! more like Howlings than joyful Shouts; every one of them watches that he may be the first who di­scovers the Moon, and they fire their Muskets at that Planet as soon as they perceive it; which done, [Page 44] they meet to say their Prayers, with their Marabot at the head of them, and kneel, rise, and pro­strate themselves on the ground se­veral times, still turn'd towards the East. They have three Easters which they keep Holy for seven days together; however, without abstaining from Buying or Selling, as they do on Fridays, that are their Lord's Days.

The first Easter is kept on the first day of the Moon that comes after their Ramadan, and if it hap­pens to fall on a Saturday, which is the Sabbath of the Jews, those of that Nation in this Empire are o­blig'd to present the King with a Hen and ten Chickens of Gold, or with the value of them in Money.

On the first Day of that Easter, the King commonly causes all the Prisoners in the Town where he then is, to be brought before him, and either Absolves them, or puts them to death, according to their [Page 45] Crimes and the humour he is in. He put Twenty Criminals to death after this manner on the third Day of this Easter, which happen'd to be the fourth after my arrival at Mickeness.

The second Easter, which they call The Great, is twenty Days after that of Ramadan: They use then to sacrifice to Mahomet as many Sheep as there are Male Children in each Family, and this in Memo­ry of the Sacrifice which was offer'd by Abraham, the Father of Ismael the Patriarch of the Arabian Sara­zens, from whom they believe their Prophet's Mother deriv'd her Ori­ginal. The King makes a publick Ceremony of it at a Chappel, or as they term it, at a Saint about a quarter of a League from Micke­ness, but with the addition of this superstitious Circumstance: As soon as the Sheep's Throat has been cut, (for they take great care not to kill otherwise all the Animals [Page 46] they are to eat, believing they wou'd not bleed enough another way, which wou'd make them im­pure and forbidden Flesh) As soon, I say, as the Sheep's Throat has been cut, a Moor on Horse-back takes it, wraps it up in a Cloth, and gallops away with it full speed to the Alcassave, which is the King's Palace: Now if when he is got thither, the Sheep is still alive, they draw a good Omen from it, and there is great rejoycing: But if it die by the way, then every one goes home very doleful, and there is an end of the Festival.

The third Easter, which falls al­ways three Moons and two Days after the second, is kept in honour of Mahomet's Birth; and on its first Day the Moors eat Hasty-Pudding in remembrance of that which was eaten by that Prophet. They light great numbers of Lamps and Wax Tapers in the Mosques on the Night before that Easter, and all their [Page 47] Talbes or Priests sing his Praise without ceasing till Morning.

They Solemnize St. John Baptist's Day by Bonefires, which they make in their Gardens, where they burn a great deal of Incense round their Fruit-Trees, to entitle them to the Blessing of Heaven.

They admit of Circumcision, but neither fix the Age of those that are to be Circumcis'd, nor the time when.

They all say the Sala, or Prayer (which they also call the Masse) four times a Day, and once a Night, at certain set hours, which are denoted to them by the Cries, or to speak more properly, by the Howlings, which those who are appointed to do that Office, make from the top of those Gemmes, or Mosques; for, the use of Bells is neither known nor allow'd in their Religion.

They very often wash their Heads, Hands and Feet, and pre­tend to cleanse and purge them­selves [Page 48] from all Sins by that means. When-ever a Man has had private converse with his Wife, or been guil­ty of some sin, he is enjoyn'd to wash every part of his Body, none being excepted, or repeat these words, which are the most Sacred in their Religion; La illa illenla Mahamet Dara zoulla; which signifie, There is but one God, and Mahomet is his Messenger; for they pretend that these words have the same efficacy as the Bath.

They never go into their Mosques otherwise than bare-foot, and ob­serve the same Formality when they pay Visits to one another, al­ways leaving their Baboushes or Shoes, at the Door of the Mosque or House where they go in.

They believe that all the Chil­dren that die before they are Fif­teen, whether they be Christians, Jews, or Pagans, go to Heaven; but that if they live longer with­out owning Mahomet as God's Fa­vourite, [Page 49] they are eternally undone; however, they except the Maids, who, having preserv'd their Vir­ginity, are reserv'd, as they pretend, to fill up the number of Seventy, that are to be at the disposal of every Muslulman in Paradise, it be­ing impossible that so great a num­ber of their Religion shou'd be found in proportion to the Men.

They say that the Alcoran en­joyns them to compel those, by se­vere usage, to profess its Doctrine, who do not voluntarily submit to do so.

They have such a hatred for the Name of a Christian, which in their tongue also signifies a Dog, that they use it as the most common and most reproachful Term among them, never speaking it without adding, God confound him, or God burn his Father and Mother: Such Impreca­tions against the Christians are the first words their Children are taught to utter; and when any Christians [Page 50] are seen at Mickeness, they are sure to be expos'd to the Curses and Hootings of the whole Town, and particularly of the young Fry, some of which follow them merely to bellow out a volley of abusive words, or to throw Stones at them.

They also firmly believe, that those who are kill'd fighting with Christians, go straight to Heaven; and that they deserve no less than an infinite Reward for destroying those Enemies to the Alcoran; nay, that the very Horses which are kill'd in such Engagements, are to go to Heaven with them.

They have a very odd Maxim concerning the Truth and perfor­mance of their Words; for, Lying and breaking their Promises, are things of so establish'd a practice among them, that they rather pass there for Vertues than for Vices: Insomuch, that one of their Talbs, to whom I once express'd my sur­prize at this ill practise, made no [Page 51] scruple to own to me, that this made one of the chief Distinctions between their Religion and ours; persuaded, they would soon, like us, be Slaves to a false Belief and Idolatry, were they, like us also, Slaves to their Words and Pro­mises.

Tho' they admit a Plurality of Wives, they are allow'd to Marry but four, and on them too they are to settle a Dowry; however, they may make themselves amends with as many Concubines as they can afford to keep, and may put them all away when ever they will, paying the former their Dowry, and selling the latter, who are their Slaves, or turning 'em out of doors, yet keeping their Children.

They esteem all Ideots and Na­tural Fools to be Saints, and be­lieve the same of those who have any knack at Conjuring, whom they think to have the Spirit of their Prophet; after the death of [Page 52] these they build Chappels over their Graves, go thither in Pilgrimage, and upon occasion take Sanctuary there, no places of Refuge being more Sacred and inviolable to secure them from the punishment of their Crimes, or the anger of their Kings.

They are wholly given up to a thousand other Superstitions no less odd and ridiculous; as when they except against the Testimony of those among themselves, whom they can prove addicted to make Water standing, their way being to do it stooping like Women; but, because an account of all these whimsical Customs wou'd take up too much time, and perhaps be thought foreign to my Subject, I will say no more on that Head at this time.

However, I must observe, that their Women do not enter into the Mosques, because they esteem them uncapable of being receiv'd into Heaven, as having been created, [Page 53] they tell you, only for the sake of propagating Mankind; yet they say their Prayers at home; and, on Fridays, resort to the Burying-places, to pray and weep over the Graves of their dead Relations; at which time they are cloath'd in Blue, which is the Badge of Mour­ning in their Country, as Black is in ours.

And here I think I ought not to forget the Grief they shew at the Death of their Friends and Relati­ons; it is generally very great, and, when the Person was of Note, they commonly hire some Women, who weep plentifully, and make a very sad moan, beating their Heads and scratching their Faces.

Before the Corps is buried, 'tis wash'd and wrap'd in a new Shroud, then carried in a Bier, follow'd by a great number of People, who walk very fast, invoking God and Mahomet aloud.

[Page 54] The Dead are buried out of Town in a Grave which is narrow at the top and wide at bottom, that it may be more easily fill'd up, and that the Corps lying there more at large, as they think, may be in greater readiness at the Day of Judgment, and lose no time in seeking its Bones; for which reason also they forbear burying two Per­sons in one Grave. Meat is also laid on those Graves; and Money and Jewels are buried with the Dead, that they may not want in the next World the conveniencies they had in this.

The Jews and Christians are so strictly forbidden going into the Mosques, that when any of them are seen there, they must absolute­ly abjure their Religion, or be burnt without Mercy; and the same Me­thod is observ'd if they are found to have too close and particular a Converse with the Mahometan Women.

[Page 55] This Circumstance is also to be remembred, That the Jews are not allowed at any time to pass by a Mosque without taking off their Shoes, and are even obliged to go bare-foot in Royal Cities, as Fess, Morocco, Mickeness, &c. on pain of the Bastonado or Imprisonment; from which they are not freed till they have paid a great Fine.

I must also abserve, before I have done with the Religion of the Moors, that their Alcoran forbids 'em to play at any hazardous Games for Money, and that those who dare break this Law are punishable with the Bastonado, a Fine, or Imprison­ment; so they only play at Chess, Draughts, and a kind of Tictack, quite different from others; neither do they make any great use of all these, and I did not perceive by those I frequented, that they are much given to Gaming. They are not much more addicted to Read­ing, and it may very justly be said, [Page 56] That Sleeping, Eating, Drinking, Women, Horses, and Prayers share and almost wholly engross their time, the remainder of which is generally linger'd out in a tedious and unuseful Sloth; and accord­ingly they are often seen sitting on their Heels along the Walls, with long Strings of Beads, which tum­ble through their Fingers with a nimbleness equal to the shortness of the Prayers they say at the dropping of each Bead; for, that Prayer barely consists in mention­ing one of the different Attributes of God; as in saying on one Bead, God is Great; on another, God is Good; on a third, God is Infi­nite; on a fourth, God is Merci­ful, &c.

