Changing Power Relations between Europe and algiers:
How a captive's story relates to broader historical change
Introduction
Most people are familiar with the extensive Atlantic slavetrade during the early modern period. What they don't know is the extent to which slavery took place in the Mediterranean region. The famous historian Fernand Braudel once even called slavery a structural feature of the Mediterranean society. This statement may seem bold, but validates itself when one looks at the history of the Mediterranean region. Throughout the ages warfare and piracy were recurrent characteristics of life in and around the Mediterranean Sea. Both war and privateering often resulted in the captivity and enslavement of people. This, over the ages, generated a whole body of literature. European slaves, freed by ransom or force, wrote down stories of their captivity, and artists made good use of these for their depictions of faraway lands and their inhabitants. Some of these slave-stories were published and exerted influence on popular opinion, as far away worlds sprung into vision by the grace of their narrative powers. This story will focus on one of these slave stories and show how it fits into its broader historical context.
Most people are familiar with the extensive Atlantic slavetrade during the early modern period. What they don't know is the extent to which slavery took place in the Mediterranean region. The famous historian Fernand Braudel once even called slavery a structural feature of the Mediterranean society. This statement may seem bold, but validates itself when one looks at the history of the Mediterranean region. Throughout the ages warfare and piracy were recurrent characteristics of life in and around the Mediterranean Sea. Both war and privateering often resulted in the captivity and enslavement of people. This, over the ages, generated a whole body of literature. European slaves, freed by ransom or force, wrote down stories of their captivity, and artists made good use of these for their depictions of faraway lands and their inhabitants. Some of these slave-stories were published and exerted influence on popular opinion, as far away worlds sprung into vision by the grace of their narrative powers. This story will focus on one of these slave stories and show how it fits into its broader historical context.
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Gerrit Metzon, slafe in Algiers
‘Down the stairs we were met by the chief with a stick in his hand;
he roared like a bear and his eyes burned with resentment and malice.'
On the 25th of June 1814 the Dutch ship 'de Twee Gebroeders' ('the Two Brothers') is sailing near the strait of Gibraltar when it's boarded by corsairs. Ship captain Gerrit Metzon and his crew are enslaved and brought to Algiers. For the following two years Metzon is a slafe in the city of Algiers. This changes in 1816 when failing negotiations with Algiers lead to a bombardment of the city by an Anglo-Dutch esquadron. Metzon is set free and travels back home. Upon his arrival home in Vlaardingen Metzon writes down his experiences and publishes them under the title: ´Dagverhaal van mijne lotgevallen gedurende eene gevangenis en slavernij van twee jaren en zeven maanden te Algiers´ (‘Day-to-day story of my vicissitudes during a captivation and slavery of two years and seven months in Algiers’). The question which my research has aspired to answer is: how does Gerrit Metzon’s tale of captivity in Algiers relate to the broader change in power relations between Europe and Algiers in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century? To come up with a satisfying answer to this research question I've looked at several aspects. First of all I've provided some historical background by looking at the reasons for the Algerians to resort to privateering. Secondly, I've analyzed what Metzon's narrative tell us about the European perception of the Algerian corsairs. Thirdly, I've related the text to its historical context and laid bare the connections between the two. By answering these questions I've analyzed how Metzon's tale weaves into a broader historical framework.
‘Down the stairs we were met by the chief with a stick in his hand;
he roared like a bear and his eyes burned with resentment and malice.'
On the 25th of June 1814 the Dutch ship 'de Twee Gebroeders' ('the Two Brothers') is sailing near the strait of Gibraltar when it's boarded by corsairs. Ship captain Gerrit Metzon and his crew are enslaved and brought to Algiers. For the following two years Metzon is a slafe in the city of Algiers. This changes in 1816 when failing negotiations with Algiers lead to a bombardment of the city by an Anglo-Dutch esquadron. Metzon is set free and travels back home. Upon his arrival home in Vlaardingen Metzon writes down his experiences and publishes them under the title: ´Dagverhaal van mijne lotgevallen gedurende eene gevangenis en slavernij van twee jaren en zeven maanden te Algiers´ (‘Day-to-day story of my vicissitudes during a captivation and slavery of two years and seven months in Algiers’). The question which my research has aspired to answer is: how does Gerrit Metzon’s tale of captivity in Algiers relate to the broader change in power relations between Europe and Algiers in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century? To come up with a satisfying answer to this research question I've looked at several aspects. First of all I've provided some historical background by looking at the reasons for the Algerians to resort to privateering. Secondly, I've analyzed what Metzon's narrative tell us about the European perception of the Algerian corsairs. Thirdly, I've related the text to its historical context and laid bare the connections between the two. By answering these questions I've analyzed how Metzon's tale weaves into a broader historical framework.
Conclusions
“Is it possible to imagine anything more romantic than a state of pirates?”
Louis Couperus
Stretching from the 16th to the 19th century Barbary corsairs from the cities of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli operated all over the Mediterranean Sea. By researching why the Algerians resorted to privateering on such a large scale several aspects came to light. My conclusion was that personal (religious) motives, the unprofitable climate, the lack of trade, the lure of riches and the support of the Ottoman sultan, -thereby effectively including Algiers in the struggle between empires-, were the most important reasons for the existence of Algerian privateering.
