#slaves in algiers

[byronicist]

"For though she wept, she smiled to see, / Her tears refresh the flowers."

Susana Haswell Rowson, from Slaves in Algiers (1794)

[secular-jew]

While there were periods of coexistence with Jews in the Levant, let this brief history disavow you of the notion, being promulgated all over the internet (and especially my inbox) that Jews were treated "well" by Muslims.

Similar in many ways to the dehumanization and murder at the hands of European Christianity, the Jews in Muslim-controlled lands, starting with Muhammad (exemplified in Islam as not just a prophet, but the "perfect example of human being") suffered continuous waves of ethnic-cleansing pogroms and massacres, culminating in the Massacres in southern Israel on October 7th.

This is a short list:

622 - 627: Ethnic cleansing of Jews literally from Mecca and Medina, (Jewish boys with pubic hair were executed along with the men). Over 800 adult males were killed by beheading. Women were forced into sexual slavery, and the children were given to Islamic Jihadis as slaves. Mohammad force-married Safiyyah, after murdering her husband and father.

629: 1st Alexandria Massacres of Jews, Egypt.

622 - 634: Exterminations of Arabian Jewish tribes.

1106: Ali Ibn Yousef Ibn Tashifin of Marrakesh decrees death penalty for any local Jew, including his Jewish Physician, and as well as his Jewish military general.

1033: 1st massacre of Jews in Fez, Morocco.

1148: Almohadin of Morocco gives Jews the choice of converting to Islam, or expulsion.

1066: Granada Massacre of Jews, Muslim-occupied Spain.

1165 - 1178: Jews of Yemen given the choice (under new constitution) to either convert to Islam or die.

1165: Chief Rabbi of the Maghreb was publicly burnt alive. The Rambam (Maimonides, Moses ben Maimon), forced to flee Spain to Egypt.

1220: Tens of thousands of Jews massacred by Muslims Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, after being blamed for Mongol invasion.

1270: Sultan Baibars of Egypt resolved to burn all the Jews, a ditch having been dug for that purpose; but at the last moment he repented, and instead exacted a heavy tribute, during the collection of which many perished.

1276: 2nd Fez Pogrom (massacre) against Jews in Morocco

1385: Khorasan Massacres against Jews in Iran

1438: 1st Mellah Ghetto massacres against Jews in Morocco.

1465: 3rd Fez Pogrom against Jews in Morocco, leaving only 11 Jews left alive.

1517: 1st Safed Pogrom in Muslim Ottoman controlled Judea

1517: 1st Hebron Pogrom in Muslim-controlled Judea, by occupying Ottomans.

1517: Marsa ibn Ghazi Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Libya.

1577: Passover Massacre throughout the Ottoman Empire.

1588 - 1629: Mahalay Pogroms of Jews in Iran.

1630 - 1700: Yemenite Jews considered 2nd class citizens and subjugated under strict Shi'ite 'dhimmi' rules.

1660: 2nd Judean Pogrom, in Safed Israel (Ottoman-controlled Palestine).

1670: Expulsion of Mawza Jews in Yemen.

1679 - 1680: Massacres of Jews in Sanaa, Yemen.

1747: Massacres of the Jews of Mashhad, Iran.

1785: Pogrom of Libyan Jews in Ottoman-controlled Tripoli, Libya.

1790 - 92: Tetuan Pogrom. Morocco (Jews of Tetuuan stripped naked, and lined up for Muslim perverts).

1800: Decree passed in Yemen, criminalizing Jews from wearing clothing that is new or good, or from riding mules or donkeys. Jews were also rounded up for long marches naked through the Roob al Khali dessert.

1805: 1st Algiers Massacre/Pogrom of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Algeria.

1808: 2nd Ghetto Massacres in Mellah, Morocco.

1815: 2nd Algiers massacres/pogroms of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Algeria.

1820: Sahalu Lobiant Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Syria.

1828: Baghdad massacres/pogroms of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Iraq.

1830: 3rd massacre/pogrom of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Algiers, Algeria.

1830: Ethnic cleansing of Jews in Tabriz, Iran.

1834: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Hebron, Judea.

1834: Massacre/pogrom of Safed Jews in Ottoman-controlled Palestine/Judea.

1839: Massacre of the Mashadi Jews in Iran.

1840: Damascus Affair following first of many blood libels against Jews in Ottoman-controlled Syria.

1844: 1st Cairo Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Egypt.

1847: Dayr al-Qamar massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Lebanon.

1847: Ethnic cleansing of the Jews in Jerusalem, Ottoman-controlled Palestine.

1848: 1st Damascus massacre/pogrom, in Ottoman-controlled Syria.

1850: 1st Aleppo massacre/pogrom of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Syria.

1860: 2nd Damascus massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Syria.

1862: 1st Beirut massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Lebanon.

1866: Massacre of Jews by Ottomans Kuzguncuk, Turkey.

1867: Massacre of Jews by Ottomans in Barfurush, Turkey.

1868: Massacre of Jews by Ottomans in Eyub, Turkey.

1869: Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Tunis, Tunisia.

1869: Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Sfax, Tunisia.

1864 - 1880: Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Marrakesh, Morocco.

1870: 2nd Alexandria Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Egypt.

1870: 1st Istanbul massacre of Jews in Ottoman Turkey.

1871: 1st Damanhur Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Egypt.

1872: Massacre of Jews by Ottomans in Edirne, Turkey.

1872: 1st Massacre of Jews by Ottomans in Izmir, Turkey.

1873: 2nd Damanhur Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Egypt.

1874: 2nd Izmir massacre of Jews in Turkey.

1874: 2nd massacre of Jews in Istanbul Turkey.

1874: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Beirut, Lebanon.

1875: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Aleppo, Syria.

1875: Massacre of Jews in Djerba Island, Ottoman-controlled Tunisia.

1877: 3rd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Damanhur, Egypt.

1877: Masaacres of Jews in Mansura, Ottoman-controlled Egypt

1882: Masacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Homs, Syria.

1882: 3rd Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Alexandria, Egypt.

1890: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Cairo, Egypt.

1890: 3rd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Damascus, Syria.

1890: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Tunis, Tunisia

1891: 4th massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Damanahur, Egypt.

1897: Targeted murder of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Tripolitania, Libya.

1903 &1907: Masaacres of Hews in Ottoman-controlled Taza & Settat, Morocco.

1901 - 1902: 3rd set of massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Cairo, Egypt.

1901 - 1907: 4th set of Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Alexandria, Egypt.

1903: 1st massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Port Sa'id, Egypt.

1903 - 1940: Series of massacres in Taza and Settat, Morocco.

1907: Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Casablanca, Morocco.

1908: 2nd Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Port Said, Egypt.

1910: Blood libel against Jews in Shiraz, Iran.

1911: Masaacre of Jews by Muslims in Shiraz, Iran.

1912: 4th massacre in Ottoman-controlled Fez, Morocco.

1917: Baghdad Iraq Jews murdered by Ottomans.

1918 - 1948: Yemen passes a law criminalizing the raising of a Jewish orphan in Yemen.

1920: Massacres of Jews in Irbid Jordan (British mandate Palestine).

1920 - 1930: Arab riots resulting in hundreds of Jewish deaths, British mandate Palestine.

1921: 1st Jaffa (Israel) riots, British mandate Palestine.

1922: Massacres of Jews in Djerba, Tunisia.

1928: Jewish orphans sold into slavery, and forced toonvert to Islam by Muslim Brotherhood, Yemen.

1929: 3rd Hebron (Israel) massacre of Jews by Arabs in British mandate Palestine.

1929 3rd massacre of Jews by Arabs in Safed (Israel), British mandate Palestine.

1933: 2nd Jaffa (Israel) riots, British mandate Palestine.

1934: Massacre of Jews in Thrace, Turkey.

1936: 3rd riots by Arabs against Jews in Jaffa (Israel), British mandate Palestine.

1941: Masaacres of Jews in Farhud, Iraq.

1942: Muslim leader Grand Mufti collaboration with the Nazis, playing a major role in the final solution.

1938 - 1945: Full alliance and collaboration by Arabs with the Nazis in attacking and murdering Jews in the Middle East and Africa.

1945: 4th massacre of Jews by Muslims in Cairo, Egypt.

1945: Masaacre of Jews in Tripolitania, Libya.

1947: Masaacre of Jews by Muslims in Aden, Yemen.

2023: Massacre, rape, torture and kidnapping of ~1,500 Israelis (mostly Jews) by Muslims in numerous towns throughout southern Israel.

[ltwilliammowett]

Would you happen to have an idea about the most frequently used routes between Europe and North Africa around the turn of the 19th century? I'm curious if it was more efficient to close the distance between the two continents directly by sea or by crossing land to a more accessible point (e.g. traveling on foot from Algiers to Morocco to ultimately get to, say, Austria.) Thank you, and happy seafaring!