I ought not to forget the par­ticular Veneration they have for those who have been in Pilgrimage to Mecca; they call them Hadgys, or Saints, and are so Supersitious on their account, that they also e­steem [Page 57] their Horses to be holy as their Masters. They wrap the Ani­mals in Shrowds, and bury them when they die as they would their greatest Friends and Relations, thinking it a Pleasure and Duty to visit them often and see them feed.

The King of Morocco had one of these Horses: The first time I was admitted into his Presence it was led in State just before him; and, besides the particular Distin­ction which appear'd by the rich­ness of his Saddle and Harness, his Tail was held up by a Christian Slave, who carried a Pot and a Cloth to receive his Excrements and wipe him. I was told that the King from time to time went to kiss that Horse's Tail and Feet.

All the Horses who are thus sanctified, are usually freed from all manner of Service; and, if the Masters cannot afford to keep 'em, [Page 58] some Pensions are settled on them for their Subsistance out of the neighbouring Mosques. They are distinguish'd by the Beads or Re­licks about their Necks, the latter of which are nothing but some Writings wrapt up in Silks or Cloth of Gold, containing the Names of their Prophet and some pretended Saints of their Law. They also are as so many Sanctua­ries for Criminals, like the Towns and Chappels of the Saints already mention'd.

These Places, which are to be seen in many Parts of the Coun­try, are, according to their bigness, the dwelling of one or more Mo­rabots or Talbs, the Priests of the Moors, who may marry, and are very much esteem'd there, chiefly by the Arabs; they are maintain'd according to the Ability or Devo­tion of the Founders, and lead a lazy and luxurious Life, at the Expence of those deluded Crea­tures, [Page 59] who esteem themselves hap­py in being able to bestow large Donations on them while they live, or bequeath to them when they die. Methinks these Places, and their Foundations, may justly enough be compar'd to our Abbeys, Priories, and Chappels.

Bur resuming the Idea of the King of Morocco's Picture, which I had begun, I shall observe that he is between forty nine and fifty Years of Age, of a tawny Complexion, and lean; his Hair is black, but begins to turn grey; he's of a middle size; his Face oval; his Cheeks hollow, as well as his Eyes, which are black and sparkling; his Nose is little and hook'd; his Chin sharp; his Lips thick, and his Mouth pretty well proportion'd: He's extream Covetous and Cruel; Interest and an excessive love of Money can almost make him do a­ny thing, and he's so much deligh­ted in spilling Blood with his own [Page 60] Hands, that 'tis generally believ'd he must have put above Twenty thousand Persons to death himself, during the twenty Years that he has fill'd the Throne.

I am the rather inclin'd to believe or confirm this, having my self reckon'd up no less than Forty se­ven whom he killed during my one and twenty Days stay at his Court: And, besides, he was not asham'd to appear before me at the last Audience he gave me by the Gate of his Stables, himself being on Horse-back, with his Cloths and Right-Arm all imbru'd with the Blood of two of his Chief Blacks, whom he had just butcher'd with a Knife.

Every Nation is amaz'd to find his Subjects so submissive and Pa­tient under so excessive and cruel a Tyranny; but they must know, that not to speak of the general and particular want of Power to oppose it, they so fondly believe [Page 61] that dying thus by the Hands of a King who is a Xerif, and descend­ed from their Prophet, they imme­diately go to Heaven, that the greatest part among them esteem that a Happiness which a smaller and more judicious Number abo­minate, but cannot hinder; and indeed the latter keep at a distance from him as much as they can, and think themselves as happy in not seeing him, as the mad Herd in being kill'd by him.

Notwithstanding this, 'tis said this Prince is of a pretty good Temper when his Passion is over; but he's subject to violent Caprici­o's, that are the more dangerous; for being always cover'd with the Cloak of Religion, of which he affects to appear an exact Obser­ver; and he is so firmly persuaded that his Subjects think him such, that for that reason, and being full of that prevention, he assumes [Page 62] a License of doing whatever he pleases.

He only studies to be fear'd by his Subjects, and cares very little whether they love him or no; and therefore they generally tremble when they come near him, and tho' they approach him out of Du­ty, never do it out of Good-will; the rather, because none ought to come into his Presence but by his Order or Permission, and not with­out Presents.

He has a great deal of Wit and Courage, is Active, Indefatigable and very Dexterous at all Martial Sports, as Running with the Lance and Horse-Exercises; in which Pastimes I must observe, by the way, that all the Moors are won­derfully expert, and in this do not seem to have in the least degene­rated from what History so much celebrates the ancient People of Granada for in their Turnaments.

[Page 63] He drinks no Wine because his Religion forbids it; but when he takes Opium, or drinks a certain Hypocras that he makes himself with Brandy, Cloves▪ Anniseed, Cinnamon and Nutmegs, which happens pretty often, woe to him that comes in his way when the Fumes are got up into his Head. 'Tis also not very safe to meet him when he's cloath'd in a yellow Ha­bit; for it has been long observ'd that this Colour is a dangerous O­men when he wears it, and almost generally fatal to some of those who come near him at that time: He had a Vest on of that Colour when he gave me the Audience of Leave all bloody; as I have ob­serv'd.

He's very much given to Wo­men, and has near Four hundred in his Alcassave for his own use, be­sides about Five hundred others to wait upon these: He has One hun­dred and eighteen Male Children [Page 64] now living, besides Daughters, who are not reckon'd, and may be a­bout two hundred: He only takes the Sons from his Concubines, whom he often changes, and leaves them the Daughters, without al­lowing them so much as will keep 'em.

He's married only to four of all these Women; his Law not al­lowing him to have more Wives: The rest are his Concubines and Slaves. He's wholly govern'd by one of these Creatures, who is a Black, and has no manner of Beau­ty: She's the Mother of that Son whom he seems to design for his Successor; and whom he causes to be called Muley Zeydan.

He affects to appear modest and humble, and always makes God the Author of the Good and E­vil which he does; yet he is very vain and fond of Ostenta­tion.

[Page 65] He is Absolute in his Dominions, and often compares himself to the Emperor of France, who, he says, is the only Prince that knows how to reign like him, and make his Will a Law. He often mentions a Let­ter which he pretends was written by his Prophet to Heraclius, and adds, that all the Prosperities of the Kings of France wholly proceed from the Religious Care they have always taken to preserve it. As for the rest of the Christian Princes, he looks upon them as depend­ing on their Subjects, and ne­ver speaks of 'em but with Con­tempt.

'Twas in this Sense, that to heigh­ten the great Encomiums he be­stowed on the King, in the first Audience he gave me by the Gate of his Alcassave or Palace, in a ve­ry mean Habit, his Face muffled up in a Snuff-Handkerchief, of a dirty hue, his Arms and Legs bare, sitting without Matt or Carpet [Page 66] on a Threshold by two wooden Posts which supported the Porch, some Alcaydes sitting by him bare-foot on the Ground: It was pro­bably in that Sense, I say, that, to make me sensible of the just dif­ference he puts between the King and the other Princes of Europe, he told me, That the Emperor of Germany was only the Companion of his Electors; that the King of Spain was less Master of his Domi­nions than his Ministers; that the King of England depends on his Parliament; and that he look'd upon all the rest as having more the appearance of Authority than the Thing it self.

However, notwithstanding this Absolute and Personal Empire, with the Enjoyment of which he flatters himself, there are few Princes whose Minds are more ea­sily to be prejudic'd and seduc'd than his: Insomuch that such of his Alcaydes as are nearest his Per­son, [Page 67] know how to byass and lead him as they please; principally, when the pretence of Religion, Interest, or Vanity can be brought in, to make him pliable to what suits with their Designs.

This vanity is never better gra­tified than when some Christian Prince sends him Ambassadors; then his Joy cannot be express'd, and he always kisses the Ground when he first spies them, and even in their presence, in token of his thanks to Heaven for the mighty Blessing. 'Twas thus he behaved himself as soon as he discover'd me on a pretty high Wall not yet finish'd, where I had been plac'd without Seats, Co­ver or Foot-cloth, that I might be a Spectator by his order, of a re­view of 10000 Horse and 2000 Foot, which he made on purpose for me hard by the Town; who after they had moved some time without order, and with great Shouts, filed off by that Wall, all [Page 68] of them discharging their Arms in my Face, to do me, as they said, the greater Honour: 'Tis true, this is their way of shewing their Respects to each other, and they do the same to their Princes and Generals.

The King of Morocco makes no Distinction between Ambassadors, but according to their Qualities and their Station near their Masters. But above all, when they bring him Rich Presents.

His Predecessors and Himself have so well establish'd the Custom, or, to speak more properly, the Duty of bringing those Presents, that they have, as it were, made it a Law to bring them, which their Subjects and all Foreigners who come to their Court must ob­serve, it being not Lawful to ap­pear there without them. 'Tis e­ven an essential Article of their Ceremonies relating to Ambassa­dors, always to begin the Recep­tion [Page 69] that is made them by the fol­lowing Questions, yet softned with some preliminary Excuse and Ci­vility: Who are ye? Whence come ye? What's your Business? What do you bring? And 'tis according as they answer to the last of these Questions, that the manner of their Reception and Usage are regula­ted.

