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Epilogue
The First Moroccan Agent on Spanish Soil (1798)
In Spain as in the rest of Europe, except in unusual cases Muslim countries did
not establish permanent embassies or consulates until the nineteenth century.
The roles of consuls, representatives, and agents were filled for the Ottoman
Empire by Greeks and Venetians, and for Morocco and the North African Re-
gencies by other Europeans.1
As we showed in Chapter 5, the Treaties of Peace, Friendship, and Com-
merce that Spain signed with Morocco, the Ottoman Empire, Tripoli, Algeria,
and Tunis were based on the strict principle of reciprocity.2 But we have also
observed that the institutions supposed to defend the interests of North Afri-
cans and Levantines on Spanish soil were not made explicit. The exception was
the treaty with the Ottoman Empire of 1782: its Article 7 affirmed the Porte’s
right to name a representative, “commonly called a Shegbender.” He would
oversee the business dealings and interests of Ottoman subjects, and would be
based in Alicante.3 We know that a representative or general agent was estab-
lished there by 1795, because a Greek named Pedro Pano, an Ottoman subject,
was accused of having stolen eight thousand duros in Málaga from a fellow
Greek, a ship’s captain. The Ottoman agent asked authorities in Barcelona to
inform him if Pano should appear there:
The General Agent of the Sublime Porte resident in Alicante having asked
me not to issue any passport or approval from the [Board of] Health to
any ship or subject of his nation without the approval of its agent in this
port, I inform you so that this can be verified insofar as it falls under your
purview; ordering also that if Pano should appear here he be placed in a
secure prison, his possessions be seized, and you inform me.4
1 See our bibliography from Chap. 1, Section 2. For Cagliari see Dessi, Sommario.
2 Rouard de Card asserts that the Spanish-Moroccan treaty of 1767 was based on this princi-
ple: Les relations de l’Espagne et le Maroc.
3 Cantillo, Tratados, 570.
4 “[H]aviendome requerido el Agente General de la Sublime Puerta residente en Alicante no
se dé pasaporte ni habilite por Sanidad a ningun Buque ni subdito de su Nacion sin abono de
su agente en esta Plaza se lo aviso a V para que asi se verifique en la parte que le corresponde;
disponiendo al mismo tiempo que si Pano compareciere aquí se le ponga en segura prision,
ocupe quanto le pertenezca y me de aviso”: Xavier de Castaños to the acting corregidor of
Barcelona, imhb, fs, Serie i, leg. 31, 26 February 1818.
© CORRALES, 2021 | DOI:10.1163/9789004443761_012
This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
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The first representative or consul in Barcelona was Vicente Bronza, who called
himself “Agent of the subjects of the Sublime Porte.”5 We met Bronza through
his involvement in the incident of the false ambassador Assan Aga Giritri; his
reputation among the Spanish authorities was poor.6 But it does not appear
that the Ottoman consulate continued without interruption: in 1844 a Barcelo-
na merchant, Manuel Berges y Baiges, asked to be appointed consul of the Ot-
toman Empire.7 The Porte also had a commercial agent in Cádiz,8 and in Palma
de Mallorca there was an agent who resided first in the Calle del Vi and then
in Calle Apuntadores between 1810 and 1812.9 But so far as we can tell from our
sources, these men were not Muslims; they were Greek or Venetian subjects
of the Porte whose chief duty was to assist the many Greek-Ottoman captains
who arrived in Spanish ports beginning in the 1790s.10
The Maghrebis could not rely on the help of consuls or representatives, be-
cause Spain’s treaties with them only stated formulaically that they would en-
joy the same privileges in Spain as Spaniards did in Muslim lands. Moroccans,
Algerians, Tunisians, and Tripolitans who arrived in Spain, in the absence of a
consul, had to face alone the difficulties of conveying their petitions and pro-
tests. Those problems did decrease over time as stable colonies of Muslims
formed in different cities and ports, but they did not go away altogether, and
5 Bronza obtained from Ambassador Vasif Effendi, who visited Spain in 1787, authorization
to act as “Agent of the Ottoman flag,” in the opinion of Count de Lacy. I owe this informa-
tion to Pablo Hernández Sau.
6 See Chap. 6, Section 6.2.1.9. Bronza was one of many who defended Athanasio Podimara,
the Greek captain of the Ottoman polacre San Nicolás: he protested because the ship had
been visited by Barcelona’s Board of Health. Pedro Gómez to the bishop of Salamanca,
head of the Council: imhb, fs, Serie V, leg. 12, fols. 166–67, 7 February 1795.
