In Raissuli’s hands:the story of my captivity and deliverance.

A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT

Prepared by :FATIMA AKOUAOU

THE OUTLINE• Introduction• Historical background

– American context• Presidential election

– Moroccan context• Mulai Abdul-Aziz• Situation of Morocco

• In Raissuli’s hands– A synopsis of events– Perdicaris /Raissuli– Historical/political readings of some passages

• Reasons of rebellion (the state of anarchy -ssiba-)• French engagement /Penetration• USA/Perdicaris stands

– Captor/captive relationship• conclusion

INTRODUCTION

• In Raissuli’s hands is one of the narratives In White Slaves, African Masters by Paul Beapler.

• It is the narrative by Ion Perdicaris about his captivity and deliverance.

• The narrative presents a great deal of historical background.

Historical background

AMERICAN CONTEXT

The republican convention nominated Teddy Roosevelt for presidential re-election.

Moroccan context Mulai Abdul-Aziz

After the death of Mulai Hassan in 1894,Mulai Abdul-Aziz succeeded him in an early age.

The young king relied on the head of the viziers “ba Hmad”, who ruled the country till his death in 1990.

Abdul-Aziz was hooked by the luxuries of European countries.“… innumerable bicycles,600 cameras,25 grand pianos, and a gold

automobile (though there were no roads)…”Barbara Tuchman(1959).

“He spent in the few years since he emerged from the seclusion of his palace to take up the reins of government, not only the whole revenue of his country, but also the savings of his predecessors.”Walter Harris(1921)p 84.

“the great fault, or misfortune , of Mulai Abdul-Aziz was his

extravagance. He was never able to realize the value of money." Walter Harris(1921)p 84.

The situation of Morocco

Morocco was divided into two parts:bled Elmakhzan and bled Ssiba

Bled Elmakhzan: the regions that accepted the sultan’s authority. Bled Ssiba: the regions that rebel against the sultan’s authority.

They would not pay taxes or supply the army with troops until there is a “harka” dispatching on them.

This situation was quite normal in Morocco since Almohades. During Abdul-Aziz reign the situation was very chaotic.

• Mulai Abdul-Aziz introduced a reform concerning the financial situation.

• He replaced the religious taxes by a new agricultural one “tertib”.

The revenue of taxation was not enough. Mulai Abdul-Aziz started to get loans from Europe. The country is in a complete anarchy.

In Raissuli’s Hands:the Story of my Captivity and

Deliverance

A SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS• 1904:Perdicaris and his step son Varley were captured

by Raissuli in their villa Aidonia.• Mr. Gummere and Sir Arthur Nicolson informed hajj

Med Torress to take the necessary measures to rescue the captives.

• Raissuli talks to Perdicaris about his story and the circumstances that led him to the life of a bandit.

• The Wazani Sheriffs were charged by Sir Nicolson and M,St.Rene de Taillandier to negotiate the deliverance of the captives.

• The sultan accepted all the demands by Raissuli.• Perdicaris and Varley were released.

PERDICARIS/RAISSULI

• ION PERDICARIS:

• Son of Gregory Perdicaris, a native of Greece who had become a naturalized American.

• His mother is an American lady of property from South Carolina.

• He entered Harvard ,but left in his sophomore year to study abroad.

• He lived in England,and Morocco as a dilettante of literature and arts.

• In 1862, Perdicaris registered himself in Athens as a Greek subject to avoid enlistment in the confederate army and the confiscation of his property.

• He bought villa “AIDONIA” in 1877, and settled in Tangier in 1884.

• Ahmed Raissuli

• He was born In 1871 in Zenat.• A Shereef of noble descent, he had received grounding in

law and religion. • He leads 3 rebellious kabyles against the government: the

Beni M’saour, the Beni idder, and the Beni arroze.• He takes foreigners as captives to reach his goals.

HISTORICAL/POLITICAL READING• REASONS OF THE REBELLION(The state of anarchy)

– “now the Fahas people assert that thrice already the levy had been collected either in men or in money …”p292.