“Is it possible to imagine anything more romantic than a state of pirates?”
Louis Couperus
Stretching from the 16th to the 19th century Barbary corsairs from the cities of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli operated all over the Mediterranean Sea. By researching why the Algerians resorted to privateering on such a large scale several aspects came to light. My conclusion was that personal (religious) motives, the unprofitable climate, the lack of trade, the lure of riches and the support of the Ottoman sultan, -thereby effectively including Algiers in the struggle between empires-, were the most important reasons for the existence of Algerian privateering.
What does
Metzon’s narrative tell us about the European conception of the Algerian corsairs?
‘Thou wicked lump of only sin, and shame,
(Renouncing Christian faith and Christian name),
A villain worse than he that Christ betray’d.. (..)
(…) Perpetual flames is reprobate’s reward.
With these words the English satirist Samuel Rowlands condemned John Ward, an Englishman who had converted to Islam, after providing Algiers with his considerable talents for privateering. The conflict between the Barbary Coast and Europe during the Medieval and early modern period was often portrayed as a clash between cultures and religions. By looking at Metzon's account similarities were discerned. Metzon's tale gives ample descriptions of the 'Turks' (in fact they were mostly Algerians, or even Europeans) their lack of morals, untrustworthiness, thievishness and cruelty. Europe’s fear of another world, another culture and religion, was therefore seen to be reflected in Metzon’s descriptions of the ‘Turks’. Metzon’s account of captivity provides us with a personalized description of the religious challenges that non-Europeans and non-Christians posed to early modern Europe at large.
‘Thou wicked lump of only sin, and shame,
(Renouncing Christian faith and Christian name),
A villain worse than he that Christ betray’d.. (..)
(…) Perpetual flames is reprobate’s reward.
With these words the English satirist Samuel Rowlands condemned John Ward, an Englishman who had converted to Islam, after providing Algiers with his considerable talents for privateering. The conflict between the Barbary Coast and Europe during the Medieval and early modern period was often portrayed as a clash between cultures and religions. By looking at Metzon's account similarities were discerned. Metzon's tale gives ample descriptions of the 'Turks' (in fact they were mostly Algerians, or even Europeans) their lack of morals, untrustworthiness, thievishness and cruelty. Europe’s fear of another world, another culture and religion, was therefore seen to be reflected in Metzon’s descriptions of the ‘Turks’. Metzon’s account of captivity provides us with a personalized description of the religious challenges that non-Europeans and non-Christians posed to early modern Europe at large.
How does Metzon’s tale relate to the changing perceptions on privateering and the enslavement of -Christian- Europeans? And how does it relate to the broader change in power relations between Europe and Algiers?
The Medieval outlook on privateering was characterized by indifference towards the enslavement of citizens of state. Each state, if they took responsibility at all, only did so for its own subjects. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century this notion came under pressure. By referring to the concept of imagined empathy we can explain how novels and accounts of torture or slavery like Metzon’s connect a seemingly peripheral issue like the enslavement of Europeans in Algiers to a much larger change in perception on the acceptability of privateering and the rights of European citizens. These kind of documents 'brought things home'. Not unlike the television in the twentieth century people were confronted with a world beyond their own. Novels enabled people to relate to their fellow men and fed a sense of indignancy at the fate which had befallen them. The second half of the eighteenth century therefore saw a surge in human rights in Europe and outrage at a age old custom. Narratives like Metzon's were the driving force behind this fundamental change in perception. The enslavement of fellow -Christian- Europeans was not longer considered an acceptable practice. Ultimately this led to a crucial event which highlighted the shift in power from Algiers to Europe; the bombardment of Algiers in 1816. Here the growing disparity in power was strongly expressed.When negotiations about the abolishment of slavery and the manumission of European slaves failed, an Anglo-Dutch fleet bombarded the city. Metzon stood witness while the city was bombed to rubble. Algiers was forced to give in to the demands made by the English and the Dutch. In the decade thereafter several attempts were made to revive the once booming privateering. This however never really succeeded and when France invaded Algeria in 1830 things had permanently changed.
The Medieval outlook on privateering was characterized by indifference towards the enslavement of citizens of state. Each state, if they took responsibility at all, only did so for its own subjects. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century this notion came under pressure. By referring to the concept of imagined empathy we can explain how novels and accounts of torture or slavery like Metzon’s connect a seemingly peripheral issue like the enslavement of Europeans in Algiers to a much larger change in perception on the acceptability of privateering and the rights of European citizens. These kind of documents 'brought things home'. Not unlike the television in the twentieth century people were confronted with a world beyond their own. Novels enabled people to relate to their fellow men and fed a sense of indignancy at the fate which had befallen them. The second half of the eighteenth century therefore saw a surge in human rights in Europe and outrage at a age old custom. Narratives like Metzon's were the driving force behind this fundamental change in perception. The enslavement of fellow -Christian- Europeans was not longer considered an acceptable practice. Ultimately this led to a crucial event which highlighted the shift in power from Algiers to Europe; the bombardment of Algiers in 1816. Here the growing disparity in power was strongly expressed.When negotiations about the abolishment of slavery and the manumission of European slaves failed, an Anglo-Dutch fleet bombarded the city. Metzon stood witness while the city was bombed to rubble. Algiers was forced to give in to the demands made by the English and the Dutch. In the decade thereafter several attempts were made to revive the once booming privateering. This however never really succeeded and when France invaded Algeria in 1830 things had permanently changed.