7 Barcelona’s Board of Commerce, on being consulted by the Ministry of State, expressed
little interest in the idea: “This Board does not know if there has been a Consul of the Sub-
lime Porte here. We do not believe that the relations between the two countries, which
have been insignificant, make it necessary to name one; but it might make them increase,
and we have no objection to proceeding with the appointment. As for Don Manuel Ber
ges, we can only say that we know nothing about this person”: Junta de Comercio, leg. 61,
caja 55, Biblioteca Central de Barcelona. See Martín Corrales, “Relaciones de España con
el Imperio Otomano,” 260.
8 All indications are that a Greek, Pablo Capitanache, inscribed in the Cádiz Consulate
from 1850, held that post: Martín Corrales, “La flota greco-otomana.”
9 The reference to Calle del Vi (“Wine Street”) appears in the Diario de Mallorca, 19 June
1810. “The Ottoman consul who lives in Apuntadores Street has a matter of interest to
convey to Don José Diego Carril”: Diario de Mallorca, 10 December 1811. I thank Andreu
Seguí Beltrán for this information.
10 Martín Corrales, “Capitaines et navires gréco-ottomans,” “Greek-Ottoman Captains,” “El
comercio de Cataluña con el Levante,” and “Cereales y capitanes greco-otomanos.”
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Spanish authorities were often baffled by the situations before them: they did
not know how to channel the North Africans’ complaints or how to deal with
the offenses that some of them committed.11 We have illustrated many such
cases in Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9, and they were not the only ones; all presented
the Spanish authorities with serious problems that they did not always resolve
in the best way.
It soon became obvious that Moroccans, whether or not they were versed in
Spanish law, lacked adequate channels for resolving disputes that arose from
their mercantile practices or other activities, legal or illegal. From an early date
they relied on Spain’s consul general in Morocco to defend their interests: that
official was empowered, by Article 13 of the Treaty of 1767 and Article 8 of the
Treaty of 1799, to secure the property of Moroccans who died in Spain and
convey it to the legitimate heirs.12 As one Moroccan ship captain wrote to the
Spanish consul, “Our interests are in your hands, since we know no one else to
[attend to] them in Spain.”13 But since the consulate was in Tangier, it was hard
for the Spanish diplomat to intervene in matters that arose within Spain. While
González Salmón actually lived in Cádiz most of the time from 1786 until his
death in 1800, he seems not to have played a direct part in those affairs.14
We also perceive in the documents a tendency to make local authorities
(Captains General, governors, corregidores, mayors, and others) the guaran-
tors, and in some sense protectors, of the rights of Muslims. The Treaty of 1799
ratified this practice in its Article 5, which urged Moroccans who had suffered
an injustice to appeal to those authorities where there was no consul of their
own. Although the officials received a great many petitions they do not seem to
have been of much assistance, and the petitioners sometimes complained that
the authorities were biased in favor of Spanish merchants.15
Spain’s Secretary of State, and the king himself, received dozens of petitions on
behalf of North Africans. Elja Selit Boali, a Moroccan, addressed Ferdinand vii as
“the protector of the unfortunate.”16 The Secretariat felt besieged by Moroccans
11 We leave aside the normal tendency of merchants and businessmen of any country, lan-
guage, or creed to try to maximize their profits: it led them to violate, accidentally or on
purpose, laws on customs duties, health, and other matters that affected them. Muslim
traders in Spain were no strangers to these practices.
12 Cantillo, Tratados, 505–07, 685–91.
13 Mohamed Ben Embarck to J.M. González Salmón, Ceuta, 4 November 1793, ahn, Estado,
leg. 5803.
14 Pradells Nadal, Diplomacia y comercio, 517–24; Arribas Palau, “Juan Manuel González
Salmón (Datos biográficos).”
15 See, for example, the case of Caddur Ben Massus and Abdalá Karsis in 1802, recounted in
detail in Section 9.5.8.
