![Samson Rowlie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Samson_Rowlie.jpg)
Samson Rowlie (died after 1588), was Chief
Eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...
and
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury o ...
of
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
during
Ottoman rule
Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to:
Governments and dynasties
* Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924
* Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
. Born in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, the son of a
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
merchant, Francis Rowlie, he was captured aboard of the ''Swallow'' and castrated by the Ottomans in 1577.
He converted from Christianity to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and took the name Hassan Aga. He served the Beglerbeg of Algiers,
Uluç Ali Pasha.
Richard Hakluyt's 1589 collection, ''The Principal Navigations,'' included a 1586 letter from William Harborne, England's ambassador to the Ottoman court, addressed to Hassan Aga, for the purpose of negotiating prisoner release. A 1588 watercolor portrait depicts Hassan Aga with white skin and rosy cheeks, wearing a large turban. He was reported to have been murdered.
References
{{reflist
16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire
Slaves from the Ottoman Empire
Converts to Islam
Eunuchs
16th-century slaves
English Muslims
Algerian people of English descent
Slavery in Algeria