'Tis also with a prospect and desire of procuring such Presents, that this Prince uses all imaginable means to get Ambassadors sent him, or to engage other States to re­ceive them; yet, when he either desires or promises Ambassadors of an Eminent Quality, 'tis to be be­liev'd he does it much less out of a desire of paying or receiving a particular Respect, than to get large Presents, always esteeming they ought to be proportionable to their Quality.

Nevertheless, he imagines that his Greatness never appears or [Page 70] evinces it self better than by lessen­ing them; and for that reason there is no manner of difficulty that can be raised, or Tricks and Subtilties that can be devis'd, but what are im­prov'd by his Ministers to succeed in this. They also try'd with all imaginable cunning and stiffness, to make me submit to the Rules which they think they have esta­blish'd by their violent proceedings with the late Ambassadors of some other Crowns. But that the King might not be expos'd to resent such an usage, I omitted nothing in that juncture to make 'em sensible of the difference between his Majesty and all other Princes, and with­stood these assuming Endeavours with so many Reasons, and with so much firmness and patience, that I had the satisfaction to see, by the Success which even his Majesty has honour'd with his Approbation, that I had inspir'd into them the just Idea they were to have of whate­ver [Page 71] relates to the Merit, the Power and the Glory of his Majesty.

'Tis said, that this Prince has taken a solemn Oath never to set free the Christian Slaves that are under his Power, till, at least, as many of his own Subjects be ex­changed for 'em; and the last Treaties which the Spaniards made with him of Ten, and since that lately, of Four Moors for One Spaniard, have so puff'd him up with Pride and Presumption on that account, that they have almost made it impossible for other Nati­ons to Treat with him.

Mickeness is the place where he usually resides; 'tis a little Inland Town about 40 Leagues from Sally, 60 from Tetuan, and 12 from Fess. 'Tis very populous, having above 60000 Inhabitants, but so ill built and unpleasant in it self, that it might well pass for a pittiful Coun­try Town, were it not for the great number of its Inhabitants, its Prin­ce's [Page 72] Presence and his Alcassave that graces it, and which is almost as large as the Town, and of a Structure far above what I could have thought it to have been, com­pared to all the other Edifices I had seen before in that Country.

That Palace shews it self above the Town, and has many Walls a­bout it that are very high, very thick, and very white; and con­sists of a great number of Pavilli­ons, or small distinct Buildings, be­sides its two Mosques, whose Mi­narets are of a considerable height. As that Building is the first thing that strikes the Eye when we come near the Town, it gives a very great Idea of it self; but it is much lessen'd by a nearer view; for, the whole is built with so little Art and Regularity, that it would puzzle the most skilfull Architect to find out its true Disposition and Design; and I am even persuaded [Page 73] by what I could inferr from its outside, (for I was not permitted to see it within) that the King him­self, who is the Author and Mana­ger of that Fabrick, cannot give an account of it, and that he has no other design in pulling down and building up, as he does every day, than to bring under, by hard Labour and Servitude, a great number of his Subjects whom he employs in that Work; which is also the usual Employment and Punishment of the Christian Slaves, who are forc'd to work there at all times, and without ceasing, be­coming Labourers and Masons thro' Bastonadoes and Misery, under the load of which they sink the sooner, their daily Food barely consisting in a very small pittance of very brown, or rather black Barley Bread, with Water, and lodging only in Matamorres or Subterrane­ous places, in which the bare Ground is their only Bed, and [Page 74] they breath a very bad Air, in­fected with noisome Smells.

However, amongst this sort of Slavery, which is so cruel and in­tolerable, there appears a kind of Humanity, that one wou'd not in the least expect from that Prince's Barbarity: For, neither Women nor married Men are oblig'd to Work; the former on account of their Native weakness, and the lat­ter because they say, the Charge of a Wife, and the use they ought to make of her, are sufficient to excuse 'em from being incumbred with additional Drudgeries: But this kind of Compassion is very much disfigured by his Avarice, which inclines him to give 'em no­thing to subsist.

Those who become Renegades, are also exempted from Working, but they are no less Slaves; for the King makes 'em keep Guard at his Gates, or sends them to his Al­caydes in the Provinces, and these [Page 75] employ 'em in things suitable to their Strength and Capacity. He takes 'em with him into the Field, and, in Engagements, always places 'em in the Front, where, if they betray but the least design of giving way, he cuts 'em in pieces.

The Alcassave has about 45 Ap­partments, each of which has a Fountain in its Yard: Its chief Gate is very Stately, and has some Pillars whence 'tis called the Mar­ble Gate. The only Regular Buil­dings in that Palace, are the two Mosques and a Mishuart, or large Yard, adorn'd within with Pillars and Bas-reliefs of Marble, without any figures of Animals, but with Cyphers and Arabick Characters, in which the most considerable of the King's Military Exploits are re­lated.

The Stables, which they call Rooes, are also very fine, and con­sist of two long Galleries all Arch'd to the right and left, there being [Page 76] from space to space, in the middle of a kind of pav'd Way which parts 'em, some little Pavillions or Sum­mer-Houses, that are very neat, in each of which is a Fountain and a Watering-place for Horses, that, as every one knows, are extream­ly fine in that Country, but none of which the Moors will suffer to be Exported on any account what­soever for any Christian Country, out of an erroneous Maxim, which makes 'em esteem it a wrong done to their Religion to supply us with any, or with Corn: They have the same Bigotry about Books, which are there the more curious and scarce, there being now few or no Printing-Houses in those Parts.

The King's Gardens are in the middle of a vast Grove of Olive-Trees, and may be said to be fine; Flowers, Fruits, Kitchen-Herbs, and Trees of all sorts are to be seen there in every Season of the Year, [Page 77] but, as they lie somewhat far from the Alcassave, this distance, which makes 'em less convenient, causes 'em also to seem less pleasant. The Walks are very narrow; there are no Water-works, but some Rivu­lets glide through the Place and serve to Water it. A Spanish Slave whose Name is Antonio Lopes has the Care of it. This Man seems to be of a good Extraction, and is kindly us'd by the King; but the useful and profitable Service he does him, keeps that Prince from suffering or even promising him ever to return to his own Coun­try.

There are some goodly Palaces near the King's, which are built by some of the Alcaydes, to ingratiate themselves with him, tho' they can hardly expect to enjoy 'em secure­ly, being made but too sensible by an Experience fatal to some of their Rank, that they shall not be Masters of 'em any longer than till [Page 78] that Prince takes a fansie to make 'em his own.

There is an Hospital at Micke­ness, which the King of Spain has lately founded there, for the Com­forting and Relieving of Slaves, and which is indeed a very great help to 'em: 'Tis capable of re­ceiving a hundred sick Persons. Four Recollet-Monks and a Physi­cian are constantly kept there, for whose Subsistance his Catholick Majesty, who caused it to be built, has settled a Fund of Two thou­sand Crowns Yearly. Neither the Hospital nor the Religious Men who belong to it are suffer'd in the Town, but on account of some Tribute, no more than are those of Fess, Sally, and Tetuan.

There are in this Town, as in all the rest of Africa, several Schools where Children are taught to Read, Write, Cypher, and nothing else. When they are corrected, 'tis with a very flat wooden Rod, with [Page 79] which they are struck on the Soles of their Feet. All their Study con­sists in reading the Alcoran from the beginning to the end, and when a Boy has gone through his Book, he's finely set out, and his School-fellows lead him a Horse-back through the Town, as it were in Triumph, and proclaim his Praise.

The Jews inhabit a particular and pretty large Part of the Town; the Place where they live is no Neater than those where some of their Nation dwell in other Cities. There may be about Sixteen thou­sand of 'em in the whole King­dom, and their Head chiefly resides at Mickeness; it being his business to assess 'em, and collect the ordina­ry and extraordinary Garams they are to pay. He who is in that Station at present is one Abraham Mayma­ran, who has lost one of his Eyes, and does not seem over-stock'd with Sense, but is in Favour with the King on account of the frequent [Page 80] Presents he makes him, and of the Services he does him on any occa­sion. 'Tis also by his Management that this Prince keeps a Correspon­dence, both Pecuniary and Politi­cal, with other Nations, whether Friends or Foes. That Jew and his Family live in a very fine House, but all the rest have very mean Ha­bitations.

Tho' they are so numerous in these Parts, and so beneficial to the State, they are not more re­spected there than in other Places; for they are always pitch'd upon for the meanest Employments; no­thing but their Food is allow'd 'em for the Work and Drudgeries they are often commanded to do. And they are so often tax'd, re­vil'd, curs'd, and bastonado'd, that they may be look'd upon as the common Mark and perpetual Sport of the Avarice and Injustice of the Great, and the Aversion of all o­thers.

[Page 81] 'Tis not Lawful for 'em to De­fend themselves against the least Child who gives 'em ill Words, or throws Stones at 'em; and they are to be known from the Moors, who always wear red Caps, by the black Caps and Bernous they are oblig'd to wear.

Every where they live apart from the Moors, and the Entrance into the Place where they dwell is guarded by some Men whom the King appoints for that purpose, that they may not be disturb'd in their Business and Religious Wor­ship; but they dare not travel through the Country alone, or without some Moors to protect them; for, the Arabs and Barbarians would certainly cut their Throats without Mercy.