16 Petition by Elja Selit Boali, 2 December 1804, ahn, Estado, leg. 5807.
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who arrived at court hoping for a response to their appeals: one of them, Abdasa-
lem Buasa, admitted that he visited that ministry every day, whether in Madrid,
La Granja, or El Escorial, in search of a favorable decision about his suit.17
In this situation Spain found it desirable and even necessary to limit North
Africans’ arrival in Spain, and especially at court, to the extent possible. That
wish contradicted reality, for the peace treaties recognized their subjects’ right
to total freedom of movement in the host country. We saw in Chapter 8 how in
1784 the Spanish consul placed obstacles in the way of Spanish merchants who
tried to ship cattle to Spain: “then there will be no precedent for the others who
wish to [engage in] the same trade, nor will it become known.”18 Three years
later the Secretariat of State ordered the consul to require Moroccans who ar-
rived in Cádiz, Málaga, Alicante, or Barcelona to possess a “permit or passport”
if they wished to proceed to the capital in search of aid or reparations.19
We also saw how Spanish authorities were not alone in trying to limit or
prevent the free movement of Moroccans on Spanish soil: the Moroccan sultan
applied many measures to the same end. He did not care if his merchants en-
gaged in foreign trade, and he feared unpleasant incidents that might damage
relations between the two countries; we saw several cases of the punishments
he meted out to captains and sailors who misbehaved in Spain. Moroccan trad-
ers were also supposed to return home with receipts proving that thay had paid
the proper customs duties on goods bought in Spain and were taking them out
of the country legally.20 The Treaty of 1799 included the same requirement and
added another: Moroccans departing for Spain needed a passport signed by
the Spanish consular authorities and also the Moroccan governors of the ports
from which they sailed.21 But all these efforts failed totally to keep Moroccan
merchants away from ports such as Cádiz and from Madrid.
In the meantime, North Africans continued to arrive in Spanish ports
without any channels that might solve their various problems. Eventually
Cádiz decided to name Jorge Patissiati, a former consul general in Larache,
as an interlocutor with Moroccans who reached that city. After having been
enslaved in Morocco, Patissiati had later served as its envoy to Holland and
was named Spain’s vice consul in 1767; he knew Morocco well and was flu-
ent in Arabic, and served in his post in Cádiz from 1774 to 1786.22 He was
17 Petition by Abdasalem Buasa, 17 May 1801, Madrid. ahn, Estado, leg. 5818.
18 J.M. González Salmón to Count Floridablanca, 23 June 1784. ahn, Estado, leg. 4317.
19 El Pardo to J.M. González Salmón, 16 January 1787. ahn, Estado, leg. 4319.
20 J.M. González Salmón to Count Floridablanca, Tangier, 23 June 1781. ahn, Estado, leg. 4314.
21 See Section 9.2.
22 Pradells Nadal, Diplomacia y comercio, 516.
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succeeded from 1788 to 1790 (though not very effectively) by Gabriel Gavaró,
likewise a former slave and an Arabic speaker.23 No one appears to have
followed these two, though more research should be done. In the vacuum
created by the lack of a consul, some Moroccans claimed ignorance, as for-
eigners, of Spanish law and mercantile practice, especially when accused
of smuggling or some other illegality. Many foreigners who sought justice
or another form of aid also pleaded their condition as outsiders: Abdraja-
man Vinjut insisted that “Moors do not understand lawsuits,”24 while Hach
Mekki begged as a foreigner for the Secretary of State’s protection.25 Abda-
salem Buasa explained how “as a foreigner he finds no one to aid him in his
extreme poverty,”26 and Ali Turqui could not defend himself “in a foreign
land.”27 Finally, Elja Selit Boali maintained that “a Moor does not know the
laws that are observed here.”28
As a next step, some Moroccans tried to find employment as interpreters
and presented themselves as representatives of their fellow subjects in Spain.
Hamete Bargas, for instance, asked for the post of “interpreter of languages in
the city of Cádiz, or in Málaga”; he was qualified for it “especially with those
of his nation.” He also argued that as a result, fewer Moroccans would seek to
approach the court in Madrid.29
Pedro Barcelona Salé, “a Moroccan established in this your city of Barcelo-
na, in which he received the holy water of baptism several years ago,” presents
an interesting case. In a petition to the king in 1802 he asked for a “position as
interpreter in the city of Barcelona, where he resides”:
[For the last] three years he has been employed in the profession of
interpreter, in every matter having to do with Moorish captains, Greek
captains of ships that have arrived and arrive to this port, or their crews,
before the government, the Royal Board of Health, the department of In-
come, and the Commercial Tribunal. He has always performed faithfully
as an interpreter, though without any salary.
23 Letter from Father Cristóbal Ríos of the Franciscan mission to Morocco praising the work
of the Spanish consul in Tangier: Tangier, 6 February 1785. ahn, Estado, leg. 4317. Pradells
Nadal, Diplomacia y comercio, 516, 553.