– “when Basha Barghash and his following reached a village called Zeenats he was suddenly surrounded by an angry crowd of armed natives…”p292.

– “we do not dispute the sultan’s authority nor refuse to pay the tax prescribed by the koranic law…but beyond this we resist oppression by force.”p295.

– Revenge from the Abdesaduks betrayal.– Illustrating the sultan’s impotence and humiliate

him on the international stage.

STATE OF ANARCHY:• illegal taxation.• rebellious tribes.• Weakness of the sultan.

• French engagement/penetration– “Mulai Ali on this occasion had been charged with the

task of conducting the negotiations for our release by sir Arthur Nicolson, with the assent of M. St Rene de Taillandier,the French minister, for the Wazani Chereefs are protegees of France…”p297 The approach of the American fleet would seem to require

equal action by France the latter prefers to avoid a display of force.

1904: England and France signed an entente.France wanted to start her penetration without stirring up

Moroccan feelings.

• USA/Pedicaris stands– USA stand

• After the kidnapping of Perdicaris, USA send seven powerful warships.

«La diplomatie américaine, quand elle prit cette initiative, n’en a pas avisé la France. La justification qu’elle a donnée à cette démonstration de force sans précédent dans les eaux marocaines, était « le besoin de satisfaire aux exigences de l’opinion publique américaine qui avait pris feu sur l’incident »

The press was actively engaged.• Theodor Roosevelt needed to maintain his popular position,

therefore he issued the statement:“perdicaris alive or raissuli dead.”

To maintain his face, and to guarantee his election.

• Perdicaris stand– Throughout the narrative there is little talk about

USA.• In the beginning: he thanks USA agents for their efforts.• In p299: “some allusion was made to the squadrons of the

American fleet in tangier Bay and I knew that Raissuli had heard of their arrival with perfect equanimity…”

• In p301:“…were the signal lights on the mastheads of the frigates announcing my return, and then I whispered to myself: “thank heaven, is that flag, and that people –aye, and that president, behind those frigates, thousands of miles away, who have had me dug out from amongst these kabyles,that flag and no other.”

• Captor/captive relationship– Raissuli’s behavior

• “So far as you yourself, your security and that of your property are concerned, you have nothing to fear. No member of these kabyles will interfere with you. On the contrary, they will protect you from harm to the best of their ability.”p294.

• “and I, on my part, will come with all my men to your rescue if you are ever attacked”p300-301.

• Perdicaris attitude– “Still even now…I felt that we should not judge raissuli by

our own standards of right and wrong.”p296.– “Yes I must confess that I not only honestly sympathized

with raissuli, but that I consider him rather in the light of a patriot who is using every means within his reach, even means which we can not but condemn, to defend the independence of these Berber kabyles.”p297.

– “Yes I was actually sorry to leave one of the most interesting and attractive personalities I have ever encountered.”p301.

conclusion

• This narrative is special in many aspects:The story happened in the twentieth century.The narrative depicts many historical and political

events.The captive has broken the traditional tendency of the

captivity accounts.The narrative offers an other version of the personality

of raissuli.

REFERENCES

• Azzou, El-Mostafa. Un otage Americain au Maroc: Perdicaris (1904). 89-93. 2004.

• Baepler, Paul Michel. White Slaves, African Masters: An Anthology of American Barbary Captivity Narratives. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.

• Harris, Walter. Morocco That Was. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and Sons, 1921.

• Landau, Rom. Moroccan Drama, 1900-1955. San Francisco: American Academy of Asian Studies, 1956.

• file://localhost/C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Administrateur/Bureau/DUWARD%20DISCUSSION_%20Perdicaris%20Alive%20or%20Raisuli%20Dead.mht

• http://translate.google.co.ma/translate?hl=fr&langpair=en%7Cfr&u=http://jdurward.blogspot.com/2008/03/perdicaris-alive-or-raisuli-dead.html