Hi, it depends on where you start from. And what nation you might belong to, because travelling during the Naopleon Wars was not without danger. And as you can see from these maps, some areas were not even within the travel range of some nations, so that you were quite dependent on the footpath, or you had to take many transfers.

However, travelling by ship was still safer than on foot, because the Mediterranean region in particular was still very pirate-infested and very dangerous, especially for Christians. You could easily end up as a slave. But the most likely way to get to the Mediterranean was with the Dutch and Spanish, and from there mostly on foot or with a local ship, like an Italian ship.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Christopher Hitchens: Let me give you an example. From Mr. Jefferson - since you asked me to mention my book, which I'll happily do - in 1788, when the United States was barely a country, it was having its sailors taken as slaves by the Barbary states, the states of the Ottoman Empire in North Africa.

Bill Maher: Tripoli. The shores of Tripoli.

Christopher Hitchens: Tripoli. And its ships stopped, and its crews carried off into slavery. We estimate one and a half million European American slaves taken between 1750 and 1850, Jefferson and Adams went to their ambassador in London and said, "why do you do this to us? The United States has never had a quarrel with the Muslim world of any kind. We weren't in the crusages, we weren't in the war in Spain. Why do you do this to our people and our ships? Why do you plunder and enslave our people?"

And the ambassador said very plainly, "because the Qu'ran gives us permission to do so. Because you are infidels. And that's our answer."

And Jefferson said, "well, in that case, I will send a navy which will crush your state." Which he did. And a good thing too.

Islamic fundamentalism is not created by American democracy. It's a lie to say so. It's a masochistic lie, and it excuses those who are the real criminals, and it blames us for the attacks made upon us."

--

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War

"It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise. He said, also, that the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_slave_trade

Robert Davis estimates that slave traders from Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli enslaved 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans in North Africa, from the beginning of the 16th century to the middle of the 18th century.

==

Islam doesn't hate the west because we're "imperialists" or "colonizers." That's the excuse, not the reason. It hates the west because we're kuffar, and it has a divine mandate to destroy us. Starting with the Jews.

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-4/Book-56/Hadith-791/

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar: I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) saying, “The Jews will fight with you, and you will be given victory over them so that a stone will say, 'O Muslim! There is a Jew behind me; kill him!’”

Islamic fundamentalism is not caused by the west. It's caused by Islam. It's endemic to Islam. It's the entire point of Islam.

Stop faffing around, making up stupid, self-flagellating excuses for why we deserve to be attacked. There's nothing we could ever do to make Islam happy and still resemble the west. The only acceptable response is unconditional surrender and submission.

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-4/Book-52/Hadith-196

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah 's Apostle said, " I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' and whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' his life and property will be saved by me except for Islamic law, and his accounts will be with Allah, (either to punish him or to forgive him.)"

It's not bigotry to hold Islam responsible for its actions; it's only bigotry to refuse to.

[scotianostra]

29th January 1850 saw the birth in Muthill of Helen Gloag, who through a series of remarkable events went on to become the Empress of Morocco.

If you have not heard of Helen Gloag, a Scottish woman who became Sultana of Morocco, you are not alone. Her story recently resurfaced.

Helen, a traditional Scottish redhead, was the eldest of Andrew and Anna’s four children. Tragically, Anna lost her mother when she was a child, and her father remarried. Her relationship with her new stepmother was said not to be very good, and as a result, Helen left home when she was just 19-years-old in May 1769 to travel as an indentured servant to the New World – the British colony of South Carolina to be specific.

Helen, who was travelling with some female friends, would not make it to the New World. After sailing for just two weeks, her ship was attacked off the coast of Spain by the Barbary pirates from Morocco. Along with the other women, Helen was taken to a slave market in Algiers in what is today Algeria. The men on the ship were all murdered.

The beautiful green-eyed Scottish woman was sold to a wealthy Moroccan who then handed her over to Sultan Sidi Mohammid ibn Abdullah of Morocco (a member of the Alaouite/Alawi Dynasty that still rules Morocco to this day) as a gift. Due to her beauty, the Sultan added her to his harem. Before long, she became his fourth wife and would go on to be the principal wife who was given the title of Sultana of Morocco.

She was called Lalla Zahra; ‘Lalla’ is a term used in Morocco, ahead of the person’s given name, to show respect and is often used by noble and royal women.

Reportedly, the Sultana was instrumental in convincing the Sultan to have seafarers and slaves, who had been captured by pirates, released. As a favourite of his, she was able to write and send gifts back home to Scotland; the Sultan, who was the first head of state to recognise the United States, even allowed her brother, Robert, to visit her in Morocco on occasion. Robert was responsible for her story being brought back to her homeland.

Sultan Sidi Mohammid died in 1790, and one of his sons, by a German woman in his harem, Yazid took the throne to become Sultan of Morocco. Not wanting to have any competition for the throne, he ordered the killing of his two brothers, who he is said to have been incredibly envious of, by Helen – even though she had attempted to keep them safe by sending them away to a monastery in Tétouan (a town where his first order of business was to persecute the Jews). She reportedly sent out a plea to the British Navy for assistance, but they would not make it to her sons before the new Sultan’s troops would discover and murder both boys.

What exactly happened to the Scottish Sultana of Morocco has never been clear, as nothing was heard from or about her after the death of her sons; however, it has been assumed that she was killed by Yazid or his forces in the two years – known to be full of unrest – after he took the throne.

As I said at the start interest in Helen Gloag only recently peaked thanks to a historical novel based upon her, The Fourth Queen by Debbie Taylor

[o-craven-canto]

Just found out about Sabir aka Lingua Franca Mediterranea, and it's so beautiful. The original Lingua Franca, namesake of all that would come, which developed in the Medieval Mediterranean as a combination of bare-bones Italian and Spanish mixed with all the languages of the sea for use of traders, pilgrims, travellers, slaves, pirates, and outlaws.

Key features of the lingua franca:

lack of distinction between singular and plural. Amigo means “the friend” as much as “friends.”

verbs use for the present, imperfect, and sometimes future a single infinitive and unconjugated form valid for all persons. Questi Signor star amigo di mi: these gentlemen are my friends

the imperative corresponds to the same infinitive form, but usually preceded by the pronoun

for the past tense, periphrastic forms such as mi estar andato (or andado, per influence of Spanish or Venetian dialect), in which estar is the most common auxiliary

adjectives distinguish masculine from feminine gender unless they end in -e (bono/bona, but prudente/prudente)

the future corresponds to a periphrastic form: bisogno mi andar (I need to go) “I will go.”

In interrogative sentences, the word order remains the same, and only the tone changes of voice, subject to the presence of interrogative pronouns to introduce the sentence, as in: cosa ti ablar? “what do you say?”

the vocabulary is a mixture of Italian, Spanish, and French, in many cases with multiple attested forms (bono/bueno, testa/cabeza)

-- https://weirditaly.com/2022/11/15/sabir-the-mediterranean-lingua-franca/

While it had different varieties... the most widespread and lasting one had a lexicon that was 65-70% Italian (with strong Venetian and Ligurian influences) and 10% Spanish, with words from other Mediterranean languages, such as Arabic, Catalan, Sardinian, Greek, Occitan, Sicilian, and Turkish. This auxiliary language connected European traders with Arabs and Turks; it was also spoken by slaves on Malta (in the so-called "bagnio"), Maghrebi corsairs, and European outlaws that sought shelter in Algiers. Morphology was very simple and word order very free. There was a strong use of prepositions to compensate for the lack of some word classes, such as possessive adjectives. It also had few verbal tenses: future was created with the modal bisognio ["need"], the past with past participles.

The name sabir is perhaps from Catalan saber, that is "to know"; lingua franca derives instead from Arabic lisān-al-faranğī. The latter term later came to mean any idiom connecting speakers from different cultures.

... In Molière's The Sicilian... a Turkish slave meets Don Pedre and proposes to sells himself to him saying: «Chiribirida ouch alla Star bon Turca, Non aver danara: Ti voler comprara? Mi servir a ti, Se pagar per mi; Far bona cucina, Mi levar matina, Far boller caldara; Parlara, Parlara, Ti voler comprara?» ["I am a good Turk, but I have no money; do you wish to buy? I will serve you, if you pay for me; I'll make good food, I'll get up in the morning and boil water; say, say, do you wish to buy?"] Don Pedre replies: «Chiribirida ouch alla, Mi ti non comprara, Ma ti bastonara, Si ti non andara; Andara, andara, O ti bastonara.» ["I will not buy you, but I'll beat you if you don't leave; leave, leave, or I'll beat you."]