24 Abdrajaman Vinjut to Duke of La Alcudia, Málaga, 26 April 1794. ahn, Estado, leg. 5802.
25 Petition by Hach Mekki, 12 September 1800, ahn, Estado, leg. 5806.
26 Petition by Abdasalem Buasa, Madrid, 15 July 1801. ahn, Estado, leg. 5818.
27 Petition by Ali Turqui, 12 October 1803, Madrid, ahn, Estado, leg. 5803.
28 Petition by Elja Selit Boali, 2 December 1804, ahn, Estado, leg. 5807.
29 Petition by Hamete Bargas, Madrid, 7 July 1787. ahn, Estado, leg. 5809–5810.
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He sought appointment as an “interpreter by royal license for the Moors, Turks,
and Greeks who reach this port … with the emoluments conceded to those of
his class who are established in the ports of Cádiz, Alicante, and Málaga.”30 He
brought signed letters of endorsement from the Marquis of Vallesantoro, the
civil and military governor of Barcelona;31 Pedro Molet y Albardánez, captain
of the port of Barcelona;32 Cayetano Arévalo y Avilés, chief revenue officer;33
and Juan Michel, a lieutenant of the Royal Armada and adjutant to the captain
of the port.34
The Secretary of State, however, received a devastating report about him.
Pedro Barcelona did not meet the minimal requirements for the position he
sought:
I have called him in to question him, and have found that, first, he can
neither read nor write; second, he speaks no Castilian, Catalan, or any
other European language, just a mixture of words from every language,
without sentences or order of any kind, those he has heard and acquired
in the seven or eight years since he came to Spain. Anyone who hears
him needs another interpreter to understand the nonsense that he calls
Castilian.
Good interpreters of English, Swedish, Danish, German, Arabic, and Turkish
were certainly needed:
30 “[Hace] tres años que se emplea en el exercicio de Ynterprete, en todos los asuntos que
ocurren tener que tratar con los Arraeces Moros, Capitanes griegos de Embarcaciones
que han llegado, y llegan a este Puerto, o con sus Tripulaciones, tanto por el gobierno,
como por la Reall Junta de Sanidad, resguardo de Rentas, y Tribunal de la Lonja de
Comercio, haviendose siempre comportado en su interpretación fielmente, aunque sin
ningun interes”: petition by Pedro Barcelona Salé, Barcelona, 28 November 1801. Also a
draft concerning Pedro Barcelona with a report by the Captain General of Catalonia, 20
January 1802, ahn, Estado, leg. 5803.
31 “For the past three years, when the occasion has arisen … I have availed myself of the
Moroccan Pedro Barcelona Salé … since he knows the languages, and..he has performed
the interpretation faithfully”: Marquis of Vallesantoro, 8 November 1801, ahn, Estado,
leg. 5803.
32 Barcelona Salé, “long established” in the city, had been interpreting “in the Moorish lan-
guage” for three years. The Board of Health had had him take statements from Moroccan
and Greek captains: 20 October 1801, ahn, Estado, leg. 5803.
33 ahn, Estado, leg. 5803.
34 The interpreter, in addition to the services already mentioned, had heard “complaints and
petitions” from North Africans: 26 September 1801, ahn, Estado, leg. 5803.
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Individuals from those nations come continually to these ports, and he
does not know their language, not even French or Italian, which are gener-
ally known here. And for lack of a proper interpreter this government has
found itself in difficulties, having to rely on parties who have an interest
in the affairs of these foreigners if they wish to communicate with them.35
We still await a study of Moroccan interpreters in Spanish ports and cities, but
everything indicates that, except in rare cases, they had neither the capacity
nor the skill needed to resolve the many problems that arose from the mercan-
tile activity of North Africans in Spain.
