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Slavery existed in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
since antiquity. Morocco was a center of the
Trans-Saharan slave trade
During the Trans-Saharan slave trade, slaves were transported across the Sahara desert. Most were moved from Sub-Saharan Africa to North Africa to be sold to Mediterranean and Middle eastern civilizations; a small percentage went the other ...
route of enslaved Black Africans from
sub-Saharan Africa, as well as a center of the slave trade of
Barbary slave trade
The Barbary slave trade involved slave markets on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, which included the Ottoman states of Algeria, Tunisia and Tripolitania and the independent sultanate of Morocco, between the 16th and 19th century. The Ottom ...
of Europeans captured by the barbary pirates. The slave trade was supressed in Morocco in the 20th-century.
Slave trade
African slave trade
Between the
7th-century
The 7th century is the period from 601 ( DCI) through 700 ( DCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Common Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by Muhammad starting in 622. After Muh ...
during the Middle ages until the early 20th-century, Morocco was a center of the
Trans-Saharan slave trade
During the Trans-Saharan slave trade, slaves were transported across the Sahara desert. Most were moved from Sub-Saharan Africa to North Africa to be sold to Mediterranean and Middle eastern civilizations; a small percentage went the other ...
of enslaved Africans along the route from
Timbuktu
Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou;
Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...
to the slave market in
Marrakesh, from which they were transported to the rest of Morocco and the Mediterranean world as a whole.
In accordance with the Islamic law that Muslims were free to enslave non-Muslims, African tribes who converted to Islam captured non-Muslim people and exported them along the trade route along the coast north toward Morocco.
During the
Almoravid dynasty
The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century tha ...
(1040-1147) the trade route exported weapons and textiles from Spain in the north to
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
south of the Sahara, in exchange for gold, ivory, salt and slaves from the non-Islamic areas south of Senegal to Morocco,
al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
in Spain and the Mediterranean world.
As a spoil of war after defeating the
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...
, sultan
Isma‘il ibn Sharif of Morocco was sent thousands of Sub-Saharan slaves from
Timbuktu
Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou;
Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...
every year, which he then added to his massive army of
black-African slaves and ''
Haratin
Haratin (), also referred to as Haratine, Harratin (singular: Hartani), are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb. The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western Sahar ...
'' slave-soldiers named the
Black Guard
The Black Guard or ''‘Abid al-Bukhari'' ( ar, عبيد البخاري, lit=Slaves of al-Būkhārī; also known as ''‘Abīd al-Dīwān'' "slaves of the diwan", ''Jaysh al-‘Abīd'' "the slave army", and ''‘Abid al-Sultan'' "the sultan’s ...
(or Abid al-Bukhari).
The Trans-Saharan slave route from the city of
Timbuktu
Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou;
Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...
mainly went to the city of Marrakesh in Morocco, which was known as a big center of the Mediterranean market of African slaves from the 7th-century onward, and kept being so for over thousand years, until Morocco became a French protectorate in the 20th-century.
Over 28 million subsaharans were enslaved in North Africa over the course of the trans-saharan slave trade.
Barbary slave trade
Between the 16th-century until the early 19th-century, Morocco was also a center of the
Barbary slave trade
The Barbary slave trade involved slave markets on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, which included the Ottoman states of Algeria, Tunisia and Tripolitania and the independent sultanate of Morocco, between the 16th and 19th century. The Ottom ...
of Europeans captured by
barbary pirate
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe ...
s in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.
Barbary corsair
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe as ...
s and crews from the quasi-independent North African
Ottoman provinces of
Algiers,
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
,
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
, and the independent
Sultanate of Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
under the
Alaouite dynasty
The Alawi dynasty ( ar, سلالة العلويين الفيلاليين, translit=sulālat al-ʿalawiyyīn al-fīlāliyyīn) – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning ...
(the
Barbary Coast) were the scourge of the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
. Capturing merchant ships and
enslaving or ransoming their crews provided the rulers of these nations with wealth and naval power. The
Trinitarian Order
The Trinitarians, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives ( la, Ordo Sanctissimae Trinitatis et Captivorum; abbreviated OSsT), is a mendicant order of the Catholic Church for men founded in Cerfroid, outside Pari ...
, or order of "Mathurins", had operated from
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
for centuries with the special mission of collecting and disbursing funds for the relief and ransom of prisoners of Mediterranean pirates.
According to Robert Davis, between 1 and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Function
Harem slavery
Female slaves were primarily used as either domestic servants, or as concubines (sex slaves).
The most famous use of concubines took place within the royal harem. According to the writings of the French diplomat
Dominique Busnot
"Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by the Belgian female singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born ...
