's surrounded by the Sea and almost impregnable by its situation The Kingdom of Sus is contiguous to that of Morocco about its South-West Part 't is 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 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 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 't is 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 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 It s 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 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 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 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 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 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
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 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 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 It s 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 'T is 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 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 'T is 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 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 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 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 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 'T is 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
Here Sir I might have an opportunity to repeat the substance of many Things which I have mention'd at length in that Journal did not I fear this wou'd be too foreign to the Design of the following sheets which according to Your Majesty's Orders are only to relate to the Extent Government Strength and Trade of the Empire of Morocco However I think my self oblig'd before I begin to acquaint Your Majesty that by what the subtle Ways and Discourses of the King of Morocco's Ministers have betray'd to me of his Designs and Resolutions as to the offers he makes from Time to Time to Treat with Your Majesty it plainly appears whatever his Demonstrations of Sincerity may seem that all his Aim and utmost Intent have always been and will ever be only to procure himself some Presents Honours and Supplies for the regaining of the Towns which the Spaniards still hold in his Country Besides as this Prince and his Ministers know very well that Your Goodness and Compassion for Your poor Captive Subjects are the only Motives that incline You to hearken to his Proposals there is no doubt but that he is not likely to part with those Slaves as long as he hopes they may be a means to procure him the Advantages I have mention'd so that 't is not to be expected he will ever treat but upon Terms of this nature and his Ministers will always endeavour by all imaginable means that the effect which they think they ought to expect in that case may precede the Performance of what they shall Promise on their side There remains now nothing for me to represent to Your Majesty but that I have taken such care in examining what ever is the subject of these Memoirs that I may well assure You they contain nothing but what is most conformable to the Truth I also make bold to promise my self from Your Majesties Goodness that You will the rather excuse Omissions and Defects seeing that by the Journal which I had the Honour to give You of my stay and Negotiation in that Kingdom where I was almost always detain'd and narrowly observ'd and where 't is not allow'd to take Informations of the State of the Country You may perceive how little I could converse with those who might have enabled me to have given a more perfect Account of it and such a one as might better evince the Fidelity of the Respectful and Inviolable Zeal with which I am SIR Your Majesty's Most Humble most Obedient and most Faithful Subject and Servant Pidou de St. Olon Advertisement Newly published THE Present State of Persia With a faithful Account of the Manners Religion and Government of that People By Monsieur SANSON a Missionary from the French King Adorn'd with Figures Done into English Now in the Press and will be speedily published THE Life of the Famous Cardinal Duke of Richlieu Principal Minister of State to Lewis XIII In Two Volumes 8 o. A New Voyage into Italy With necessary Instructions for those who undertake the same By Maximilian Mission Done out of French and Illustrated with Sculptures THE Present State OF THE EMPIRE OF MOROCCO 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 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 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 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 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 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
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 A Moorish woman walking in the Town A Black of the King of Moroccos Guard A Marabout or Talbe 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 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 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 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 'T is 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 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 'T is 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 't is 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 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 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 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 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 All the Arabs and Barbarians by whose Dwellings the Army passes are oblig'd to provide gratis where-ever 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 'T is 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 'T is 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 that he who is Master of the Arms and Money soon becomes so of all the Kingdom which