We have shown how it proved impossible to prevent Moroccans from ar-
riving in Cádiz and other ports and even establishing themselves there; and
how both Spanish and Moroccan officials tried to keep incidents provoked by
merchants of the latter country in Spain from damaging their mutual friendly
relations. Some mechanism had to be found by which Moroccans with any sort
of problem could channel their claims and petitions without approaching the
king of Spain, the Secretary of State, or city governors directly. They also had
to be kept from conveying their complaints to the sultan, who in his ignorance
of all the details might take harsh measures that would harm the ties between
the two countries.36
At the same time, Spanish authorities knew that the Moroccan sultan of-
fered very little support to his subjects who engaged in trade. An example is
the case of Jamet Bigga: in 1786 he asked the Spanish monarch to grant Mo-
roccans exclusive rights to transfer, free of duties, goods that arrived in Cádiz
from Northern Europe to ships bound for Morocco, and vice versa. The Spanish
35 “Le he llamado para examinarle, y he visto que no sabe escribir ni leer, lo primero. Lo
segundo, que ni habla Castellano, ni Catalan ni ningun Ydioma Europeo; sino solo un con-
junto de voces de todas lenguas, sin frases ni método alguno; las que ha oído y adquirido
con el trato popular de siete u ocho años que hace se halla en España de modo que oyén-
dole, se necesita de otro Ynterprete para entender la gerga que el llama Castellano. …
[D]e cuyas Naciones arriban continuamente Yndividuos a estos Puertos, y su Ydioma no
es familiar. Aunque no sepa el Frances e Ytaliano, cuya inteligencia es aquí mui general
y común. Y por falta de un tal Ynterprete han ocurrido varios apuros en este Govierno,
hallándose en la precisión de haverse de valer de los mismos interesados en la suerte
y negocios de tales Extrangeros para mantener conversacion con ellos.” The informant
claimed that Barcelona Salé himself was aware of his shortcomings: “He has been per-
suaded of his insufficiency for the post he has requested”: Francisco de Horcasitas to
Pedro Ceballos, Barcelona, 4 February 1802, ahn, Estado, leg. 5803.
36 We have already noted that we do not know how often Moroccans routed their petitions
through commercial tribunals.
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consul objected, citing the sultan’s indifference to and even ignorance of such
concessions and noting that he protected his subjects only when they were
providing some service to himself:
The king of Morocco cares very little to encourage trade by his own vas-
sals, because his policy is wholly different from and contrary to that of
European sovereigns. He wishes and desires that his ports and customs
houses operate with Christian merchants, not his subjects; far from pro-
tecting these and helping them to acquire wealth, he takes away what
little some of them have if they are not careful. The only thing he pursues
actively is to help those Moors who trade with His Majesty’s own funds.
If one of those should travel to Spain it would be good to deal with him
apart from the rest, because then his sovereign would learn of any favor
or privilege he was granted and would think that it was done out of re-
spect for himself.37
The Moroccan emperor’s behavior toward his tradesmen was often harsh, to
the point that Spanish authorities had to ask him to moderate his punish-
ments, while still trying to keep Moroccans from crossing to Spain. Spain of-
ten conspired with the sultan’s secretaries, or the governor of Tangier, to keep
bad news about his subjects from reaching the monarch’s ears. As we saw in
Chapter 8, in 1787 J.M. González Salmón wrote to Count Floridablanca that he
would not make use of information in his possession about “Moors who go to
that court”: he would only
make such use as is convenient, without giving His Moroccan Majesty
any motive for complaint against those people. But I know that the mon-
arch’s intent is very different from the conduct of his vassals in Spain: he
requires that they give not a hint of scandal, especially with women or
37 “[E]l Rey de Marruecos para mui poco su consideración en fomentar el comercio de sus
mismos vassallos, por que su política es en todo diversa, y contraria a la de los Soberanos
de Europa. Dessea, y quiere que sus Puertos, y Aduanas travajen mas bien por medio de
Comerciantes Cristianos que no por sus Subditos, á los que lejos de protexerlos, y ayudar-
los para adquirir riquezas, les quita las pocas que algunos de ellos tienen quando mas
descuidados se hallan, y únicamente pone todo su esmero en fomentar á aquellos Moros
que negocian con caudales propios de S.M. Si alguno destos fuesen a España no seria
malo particularizarlo de los demás, por que entonces qualquiera gracia o privilegio que
se le concediesse seria savedor este Soberano, y lo miraría como hecha únicamente por su
respeto”: J.M. González Salmón to Count Floridablanca, Darbeyda, 6 October 1786. ahn,
Estado, leg. 4319.