-- https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca_mediterranea

The infinitive was used for all verb forms and the lexicon was primarily Italo-Romance, with a Spanish interface. As in Arabic, vowel space was reduced, and Venetian influences can be seen in the dropping of certain vowels and intervocalic stops.

-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Lingua_Franca#Origins

In 1830, a Lingua Franca-French dictionary... was published in Marseille for the sake of new colonists entering Algeria. The arrival of French in Algeria is considered the end of Lingua Franca, which had known its "golden age" in the 17th century... As shown below, an example of Lingua Franca is quoted in Molière's comedy The Bourgeois Gentleman. At the beginning of the Turkish ceremony, the Mufti chants what follows: Se ti sabir Ti respondir Se non sabir Tazir, tazir. Mi star Mufti: Ti qui star ti? Non intendir: Tazir, tazir. ["if you know, respond; if you don't know, be quiet, be quiet. I am the Mufti; who are you? You do not understand: be quiet, be quiet."]

-- https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingua_franca#Exemple

Lingua Franca... is the oldest pidgin for which we have a decent amount of data. The first text in what is clearly Lingua Franca dates from 1353, but there is also material from the 13th century which may represent an earlier version of the language. It is quite likely that it had existed for some time by then, and it has even been suggested that the origins of the language lies in a simplified trade Latin used by Jewish traders. As the use of Lingua Franca spread in the Mediterranean, dialectal fragmentation emerged, the main difference being more use of Italian and Provençal vocabulary in the Middle East, while Ibero-Romance lexical material dominated in the Maghreb. After France became the dominant power in the latter area in the 19th century, Algerian Lingua Franca was heavily gallicised (to the extent that locals are reported having believed that they spoke French when conversing in Lingua Franca with the Frenchmen, who in turn thought they were speaking Arabic)... Eritrean Pidgin Italian... displayed some remarkable similarities with it, in particular the use of Italian participles as past or perfective markers.

-- https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115405/https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/corre/www/franca/edition3/foreword.html

Bonus: there apparently was a Romance language in post-Roman North Africa, now completely extinct. It developed from a specifically African variety of Latin that Saint Augustin spoke, with influence from Punic (Carthaginian) and Berber; it survived the Arab conquests and died out only in the Early Modern period.

[voskhozhdeniye]

A decade ago today, I, with little thought, decided to go to a Fuck Buttons show. I usually plan to go to shows weeks, if not months in advance, but I was off from work, and decided fuck it.

I'm glad I did because they disappeared collectively after that tour. I don't like the solo releases.

Fuck Buttons and HEALTH were my first noise bands. I remember being introduced to them in 2007 and thinking, you can do that, especially with HEALTH. I saw HEALTH on the Death Magic tour a few years later. Worst concert experience I've had, but that's another story. 🙃

Tomorrow is the ten year anniversary of 12 Years A Slave's release. I saw it and then went to an NIN show afterwards, GY!BE opened. 12 Years A Slave ruined my NIN show.

I ended up watching it twice in the theater. I had seen Steve's previous films, so I knew the raw violence he was capable of. Those two screening changed me. It's the only time I've heard people screaming, crying, begging for mercy in the darkness of a theater. I will never forget the little white woman who sat beside me during the second screening. She completely turned around in her chair, sitting in an upright fetal position, and cried during the scene when they whipped the flesh off of Patsey's back. The two women who talked for most of the first screening and were completely silent for the last half of the film.

It awoke something in me. I became obsessed with brutal, raw, powerful art. I had gone to a Swans show the year before, but this is when I really started to go through their back catalog. I was already into Bergman, but now I wanted more. Alan Clarke's Elephant, The Battle of Algiers, 120 Days of Sodom, and so on.

I wanted art that hurt, that had teeth, and could bite. I was watching Bergman and Louis Malle in high school, so I was already on this track, but Swans and 12 Years A Slave really cemented it.

Ferguson happened the next year, and that was the watershed moment. I can see the line. I can trace back to the moments in life that put me on course to becoming who I am now.

You wanna know how I came to understand what America truly is?

When the people in Gaza were tweeting the people in Ferguson instructions on how to deal with tear gas.

[creativespark]

Pierre-Nolasque Bergeret (French, 1782-1863), Slave In Algiers, Drawing on the Wall the Portrait of His Master

[canmom]

Animation Night 114 - Joann Sfar

So. Hello everyone! Welcome back to Animation Night.

In the misty olden days of Animation Night, back on #11, we held a night on French animation. On that day we were going to watch The Rabbi’s Cat, directed Joann Sfar. But, unfortunately, the torrent gods were not kind enough to grant me seeds, and so we didn’t get the chance.

But in the time since, it seems a seed managed to log on! So we can finally see what we missed...

Joann Sfar, then! Sfar is a French comics writer and artist, of the major figures of a ‘new wave’ of bandes desinées in the mid-2000s. He’s got quite a set of parents: his mother Lilou was an Ashkenazi-Jewish pop singer from Ukraine, and his father André Sfar a Sefardi-Jewish lawyer from Algeria who spent his career taking down neonazis.

And if that’s not enough, Lilou died when Joann was just three years old, so he was raised by André along with Lilou’s own father, a Ukrainian military doctor who during WWII was able to save the injured right hand of the novelist André Malraux, author of La Condition humaine (known in English as Man’s Fate) and thereby secure himself French citizenship. This information I’m just copying from Wikipedia, but it seems to be sourced from interviews with Sfar.

All this is relevant, because Sfar channels a lot of his life into his works. The Rabbi’s Cat in particular draws on his father’s life in Algeria, in the 1920s when Algeria was a French colony (forty years before Algeria would secure its independence).

A brief word on the background to this: by 1830, Algeria had been controlled for hundreds of years by the Ottoman empire, during which period it enjoyed more or less independence, sometimes even having wars with other Ottoman subjects. It was one of several homes of the ‘Barbary pirates’, who attacked European towns and ships primarily to take slaves.

It seems that these ‘pirates’ were continuous with the state, with the ruler’s title of Dey established by the corsair captains in 1671, and recognised by the Ottomans as regent from 1710, taxing a countryside ruled by ‘autonomous tribal states’ (a phrase due to Helen Chapan Metz, whose Algeria: A Country Study seems to have been paraphrased to make the Wikipedia article.)

Despite many Deys getting assassinated, this arrangement remained stable and lasted up into the 19th century. Gradually, though, the European powers started to win the naval wars: the Spanish leveled the city of Algiers in 1784, the US defeated the Ottoman Algerians twice in the early 1800s, and then an Anglo-Dutch fleet showed up in 1816 to bombard Algiers again. Finally, the French invaded in the 1830s, taking first Algiers and then gradually the rest of the country by 1875 and killing ‘approximately 825,000’ indigenous Algerians in the process through ‘scorched earth’ warfare and resulting disease, reducing the population by around a third.

After the end of the war, thousands of French and European settlers moved into Algeria, and the French ran a program of forced assimilation, while confiscating communal land from the ‘tribal peoples’ for the private benefit of European settlers, while suppressing the native Muslim population. Eventually, following the end of WWII, Algeria would throw off French rule after a brutal war in which they faced concentration camps, rape, torture and arbitrary, gruesome executions, a period famously written about by Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth; all of this proved a terrible way to control a population and the Algerians fought back hard, until the French begrudgingly accepted Algerian independence in 1962. Since then, the country has mostly been ruled by the FLN, the primary nationalist party.

This story takes place roughly in the middle of French rule, during the 1920s. The premise is that a cat belonging to a Sefardi rabbi eats a parrot, gaining the ability to speak; deploring the cat’s behaviour and sarcasm, the rabbi decides he ought to teach the cat Torah, which throws open a theological can of worms.

So, more historical background! Jews in Algeria during the period of French colonisation were allowed to gain French citizenship while Muslims were not, putting them in the awkward (and perhaps all too familiar) position of go-between for colonisers and colonised and potential scapegoat. During the war for independence, the FLN appealed to Jews to side with them, but a large part of the Jewish population sided with the French instead; after the war, only three-generation Muslims were given Algerian citizenship and almost all the Jewish population of Algeria fled to France, André Sfar presumably among them. So that’s the background inflecting Joann’s life; by the time he was born in 1971, the war was over, and all of this he could only hear second hand.

The Rabbi’s Cat began life as a comic book series which ran from 2002-2006, went on hiatus, and then resumed in 2015 with near-annual releases up until 2021. I haven’t read it, but you can read a brief review of it here.