Consul of Sally For as the Words and Writings of Kings ought not to be alter'd I should wrong your Majesty's Glory could I harbour the least suspicion of the Fidelity of your Offers on this behalf Your Majesty knows how nearly it concerns your Honour and Interest to persuade as well your Subjects as the different Nations that are at your Court of this Truth And 't is also on these Grounds that I am willing to believe I ought to attribute your Minister's Silence since by your Order we discours'd together about the Treaty which I show'd him and put into his Hand only to the Pleasure which your Majesty was pleas'd to reserve to your self of signifying to me the happy and wish'd-for Conclusion of it and principally concerning the Article about setting free on both sides the Slaves of the two Nations about which your Minister would not treat However SIR I think it my Duty to represent to your Majesty that a Thing which you have so publickly desir'd and which you can so easily accomplish ought to have been sooner decided and not be put off till so short a time as seems remaining till your departure You have shown a Desire of having a Peace you have offer'd or demanded an Embassador to conclude it and have appear'd so forward that you did me the Honour to tell me when I came near you That you were ready to have sent one to France on that Account had not I come as I did However I have been in your Dominions these two Months and these three Weeks at your Court you have receiv'd me with Marks of Satisfaction and singular Kindness I have presented you my Orders and tho' the Commissioner whom you appointed to examine 'em made some very unexpected Objections on things already settled by your Majesty I nevertheless show'd him in three Articles which most certainly deserv'd not to have such Difficulties started that I had a mind to conciliate Things with all imaginable Moderation that the said Treaty might be concluded with mutual Satisfaction Yet since that time he seems to have had a mind to obstruct this business and make it impossible by a new and unheard-of Difficulty which might cause the World to doubt of your Majesty's having a real Desire for a Peace and altogether make it impossible it should last did your Majesty persist in it I have convinc'd him of it by strong Reasons which I would again repeat to your Majesty were I not persuaded you have been inform'd of it Thus SIR I have now nothing else to do but to desire that before you go you will be pleas'd to Approve and Sign this Treaty which I offer you and I assure you that I shall leave this Country with Content if when I hear of the Continuation and Progress of your wonted Conquests I can at the same time acquaint my Master of the Effect and Performance of your Royal Word which hath procur'd me the Honour and Pleasure of satisfying the great Idea I had conceiv'd of your Majesty THe King of Morocco's Answers to this Complement and all the Discourse that pass'd in this Audience ran upon some Proposals so extraordinary so little consonant to the Motives he had discover'd to procure this Negotiation and so contrary to the Letter he had writ to the King about it which he solemnly disown'd that I thought that decency oblig'd me to consult the Reputation of that Prince so much as to bury 'em in Silence rather than expose him too much to the Publick Blame by relating them OBSERVATIONS To be made on the Cause of Monsieur de St. OLON's EMBASSY TO MOROCCO THe King of Morocco having disown'd the Letter he had sent to his Majesty which I have mention'd in several parts of this Relation that Denial was the occasion he took not to perform what it contains Now as this Letter was the Motive and Grounds of the Resolution the King took to send me to Morocco I believe it will not be amiss to insert here a Copy of this Letter that the Reader may have a clearer insight into the Undertaking and its Event I also imagine it will not be improper to add those Letters which that Prince caus'd to be transmitted to me at my departure both for the King my Master and my self and my Answers that by comparing them together the World may still better judge of his Character and Intentions As also what Measures ought to be taken concerning his Proposals Words and Writings THE King of Morocco's LETTER To the KING To the greatest of the Christian Kings and Princes of Europe The Monarch of the French Nations the Master of his Kingdom and Climates and the Sovereign Arbiter of the Wills and Actions of his Subjects Lewis the Fourteenth The Salutation of Peace to those that walk in the ways of Truth In the Name of God who is Good and Merciful whom we beseech to help us there being no Trust nor Power but in his Supreme Greatness From the Servant of God who is most High and Victorious by God's Appointment and puts his Trust in him in all his Vndertakings the Miralmumunin or Prince of the True Believers who fights in the way of the Lord of this World and of the other The Prince of the high Tribe of Hachem Ismael the Son of Al Xerif of the House of Hassan THis is to let your Majesty know That a Christian Merchant Son to your Consul Estelle came to our High Court where he said that he had in his Hands an Order and Credentials from your Majesty then produc'd a Letter which as he pretends came from you by which Authority is given him to conferr with us as he shall think most convenient concerning your Affairs and Intentions and even to act in your Behalf at the Court of our High Majesty whom God preserve We made no doubt but that the Letter and Credentials came from you but would have nothing to do with the said Estelle not thinking it proper to treat with him about those Affairs because he is a Merchant and not one of the great Lords of your Court or one of your chief Officers for it does not belong to Merchants to treat with Kings or manage Affairs in which Princes are concern'd A Merchant may speak about what relates to his Trade he may also use his Endeavours to carry News on both sides and transmit a Paper or be the Bearer of a Letter and do this for both Parties This he may do but that 's all a Merchant's Word can be good for and no more Therefore if your Majesty have really a design to enter upon a Treaty to the purpose and with sincerity you may send us one of the Great Lords of your Court on whose Words we may depend and rely and with whom we may Treat upon his coming to us with that Design and to that Purpose Or if you rather desire we should send you one of our best Servants and greatest Lords of our High Court you may
