#Repost @piracyinpictures ・・・ Thomas Pellow’s self-penned narrative of his time as a slave in Morocco. To continue the discussion on the kidnapped by corsairs’ narratives, Thomas Pellow used his to prove his loyalty to England, including its slave trade, after being treated with great suspicion on his return. Pellow was only 11 when the ship he was sailing on was captured by Moroccan corsairs. He was forced to convert to Islam and after some years, became a favoured slave of the Emperor Mawlay Isma’il (1672-1727). His job was to ensure the safe arrival of new black African slaves and other Imperial plunder. He eventually became an officer in the ranks of Isma’il’s slave army. Despite his shared experiences with them, Pellow takes pains to show he is not at all sympathetic to the plight of black African slaves. When Isma’il gave him the rare opportunity of choosing a black African woman to marry, rather than being forced, he begs to be allowed to marry a white woman. Further into his narrative, he wrote about a ruse he and a slave called Bushmough cooked up to trick slave-traders. Pellow would sell Bushmough to them, Bushmough would quickly escape and return, then Pellow would sell him again to other traders. It seemed Bushmough was the only slave Pellow retained any affection for. However, even this story was included to communicate his support of the slave trade: a loyal slave would always return to his master. Pellow eventually escaped the slave army and returned to England. He struggled to adjust, not even recognising his parents when he met them again. He included these stories in his narrative to try and prove to English society that in his heart, he never really turned renegade at all. He may also have absorbed the racist prejudices of his era and wanted to show his ultimate allegiance to England - and by extension, Christianity - during his long years of captivity. #corsairs #pirates #privateers #barbarypirates #piratehistory #northafricanhistory #berbers #berbershistory #moors #survivalstories #barbarycoast #islamichistory #slaveryhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/CTuVkoBFYks/?utm_medium=tumblr