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wine, nor commit any fraud, for he loathes the very word contraband –
when he hears it he grows irritated and then furious. Since they know
this, there is no better way of keeping them in check and making them
see reason than to threaten them with being sent here as prisoners with a
report on their conduct, so that the king of Morocco may punish them as
he wishes. I know that an order has gone out to the ports of Cádiz, Mála-
ga, Alicante, and Barcelona to keep [Moors] from going to Madrid. But as
to those who are already there, we can persuade and even force them to
leave if they have no legitimate business, without fear that His Moroccan
Majesty will hear of our attentions and favors to his vassals. And I will do
all I can to ensure that in the future, Moors who come to our ports shall
be men of good reputation and proven conduct.38
In many of the cases we have described here, the Moroccans involved were
close to the emperor or belonged to important families; if they were punished
to the extent they deserved they would no longer cooperate with Spain and
might become its enemies. It was prefereable to deal with a dishonest partner
who feared the sultan’s wrath if he were found out, than with a declared adver-
sary. Nonetheless, it was not clear in every instance what Spain’s best course
should be. An early step (after Patissiati and then Gavaró had acted for Mo-
roccans in Cádiz) was recommended in 1798 by J.M. González Salmón, Spain’s
consul general in Morocco, who was in Cádiz at the time: the city’s governor
should accept an “agent of the Moroccans.” That person could manage the fre-
quent mercantile and other conflicts caused by Moroccans who had settled in
the city or visited it occasionally, so as to
avoid the constant importunities and irritations caused to the governor
and to me by the Moors here, with their petitions. It was very convenient
to name someone of the nation who could manage their affairs; and in
view of the good qualifications of the Moor Hamet Almanzor for this pur-
pose, he should be named agent of the Moroccans in this port, as stated
in a report I sent to the governor, the Count of Cumbre Hermosa, on 30
August 1798. I send Your Excellency a copy together with one of the reply
that he sent me on the 31st. The said Almanzor has performed this office
and shown prudent conduct in the cases involving his fellow subjects,
settling disagreements among them and appealing to the government
38 J.M. González Salmón to Count Floridablanca, Tangier, 12 March 1787. ahn, Estado,
leg. 4319.
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when he was unable to preserve the good harmony that prevails between
the two courts.39
Hamet Almanzor was the Moroccan merchant implicated in the illegal export
of silver coins in 1789.40 The governor approved González Salmón’s request:
I take note that you have named the Moor Hamet Almanzor so that, in
his capacity as agent for those of his nation, he may represent whatever
occurs among their affairs; and I will assist him with my services in the
cases that he brings before me.41
We can affirm, then, that while a system of justice and institutions existed to
help resolve conflicts involving Moroccan subjects, local authorities, whether
through ignorance or personal bias, did not always comply with the stipula-
tions in the Treaty of 1799. The consul general offered advice:
It would be useful to send a circular to the captains general of the prov-
inces, especially that of Andalusia and the coast of Granada, warning
them to respect and observe in their jurisdictions the Treaties of Peace
recently signed with the Court of Morocco. For a Moor has just arrived
39 “…evitar las continuas importunidades, y molestias que tanto al Gobernador como a mi
causaban los Moros en Esta Plaza en los recursos que les ocurrían, era muy conveniente
nombrar persona de aquella Nacion que entendiera en sus asuntos; y en vista de las bue-
nas circunstancias que para el efecto conocía en el moro Hamet Almanzor le nombre
por Agente de los Marroquies en Esta Plaza según oficio que pasé al Gobernador Conde
de Cumbre Hermosa en 30 de Agosto de 1798, de que incluio a V.S. copia, y también de la
contextazion que me dio en 31 del mismo mes y año. El expresado Almanzor ha seguido
con este encargo acreditando prudente conducta en quantos casos han ocurrido a sus
Nacionales; acomodando las desavenencias entre ellos, y recurriendo al Gobierno en los
que no alcanzaba sus deseos para conservar la buena armonía que reina entre ambas
Cortes”: J.M. González Salmón to Antonio González Salmón, his brother and successor
in the consulship in Tangier, Cádiz, 6 June 1800. He wrote to the governor of Cádiz in the
same terms, confident that “he will carry out his task to Your Excellency’s satisfaction, and
I hope that you will hear appeals from this Moor and help him in any way possible, the
better to serve His Majesty”: J.M. González Salmón to Count Cumbrehermosa, Cádiz, 30
August 1799, ahn, Estado, leg. 4358.
40 See Section 8.5.21.
41 “[Q]uedo enterado de haber VS nombrado al Moro Hamet Almanzor para que en calidad
de Agente de los de su Nacion, pueda representar lo que se le ofrezca sobre sus asun-
tos; y en su conseqüencia lo auxiliaré con mis providencias en los casos que me lo rep-
resente”: Count Cumbrehermosa to J.M. González Salmón, Cádiz, 31 August 1799. ahn,
Estado, leg. 4358.