So now we come to the actual animated film, created by Sfar’s own Autochenille Production, a company founded in 2007 to make “author-driven, challenging films to appeal to children and adults” named after a car that features in The Rabbi’s Cat. It is funded by multiple French TV networks; I would not be surprised if it also had a bunch of government arts council funding like the vast majority of European animated films. It dropped at - where else? - Annecy in 2011, and duly won the award.

Of its production, most information is only available in French, but luckily the MTL is pretty good. Sfar had been bombarded with offers to adapt his comic, refusing all of them; he only thought of directing it himself when his editors asked him why. He was accompanied by two more experienced directors of animated films, Clément Oubrerie and Antoine Delesvaux, and brought in a lot of younger animators such as the ‘band of little geniuses’ Hugo Ferrandez, Grégory Elbaz, Gabriel Schemoul and Agnès Maupré with fine arts backgrounds, plus a couple of experienced animators in Jean-Christophe Dessaint and ‘Zyk’ who I believe helped with shooting video reference.

The animation process involved shooting a lot of live action reference footage with pre-voicing; their inspiration went back to early Disney (Animation Night 84) and Fleischer (briefly discussed Animation Night 21). Of Fleischer, Sfar says (google translation):

"Leurs dessins animés ne s'adressaient pas qu'aux enfants, raconte Sfar. On y voyait des histoires d'amour, des voyous, des vraies bizarreries. Le studio Fleischer était très cosmopolite, un mélange d'immigrés juifs et italiens. Toutes leurs musiques étaient faites par la crème des jazzmen noirs. Plus quelques vrais truands parmi les bailleurs de fonds."

"Their cartoons weren't just for children, says Sfar. We saw love stories, thugs, real oddities. The Fleischer studio was very cosmopolitan, a mixture of Jewish and Italian immigrants. All their music was made by the cream of black jazzmen. Plus a few real mobsters among the backers."

Visually, he had ambitions: in contrast to Persepolis, clearly a big inspiration, he wanted to do something ‘truly cinematic’ with ‘great spaces, depth of field’ inspired by Fritz Lang, Fellini and del Toro. Sfar had directed one film before this in live action, but this was his first time in animation. Not that you’d know it: a quick scan through shows the film is full of nice little subtle bits of character acting, and the backgrounds have an unusual style that takes after the comics in using flat shading, thin black lines and hatching.

It doesn’t always quite work (scenes of perfectly static water ripples are especially odd), but it’s certainly distinctive.

Narratively, the film goes through a series of episodes, eventually turning on the Rabbi, his cat and a Soviet painter going out on an expedition into the desert intending to find a country of Jews in Ethiopia. Reviews particularly speak of the film’s illustration of kinship between Jewish and Arab people; they are sometimes critical of the plot’s meandering but generally come out to praise the film. And it comes with a friend’s recommendation as well, so I’m looking forward to it a lot.

It seems to be Sfar’s only animated film, sadly. He was a producer on Aya of Yop City, another autobiographical comic-based film directed by Ivorian author Maruerite Aboute and Clément Oubrerie; a big step up for French animation set in Africa insofar as its director is actually African (*looks sternly at Kirikou*). Unfortunately, I have not been able to track down a copy of this film.

Then, to round out our program, we have a little oddity from 2014: a package film that brings together renowned independent animators from across the world. That film is The Prophet, adapted from the 1923 book of mystic parables by the Lebanese-American poet and writer, Kahlil Gibran. The film is the passion project of actress Salma Hayek, directed by The Lion King director Roger Allers; it comprises a unifying CG story about the meeting of a young girl and a too-good-for-this-world poet, framing a series of short musical sequences based on Gibran’s poems, each one directed by a well-known independent animator in their characteristic style.

Of the list, then, one is Sfar (hence the inclusion in this night). Others include the brilliant Tomm Moore of Cartoon Saloon (Animation Night 14, Animation Night 49) and Bill Plympton who we met a few weeks ago (Animation Night 112), as well as Mohammed Saeed Harib from the UAE, creator of the FREEJ series, and Paul and Gaetan Brizzi, a pair of twins who have both worked together on French animation such as Asterix vs Caesari and Babar before joining Disney in 1990 and working there for several decades during the ‘renaissance’ period. With such a diverse and talented set of animators on board, how could it possibly go wrong?

Unfortunately, the last inclusion is... more of a problem for me. Nina Paley is an independent animator and copyleft proponent known for her two religious satire films Sita Sings the Blues and Seder-Masochism... and also an active TERF, like, and I don’t mean this in the sense of ‘said some nasty things once or twice’ but like, ‘outspoken proponent of the “gender critical” hate-cult movement’. She’s one of those people in the open source movement who just seem to think that, after making a few breaks from the social dogma, they have everything figured out, and then immediately take a massive shit on some other group of people. And it inflects her movies too; Seder-Masochism is a gender-essentialist fable all about how patriarchal authority covered up the good wholesome womens’ version of Judaism, which is hard to swallow with the TERF thing running under the surface. So as far as I’m concerned, she can fully fuck right off; I will show some films by some pretty dubious people but this one’s personal lmao; don’t expect to ever see Animation Night: Nina Paley.

On top of that, we can add the casting of Liam Neeson as the voice of the poet. To be fair, when this film came out, Neeson’s bizarre racist diatribe had yet to happen, but his voice just sounds glaringly awful in the role of ‘the poet’, the intonation of an American reading out quotes in a civ game. It sounds bad enough that I went looking for a copy of the French dub, without success. The trailer ends with him going ‘my crime? poetry.’ in a voice like we’re supposed to go oooooh, how could they and not just burst out laughing. I went looking for the French dub as more likely to be bearable, but I can only find it in English.

So the production seems like kind of a mess. What I might do is just like, fast forward the framing story and show only the guest segments, since they’re really the only reason I’m interested in this thing in the first place. Still, it is the only other piece of Sfar animation I have to hand, and I do think there is likely to be some gorgeous animation in those guest segments.

And that’s about all I have time to write. Animation Night 114 will begin at around 8pm UK time, around 4 hours from this post, at picarto.tv/canmom - until then I will be working on my Chroma Corps character, so please feel free to drop by!

[ausetkmt]

14 Lesser-Known African American Historical Sites in Detroit | Visit Detroit

1.4 miles. That is the short distance that stood between many 19th century Black Americans and freedom in Canada.

For many runaway slaves, the shores of the Detroit River would be their last glimpse of life in the country that enslaved them.

Detroit’s history as a stop on the Underground Railroad is only one aspect of our city’s invaluable Black history.

Some of Detroit’s historical landmarks are well-known. Places like the Charles H. Wright Museum, and Second Baptist Church are not to be missed on any visit to our city. But, for those who would like an even deeper dive in Detroit’s Black history. Here’s a list of some of our faves.

Be sure to scroll to the bottom to see all of these sites mapped out for easy itinerary planning.

1.The Offices of the Detroit Plaindealer

1114 Washington Blvd., Detroit, MI 48226

An independent African American newspaper, The Detroit Plaindealer, published its first issue in May of 1863. It closed up shop somewhere around 1895.

Published by brothers Benjamin and Robert Pelham Jr. - alongside Walter H. Stowers and W.H. Anderson - The Plaindealer was the African American voice. “That was our voice,” explained Kimberly Simmons, chair of the Detroit Historical Society’s Black Sites Committee and president of the Detroit River Project, to The Huffington Post. “You had a whole group of people here, and the only way they knew what was going on was the Plaindealer. So it was a huge deal.”

The newspaper’s office was located on the southwest corner of Shelby and State Street. That space is currently occupied by the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. A marker was recently erected to denote the historical relevance.

2. The Alger Theater

16451 E. Warren Ave., Detroit, MI 48224

While it has largely been white-owned, The Alger Theater served what evolved into the diverse historic neighborhood of Morningside located on the near-Eastside of the city.

One of only two remaining intact and unchanged neighborhood theaters, the Alger Theater was granted historic designation in 2009. The designation saved the theater from demolition.

Historically, it was a movie house that eventually showed B-movies in the late-70s and early 80s. However, earlier in its life, popular jazz acts like Dave Brubeck and the Duke Ellington Orchestra played in the 800-plus seat theater.

The Friends of the Alger Theater is a 25-year-old active non-profit organization committed to making the historic theater an anchor of this evolving neighborhood.

3. The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity House

293 Eliot St., Detroit, MI 48201

The home of Gamma Lambda Chapter, the 100-year-old Alpha House near downtown Detroit is home to the third oldest alumni chapter in the history of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

The building was built in 1919 and the fraternity purchased it in 1939. It is currently the meeting location, a museum, and event space for the organization.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is the oldest Black Greek Letter Organization in history. It was founded in 1906.

4. Elmwood Cemetery

1200 Elmwood St., Detroit, MI 48207

One of the first fully-integrated cemeteries in the Midwest, Elmwood Cemetery is the resting place for a number of iconic Black Detroiters.