However, notwithstanding, all these outward Marks of Misery and Scorn, in the main, they are Richer and in a better Condition than the Moors themselves; the [Page 82] reason of which is, that they Work and Trade, but the Moors do not; and indeed the Jews Wives wear most of 'em good Clothes; and, as they do not hide their Faces like the Moorish Women, they take more Care of their Head-dress and other Attire.

For my part, having seen none but Jewish Women there, I must own that I have found several of 'em so agreeable and beautiful, that I don't doubt but the same Idea may reasonably be form'd of the other African Women, whom the Jealousie of the Men, and the Custom of the Country, oblige to hide themselves much more than their own Inclination; for, 'tis certain, that the Reservedness and Restraint, in which the Moors keep their Wives, serve rather to quick­en the Desire, which they have naturally to run astray, than to sti­fle it; and that, as these Women have more Wit and Vivacity [Page 83] than those of Europe, these Quali­fications inable 'em to out-do 'em in all the Arts and Tricks by which they may gratifie their Inclina­tions.

They are particularly fond of Christians because they are not Circumcis'd, and there are no Stra­tagems but what are us'd by some of 'em, to intice the Slaves that live with them, or who are allow'd to come where they dwell.

But a certain Ceremony which is perform'd at their Weddings, does not a little contribute to the keeping of them in, till that time, unless they act with a great deal of Caution; for, when the Friends on both sides are agreed, the Bride, quite cover'd with a Veil, is carried in Publick, Trumpets sounding, and Hautboys playing, to the Bride­grooms Dwelling, and he is not allow'd to uncover her Face, nor look on any part of her Body, till he has found her to be a Maid; [Page 84] which done, he pulls off her Veil, and takes off his Drawers, dy'd in the Action, and throws 'em in the Yard; whereupon the Women, who had brought her thither, take 'em up singing and dancing for Joy that she is receiv'd to be his Wife: But if he does not find her to be a Virgin, he has her stripp'd of her Wedding Clothes, turns her out of Doors without seeing her Face, and sends her back to her Father, whom the Law permits to strangle her, if he has a mind to proceed to that severity.

When the Moors Marry, they send for a Cady and a Publick No­tary; the latter draws up an In­strument, in which he sets down the Dowry which the Husband settles on the Wife; for, Parents give nothing to their Daughters; and when a Husband puts away his Wife he's oblig'd to give her the promis'd Dowry, and cannot mar­ry till four Months after; but when [Page 85] 'tis the Wife that leaves the Hus­band, the Law does not give her any thing.

The fattest and biggest Women are the most admir'd in those Parts; for which reason that Sex never put on any stiff-body'd Gowns, or other streight and close Dresses that they may become such. But this also makes their Breasts lank and flabby to an odious excess: They all wear Scarves, which they tye about their Waste, and generally keep their Body very neat, tho' they always go bare-leg'd: They use a great deal of Vermilion a­bout their Cheeks and Lips, black­ning their Eye-brows with the Smoke of Galls: They colour the Soles of their Feet and the inside of their Hands with yellow, and their Nails with red, and set out their Necks, Ears, Arms and Legs with Neck-Laces, Pendents, Brace­lets, and a world of trifling Gu­gaws, never thinking themselves [Page 86] handsom if they want any of these borrow'd Ornaments.

When they go abroad, they co­ver themselves with a large white and very thin Veil, and muffle up the middle of their Faces, that they may not be seen, their Eyes only uncover'd, that they may see their way: They never speak to any Man they meet, tho' 'twere their own Husband, who could not then know his own Wife; for they are all cover'd alike; but they take off all this when they come into the Chamber of any of their She-Friends, and are very careful to leave their Shooes at the Chamber-door, that the Master of the House may not come in there; for if he did, the Husband of the Visitant would take it very ill.

Tho' they have but one Hus­band amongst many, and most of 'em live together, they are not Jea­lous of one another.

[Page 87] No Man but their Husband is admitted to see 'em in their Houses; and when some Friends are invited to a Treat, which seldom happens there, the Man's Wives go to the top of the House, which is like a Terrass, or into some upper Room, and stay there till the Guests are gone; which always makes the En­tertainment very short; neither do they stay to talk and divert them­selves together, as we do in Eu­rope.

The manner of eating amongst the Moors, is to sit on the Ground without Shooes, Master and Ser­vants together, round a large piece of Leather, which is always very greasie, and serves both for Table and Table-Cloth. Their standing Dish is some Cooscoosoos, a Paste made with fine Flower, which looks much like our sugar'd Anni­seed, and has been boil'd with some young Pidgeons, Fowls, or Mutton: They cram down this [Page 88] Cooscoosoos by handfuls, and make a kind of little Pellets of it, which they fling into their Mouths; and throw back into the Dish (which is narrow at bottom and broad at top, not altogether unlike a Stool-Pan) what stuck to their Beard or greasie Fists. As for Flesh, when they would take up a bit, and part it from the whole, as they never put but their Right-hand in the Dish, every one pulls his piece, as a Pack of Hounds does Carrion, till they tear it asunder; and all this without speaking a Word du­ring the whole Meal.

Those who live a little better, after that Dish, which is generally attended with a Salad, have a Brass-Bason or Earthen-Platter of Meat fricaseed with Honey and Almonds, or broil'd on the Flames, or fry'd in Oil, and some other Sweet-Meats, after their way, without a­ny Desert; and after they have done eating, they wipe their Fin­gers [Page 89] on the Edge of the Dish, or lick 'em with their Tongue.

They drink nothing but Wa­ter, because their Alcoran forbids 'em Wine, tho' not Brandy, with which they often get drunk, using all the same Vessel: They love al­so very much our Provence Ros-Solis, Ratafia, Cette, and Cinna­mon-Water, &c. But Sherbet and Coffee, so used in the Levant, are not known to 'em.

The Stable is the Place which they most commonly chuse to eat in; and they have no other Plea­sure, after they have fill'd their Bellies, than to visit their Wives or their Horses.

Now that I have spoke of the Moors manner of Eating, I think I may add a Word of their Dress.

The Men wear a Shirt that is pretty short, with broad Sleeves, that sometimes hang down, but more frequently are turn'd up to their Shoulders, chiefly in Summer; [Page 90] in which Season they go with bare Arms. Under that Shirt they wear Linnen-Drawers, that reach only to their Knees, and leave their Legs naked to their Feet: They have Shooes, or rather Slippers, without Heel's, call'd Baboushes; the Mara­bouts or Talbs wear certain Pieces cut on the Edges like a Flower-de­luce, and 'tis only by that Mark that they are to be known and di­stinguish'd from the rest.

They all wear a Cafetan or Cloth-Vest without Sleeves, of any Colour which they fansie most, and about this Vest a Silk Scarf, in the fore-part of which they put a Sheath with two or three Knives, the Handles of which, as also the Tip of the Sheath, they always co­vet to have of some costly Metal, or of some extraordinary Work­manship: Over this Cafetan, which is only button'd to the Girdle, they wear a Hayick, which is a Piece of very fine white Woollen-Stuff, a­bout [Page 91] five Ells long, and one and a half broad, and cover their Head and whole Body with it, wrapping themselves up in it above and be­low the Arms, not much unlike what is to be seen in the Drape­ries of Antique Figures of the Apo­stles and Israelites.

They wear over all this, princi­pally in Winter, a Bernooe, or kind of Stuff or Cloath Cloak, edg'd with a Fringe, whence there hangs a kind of a Cowle behind with a Tuft at the end on't.

When they go into the Coun­try they wear a Straw Hat, but every where else they have on their Heads, which they always keep shav'd, only a red Woollen Cap, about which sometimes they put some Muslin to make a Turbant, provided it be not in their King's presence; for, before him none of 'em, of what quality soever, dare appear otherwise than with a plain Cap on.

[Page 92] None but the Xeriffs, or Maho­met's Posterity, have leave to wear a green Cap; and as for the Jews, they are oblig'd to wear none but black; the younger sort wear none at all, and must go bare till they are Twenty, unless they be Mar­ried, or either they or their Fa­ther have been at Mecca, in which cases they are allow'd to wear a Cap when they are Fourteen.

This is the Dress which all the Moors wear, there being no Di­stinction between 'em but what consists in the Richness of their Cafetans, or the fineness of their Hayicks: The Alcaydes alone are to be known from the rest by some Leathern Belts, Embroider'd with Gold, which they wear over the Shoulder, and in 'em a Scimeter; and over this they have a Bernoo of Scar­let, or black Cloth, without a Cowle; even the King himself does not go otherwise dress'd, but indeed he always has a Coat of Mail un­der [Page 93] his Shirt, to secure himself from such secret Attempts as he knows his Cruelty cannot but in­spire.

The King's Blacks, who are de­sign'd for his Guard, are also dress'd in the like manner, and very de­cently, and are seldom seen to wear Bernoos, but generally Silk Stockins, which they very much fancy; they wear Scimeters, and when they are a Horse-back, have always Lances or Fusils.