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here claiming to have been held for six months in the prison at Mo-
tril. On the other hand, our captains general should not let them travel
inland, much less come to Court, without bearing a passport from His
Majesty’s consul general in those domains. In this manner we will pre-
vent their importuning our officials so often, or causing problems; if this
is not done, Your Excellency will have Moors coming to bother you at
every moment.42
A good example of how local authorities often acted is the decision of the Con-
sular Tribunal in Cádiz to jail a Moroccan who had sued a merchant of the city,
apparently with good cause:
If it is true that Don Luis Rivera of that trade has violated his contract,
as the Moor claims in his petition of 25 November of last year, he should
pay the fine of five thousand duros that Rivera himself negotiated. And
according to what the Moor claims on 14 February about the agreement
in the same matter with the Consular Tribunal of Cádiz, I do not under-
stand how that court wants to arrest the Moor. For it is a well-known fact
that according to the treaties made recently with the Moroccan court,
on how and on what terms their subjects should be treated in Spain, any
offense they commit should be referred for a decision by [their own]
government.43
42 “Parece combendria expedir una Circular a los Capitanes Generales de Provincia, espe-
cialmente al de Andalucia, y Costa de Granada, previniéndoles que observen, y hagan
observar en la parte que les corresponde, los Tratados de Paz ajustados últimamente con
la Corte de Marruecos, pues acaba de llegar aquí un moro que dicen lo han tenido preso
seis meses en la Carcel de Motril: por otra parte no deven Nuestros capitanes Generales
permitirles internarse, y mucho menos benir a la Corte sin que para el efecto traigan
Pasaporte del Consul General de S.M. en aquellos Dominios; y de esta manera se evitará
el que incomoden con tanta freqüencia a la Superioridad, ny se originen disgustos; por
que de lo contrario cada instante tendrá V.E. Moros que lo bengan a importunar”: J.M.
González Salmón to Mariano Luis de Urquijo, Madrid, 11 February 1800. ahn, Estado, legs.
4343, 4358.
43 “Si es cierto que D. Luis Rivera de aquel comercio ha faltado a la contrata como expone
el Moro en su Memorial de 25 de Novre del año pasado, debe pagar la pena de cinco
mil duros que el mismo Rivera se ha impuesto, y por lo que representa el citado Moro
en 14 de febrero acerca de lo decretado, con respeto al mismo asunto, por el Tribunal
del Consulado de Cadiz, no alcanzo como dicho Juzgado quiera arrestar la persona
del moro pues bien publico y sabido es por los Tratados que últimamente se han
ajustado con la Corte Marroqui, como y en los términos que se deben de tratar a sus
súbditos en España, y que en cometiendo algun delito se han de remitir a disposición
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The governor of Cádiz in 1800, Luis de las Casas, acted in opposition to his prede-
cessor: he refused to acknowledge Hamet Almanzor as the representative of two
Moroccans who were implicated in a questionable affair. Captains Aly Tunzi and
Aly Bembuasa had been “under arrest in El Vivac since the 17th of last month,” and
everything, it seems, hung on a commercial dispute that included a converted Jew
especially hostile to Muslims. González Salmón complained of
the offense committed against the captains, which they claim comes
from the negative report given to the government by the neophyte [i.e.,
recently converted Jew] Pedro Sánchez. For his way of dealing with
Moors, together with his having been a Hebrew and therefore odious and
worthy of contempt to every Muslim, may cause displeasure to Muley
Soliman, if his subjects should complain of the violent abuse with which
they are treated.
I believe that the petition attributed to the two imprisoned captains
was invented and produced by Pedro Sánchez. For it is not typical of the
Moors to express fear of being attacked by relatives of the Hebrew, who
was under arrest on board, on the pretext that he wanted to become a
Christian; but it is very plausible that Sánchez attributed this and other
language to the prisoners in order to make them seem guilty when they
are not. All of which, if it is not corrected, will certainly give the Moroc-
cans a pretext to act in a similar way toward Spaniards in their country,
which would be most unfortunate for us.44
de aquel Gobierno”.The Moroccan’s petition was sent to the king of Spain: Mariano
Luis de Urquijo to J.M. González Salmón, Aranjuez, 3 March 1800. “I return to Your
Excellency the two attached petitions from the Moroccan Moor Bohalel, resident in
Cádiz”: J.M. González Salmón to M.L. de Urquijo, Madrid, 10 March 1800. ahn, Estado,
leg. 4343.