Former mayor, Coleman A. Young; Fannie Richards, Detroit’s first African American school teacher in the public school system; and Dudley Randall, Detroit’s former Poet Laureate, are all resting in this historic location.

Elmwood Cemetery and the Historic Elmwood Foundation launched a self-guided African American History Tour in 2015.

5. Algiers Motel Location

8301 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48202

Three people were killed throughout the night of July 25-26, 1967, at the Algiers Motel in an incident during one of the darkest times in Detroit history. A period that the city has still not truly healed from.

As the 1967 rebellion raged in Detroit, several Black male youths and white women were listening to music inside the motel. One youth fired a starter pistol into the air which drew the attention of nearby officers believing they were dealing with many armed rioters.

The resulting police clash and deaths and wounding of seven others enraged the already tense community. The legacy of the Algiers Motel has been preserved in stage plays and films including the 2017 movie, Detroit.

6. The Shrine of the Black Madonna

7625 Linwood St., Detroit, MI 48206

Founded in 1967 by Albert B. Cleage, The Shrine of the Black Madonna was established as a segment of the Black Christian Nationalist Movement. The church is known for its recognition to center African Americans within the Christian narrative – a narrative that was often rooted in white supremacy.

Since its founding, the congregation at The Shrine of the Black Madonna became a powerhouse in Detroit politics instrumental in the mayoral elections of Coleman A. Young and Kwame M. Kilpatrick.

The Shrine also has a dynamic bookstore that is essential for any visitor to the historic site. The store features new and rare books on Black history and culture.

7. Masjid Wali Muhammad

11529 Linwood St., Detroit, MI 48206

Linwood Street was the site and home of much of the pan-African and Black nationalist movement. One important site is this historic masjid. This location was initially established as Temple #1 of the Black Muslim movement, The Nation of Islam.

The Nation of Islam moved into this space in 1959 and was designated a historic site in 2013.

The location was renamed in the late 70s after the death of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The name, Masjid Wali Muhammad was chosen in honor of the brother of Elijah Muhammad and designated a “masajid” the Arabic word for the place of worship for Muslims.

8. King Solomon Church

6100 14th St., Detroit, MI 48208

Founded in 1926, King Solomon Baptist Church has been an important center of Black life in Detroit since its founding.

The church was the site of one of the first Boy Scout troops for Black Detroiters. It was also a community center for the neighborhood. Youth outreach programs, like a boxing program led by the legendary Emmanuel Stewart, was where world champion boxer, Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns got his start.

The church was also the home of a number of gospel acts including Reverend James Cleveland and The Supremes. The church, which has 5000-seats, has also been the location of a number of historical Black speeches including two appearances by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

9. Submerge Record Distribution

3000 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202

The world headquarters of Underground Resistance is also home to the Detroit Techno Museum.

Original records from the height of the era, including gold and platinum plaques, are on display inside the museum. It should be noted that it is only available by appointment.

The museum has been called a “mecca for true techno fans” and the music, which reflected the grime of Detroit in the 1980s. John Collins, a DJ and producer told Detroit Metro Times that techno music, which is renowned around the world, was created to give listeners “hope for the future, that things will get better.”

10. Plowshares Theatre Company

440 Burroughs St. #185., Detroit, MI 48202

Founded in 1989, the Plowshares Theatre Company has been offering a true off-Broadway experience as Michigan’s only professional African American theatre company.

The company has dedicated itself to “breaking new ground” by nurturing emerging, talented writers and actors. Named after a blade that cuts the top layer of soil in a farm, the name Plowshares refers back to the work that enslaved people did on plantations.

Producer Gary Anderson wrote that Plowshares is important because when African Americans can see themselves in artistic endeavors, like plays, it is a validation of life.

11. Dr. Ossian Sweet House

2905 Garland St., Detroit, MI 48214

This historic site does appear on a number of must-see lists for visitors to Detroit, but it remains worth mentioning again.

In September of 1925, Dr. Ossian Sweet and his wife Gladys moved into their home on Garland St., and within hours a neighborhood group gathered to run the couple out of the home. A mob of at least 400 people gathered the next night throwing stones at the house.

Someone inside the house fired shots from a second-floor window hitting a rioter who had come onto the porch and wounded another in the crowd. All of the Black people in the house were charged with murder.

Dr. Sweet was acquitted of charges after being represented by the illustrious Charles Darrow. Charges against the rest of the group were dropped. However, Mrs. Sweet contracted tuberculosis in jail and died, along with the couple’s two-year-old daughter. And years later, Sweet took his own life.

The home represents the challenges that African Americans in Detroit had in moving into primarily white neighborhoods. The city is now majority Black.

12. Whipping Post

The Southeast corner of Woodward and Jefferson Avenues

This site was the location of Detroit’s first and only whipping post. The post was used to flog thieves and vagabonds, in protection of the city’s moral codes.

The whipping post was also a location where a man could be sold for a number of days work for petty crimes although slavery was illegal in the state of Michigan.

The legacy of the whipping post is still little-known. However, it is reasonable to assume that Black Detroiters, prior to 1830 when the post was removed, were punished at the post. It is mapped on the Mapping Slavery in Detroit map created by the University of Michigan.

13. Second Baptist Church

441 Monroe St., Detroit, MI 48226

Second Baptist Church is the oldest Black-established church in the Midwest. Founded in 1836, Second Baptist Church was a station on the Underground Railroad. The church was a final stop for some 5,000 enslaved people giving them food and clothing before sending them on to Canada.

14. Elizabeth Denison Forth’s House

328 Macomb, Detroit, MI 48226

Born a slave near Detroit in 1786, Elizabeth (Lisette) Denison Forth won her freedom after she and her brother moved to Canada to establish residency, which guaranteed that they would not be returned to their previous slave owner.

Lisette became a domestic servant, but she invested all of her pay into purchasing land. She became the first Black property owner in Pontiac, Michigan. She invested in the stock market and real estate and ultimately her own home became a Michigan Historic Site.

The front doors of St. James Episcopal Church is dedicated to Lisette who was a devout Episcopalian. She dedicated her life savings of $1,500 in 1866 to the building of the church.

In 2017, she was added to the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame for her dedication to freedom and for equality among the rich and poor.

[secular-jew]

While there were periods of tolerance with Jews in Islamic-populated and controlled regions of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), let this chronology disavow any notion that Islam treated its Jewish neighbors "well."

The list of massacres of Jews throughout all of Europe largely at the hands of Christianity, is equally, if not even more exhaustive.

But for Jews in MENA, it all started with Muhammad, who gave birth to concept of regularly demonizing and terrorizing, the majority and minority Jewish communities, often ending in outright theft of property, and then rape and murder of those folks who would not "submit."

The horrific attacks on Oct 7, 2023, all filmed for the world to see (because Islamists now publicly revel in their barbarity of infidels), was just one in a long list of 100+ of atrocities at the hands of Muhammad and his followers:

622 - 627: Ethnic cleansing of Jews (who comprised roughly 50% of the population of Medina) carried out by Muhammad and his Jihadis. Over 800 Jewish men and boys (based on a pubic hair check), were killed by beheading. Women were forced into sexual slavery, and the children were given to Islamic Jihadis as slaves. Mohammad force-married Safiyyah, after murdering her husband and father.

629: 1st Alexandria Massacres of Jews, Egypt.

622 - 634: Exterminations of Arabian Jewish tribes.

1106: Ali Ibn Yousef Ibn Tashifin of Marrakesh decrees death penalty for any local Jew, including his Jewish Physician, and as well as his Jewish military general.

1033: 1st massacre of Jews in Fez, Morocco.

1148: Almohadin of Morocco gives Jews the choice of converting to Islam, or expulsion.

1066: Granada Massacre of Jews, Muslim-occupied Spain.

1165 - 1178: Jews of Yemen given the choice (under new constitution) to either convert to Islam or die.

1165: Chief Rabbi of the Maghreb was publicly burnt alive. The Rambam (Maimonides, Moses ben Maimon), forced to flee Spain to Egypt.

1220: Tens of thousands of Jews massacred by Muslims Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, after being blamed for Mongol invasion.

1270: Sultan Baibars of Egypt resolved to burn all the Jews, a ditch having been dug for that purpose; but at the last moment he repented, and instead exacted a heavy tribute, during the collection of which many perished.