The Womens Dress is somewhat like the Mens, from which it differs only in the Sleeves of their Smocks that cover their Arms, and are close to the Wrist, and in the length of their Drawers that come down to the Calves of their Legs: The Neck-bands of their Smocks are Plaited, and commonly Embroi­der'd; their Vest is open before to the Waste; they fasten some large pieces of Muslin to the Sleeves of these Vests, which would be [Page 94] much like our Womens Engage [...], but that they hang much lower: At home they wear a very short Petticoat, and when they go abroad they wrap themselves up in a Hayick, which wholly covers 'em from the Neck to the Feet; they also hide their Faces, so that no­thing is seen but their Eyes. As for their Head-Dress, it does not much differ from that of the Spa­nish Women; for they wear some Roses of Ribbon and two Tresses of Hair, which they toss back, ha­ving nothing on their Heads but a single Veil or Binder. They wear neither Shoes nor Baboushes, but only some Shaussons of red or yellow Spanish Leather, without either Soles or Heels.

Before I have done with this Article, I must observe a Circum­stance which seems to me pleasant enough: When the Moors happen to be caught by a shower of Rain in the Fields, having not their Ber­noos, [Page 95] then to save their Cloaths from being wet, they strip them­selves stark-naked, making a Bundle of their Hayick, Vest and Shirt, on which they sit till the Rain be over, and then they put on their Cloaths, which they have kept dry, and proceed on their Jour­neys.

When I gave an Account of the number of the King's Children, who are so many and so ill Edu­cated, that 'tis to be presum'd se­veral of 'em will hardly be so hap­py as ever to have an Estate or Employment, I said, that this Mo­narch seem'd to have pitch'd up­on one of 'em for his Successor, whose Mother he fondly dotes on: His Name is Muley Zeydan, and he may be about one or two and Twenty Years of Age: He is a Mullatto, pretty well shap'd, and seems not so covetous as his Fa­ther, tho' not less inclin'd to spill humane Blood: He is much given [Page 96] to Debauchery, and loves Wine and Brandy extreamly, often drink­ing both to excess; at which time 'tis not very safe to keep him com­pany, or be in his way.

He does not lodge in the Al­cassave, but dwells in a Sately Pa­lace adjoyning, which the Alcayde Ali Ben Abdalla, whom I shall have occasion to mention hereafter, had built there for himself, but of which the King has made himself Master, as he commonly does of whatsoever his Subjects have that he likes, or thinks to be convenient for him.

This young Prince has already three Wives, and a Daughter of the Alcayde Ali is intended to be his fourth.

He affects to seem more Fami­liar and Generous than his Fa­ther; and that he may get the reputation of being such, and be belov'd, he does not stick to dis­approve his Conduct when he's [Page 86]

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[Page 97] amongst his Friends and he sees occasion. I have even been assur'd, that he spoke his mind somewhat freely, after the King refus'd to keep his Word, and disown'd his writing about the Peace he had seem'd so much to desire should be concluded with his Majesty.

Most of the King's other Chil­dren are brought up with so much neglect, and so much unlike the Sons of a great Prince, that there are but few mean Actions of which they are not capable; above all, in what relates to Debauchery and getting Money: They often go to visit the Jews, to find some strong Drink, or to pilfer something; for they are as thievish and rave­nous as Kites, and don't in the least come short of the most dex­terous Lacedaemonians of old in that Art; if they meet a Slave they search him, and take whatever he has from him; for which reason they and their Visits are not less [Page 98] shun'd in Private Houses, than those of Gypsies in a Country Market.

I had a trial of this in a Visit I was plagu'd with by one of 'em, only some twelve or thirteen Years old: His only Salute and Com­plement was to lay his Hands on whatever seem'd worth his Tempta­tion: Neither can I better com­pare his coming in and his going out, than to that of a Monkey, who would skip you at once on some Basket of Fruit he had spy'd in a Room, and, having laid hold on what he could catch, would run out as nimbly as he came; how­ever, I came off with the loss of a pair of Pistols and some Boxes of Sweet-Meats: But this serv'd to teach me to beware of the no less dexterous Hands of his Brothers, whom I always took care to re­ceive no where but in the Yard, or at the Gate of the Palace where I was lodg'd.

[Page 99] As these Children grow in Years the King makes 'em Alcaydes, or Governors of several Parts of his Dominions: And, after the death of the Father, he who is the most in Favour, and has the strongest Party, overcomes and kills the rest, to secure the Empire to himself, then puts his Favorites or his own Children into their Places. That Son who is with the King at his death, is generally in a Capacity of enslaving the rest, because he is Master of the Arms, and some­times of the Treasure when he can discover it. The present Empe­rour highly approves of this Ma­xim, as the means whereby their Children become Warriors, in hopes of obtaining the Empire o­ver their Brothers; but this daily occasions War betwixt 'em, and di­vides their Dominions with as much Ease as the Conquerors re-united 'em with Difficulty.

[Page 100] These Children, at nine or ten Years of Age, will mount the high­est mettl'd Horses, ride them full speed without Saddles, Boots, or Spurs, and sit 'em all the while with the greatest security. 'Tis the Custom among the Moors to ride their Horses very young thus without a Saddle, as well for the sake of the Horses as of the Ri­ders; for there the Horses are back'd and wrought after the first Grass.

I endeavour'd in vain to inform my self exactly of the Emperour of Morocco's Revenues; I found it was altogether as impossible to reckon 'em up, as to fix the Ca­price of his Humour in raising the Taxes, and his insatiable gree­diness of Gold and Silver: The Tenth of all his Subjects Goods is the most common Assessment, as well as the Yearly Tax upon all the Jews of six Crowns for every Male, form fifteen Years old and up­wards; [Page 101] but he lays such frequent Impositions upon them and the rest of his Subjects, or, to use their Expression, such extraordinary Ga­rams, assessing sometimes one Town and sometimes another, without any Pretence or Reason but his mere Will, that it is very difficult to know or fix the whole Product; which, however, is very conside­rable; tho' he has not any Crown-Lands.

'Tis certain he causes all the Gold and Silver he receives by it, to be melted down and buried, (for the Taxes are seldom paid but in Quintals or hundred weights of Gold and Silver) that he kills all those whom he employs about the laying up of those Treasures, that by these means he may become as much Master of his own Secret as of his Wealth; for which rea­son he often causes it to be melted himself, and hides it without ma­king any one privy to it; and [Page 102] this made me call this Treasure invisible and unprofitable, when I spoke of it in the Article of the Town of Morocco.

It is computed he may have thus by him to the value of Fifty Mil­lions of Livres; which were a fine Treasure, and a rich Mine for an Invader to search, if he cou'd dis­cover and approach it.

He get's a great deal out of his Alcaydes, to whom he allows the Revenues of their Governments; but in return, he obliges 'em to make him Yearly Presents at the Great Easter, which is that when they sacrifice the Lamb; and these often amount to more than their Revenue: Whence it happens that they are as Absolute there as the King himself, and exercise their Authority with perfect Tyran­ny.

It may be said, That these Al­caydes govern all the Kingdom un­der the Emperor's Authority; for [Page 103] there is no Parliament, no Court of Justice, no particular Council, nor Minister: He himself is alone the Author, Expounder, and Sove­reign Judge of his Laws, which, except those of his Prophet, have no other Foundation or Limits than his Will. Nor have they any weight or effect but through the extreme Cruelty which he himself is im­power'd to exercise right or wrong, against those who may be more properly call'd the Victims of his Fury or Cruelty, than of his Justice; which does not deserve that Name, but in respect of Rob­bers and Murtherers, whom he has undertaken to punish, executing them himself: And indeed he has proceeded against them with such Care and Success, that he has clear'd the High-ways, which were all pester'd with 'em before: this ought to be accounted as one of the most remarkable and most ad­vantageous things he has done du­ring [Page 104] his Reign; the Care which he has taken being so great, and his Orders so exactly observ'd, in cau­sing those who live near the Places where the Crime is committed to be punish'd with Death or a Fine, that at this time a Man may travel through all his Territories with as much Boldness and Security, as formerly he did with Fear and Danger.

His Authority which appears, and is indeed so Despotic, has never­theless one Superior to it, to which it is subordinate, which is the Muf­ty's and his Officers, whom the King has not the Power of Deposing, tho' he has that of making 'em: He as well as others submits to the Decrees of this Jurisdiction, and neither can disclaim it, nor with­draw himself from it, if the least of his Subjects has a mind to cite him before it; but, at the same time, it must be acknowledg'd, that a fatal Revenge, which sure­ly [Page 105] wou'd follow, sufficiently re­strains 'em from it; therefore ge­nerally that Jurisdiction does not affect him unless when he consults it, or it thinks fit to make him some Remonstrances necessary to his Ser­vice, and the Good of his Em­pire.

This Mufty is the proper and su­preme Judge of Adulterers, whom commonly he sentences to death; he is so Absolute in what concerns all particular Differences that come before him, that his Sentence ad­mits of no Appeal nor Delay: A Bastonado is always the Primum Mobile that hurries on the execu­tion of his Decree, and woe to him that summons a richer Man than himself to appear at his Tri­bunal, or who is cited thither by such a one; for, the Cadies, who are in the nature of Sub-Delegates to the Mufty in all the Towns and Villages, always sell their Suffrages to them who give most; and false [Page 106] Witnesses, who are never punish'd there, are so numerous and so cheap in that Country, that no Man dares trust there to his own Inno­cency, nor to the Justice of his Cause.

The Alcaydes substitute one Ca­dy in every Town or Village with­in their Government, but all un­der the Authority of the Grand Mufty; and place there besides two other Officers, who are fix'd as the former, but such as they may de­pose at Pleasure; in which, these differ from the Cadies, over whom the Alcaydes have not the same Authority.