Suggested books for further reading
Curious about Gerrit Metzon? Visit:
http://www.geschiedenisvanvlaardingen.nl/verhalen?q=gerrit+metzon
http://www.geschiedenisvanvlaardingen.nl/verhalen?q=gerrit+metzon
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Sources
v Metzon, Gerrit, Dagverhaal van mijne lotgevallen gedurende eene gevangenis en slavernij van twee jaren en zeven maanden te Algiers. Met eene korte beschrijving van die stad, de levenswijs, zeden en gewoonten van hare inwoonders. Rotterdam and Vlaardingen: N. Cornel, J. Van Witzenburg, 1817.
v Davis, Robert C. Christian slaves, Muslim masters. White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
v Tinniswood, Adrian, Pirates of Barbary: corsairs, conquests and captivity in the 17th-century Mediterranean. London: Jonathan Cape, 2010.
v Krieken, Gerard van, Kapers en kooplieden: de betrekkingen tussen Algiers en Nederland 1604-1830. Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw, 1999.
v Vitkus, Daniel J. and Nabil Matar. Piracy, slavery, and redemption: Barbary captivity narratives from early modern England. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
v Davis, Robert. “The geography of slaving in the early modern Mediterranean, 1500-1800,” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern studies 37 (2007): 57-74.
v Friedman, Ellen G. “Christian captives at ‘hard labor’ in Algiers, 16th-18th centuries,” The international Journal of African Historical Studies 13 (1980): 616-632.
v Black, Jeremy “The Mediterranean as a battleground of the European powers: 1700-1900,” in The Mediterranean in history, ed. David Abulafia, 251-281. London: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
v Ressel, Magnus. “Conflicts between Early Modern European States about rescuing their subjects from Barbary captivity,” Scandinavian Journal of History 36 (2011): 1-22.
v Sohmer Tai, Emily. “The legal status of piracy in Medieval Europe,” History Compass 10/11 (2012): 838–851.
v Ressel, Magnus, Merchants and Corsairs at war. The Dutch and Algiers in the early 18th century. Unpublished.
v Kikkert, J.G. “Gevangene in Barbarije : de lotgevallen van Gerrit Metzon in Algiers, 1814-1816,” in De zedeloosheid van Den Haag en andere onthullingen over Nederland in de negentiende eeuw, idem, 45-56. Amsterdam: wetenschappelijke uitgeverij, 1976.
v Metzon, Gerrit, Dagverhaal van mijne lotgevallen gedurende eene gevangenis en slavernij van twee jaren en zeven maanden te Algiers. Met eene korte beschrijving van die stad, de levenswijs, zeden en gewoonten van hare inwoonders. Rotterdam and Vlaardingen: N. Cornel, J. Van Witzenburg, 1817.
v Davis, Robert C. Christian slaves, Muslim masters. White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
v Tinniswood, Adrian, Pirates of Barbary: corsairs, conquests and captivity in the 17th-century Mediterranean. London: Jonathan Cape, 2010.
v Krieken, Gerard van, Kapers en kooplieden: de betrekkingen tussen Algiers en Nederland 1604-1830. Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw, 1999.
v Vitkus, Daniel J. and Nabil Matar. Piracy, slavery, and redemption: Barbary captivity narratives from early modern England. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.
v Davis, Robert. “The geography of slaving in the early modern Mediterranean, 1500-1800,” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern studies 37 (2007): 57-74.
v Friedman, Ellen G. “Christian captives at ‘hard labor’ in Algiers, 16th-18th centuries,” The international Journal of African Historical Studies 13 (1980): 616-632.
v Black, Jeremy “The Mediterranean as a battleground of the European powers: 1700-1900,” in The Mediterranean in history, ed. David Abulafia, 251-281. London: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
v Ressel, Magnus. “Conflicts between Early Modern European States about rescuing their subjects from Barbary captivity,” Scandinavian Journal of History 36 (2011): 1-22.
v Sohmer Tai, Emily. “The legal status of piracy in Medieval Europe,” History Compass 10/11 (2012): 838–851.
v Ressel, Magnus, Merchants and Corsairs at war. The Dutch and Algiers in the early 18th century. Unpublished.
v Kikkert, J.G. “Gevangene in Barbarije : de lotgevallen van Gerrit Metzon in Algiers, 1814-1816,” in De zedeloosheid van Den Haag en andere onthullingen over Nederland in de negentiende eeuw, idem, 45-56. Amsterdam: wetenschappelijke uitgeverij, 1976.