, sultan
Moulay Ismail
Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif ( ar, مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف), born around 1645 in Sijilmassa and died on 22 March 1727 at Meknes, was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672–1727, as the second ruler of the Alaouite dynasty. He was the se ...
had at least 500 concubines and even more children. A total of 868 children (525 sons and 343 daughters) is recorded in 1703, with his seven hundredth son being born shortly after his death in 1727, by which time he had well over a thousand children. This is widely considered among the largest number of children of any human in history.
Many of his concubines are only fragmentary documented. As concubines, they were slave captives, sometimes from Europe. One of them, an Irishwoman by the name Mrs. Shaw, was brought to his harem after having been enslaved and was made to convert to Islam when the Sultan wished to have intercourse with her, but was manumitted and married off to a Spanish convert when the Sultan grew tired of her; the Spanish convert being very poor, she was described by contemporary witnesses as reduced to beggary. Other slave concubines became favorites and as such were allowed some influence, such as an Englishwoman called
Lalla Balqis {{expand Swedish, topic=bio, Lalla Balqis, date=May 2021
Lalla Balqis also known as Lalla Bilqis (1670 – ''after'' 1721), was a slave concubine of Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif (r. 1672–1727).
She was of English origin. In 1685, when she was fiftee ...
. Another favorite was a Spanish captive renamed Al-Darah, mother to Moulay Ismail's once favorite son that he himself educated: Moulay Mohammed al-Alim; and to Moulay Sharif. Around 1702, Al-Darah tragically died strangled by Moulay Ismail whom
Lalla Aisha had made believe she had betrayed him.
It is widely believed that part of the motive for her disgrace was that she pushed
Male slavery
Male slaves were used as laborers, eunuchs or soldiers.
The perhaps most famous slave military force was the
Black Guard
The Black Guard or ''‘Abid al-Bukhari'' ( ar, عبيد البخاري, lit=Slaves of al-Būkhārī; also known as ''‘Abīd al-Dīwān'' "slaves of the diwan", ''Jaysh al-‘Abīd'' "the slave army", and ''‘Abid al-Sultan'' "the sultan’s ...
, also known as ''‘Abīd al-Dīwān'' "slaves of the
diwan", ''Jaysh al-‘Abīd'' "the slave army", and ''‘Abid al-Sultan'' "the sultan’s slaves") were the corps of
black-African slaves and ''
Haratin
Haratin (), also referred to as Haratine, Harratin (singular: Hartani), are an ethnic group found in western Sahel and southwestern Maghreb. The Haratin are mostly found in modern Mauritania (where they form a plurality), Morocco, Western Sahar ...
'' slave-soldiers assembled by the
'Alawi sultan of
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
,
Isma‘il ibn Sharif (reigned 1672–1727).
They were called the "Slaves of Bukhari" because Sultan Isma‘il emphasized the importance of the teachings of the famous
imam Muhammad al-Bukhari
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
, going so far as to give the leaders of the army copies of his book. This military corps, which was loyal only to the sultan, was one of the pillars of Isma'il's power as he sought to establish a more stable and more absolute authority over Morocco.
Over the course of the later 18th century and the 19th century their role in the military was progressively reduced and their political status varied between privilege and marginalization. Their descendants eventually regained their freedom and resettled across the country. The Black Guard was dissolved in 1912.
Slave laborers were also used on the building construction of the
Kasbah of Moulay Ismail
The Kasbah of Moulay Ismail is a vast palace complex and royal kasbah (citadel) built by the Moroccan sultan Moulay Isma'il ibn Sharif (also spelled "Ismail") in Meknes, Morocco. It is also known, among other names, as the Imperial City () or Pa ...
.
Abolition
Abolition of the Barbary slave trade
The slave trade of Europeans ended after the
Barbary wars
The Barbary Wars were a series of two wars fought by the United States, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Sicily against the Barbary states (including Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli) of North Africa in the early 19th century. Sweden had been at wa ...
in the early 19th-century.
On 11 October 1784, Moroccan pirates seized the American
brigantine ''Betsey''. The Spanish government negotiated the freedom of the captured ship and crew; however, Spain advised the United States to offer tribute to prevent further attacks against merchant ships. The United States Minister to France,
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
, decided to send envoys to Morocco and Algeria to try to purchase treaties and the freedom of the captured sailors held by Algeria.
Morocco was the first Barbary Coast State to sign a treaty with the United States, on 23 June 1786. This treaty formally ended all Moroccan piracy against American shipping interests. Specifically, article six of the treaty states that if any Americans captured by Moroccans or other Barbary Coast States docked at a Moroccan city, they would be set free and come under the protection of the Moroccan State.
