Wet, Wet, Wet

The Slave Trade is still a very raw subject.

Talk of reparations and apologies are regularly on the agenda for high level talks between heads of state of those nations whose predecessors were party to the transportation and exploitation of vast numbers of peoples and the unwilling donor countries.

What is not so well known is the slave trade involving white Europeans between the 16th and 19th Centuries. Hundreds of thousands were captured by pirates originating from the North African coast, known as the Barbary Corsairs. These ruthless brigands ranged  far and wide and were known to have raided coastal villages in mainland England including Cornwall to make off with whole populations. Many of those seized spent the rest of their precarious lives enslaved on the African Continent.

Few survived to recount their stories.

A remarkable tale was able to be told by a Cornishman, Thomas Pellow.

In 1715, then an 11 year boy, Thomas Pellow persuaded his Uncle John, Captain of Valentine Enys’ ship Francis, to allow him to join him for a voyage shipping pilchard fish to Genoa.

Soon regretting his decision and wishing he was back home at school in his home town, young Thomas found himself homeward bound off Cape Finisterre when the ship was ambushed by 2 Sallateens, ships containing Moorish, Barbary Coast Corsairs, and the crew was taken prisoner.

Whilst waiting for a favourable tide off the pirate’s home port of Sallee, Morrocco, a 20 gun British frigate appeared forcing the pirate captain Ali Hacam to attempt crossing a sandbar under fire, where they ran aground and the ship broke up.  Thomas, who could barely swim made it safely to shore by clinging to the errant mast.

Rounded up after struggling to the mainland ,Thomas and 25 others were imprisoned at the town of Rabat whilst his uncle was taken elsewhere with another group including some French captives.

4 days later after being walked to Mequinez, the ruler of that part of modern Morocco , Sultan Moulay Ismail, bought the prisoners into slavery for 50 Ducats each, before claiming a third of the price back as tribute and ordering the beheading of Ali Hacam for failing to fight the man of war at Sallee.

The Sultan, dedicated to the suppression of infidel Christian Europeans acquired many captives as a workforce to build a palace and walled grounds that he intended to stretch for some 300 miles. The white slaves had a high mortality from starvation, disease and cruelty on the construction sites and in their deprived living conditions.

There was also considerable pressure to convert to Islam. The young Thomas was subjected to many beatings and torture by fire to relinquish his Christian faith and “turn Moor” and after several months of this he reluctantly conceded , although not in his heart. He had prayed hard to God to forgive him for what he had been coerced into doing to save his own life,

Thomas was then given lighter duties in the Sultan’s palace, which gave him access to better food. The sultan then married him off to one of the local women, with the hope that the marriage would result in more slaves being born.

For years, Thomas’s family in England had no information about his fate. Even if they had, they had no money to pay a ransom to buy him back. The owner of the Francis, Valentine Enys, was not worried about the fate of his former crew — he could always recruit others.

In 1719 the family received news that Thomas, now 15,  was alive but that he had converted to Islam. This meant that the English Government no longer listed him as a slave they would like to buy out of captivity.

Thomas had no choice but to try to escape. This would be a difficult undertaking because informers were scattered across the country and his palace was five days’ march from the Atlantic.

But Thomas had some advantages. His Palace job meant that he was in reasonable health. He was also now a fluent speaker of Arabic and had tanned skin, which meant he could pass himself off as a wandering merchant.

He made his first attempt in 1721 but was captured, and tried again in 1728 or 1729 during a time of civil unrest in Morocco but was caught once more.

In 1729, his wife and daughter both died of a disease. Although it had been a forced marriage, it had been a happy one and he loved his daughter. Indeed, he had often thought that once he had escaped back to England alone, he would send for his wife and daughter, although given they were both Muslims and England was anti-Islamic, it is not clear how realistic he was being.

It was in 1737 that Thomas Pellow made his last dash for freedom. He was aged 33 and had been a slave for more than two decades. He set out pretending to be a travelling doctor and eventually reached the Atlantic coast after six months. Those found assisting the escape of slaves were themselves at risk of death but Pellow was befriended by an Irish Sea Captain and on July 10, 1738, he was on board a vessel heading for London. His arrival there caused a great stir because so few slaves ever lived to tell their tale.

On October 15, 1738, he arrived back at Falmouth, Cornwall.

News of his escape had gone ahead of him thanks to the efficiency of the newspapers of his day. He was given a hero’s welcome in his village — including from his parents, who were now both in their 50s — and returned to being a Christian.

In 1740, he wrote the best-seller "The History of the Long Captivity and Adventures of Thomas Pellow", which gave a fascinating insight into the horrors of white slavery in north Africa. A copy is available for reference in Penryn Museum.

European governments continued to mount operations against the Barbary Corsair pirates, but they were not completely dealt with until the Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey) took over north Africa in the late 18th century.