The first of these Officers is the Calif, or Deputy-Governour, who takes care of all that relates to the Particulars and Authority of the Government, and takes cognizance of all the Faults and Complaints of the Moors and of the Jews, de­termining their Differences; which ever redounds to the profit of the [Page 107] Alcayde, because the guilty or wrangling Parties are always ei­ther punish'd or redress'd by the expence of their own Money. The Calif is accountable for this Fine to his Governour, but nei­ther of 'em have power to con­demn any one to death, at least without an Order from the King. This Officer likewise assesses the People within the extent of his Province, fixing the ordinary and extraordinary Taxes or Garams, which are never levied or got in, but by some Black, whom the King sends on the places for that pur­pose.

The other Officer is the Amo­kadem, a sort of Judge, whose bu­siness 'tis to set a Tax and Price upon Victuals and Fuel, (which are all sold by weight) and to see that due Order be kept in these Matters. The Duties and Fees which he claims and receives for every one of these Wares, wou'd [Page 108] make this Post very gainful, if he alone were to receive the benefit of it; but if the yearly Presents he is oblig'd to make to his Al­cayde, and sometimes to the King Himself, do not sweep away all his profit, at least they diminish the the greatest part of it.

Thus much may be observ'd of the Government of this Great King­dom, whose strength by Sea and Land, and Commerce, now re­mains to be examin'd, that we may perfectly know the State of it.

I have already made it appear, that its strength at Sea is inconsi­derable; what may be said of its Land-Forces, is, that they might be Formidable, if this Prince knew how to discipline his Subjects, and had a sufficient quantity of good Arms for them; but you may judge of them by their real wants in these two Points, as well as by the King's not keeping any Forces in constant Pay.

[Page 109] Whenever some Expedition is intended, he commands his Alcaydes to raise him the number of Men he designs shall serve in it; upon which it is agreed amongst them, what each ought to furnish pro­portionably to the extent of his Government, where the Division is made according to the Rolls of those that pay Taxes: Then they impress and force such marry'd Men to March, as do not volun­tarily List themselves into the Ser­vice, or at least they are oblig'd to send others in their room: Two Brothers may be taken out of three, but they must be Marry'd, for the younger and unsettl'd can't be compell'd to go.

These Men so rais'd, be they Officers, Foot, or Horse-men, are oblig'd to Mount, Arm, Equip, and Maintain themselves at their own cost during all the Campaign; and, as for the most part, they have neither Fire Arms nor Powder, [Page 110] they march only with Swords, Lances, or Staves.

However, in every Town or Village, a certain number propor­tionable to the largeness of the Place, is continually to be in Arms, and ready to March at the first Command: Those only who are design'd for Horse men, have Horses given 'em, which they must keep▪ and all of this number, be they either Foot-Soldiers or Horse-men, are free from all Taxes: Thus they may be said to be kept, not at the King's Charge, but at that of the Place to which they belong.

When they are ready to give Battle, they range their Armies after this manner: They divide their Horse into two Bodies, and place one on each Wing; The Foot is in the middle, so that the whole is in the form of a Crescent: They put but two Ranks of Sol­diers when they fight on a Plain; but when they fight between the [Page 111] Mountains, where they can't spread themselves, they put more.

Before the Ingagement begins they make a great Shout, which is follow'd with some short Prayers, to beg of God to give 'em the Victory. Such of the Horse as al­ways keep near the King's Person, are all Blacks, and wear Fusils and Scimeters, with Pistols at their Girdles: Those that are more di­stant, have partly Lances and part­ly Musquets; as for the Foot, one part is Arm'd with Fusils, and t'other with Cross-bows, Slings, Clubs, Half-Pikes, long Darts, and Cutlasses.

When they are at War among themselves, they go but unwilling­ly into the Field; but when with Christians, then every one is eager and proud to go, that they may gain Indulgencies for the expia­tion of their Sins; and then their Armies are very numerous.

[Page 112] All the Arabs and Barbarians, by whose Dwellings the Army passes, are oblig'd to provide gratis where­ever it encamps, Wheat, Meal, Butter, Oil, Honey, and Cattle, for its subsistance, and this upon pain of being plunder'd of all that they have, and cut in pieces them­selves. 'Tis said, that upon any pressing occasion that concerns Re­ligion, the King might raise an Army of an Hundred Thousand Men, half of which shou'd consist of Horse, but not above five and twenty Thousand of 'em, at most, wou'd be well Arm'd: 'Tis thought the King has for that purpose ten Thousand Musquets in his Armory, which he keeps, as likewise his Treasure, for that Son, whom he designs for his Successor, that he may leave him in a capacity of maintaining his Crown against any of his Brothers or others, that shou'd dispute it with him; for it is cer­tain, as I have observ'd before, [Page 113] that he who is Master of the Arms and Money, soon becomes so of all the Kingdom, which is neither Hereditary nor Elective, but al­ways his among the Xerifs who is then most in Favour.

There are in the Armory, be­sides these Musquets, a Hundred and Fifty Pieces of Brass Cannon, one part of which came out of the Ship The Captain of Spain, which was lost ten Years since before Ceúta, and the other from the Town of Larache, which was retaken from the Spaniards.

Tho' this Prince has no regular Forces, he has nevertheless a stand­ing Guard of three or four Hun­dred Blacks, Arm'd with very heavy Musquets: They are always very young, and he chuses 'em such, because he will not trust the Guard of his Person to those of a riper Age, for fear of some At­tempt against him: They are for the most part Children of the Se­raglio, [Page 114] and he only provides Food and Cloaths for 'em, but they are better and more neatly Apparell'd than the greatest Lords in that Kingdom.

Besides this Guard, the King has seven or eight Alcaydes, who never approach him otherwise than bare­footed, and without Turbants, but they are allow'd to wear a red Woollen Cap on their Heads; and in these consists all his Court.

There are three sorts of Al­caydes, the chief are the Gover­nours of Provinces, where they are effectually like so many Vice-Roys; the other are either parti­cular Governours of great Towns, or General Officers of his Armies: They are all of 'em oblig'd to re­side where their Imployments re­quire their attendance, and the King keeps near him only such of 'em as are more particularly use­ful to him, and gives their Chil­dren leave to act for them. There [Page 115] is no considerable Officer, either for his House or for the general or particular administration of his State, besides the Grand Mufti for Affairs of Religion and Justice, the chief Eunuch for his Wives and Seraglio, and one chief Trea­surer for his Revenues, and the lat­ter's Office too is passive and bur­thensom at best, for he never makes any distribution of the Money he receives, and is immediately oblig'd to return it to the King, who lays it up among his unprofitable and subterraneous Hoard, as I have al­ready observ'd: And as for what concerns the ordinary Expence of his House and his Wives, or the occasion of some extraordinary Charges in time of War, this Al­cayde must raise the Fund out of the Revenues of his Government; this Prince never giving any Salary, Pension, nor Gratuity in Money, to any one whatsoever.

[Page 116] He who at present executes the Office of High Treasurer, is the Alcayde Abdalla Mussy, Governour of all the Kingdom of Fess; the administration of which Govern­ment he commits to one of his Sons, while he himself continually keeps at Mickeness. He is near six and Fifty Years Old, little and Lean; his Eyes are even with his Fore­head; he is of a good Aspect e­nough, and is counted an Honest Man, and one who keeps his word, which is very rare among the Moors: He is but meanly descend­ed, for his Father was a Mule-driver: He is well enough belo­ved, because he is an Honest Man, and one who does good; but for this very reason he is no great Favourite.

There is besides another Officer, who is in the nature of Superinten­dant of the Buildings, whose Name is Aly ben Jehon: He has the in­spection and takes care of all those [Page 117] that are built by the King at Mickeness, and is so wholly em­ploy'd in it, that sometimes he is whole Weeks without seeing his Master; and he had need be very Rich, to defray the Costs of all the Materials, both for the inside and outside of those Buildings, which he is oblig'd to provide. 'Tis true indeed that his Govern­ment, which contains the whole Country that lies between Micke­ness and Tremecen, is of a great extent, and a very fruitful Soil; however, I am persuaded, consi­dering the unlimitted Expences to which this Office obliges him, that notwitstanding all the good ma­nagement imaginable, his bare sub­sistence is all the advantage he makes of it at the Years end. He is about eight and Forty Years Old, of a large and comely Pre­sence, tho' a Mulatto: He has a quick Eye, a ready Wit, and is of a pretty kind Disposition: The [Page 118] Slaves that attend him daily, give him the Character of a good hu­mour'd Man, and praise him very much; but as he is altogether ta­ken up by his Business, he does not at all concern himself with Affairs of State.

He that seems to have the grea­test share in that, and on whom a­lone the King seems to rely in those Matters, is the Alcayde, Mahomet Addo Ben Ottar, who is to this Prince as his Chief Minister, and has there the same Access and the same Trust as a Favorite; and indeed, of all them that approach him, he best knows how to flatter his Passions and humour him in whatever may please him. Twelve Years since he was Embassador in England, and what-ever his Treatment may have been there, he might be thought a great Enemy to that Na­tion, if his mischievous Inclination did not make him known for such to all others.