1276: 2nd Fez Pogrom (massacre) against Jews in Morocco

1385: Khorasan Massacres against Jews in Iran

1438: 1st Mellah Ghetto massacres against Jews in Morocco

1465: 3rd Fez Pogrom against Jews in Morocco, leaving only 11 Jews left alive

1517: 1st Safed Pogrom in Muslim Ottoman controlled Judea

1517: 1st Hebron Pogrom in Muslim-controlled Judea, by occupying Ottomans

1517: Marsa ibn Ghazi Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Libya

1577: Passover Massacre throughout the Ottoman Empire

1588 - 1629: Mahalay Pogroms of Jews in Iran

1630 - 1700: Yemenite Jews considered 2nd class citizens and subjugated under strict Shi'ite 'dhimmi' rules

1660: 2nd Judean Pogrom, in Safed Israel (Ottoman-controlled Palestine)

1670: Expulsion of Mawza Jews in Yemen

1679 - 1680: Massacres of Jews in Sanaa, Yemen

1747: Massacres of the Jews of Mashhad, Iran

1785: Pogrom of Libyan Jews in Ottoman-controlled Tripoli, Libya

1790 - 92: Tetuan Pogrom. Morocco (Jews of Tetuuan stripped naked, and lined up for Muslim perverts)

1800: Decree passed in Yemen, criminalizing Jews from wearing clothing that is new or good, or from riding mules or donkeys. Jews were also rounded up for long marches naked through the Roob al Khali dessert

1805: 1st Algiers Massacre/Pogrom of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Algeria

1808: 2nd Ghetto Massacres in Mellah, Morocco

1815: 2nd Algiers massacres/pogroms of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Algeria

1820: Sahalu Lobiant Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Syria

1828: Baghdad massacres/pogroms of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Iraq

1830: 3rd massacre/pogrom of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Algiers, Algeria

1830: Ethnic cleansing of Jews in Tabriz, Iran

1834: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Hebron, Judea

1834: Massacre/pogrom of Safed Jews in Ottoman-controlled Palestine/Judea

1839: Massacre of the Mashadi Jews in Iran

1840: Damascus Affair following first of many blood libels against Jews in Ottoman-controlled Syria

1844: 1st Cairo Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Egypt.

1847: Dayr al-Qamar massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Lebanon

1847: Ethnic cleansing of the Jews in Jerusalem, Ottoman-controlled Palestine

1848: 1st Damascus massacre/pogrom, in Ottoman-controlled Syria

1850: 1st Aleppo massacre/pogrom of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Syria

1860: 2nd Damascus massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Syria

1862: 1st Beirut massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Lebanon

1866: Massacre of Jews by Ottomans Kuzguncuk, Turkey

1867: Massacre of Jews by Ottomans in Barfurush, Turkey

1868: Massacre of Jews by Ottomans in Eyub, Turkey

1869: Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Tunis, Tunisia

1869: Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Sfax, Tunisia

1864 - 1880: Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Marrakesh, Morocco

1870: 2nd Alexandria Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Egypt

1870: 1st Istanbul massacre of Jews in Ottoman Turkey

1871: 1st Damanhur Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Egypt

1872: Massacre of Jews by Ottomans in Edirne, Turkey

1872: 1st Massacre of Jews by Ottomans in Izmir, Turkey

1873: 2nd Damanhur Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Egypt

1874: 2nd Izmir massacre of Jews in Turkey

1874: 2nd massacre of Jews in Istanbul Turkey

1874: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Beirut, Lebanon

1875: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Aleppo, Syria

1875: Massacre of Jews in Djerba Island, Ottoman-controlled Tunisia

1877: 3rd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Damanhur, Egypt

1877: Masaacres of Jews in Mansura, Ottoman-controlled Egypt

1882: Masacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Homs, Syria

1882: 3rd Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Alexandria, Egypt.

1890: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Cairo, Egypt.

1890: 3rd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Damascus, Syria.

1890: 2nd massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Tunis, Tunisia

1891: 4th massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Damanahur, Egypt.

1897: Targeted murder of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Tripolitania, Libya.

1903 &1907: Masaacres of Hews in Ottoman-controlled Taza & Settat, Morocco.

1901 - 1902: 3rd set of massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Cairo, Egypt.

1901 - 1907: 4th set of Massacres of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Alexandria, Egypt.

1903: 1st massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Port Sa'id, Egypt.

1903 - 1940: Series of massacres in Taza and Settat, Morocco.

1907: Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Casablanca, Morocco.

1908: 2nd Massacre of Jews in Ottoman-controlled Port Said, Egypt.

1910: Blood libel against Jews in Shiraz, Iran.

1911: Masaacre of Jews by Muslims in Shiraz, Iran.

1912: 4th massacre in Ottoman-controlled Fez, Morocco.

1917: Baghdad Iraq Jews murdered by Ottomans.

1918 - 1948: Yemen passes a law criminalizing the raising of a Jewish orphan in Yemen.

1920: Massacres of Jews in Irbid Jordan (British mandate Palestine).

1920 - 1930: Arab riots resulting in hundreds of Jewish deaths, British mandate Palestine.

1921: 1st Jaffa (Israel) riots, British mandate Palestine.

1922: Massacres of Jews in Djerba, Tunisia.

1928: Jewish orphans sold into slavery, and forced toonvert to Islam by Muslim Brotherhood, Yemen.

1929: 3rd Hebron (Israel) massacre of Jews by Arabs in British mandate Palestine.

1929 3rd massacre of Jews by Arabs in Safed (Israel), British mandate Palestine.

1933: 2nd Jaffa (Israel) riots, British mandate Palestine.

1934: Massacre of Jews in Thrace, Turkey.

1936: 3rd riots by Arabs against Jews in Jaffa (Israel), British mandate Palestine.

1941: Masaacres of Jews in Farhud, Iraq.

1942: Muslim leader Grand Mufti collaboration with the Nazis, playing a major role in the final solution.

1938 - 1945: Full alliance and collaboration by Arabs with the Nazis in attacking and murdering Jews in the Middle East and Africa.

1945: 4th massacre of Jews by Muslims in Cairo, Egypt.

1945: Masaacre of Jews in Tripolitania, Libya.

1947: Masaacre of Jews by Muslims in Aden, Yemen.

2023: Massacre, rape, torture and kidnapping of ~1,500 Israelis (mostly Jews) by Muslims in numerous towns throughout southern Israel

[ltwilliammowett]

Hark Olufs a pirate victim sold into slavery

Hark or Harck Olufs was born in July 1708 in Süddorf on Amrum. At that time, the island of Amrum was under Danish rule, a time when the island was always fought over and regularly changed crowns.

Now Hark's father was "Captain Oluf Jensen" and as a sought-after North German captain he owned several ships, including "die Hoffnung /the Hope", on which he sent his son Hark Olufs on board as a sailor in 1721. Three years later, what many sailors of that time truly feared happened. When Hark was on his way from Nantes to Hamburg, two of his cousins and the crew fell into the hands of the notorious Barbary pirates and were taken as slaves to Algiers to extort ransom.

Front of Hark Oluf’s talking gravestone (x)

"Here lies the great war hero, resting gently on Amrom Christenfeld. The blessed Harck Olufs was born there on Amrum in 1708, 19 July. Soon afterwards, in his younger years, he was taken prisoner by the Turkish pirates in Algiers on 24 March 1724. In such imprisonment, however, he served the Turkish Bey of Constantine as a casnadaje for 11 and a quarter years, until this Bey finally gave him his freedom in 1735 on 31 October out of kindness to him, since he then happily returned here the following year as A[nn]o 1736 on 25 April. April, he happily arrived here again on his fatherland, and thus in A[nn]o 1737 entered into holy matrimony with Antje Harken, who is now in a sad widowhood together with 5 children. In such marriage, however, they have begotten a son and 4 daughters. Thus they must all feel the death of their father, since he died in 1754 on 13 October, and brought his life to 46 years and 13 weeks.

Of course, Hark's desperate family tried to buy him free, but simply could not raise the enormously large sum demanded, although large fundraising campaigns were initiated. But Hark and his cousins were not the only ones, and since each of them was asked for about 6,000 marks, it was almost impossible to raise this amount. But his family did not give up and even turned to the Danish government, which had a special department for kidnapped sailors. But now there was a problem. The Hope was not sailing under the Danish flag, but under the free flag of Hamburg (the reason why his father was also allowed to call himself Captain, because this title was only allowed to Hamburger merchant Captains, others were only Commanders) whereupon Hark Olufs' application for release was rejected. As if this were not dramatic enough, the Olufs family was further dogged by bad luck. When Hark's father finally had the required sum of money together, he arranged for his son to be ransomed. And indeed, a Hark Olufs was also ransomed, but not his son, just someone else with the same name. All hope for the real Hark Olufs seemed lost and with each passing day, the hope of seeing him alive again faded. But Hark was lucky -

The following text is written on the back of the gravestone: (x)

"May God grant the body a joyful resurrection on the last day.