Orders and Powers to treat of 'em with your Majesty 's own Person as I have been honour'd with by the Emperor my Master concerning those things about which you writ to him But there is some Reason to believe that your Majesty at that time had been pleas'd to follow the no less judicious than zealous Advice of the Alcayde Aly who perfectly knows what may be most for your Majesty's Interest who truly loves your Person and your Glory and whom I ought to assure you I have found here to be the most faithful and most loving of your Subjects Had your Majesty consulted no other you would doubtless have follow'd and brought to a happy End your first Designs which besides the Profit and Safety they would have procur'd to the Commerce of your Subjects would also have made you Formidable to your Enemies I hope SIR that when you shall seriously have weigh'd those Counsels and imparted your Sentiments to that faithful Alcayde you will again pursue such Resolutions as are most consistent with your Interest and that you will approve what the Esteem and Respect I have for you oblige me to represent to your Majesty assuring you that if I were so happy as to be able to contribute towards the obtaining for you of the Emperor my Master what I know to be so necessary and advantageous to you I would endeavour it with all the Zeal you can desire of him who is entirely SIR Your Majesty 's Most humble c. THE LETTER Which the King of Morocco Wrote and sent to the King BY Monsieur de St. OLON. To the greatest Prince of the Christistians the Monarch of the Kingdom of France Lewis the Fourteenth God grant his Peace to those who follow the Inspirations of Truth THis is to let your Majesty know That as soon as your Servant the Embassador arriv'd on the blessed Lands under our Dominion we had Information given us of it by our faithful Counsellor and Servant the Alcayde Aly the Son of Abdalla who desir'd us to give him Leave and the necessary Orders to cause him to be conducted to our Court This we willingly granted believing that he only came to treat of Affairs of the greatest Consequence such as wou'd be a means for us to obtain whatever we should desire of you and for your Majesty all that you could desire of us But after he was come to our High Throne and we had spoken to him and ask'd him many Questions about this we found that he had only some Proposals to make relating to the Slaves and we did not find that he had the Power which is requisite to treat with us of other Affairs so that what he came about having not seem'd to be of Consequence enough we did not think fit to treat with him about it for 't is certain that what was the Subject of his Embassie might as well have been done even by the management of a Merchant whose Degree were very much inferior to his As soon as he withdrew out of our Royal Presence we left the dispatch of his Business to our faithful Servant the Alcayde Aly the Son of Abdalla on the score of the general Command and Authority with which he is intrusted by our sovereign Order in all our Ports Cities Towns and Tribes of our Sea-Coasts We have given him leave to Negotiate with your Embassador and he has sufficient Power and Authority to treat and transact with him about Affairs of the greatest Consequence in case this Embassador have also some full Power that may be thought as unquestionable and unalterable as is that which we sent to our Servant who will treat with him as he shall think best both now and hereafter The salutation of Peace be given to those who follow the Inspirations of Truth Written the tenth Day of the Month Zil Hadge the last of the Year 1104. that is the Eighteenth of June 1693. THE LETTER Which the Alcayde Aly Ben Abdalla the King of Morocco's Minister for the Marine wrote and sent to the King by Monsieur de St. OLON. In the Name of God the Merciful there being no Authority nor Power but from him who is the most High and most Mighty To him whom his Dignity and Power have rais'd above all the Princes of his Religion whom his Valour and desire of Glory have made dreadful through all the Nations of Christendom the Majestic Emperor of France Lewis the Great the Fourteenth of the Name God give Peace to those who follow the Inspirations of Truth I Must acquaint your Majesty that as soon as your faithful Embassador de St. Olon came to us with his Attendants we had several Conferences with him and ask'd leave of our Victorious Monarch that he might come from this Place to his Court and having obtain'd it we procur'd him the means to arrive at this Glorious Throne After his return from the Court of our Master as we then resided in the City of Tangier which God protect your Embassador writ to us and let us know that he had not ended what he desir'd of the Court of our Emperor for which reason we speedily sent again to his Majesty several Letters with reiterated Instances to desire him that he would explain his Will in that Affair This we did two or three times and he as often return'd Answer letting us know that 't was his Intent to negotiate a Treaty of true Peace in plain and sincere Terms concerning some Affairs of the greatest Consequence that it might remain sirm and lasting by the means of which Treaty most important and considerable Undertakings might be compass'd And in short such a Treaty as is between your Majesty and the People of Constantinople But it seems this Embassador is only come about the Slaves now 't is certain their Number is so inconsiderable and of so small a consequence that if he had demanded 'em gratis of our Mullana whom God cause to triumph he would not have refus'd 'em on your Majesty's account The Emperor my Master did also let me know that he had not the least thing to object against the Treaty that relates to the Marine yet that he does not much value that Affair and that there is no need to make a Treaty for a Concern of so small a consequence This is the summ of what the Emperor my Master to whom God grant Victory answer'd to the Instances I made on this account As for our Part God is our Witness that we have acted for your Embassador in whatever he desir'd as we would have done for our selves and perhaps more And finally I have made it my Business to conferr with him seriously and privately and we have discours'd together a long while about several Points which he has perfectly understood and very deeply imprinted in his Mind he will give your Majesty an Account of it as we have done to him The Salutation of Peace be given to those who follow the Inspirations of Truth Written the