[Page 119] As he has no Government, ha­ving quitted that of Sally to his Brother, thus to exempt himself from the Obligation of making Presents to his Emperour, so he is the less Wealthy; but has the greatest Interest of all the Alcaydes; he is about five and fifty Years of Age; he has a quick Eye and an ingeni­ous Look; his Ways and Discourse discover a great deal of Cunning; he is deceitful and wicked to the highest degree; and pretends to be a Friend to the French, frequent­ly saying that his Mother was born at Marseilles, when at the same time he loves nothing but Money, and is pleas'd with nothing but Mischief; he is fear'd but not at all belov'd by the Moors, who u­niversally hate his Ministery, and in private give him all the Curses imaginable; he is likewise very great with Muley Zeydan the King's Son, and the Partner of all his Pleasures.

[Page 120] The Alcayde Aly Ben Abdalla and he are Rivals, and jealous of each other's Interest with the King, which causes the management of Affairs to be difficult there: The Alcayde Aly being always absent, keeps up his Interest only by his rich Presents, but Mahomet Ad­do's seems to be better establish'd by his continual residence at Court, and his Artifices and Method in managing the King's Temper, to reduce him to a necessity of never parting with him.

This Alcayde Aly Ben Abdalla, of all those who are at distance from Court, lives with most Grandeur and Authority; he is Vice-roy of the Algarbs, and Governor of the Provence of Riffe, and of all the Maritime Places from Zaffarine to Sally, that has its particular Gover­nors; for which reason the King wholly depends on him for what relates to Sea-Affairs; and, as he is very vain, he calls himself among [Page 121] Strangers Admiral of the Coasts of Africa. Formerly he resided alto­gether at Tetuan, but at present his Residence is commonly at Tan­gier; he is about fifty Years of Age, and of mean Birth; being a Fisher­man's Son, yet is one of the richest in all this Empire, and the King receives the greatest Presents eve­ry Year from him, the least ex­ceeding the value of 400000 Li­vres. That which adds to the Pro­fits of his Government, is Traffick and the Neighbourhood of the Sea, which renders it one of the best, and give him a great Reputation with his Master: He is very illite­rate, and can't so much as read, yet has a great deal of Sense, and great Experience in Affairs, which makes up for all; he is fierce, haughty, full of himself, and much puff'd up with his Fortune and Ad­vancement; he is Violent, humo­rous and subject to Passion, in which he spares not his best Friends; [Page 122] nevertheless, when he is come to himself, he is Gentle, Humane, Tractable, and of a Deportment altogether Noble and Honourable; he does not hate the Christians, and wou'd seem as much a Friend to the French as an Enemy to the Spaniards; but it may be imagin'd that Policy and Interest have a greater share in his Publick Senti­ments than Truth: For it is cer­tain, that the King continually presses him most earnestly to get Ceuta out of the Hands of the Spa­niards, the performance of which he imposes on him at the Price of his Head; and the more Com­merce there is in the Towns of his Government, the more considerable are his Revenues and the Presents he is oblig'd to make: This con­sequently makes him heartily wish that his Master were at Peace with those Christian Princes, whom he judges most Powerful at Sea, and from time to time he attempts ef­fecting [Page 123] it with the King; but his In­terest with that Prince, which he al­ways takes so great a Care to mag­nifie, must needs be too weak to prevail in spight of the continual opposition of his Competitor; or perhaps he presumes a little too far on his Artifices for the Engage­ment and Success of his Designs; since the King my Master has late­ly been inform'd by the Report I made him of it, that this Alcayde discover'd no less Surprise and Dis­pleasure for having miscarried in such an Affair, than Resolution and Desire to renew his Attempts to succeed better in it.

His great Favourite, whose Ad­vice he takes, and on whom he re­lies for the execution of all his Af­fairs, is Mahomet Hadgy Lucas, made by him his Lieutenant-General of the Marine. This Man, whose a­bode is altogether at Tetuan, ac­company'd Mahomet Addo in his Embassy to England, which has a [Page 124] little more civiliz'd him, or at least makes him less barbarous than the rest; he has a great deal of Sense, and is well skill'd in the manage­ment of Business, speaks good Spa­nish, is quick, cunning, laborious, violent, a dissembler, a cheat, and always inclin'd to do mischief, which makes him abhorr'd, not on­ly by the Christians and the Jews, but by all the Moors in general: And, in short, to draw his Picture more exactly and in fewer Stroaks, there is no more to be said than this Truth, That his Temper, his Manners, his Words, and his Acti­ons, do not at all belye the com­mon observations on the Judas-colour of his Beard and Hair: He is not above fifty Years old, but so full of Diseases, the cause of which he attributes to Poyson, which he pretends was given him in some Melons by the Governor of Ceuta, above a Year since, that 'tis to be hop'd he will not long [Page 125] hold out against the effect of those deadly Imprecations which are uni­versally bestow'd on him.

Since this Discourse hath insensi­bly engag'd me to give the Cha­racter and personal Qualities of such Persons as make any distinct Fi­gure in this State, I think I ought not to forget a Man whom the Ho­nour of having been Embassador to France has made known there, and of whose Quality it is conve­nient to be inform'd, that hereafter this may serve as a Rule to those of his own Character.

'Tis Mahomet Themin, who came thither in the Quality of Embassa­dor in 1681, and makes no other Figure in his own Country than that of an Amokadem at Tetuan, that is to say a sort of puny Judge; one of his Brothers is a Broker there, and the other a Rope-seller; besides, Themin obtain'd this Of­fice there but after his return, that he might have the means, after a [Page 126] sort, to maintain an Honour to which, in Truth, he was never de­sign'd; for he shou'd have been only Secretary to Hadgy Manino Governor of Sally, the true Embas­sador; but his Name was inserted without the King's knowledge in the Credential Letter, which the Alcayde Omar Addo his Protector and Patron gave 'em; for which reason he took Care at his return neither to boast of the Honours nor the Presents he had receiv'd in France; the last of which he sold at Marseilles, that none might know of 'em in his Country, and he might keep the Profits of 'em to himself. No more durst Had­gy Manino complain, for fear of incurring the Displeasure of the Alcayde Omar, who at that time rul'd every Thing, and of whom the King of Morocco has rid himself these five Years since for this rea­son.

[Page 127] But to pass by these particular Subjects of the Emperor of Mo­rocco, and speak of all those that compose his State, 'tis to be ob­serv'd that there are two sorts of 'em; for some are Blacks, and the rest White-men.

The first, tho' they are his Slaves, are those he trusts most, and the usual Executors of his Orders, which they fulfil in such an Impe­rious and Absolute a manner, that the most Powerful of the Alcaydes themselves tremble at the sight of the least of 'em.

When he goes to Battel, he has in his Army always Seven or eight thousand of 'em, as well of Foot as of Horse: These are his best Soldiers, and fight always near his Person with Fire-Arms, and he gives the Government of Places, or the Chief Posts in his Army, to those whom he likes best among 'em.

[Page 128] The King of Morocco from time to time gets a Number of these Blacks, whom he either buys or pro­cures by force or cunning out of their Country, and having caus'd 'em to marry, sends 'em, with some Cattle of which he gives them the Care and Profit, into several uninhabited Places, where he uses 'em like a Nursery to serve him upon occasion.

The White-men, tho' they are free-born and very numerous, being o­riginally Natives of the Country, yet are not the more regarded or happy for it; and as a Token of the little Affection and Esteem the King has for them, he commits the Guard of his Person to the Blacks, to whom he gives so great an Au­thority over the White-men, that they exact upon 'em and abuse 'em without controul, as they please, and when they think fit; which has driven the latter to such a Despair that they are ready to attempt any [Page 129] thing if they had an opportunity and power answerable to their In­tentions.

Indeed most of them are so na­turally inclin'd to revolt, that the knowledge which this Prince has of it, is none of the least Motive that induces him always to keep 'em in Fear and Subjection; and his only Interest and Care, for the preserving his Government in Peace and Splendor, is to prevent and hinder their Motions within; the situation of his Kingdoms being such, that he has hardly any thing, or at least very little, to fear of any Attempt from abroad.

This will plainly appear to be true, if we consider that his Ter­ritories wou'd be inaccessible on the side next the Sea, unless in the Places, which, as I have already observ'd, are in the Possession of the Spaniards and Portuguese; but if the Spaniards don't take more Care of Ceuta than they did lately [Page 130] of Larache, the strong Situation and Fortifications of which, here delineated, sufficiently evince that the loss of it ought much less to be attributed to the want of Cou­rage and Bravery of the Officers and Soldiers that Garrison'd it, than to the want of Provisions and Ammunition, 'tis much to be fear'd, they will suffer it to be taken from 'em in the same man­ner; which will cause the greater surprise, since the Moors have nei­ther the Instruments, nor Industry, nor Engineers, nor Experience ne­cessary for such Expeditions: We cannot say as much of the Town of Magazan, where the King of Portugal continually takes Care to keep a strong and good Garrison.

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[Page 133] The King of Morocco's only Neighbours on the Land-side, are the Negro's on one hand, and the Algerines on the other; from the first of which he has nothing to fear, as well because of the great River and the Mountains that se­parate them, which wou'd render their Attempts if not ineffectual, at least very difficult, as for the mu­tual Advantages which he and they receive from their Union, the Moors having a considerable Com­merce in Guinea, from whence, for Salt, Iron-Ware, little Looking-Glasses, and other pedling Toys that come from Venice, they bring back good quantities of Gold-Dust, Elephants-Teeth, and a great num­ber of Blacks, whose Affection the King gains besides by his kind Treatment, and the value he sets upon 'em in his own Country, as I have already observed; so that he looks upon 'em as his own real Subjects.