To my own I call back from the grave these lines for remembrance: Alas, in my younger years I must go to the robbery of the Algiers And hold almost twelve years the Slaverey. But God made me free by his hand. Therefore I say again: I know, my God, I must now die. I will, but one thing I ask. Let not mine own perish. Keep the widow's house. Oh God, because I cannot provide, take thee wife and children."

After being sold as a slave, he worked as a servant to the Beys of Constantine until 1728. On behalf of his owner, he killed many people and gained the trust of his master. Thus Hark not only rose to the position of treasurer, but between 1724 and 1732 he became commander of the bodyguard. Incidentally, he also took part in a pilgrimage to Mecca, from which it can be concluded that he converted to Islam. After Hark had helped in the conquest of Tunis in 1735, he was released in gratitude on 31 October and returned home to Amrum in 1736 as a very wealthy man.

However, he did not seem to leave voluntarily, because shortly after he was released, the Bey died. And with that, Hark lost his protector and leader, which threatened his own life again, and so he returned.

Title page of the first edition of Hark Olufs' Autobiography, 1747 (x)

When he returned to Amrum, he stayed there. He only married after a thorough examination by the pastor and the elders, but after proving that he was still a Christian, he was baptised and accepted back into the church and community. Once and for all fed up with dangerous seafaring, he held several offices on Amrum and even met the Danish King Christian VI. He told him his story and in 1747 his own autobiography was published. Hark Olufs died in Süddorf on Amrum on 13 October 1754. Even today his gravestone, which is one of the talking stones, stands in Nebel in the cemetery at St Clement's Church.  

But it doesn't stop there, because since his death he has been sighted again and again wandering around the cemetery and between the dunes in search of his treasure and obviously cannot find any peace.

[xtruss]

Irish Claddagh Rings Have An Unexpected History—It Involves Pirates.

You’ve seen the Iconic Heirloom with two Hands Clasping a Crowned Heart. Do you know its history?

— By Justin Meneguzzi | January 11, 2024

The Claddagh Ring design draws on the clasped hands of fede rings, which date back to Roman times. Joyce is credited with introducing a crown sometime in the 1690s. Photograph By Gracephotos, Shutterstock

Nearly 350 Years Ago, a Teenage Richard Joyce waited for the ship that would carry him from Galway across the Atlantic Ocean. A son of a once wealthy merchant family, Joyce was being sent to the West Indies to start his new life as an indentured servant.

Joyce would never make it to the Caribbean. A twist of fate would instead see him return home 14 years later, with the smithing skills to craft one of Ireland’s most enduring symbols of love, loyalty, and friendship: the Claddagh ring.

Named after the small fishing village opposite Galway city, the Claddagh ring depicts two hands clasping a crowned heart. Similar rings, known as “fede” or fidelity rings, had been worn throughout the Mediterranean since Roman times, but Joyce is credited with introducing a crown into the design sometime in the 1690s.

The Celtic band is a common family heirloom, traditionally passed down from mother to daughter, who would give it to her husband-to-be. Over the centuries, famine, poverty, and war saw the Irish diaspora settle across the world. Migrants pawned their jewelry to pay for passage or brought their treasure to new lands.

The Claddagh ring persists today as both an icon of affection and Irish ancestry. But what are its true origins? Historians untangle what we know about Joyce and the ring he’s credited with creating.

Pirates and Corsairs in Europe

Two decades before Richard Joyce was born, a burgeoning uprising in Galway was put down by English forces and the city’s 14 influential merchant families, including Joyce’s, were forced to give up their land and businesses. It’s likely Joyce was following in the footsteps of relatives by traveling to the Caribbean to start a new life.

According to historian James Hardiman, Joyce’s ship was intercepted by Algerine corsairs shortly after setting sail from Galway in 1675. Fifteen-year-old Joyce was captured along with everyone else onboard—a mix of other indentured servants, merchants, and crew–and taken to a slave market in Algiers to be sold at auction.

Corsairs were a real danger in the late 1600s. Ottoman territories like Algeria were almost wholly autonomous but lacked an official navy, relying on corsairs to protect their coasts.

1685 painting of an English ship in action with Barbary corsairs illustrates the risk sailors must consider to earn a living during this time. Photograph By National Maritime Museum, Grenwhich, London, Bridgeman Images

In theory, pirates plunder and pillage outside the law, while corsairs were privateers regulated by authorities. In practice, the line between the pirates and corsairs was often blurred. Both raided ships and villages across the Mediterranean, sometimes marauding as far as Iceland, and ransoming their Christian captives.

“At times whole squadrons of corsairs were cruising off the coast of the United Kingdom,” says Bernard Capp, emeritus professor of history at The University of Warwick and author of British Slaves and Barbary Corsairs. The British navy was spread too thin to repel corsairs from its coastline, leaving sailors with the difficult choice of either braving the seas or watching their families sink into poverty.

It’s estimated nearly one million European slaves were captured between the 16th and 19th centuries. Rich captives could buy their freedom while the less wealthy were sold as slaves, most of them forced to work manual labor on ships, farms or in mines in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

Joyce Learns To Craft Jewelry

In Algiers, Joyce was bought by a wealthy Turkish goldsmith. It is unclear whether Joyce remained in Algiers with his new master, was transported elsewhere around northern Africa, or shipped back to Constantinople.

Hardiman writes that Joyce was a “tractable and ingenious” craftsman who quickly became adept in soldering, casting, inlaying and many other skills required of a medieval jeweler. Iranian-style jewelry studded with jade and other precious stones were popular during the Ottoman period, and Joyce may have applied his newfound skills to crafting rings, earrings, necklaces, and intricate jeweled turban aigrettes.

When William III became King of England in 1689, he immediately negotiated the release of all his subjects enslaved in Algeria, including Joyce. Joyce’s master supposedly offered him half his property and his only daughter’s hand in marriage to stop him from leaving, Hardiman wrote. Joyce refused and returned to Galway to work as a goldsmith, where he is said to have created the first Claddagh ring.

Romantics say Joyce made the ring for his fiancée, who was still waiting for him when he returned, while others suggest he met a new woman. Either way, historical records show Joyce eventually fathered three daughters, and died around 1737.

Joyce’s most famous creation was the latest development in the long history of fede rings. Derived from the Italian word for trust, these rings depicting two clasping hands were commonly used in ancient Rome, typically as a wedding ring or symbol of faithful love.

Even though they’d been used since medieval times, fede rings became a popular motif in both northern and southern Europe during the 12th century. A heart was added sometime in the 16th Century, and Joyce is credited with crowning the heart before 1700.

“Fede rings at that time avoided associations with royalty, so the addition of a crown would have been very intentional. Joyce may have added it as a tribute to the king for helping him get his freedom,” says Eoin O’Neill of Galway City Museum.

Teasing History From Myth

Walk around Galway’s crowded quay and you’ll overhear a dozen different stories of the Claddagh ring’s origin. One says it was dropped into a maiden’s lap by an eagle, another suggests the ring was a clandestine mark of Irish resistance against the English.

Fishing boats are tied at the same port where Joyce boarded what he thought would be a ship to the West Indies. Photograph By Chris Hill, National Geographic Creative Images

“Ireland is full of history and myth mixed together. It’s sometimes hard to [separate] one from the other,” says O’Neill.

Official records are scant and there is no concrete proof of Joyce’s odyssey, but O’Neill says Hardiman’s history of Galway, published in 1820, provides the closest contemporaneous record of events. “It’s possible that someone recounted this story to Hardiman who knew Joyce personally,” says O’Neill.

Once belonging to a private collector, the oldest known Claddagh ring was sold to Galway City Museum in 2021, where it now sits overlooking the Claddagh waterfront. Dated circa 1700, the central heart motif is wonky and lacks the definition of a perfect heart, but Joyce’s stamp is still visible inside the band. Joyce’s mark, combined with Hardiman’s account, points to him as the creator of the Claddagh design, says O'Neill.

“When you see somebody with a Claddagh ring abroad, it always inspires a conversation. Jewelry is at its best when it has a power, and these certainly do. They have given us an identity,” says Phyllis MacNamara, owner of Cobwebs jewelry shop in Galway.

[scotianostra]

29th January 1750 saw the birth in Muthill of Helen Gloag.

Gloag, through a series of remarkable events went on to become the Empress of Morocco. Helen, a traditional Scottish redhead, was the eldest of Andrew and Anna’s four children. Tragically, Anna lost her mother when she was a child, and her father remarried. Her relationship with her new stepmother was said not to be very good, and as a result, Helen left home when she was just 19-years-old in May 1769 to travel as an indentured servant to the New World – the British colony of South Carolina to be specific.

