White Women Captives in North Africa : Narratives of Enslavement, 1735-1830

A Fascinating Anthology Of Historical Narratives Composed From The Late Sixteenth To Early Nineteenth Centuries By European Women Abducted By Muslim Corsairs And Enslaved In North Africa During The Age Of Piracy. Many Of The Narratives Are Very Rare And Are By Women Coming From Diverse Social And Economic Backgrounds-- Machine Generated Contents Note: List Of Illustrations -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Bibliography -- Note On Editorial Method -- Narratives -- Remarkable History Of The Countess Du Bourks Shipwreck, And Her Daughters Captivity, 1735 -- Notable History Of A Spanish Girl, Slave To Ali Dey, 1735 -- Maria Van Ter Meetelen. The Exact Narrative Of The Voyage And Strange And Sad Captivity During Twelve Years Of Myself Maria Ter Meetelen, 1748 -- Elizabeth Marsh. The Female Captive, 1769 -- Mary Velnet. An Affecting History Of The Captivity And Sufferings Of Mrs. Mary Velnet, 1806 -- Maria Martin. History Of The Captivity And Sufferings Of Maria Martin, 1807 -- Eliza Bradley. An Authentic Narrative Of The Shipwreck And Sufferings Of Mrs. Eliza Bradley,1820 -- Viletta Laranda. Neapolitan Captive: Interesting Narrative Of The Captivity And Sufferings Of Miss Viletta Laranda, 1830 -- Appendices -- Accusations And Confessions Of Ana De Melo, A Free Christianized Muslim, Residing In Evora, Incarcerated For Heresy, 1559 -- Dorothe, A Spanish Girl, Captive In Algiers, In 1580 -- Testimony Of The Woman From Canary Islands, 1610 -- Relation Of The Fidelity Of A Husband, And The Unfaithfulness Of His Wife, 1666 -- The Spanish Girl Who Scratched Her Face, 1698 -- Old Arabic Ballad On Corsair Forays On Malta And Capture Of Fair Christian Girls. -- Extracts From Penelope Aubins, Noble Slaves, 1722 -- The Bey Weds A Genoise Slave, 1720s -- The Irish Mrs. Jones And The Lascivious Janissary, 1747 -- Old Womans Tale, 1759 -- An Empress Of Morocco Born At Mill Of Steps, Parish Of Muthill, 1769 -- Letter From A Muslim Female Captive In Malta To Sultan Of Morocco, 1788 -- A Particular Account Of The Royal Harem, 1791 -- Ali And The Christian Captive, 1891. [compiled By] Khalid Bekkaoui. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 293-298) And Index. A fascinating anthology of narratives from the period 1735-1830, by European women who recount their enslavement in North Africa. The first such collection, it includes an extensive introduction which links the discourse on contemporary Western women captives in Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq with that of former white captives in North Africa. A fascinating anthology of narratives composed by European women abducted by Muslim corsairs and enslaved in North Africa during the age of piracy, this book contains 8 accounts, most of which are reprinted or translated into English for the first time. They are written across a century, between 1735 and 1830, by female captives who come from socially and economically diverse backgrounds and belong to various European nationalities. These narratives played a major role in informing Westerns about North Africa and reshaping their attitudes towards Islamic cultures, and in refashioning white womanhood and confirming European assumption of cultural and religious superiority and colonial ideology. However, these captivity stories often turn out to be a nuanced critique of white subjectivity and civilization, thereby profoundly disorienting and subverting the discourse of empire. Cultural Otherness in these texts unfolds as being fundamentally ambiguous and complex and the world of Islam luxurious and irresistibly alluring Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Introduction....Pages 1-45 Narratives....Pages 46-255 Back Matter....Pages 256-303