[Page 134] He is not altogether so Easie on the side of the Algerines, the fear of whose Valour, and the facility of entring his Country, keeps him daily upon his Guard; but he has the Policy and good Fortune often to keep 'em off by the pretext of Religion, making his Talbes and Marabots insinuate to 'em, that both States shou'd give God and their Prophet an Account one Day of the Blood which wou'd be spilt by Wars between 'em, contrary to their Laws. In the mean time no­thing but his own Weakness, and some fatal Experiments he has made of their Valour, as also the Dread he has of the Grand Signior, from whom he might apprehend some revengeful Invasion on that side, causes him to keep in this seeming Friendship with them: For 'tis certain he hates 'em at least as much as he hates the Christians, to whom also he always compares 'em, by reason of the difference [Page 135] there is in their Faith; upon which likewise he Treats all the Turks as Hereticks, and if he had the least prospect of getting their Territo­ries, either by Treachery or by Force, he wou'd not lose the op­portunity of doing it.

The Commerce in his Kingdoms is, as it is elsewhere, generally Ad­vantageous to the Dealers, as well abroad as at home; and this Prince, more mindful of his Profit than of his People, so well knows how be­neficial Trading is to him in par­ticular, by the Duties which are le­vied for the Importation and Ex­portation of Goods, that what­ever his Antipathy and the pre­possession of this Religion be a­gainst the Christians, and whatso­ever War he has with 'em, it does not hinder him from tolerating their Trafick, and putting all means in practise that may conduce to his Gain: Insomuch that there are in his Sea-Port-Towns People of most [Page 134] [...] [Page 135] [...] [Page 136] Nations at all times, and his Al­caydes know so well by the large Summs they borrow, and never wholly pay, how to cause those Traders to stay there, whom hope of Gain has invited thither, and whom the first Endearments and a shew of kind Usage induce to settle in those Parts, that what re­pentance soever the Wrongs, Dis­pleasures, and frequent Avarices they are forc'd to satisfie there, may bring upon 'em, it is seldom possible for them to get clear, un­less they lose their Debts and leave their Effects, or forego the natural Love of their Country and of their Liberty for the sake of their E­state.

I have been told, that those who live at Sally are treated more kind­ly; of which I very much doubt; but what I have seen practis'd du­ring my stay in regard of those of Tetuan and Tangier, both on the Captains and Owners of Ships who [Page 137] arrive there, has so strangely fur­pris'd me, that all the Inference I can draw thence, is, that both the one and the other must needs have been misinform'd, or they make very great Profits, since they can resolve to expose themselves there to such an Usage.

The Tenth of all the Merchan­dizes that are imported and ex­ported, is what the King claims for his Customs, which brings him in a very great Revenue. That which is collected at Sally does not be­long to the Alcaydes, as doth what is levied in the other Governments, which is part of their Subsistance, and for the re-imbursement of their Charges and the Presents they are oblig'd to make to the Prince: And this, perhaps, is the reason which causes the Merchants to be better used at Sally, as I have ob­serv'd, because the Governors there do not make it so much their bu­siness to deal with them so strictly; [Page 138] thus forbearing a severe usage, of which they can reap no benefit, since they are oblig'd to give a particular Account to the King of this Pro­duct, and pay it in specie at the Year's end, deducting what they may have disburs'd according to order.

The Advantage which the French find by this Commerce is, That there they put off such Goods as are of the growth of their Coun­try, and also their Manufactures turn to a good Account; besides the Merchants carry no Money thither, and they ever bring back Merchandizes of a greater Value than what they carry'd over.

The Traffick of Provence con­sists in Tartar and Paper, the Con­sumption of which is great in Bar­bary, as well as of Red Woollen Caps, fine and course Languedoc Woollen Cloth; Serges de Nismes, Fustians and Dimities of Mont­pelier, and other Places; Combs, Silks, Linnen of Lyons; Gold-Threads, [Page 139] Brocades, Damask, Da­mask-works, Velvet, Cottons, Wadds, and other Commodities from the Levant, of little Value, but of good Sale in these Coun­tries, and of a better return.

The Traffick which those of Roan, Saint Malo's, and other Cities of the Western Ocean, have in this Empire, is almost wholly in Linnen-Cloth, of which, 'tis reckon'd, that what is carry'd over and sold Yearly in that part of Afri­ca, amounts to above Two Hundred Thousand Livres: The Barter that is made there of all these Mer­chandizes, is in Wax, Hides, Wooll, Ostrich's Feathers, Copper, Dates, Almonds, Archifoo (a Stone that is us'd to make Earthen Ware) and Ducats of Gold, which are bene­ficial to those of Provence, in their Trade to the Levant. The Christi­ans and the Jews, as I have already observ'd, have all the Trade of the Country, and chiefly that Abroad, [Page 140] which the Moors do not in the least care to manage.

Sally and Tetuan are the most Trading Ports; Goods being most easily Ship'd off there; Saffy and Santa Cruz drive also a Trade for what comes from Morocco, Tafilet and Suz, but it is not so considerable.

The City of Fez is, as it were, the general Store-House of all Bar­bary, the best Traders, and the greatest number of Jews, who are there above Five Thousand; are settled at that place: These Dea­lers buy all that comes from Eu­rope and the Levant, and retail it in the Provinces, from whence likewise they take what they af­ford to Trade with in the Sea-Port Towns. The Red Morocco Leather, known here by the Name of Spanish Leather, is drest in that City, and is the finest in all Barbary.

The Trade of England is in Broad Cloath and in Cowries or Negro's Teeth, which are a kind of small [Page 141] white Shells that go currant in Guinea instead of Money.

Holland sends thither Woollen and Linnen Cloth, all sorts of Spices, Iron and Brass Wire, Steel, Benjamin, Storax, Cinaber, little Looking-glasses, Muslins for the Turbants, and Arms from time to time, with other Ammunition for War.

Italy furnishes 'em with Alum, Gun-Powder, and great store of Earthen Toys made at Venice.

There comes from the Levant, Silks, Cotton, Orpiment, or Auri­pigmentum, Quick-silver, Reagal and Opium.

The returns which are sent to those Parts for all these kinds of Merchandizes and Drugs, is no­thing more than what I have set down in the Article of France, in proportion to the quantities that are vended there.

Cadiz is the Interpost to all the Traffick of England and Holland; [Page 142] for, being near to Both, it facili­tates of course a commodious and sure Transportation, by the means of Portugueze Ships that go thither to take up the Cargo's.

The King of Morocco is so per­suaded of the utility of his Com­merce, and so jealous of it, that surely one of the best ways of bringing down his Pride, and of forcing him to reasonable Terms, were to hinder that of other Na­tions, or to disturb it in such a manner as to give 'em a dislike of it: And it is my opinion besides, that the Trade in the Mediterra­nean need not absolutely be con­tinu'd in that Empire, since the same things might be return'd, and put off, by the way of Algier, which are at Tetuan and Sally; all that can be objected, is, that those Goods wou'd not turn to so good an Account.

Foreign Money is not currant in this Country, except the Spanish [Page 143] Pieces of Eight, the Value and Price of which are rated accor­ding to their Weight, which is always between Sixty and Seventy Sols or Pence. The Pistoles of Spain and Italy, and the Louis d' Or's of France, pass there for no more than Ten Livres, or Ten Livres and Ten Sols; and besides, they are not taken but in a Lump as Bullion, and by Weight, to be melted down: the Jews only take commonly the French Silver Crowns there for Sixty five Sols; a great many of these Crowns were carried out of France to that Country, before the alteration that was made about those Pieces, there being much to be got by them.

The Coin that goes Currant in this Empire is only of three sorts, That of Gold, call'd a Ducat, That of Silver a Blanquille, and that of Copper, a Felouze; the Figure of the Prince is not upon [Page 144] 'em, their Law forbidding it, so that nothing is Stamp'd upon them but some Arabick Characters.

The Ducat is worth from Six Livres to Seven Livres Ten Sols of our Money, and its Price, which is never fix'd, rises and falls, ac­cording to the several Occurrences, that is to say, according to the af­fluence or want of Commerce, or as the Ships come in more or less frequently.

The Blanquille is the most com­mon Money, and of the most fix'd and standing Price: 'tis worth two Sols, and Six Deniers, and it is in this kind that generally all Pay­ments are made.

The Feloux is as one of the French Deniers, but worth a little more; Four and Twenty of 'em make a Blanquille.

Their way of reckoning is by Ounces or by Meticalles (which is the same thing in Arabic with a Ducat in French) the Ounce con­sists [Page 145] of Four Blanquilles, or Ten Pence of our Money.

The Meticalle or Ducat for the generality is nothing real, but such a manner of counting as by Francs or Livres in France; its value is fix'd at Forty Blanquilles, or a Hundred Pence French; so that when 'tis barely said, that a thing worth so many Meticalles, or so many Ducats; nay, even so many Meticalles or Ducats of Sil­ver, 'tis always understood for so many Hundred Sols. It is not the same thing in Meticalles or Ducats of Gold, for their Species is Real, but their Value uncertain, as I have already observ'd.