Helen, who was travelling with some female friends, would not make it to the New World. After sailing for just two weeks, her ship was attacked off the coast of Spain by the Barbary pirates from Morocco. Along with the other women, Helen was taken to a slave market in Algiers in present day Algeria. The men on the ship were all murdered.

The beautiful green-eyed Scottish woman was sold to a wealthy Moroccan who then handed her over to Sultan Sidi Mohammid ibn Abdullah of Morocco as a gift. Due to her beauty, the Sultan added her to his harem. Before long, she became his fourth wife and would go on to be the principal wife who was given the title of Sultana of Morocco.

She was called Lalla Zahra; ‘Lalla��� is a term used in Morocco, ahead of the person’s given name, to show respect and is often used by noble and royal women.

Reportedly, the Sultana was instrumental in convincing the Sultan to have seafarers and slaves, who had been captured by pirates, released. As a favourite of his, she was able to write and send gifts back home to Scotland; the Sultan even allowed her brother, Robert, to visit her in Morocco on occasion. Robert was responsible for her story being brought back to her homeland. Sultan Sidi Mohammid died in 1790, and one of his sons, by a German woman in his harem, Yazid took the throne to become Sultan of Morocco. Not wanting to have any competition for the throne, he ordered the killing of his two brothers, who he is said to have been incredibly envious of, by Helen – even though she had attempted to keep them safe by sending them away to a monastery in Tétouan. She reportedly sent out a plea to the British Navy for assistance, but they would not make it to her sons before the new Sultan’s troops would discover and murder both boys.

What exactly happened to the Scottish Sultana of Morocco has never been clear, as nothing was heard from or about her after the death of her sons; however, it has been assumed that she was killed by Yazid or his forces in the two years – known to be full of unrest – after he took the throne.

[silvestromedia]

SAINTS NOVEMBER 14

ST. SERAPION OF ALGIERS-Born in London in 1179, Serapion is said to have taken part in the third Crusade, under the leadership of Richard the Lion-hearted. He eventually joined the Mercedarian order, and dedicated himself to the redemption and conversion of slaves, whom he freed by the hundreds. He was martyred in 1240. Nov 14

St. Dubricus, 545 A.D. One of the founders of monastic life in Wales also called Dubric, Dyfrig, or Devereux. He was born in Madley, Wales, and he founded monasteries at Henllan and Moccas. These served as motherhouses for other abbeys in Herefordshire, Gwent, and the Wye Valley. Dubricus also ruled Caldrey Island. He appointed St. Samson abbot and ordained him as a bishop. Dubricus spent the last years of his life at Ynys Enlli. He is believed to have been the arch-bishop of Caerleon. He died and was buried on the island of Bardsey.

St. Lawrence O'Toole, 1180 A.D. Augustinian archbishop of Dublin, Ireland. He was born at Leinster, the Son of Murtagh, chief of the Murrays, in Castledermot, Kildare. Taken hostage by King Dermot McMurrogh of Leinster in a raid, Lawrence was surrendered to the bishop of Glendalough. Lawrence became a monk, and in 1161 was named archbishop of Dublin. He was involved in negotiating with the English following their invasion of Ireland, and in 1172 convened a synod at Cashel. He also attended the General Lateran Council in Rome in 1179, and was named papal legate to Ireland. While on a mission to King Henry II of England, Lawrence died at Eu, Normandy, France. He was canonized in 1225.

St. Modanic, 8th century. Scottish bishop traditionally venerated in Aberdeen. He was an avid scholar and reformer in a troubled era.

St. Joseph Pignatelli, Roman Catholic Jesuit Priest and confessor and one of the restorers of the Society of Jesus after its suppression in 1773.

[chubbycaucasianchristiancloseted]

Europeans were also enslaved by North Africans, you mean white slaves?

Europeans were also enslaved by North Africans, you mean white slaves? Sounds like Africa snatched up whatever they thought they could sell, especially Christians. WAIT! Does Africa owe me Reparations?

The coasts of Valencia, Andalusia, Calabria and Sicily were so often raided that “there was no one left to capture”. Historians estimate as high as 1,250,000 captives were enslaved from 1530 - 1780. Was the Northern part of Africa built on the backs of white, European, Christians? Maybe it’s time to “rethink our belief that race was fundamental to pre-modern ideas” of slavery.

Direct Quotes:

The fishermen and coastal dwellers of 17th-century Britain lived in terror of being kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in North Africa. Hundreds of thousands across Europe met wretched deaths on the Barbary Coast in this way.

In the first half of the 1600s, Barbary corsairs - pirates from the Barbary Coast of North Africa, authorised by their governments to attack the shipping of Christian countries - ranged all around Britain's shores.

Admiralty records show that during this time the corsairs plundered British shipping pretty much at will, taking no fewer than 466 vessels between 1609 and 1616, and 27 more vessels from near Plymouth in 1625.

Considering what the number of sailors who were taken with each ship was likely to have been, these examples translate into a probable 7,000 to 9,000 able-bodied British men and women taken into slavery in those years.

Not content with attacking ships and sailors, the corsairs also sometimes raided coastal settlements, generally running their craft onto unguarded beaches, and creeping up on villages in the dark to snatch their victims and retreat before the alarm could be sounded. Almost all the inhabitants of the village of Baltimore, in Ireland, were taken in this way in 1631

how they eat nothing but bread and water.... How they are beat upon the soles of the feet and bellies at the Liberty of their Padron. How they are all night called into their master's Bagnard, and there they lie.'

According to observers of the late 1500s and early 1600s, there were around 35,000 European Christian slaves held throughout this time on the Barbary Coast - many in Tripoli, Tunis, and various Moroccan towns, but most of all in Algiers.

The unfortunate southerners were sometimes taken by the thousands, by slavers who raided the coasts of Valencia, Andalusia, Calabria and Sicily so often that eventually it was said that 'there was no one left to capture any longer'.

On this basis it is thought that around 8,500 new slaves were needed annually to replenish numbers - about 850,000 captives over the century from 1580 to 1680.

for the 250 years between 1530 and 1780, the figure could easily have been as high as 1,250,000 - this is only just over a tenth of the Africans taken as slaves to the Americas from 1500 to 1800, but a considerable figure nevertheless. White slaves in Barbary were generally from impoverished families, and had almost as little hope of buying back their freedom as the Africans taken to the Americas: most would end their days as slaves in North Africa, dying of starvation, disease, or maltreatment.

Slaves in Barbary fell into two broad categories. The 'public slaves' belonged to the ruling pasha, who by right of rulership could claim an eighth of all Christians captured by the corsairs

These slaves were housed in large prisons known as baños (baths), often in wretchedly overcrowded conditions. They were mostly used to row the corsair galleys in the pursuit of loot (and more slaves) - work so strenuous that thousands died or went mad while chained to the oar.

During the winter these galeotti worked on state projects - quarrying stone, building walls or harbour facilities, felling timber and constructing new galleys. Each day they would be given perhaps two or three loaves of black bread - 'that the dogs themselves wouldn't eat' - and limited water; they received one change of clothing every year. Those who collapsed on the job from exhaustion or malnutrition were typically beaten until they got up and went back to work.

selling water or other goods around town on his (or her) owner's behalf. They were expected to pay a proportion of their earnings to their owner - those who failed to raise the required amount typically being beaten to encourage them to work harder.

As they aged or their owner's fortunes changed, slaves were resold, often repeatedly. The most unlucky ended up stuck and forgotten out in the desert, in some sleepy town such as Suez, or in the Turkish sultan's galleys, where some slaves rowed for decades without ever setting foot on shore.

Many slaves converted to Islam, though, as Morgan put it, this only meant they were 'freed from the Oar, tho' not from [their] Patron's Service.' Christian women who had been taken into the pasha's harem often 'turned Turk' to stay with their children, who were raised as Muslims.

Slaves in Barbary could be black, brown or white, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish or Muslim. Contemporaries were too aware of the sort of people enslaved in North Africa to believe, as many do today, that slavery, whether in Barbary or the Americas, was a matter of race. In the 1600s, no one's racial background or religion automatically destined him or her for enslavement. Preachers in churches from Sicily to Boston spoke of the similar fates of black slaves on American plantations and white slaves in corsair galleys; early abolitionists used Barbary slavery as a way to attack the universal degradation of slavery in all its forms.

This may require that we rethink our belief that race was fundamental to pre-modern ideas about slavery. It also requires a new awareness of the impact of slave raids on Spain and Italy - and Britain - about which we currently know rather less than we do about slaving activities at the same time in Africa. The widespread depopulation of coastal areas from Malaga to Venice, the impoverishment caused by the kidnapping of many breadwinners, the millions paid by the already poor inhabitants of villages and towns to get their own people back - all this is only just beginning to be understood by modern-day historians.