The Barbary slave trade from Morocco against the ships other nations also diminished after the Barbary war of the early 19th-century. The Barbary pricay was eradicated after the
Second Barbary war
The Second Barbary War (1815) or the U.S.–Algerian War was fought between the United States and the North African Barbary Coast states of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. The war ended when the United States Senate ratified Commodore Stephen ...
.
Abolition of African slave trade and slavery
The Trans-Saharan slave trade with Africans were ended by the French Colonial authorities in 1923, but the slavery as such persisted long in to the 20th-century.
The Trans-Saharan slave trade with Africans continued after the Barbary slave trade of Europeans diminished. In 1842 sultan
Abd al-Rahman of Morocco
''Moulay'' Abd al-Rahman bin Hisham ( ar, عبد الرحمن بن هشام), born on 19 February 1778 in Fes and died on 28 August 1859 in Meknes, was a sultan of Morocco from 30 November 1822 to 28 August 1859, as a ruler of the 'Alawi dynas ...
made a statement defending slavery by stating that slavery was something "all sects and nations have agreed from the time of the sons of
Adam".
In 1883, Morocco was given an official suggestion by the
British Foreign Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...
to ban slave trade, but Morocco refused to introduce such a ban. In 1884, the British and the French governments banned their own citizens and employees in Morocco to own slaves.
Between 1912 and 1956, Morocco was the
French protectorate in Morocco
The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...
, which effectively ended the open slave trade in Morocco. In 1923 the French colonial authorities officially banned the slave trade and closed the slave markets in Morocco. While the slave trade was banned, slavery as such was never banned. However, when the slave markets were closed and open slavery visually disappeared from the public eye, slavery was considered to be
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
abolished.
In practice the slave trade continued illegally at least two decades after the abolition of the slave trade in 1923. Slavery as such continued in private, mainly in the form of domestic servants. However, during the decades after 1923, slavery gradually diminished in Morocco since changing attitudes made it less common to acquire slaves, and to manumit already existing slaves. By 1952 the majority of the existing slaves in Morocco were reportedly kidnapped as children, and when this was said to be against Islamic law, the speed of the manumissions increased.
When Morocco won its independence in 1956, slavery was said to be essentially confined to the Household slaves of the Royal Harem. The traditional Royal Harem still existed during the reign of king
Hassan II of Morocco (r. 1961-1999): the Royal Harem included forty personal concubines (who by Islamic law were by definition slaves) as well as an additional forty concubines who the king had inherited by his father; additional concubines who worked as domestic servants in the Royal Harem, as well as male slaves performing other positions such as chauffeurs in the Royal Household. The slaves of the Royal Household were descended from enslaved ancestors inherited within the household. The Royal Harem was dissolved by
Mohammed VI of Morocco
Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II.
Upon ascending to the throne, Moh ...
when he ascended to the throne in 1999.
[Marvine Howe: ]
Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges
', p. 5-6
See also
*
History of slavery in the Muslim world
The history of slavery in the Muslim world began with institutions inherited from pre-Islamic Arabia;Lewis 1994Ch.1 and the practice of keeping slaves subsequently developed in radically different ways, depending on social-political factors such ...
*
History of concubinage in the Muslim world
The history of concubinage in the Muslim world encompassed the practice of a men living with a woman without marriage, where the woman was a slave, though sometimes free. If the concubine gave birth to a child, she attained a higher status k ...
*
Slavery on the Barbary Coast
Slavery on the Barbary Coast (see Barbary slave trade) was a form of unfree labour which existed between the 16th and 18th centuries in the Barbary Coast area of North Africa.
According to Robert Davis, between 1 million and 1.25 million Europea ...
*
Human trafficking in Morocco
*
Moors Sundry Act of 1790
The Moors Sundry Act of 1790 was a 1790 advisory resolution passed by South Carolina House of Representatives, clarifying the status of free subjects of the Sultan of Morocco, Mohammed ben Abdallah. The resolution offered the opinion that free ci ...
References
{{Reflist
* Zahra Babar:
Mobility and Forced Displacement in the Middle East'
* Fred M. Shelley, Reagan Metz:
Geography of Trafficking: From Drug Smuggling to Modern-Day Slavery'
* Paul E. Lovejoy:
Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa'
* William Clarence-Smith:
Islam and the Abolition of Slavery'
* Marvine Howe:
Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges'
* Moha Ennaji:
Multiculturalism and Democracy in North Africa: Aftermath of the Arab Spring'
* Oxford University Press:
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History'
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
Society of Morocco
Human rights abuses in Morocco
Anti-black racism in Africa