44 “…la tropelía cometida contra los Arrezes que se expresan, por influxo y siniestro informe
que habrá dado á aquel Gobierno el Neofito Pedro Sanchez, cuyo modo de proceder para
con los Moros, unido a haber sido Hebreo, y de consiguiente odioso y digno del mayor
desprecio de todo musulman, puede motivar disgustos de parte de Muley Soliman, si
sus súbditos se le quexan del vigor y tropelía con que se les trata. Creo muy bien que
el Memorial atribuido á los dos Arraezes presos es invención y producción de Pedro
Sanchez, pues no cabe en el carácter de los Moros el manifestar temor de ser recombeni-
dos por los Parientes del Hebreo, que estaba arrestado a bordo, á pretexto de que éste se
quería bolver Cristiano; y si, es muy verosímil que el Sanchez haya prestado este y otro
lenguaje a los Presos [c]on objeto a hacerles parecer reos, no siéndolo: todo lo qual, si no
se pone remedio, dará seguramente margen á los Marroquies a que en su País usen dela
reciproca con los Españoles, lo que de ninguna manera nos conviene.” Captains Tunzi
and Bembuasa were set at liberty by a royal decree sent from Aranjuez to the governor of
Cádiz, 22 June 1800. ahn, Estado, leg. 4358.
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The consul general wrote to his successor in Tangier, his brother Antonio:
After I presented the attached petition to the governor of this port, to
inform him that the Moors were imprisoned, he did not wish to receive
[Hamet Almanzor] on the pretext that he was not recognized as the con-
sul of Morocco. It is very true that he has not been named [to the post],
but it is also true that if he did hold it on the authority of the king of
Morocco, we would have to treat him with the honor and preeminence
called for in Article 7 of the latest Treaty of Peace between Spain and Mo-
rocco, as our consul general [is] in those domains. … Since you, by virtue
of your office, are the only one authorized to act in such cases … [please]
request that His Majesty issue whatever decree he thinks proper so that
the Moor Hamet Almanzor may be received by the governor of this port
as an agent for the Moroccans. Such a sovereign decision will put an end
to the disputes that arise here daily with the Moors, and will strengthen
the good harmony we now enjoy.45
His brother, the new consul, also addressed the Secretary of State to complain
of the governor’s refusal.46 It was essential to give Almanzor official accredita-
tion at once, since his appointment had already been approved by the gover-
nor of Tangier, which implied at least indirect approval by the sultan:
The governor of Tangier having approved the selection of Hamet Alman-
zor as agent for those of his nation –thereby freeing us of the need for
the government of Cádiz to do so –I believe that Your Excellency should
tell that governor that he should remove Pedro Sánchez from any partic-
ipation in or knowledge of the affairs of the Moors (unless he is needed
45 “[H]abiendo presentado últimamente el adjunto Memorial al Sr. Gobernador de Esta
Plaza para tomar conocimiento de la prision de los Moros que expresa, no se le ha
querido admitir bajo pretexto de no estar reconocida su persona con el carácter de consul
marroquí. Es mui cierto que careze de este nombramiento, pero también lo es de que
si lo tubiera por parte del Rey de Marruecos, habría también que guardarle las honras
y preheminencias acordadas en el artº vii del ultimado Tratado de Paz entre España y
Marruecos a nro. Consul General en aquellos Dominios. … V.S. por su Empleo, es el único
autorizado a entender en estos asuntos … pida que S.M. se digne expedir las ordenes que
conceptue conducentes para que al citado Moro Marroqui Hamet Almanzor, se le atienda
por el Gobierno de Esta Plaza, como a Agente de los Marroquies; pues esta Soberana reso-
lución pondrá fin a los disgustos que diariamente ocurre aquí con los Moros, y afianzará
mas y mas la buena armonía en que estamos”: J.M. González Salmón to Antonio González
Salmón, Cádiz, 6 June 1800. ahn, Estado, leg. 4358.
46 Antonio González Salmón to M.L. de Urquijo, Tarifa, 10 June 1800. ahn, Estado, leg. 4358.
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as an interpreter). And he should acknowledge in this role the aforesaid
Hamet Almanzor as agent for the same, admitting no complaint or de-
mand, for or against, unless it is presented to him by that individual,
when the appeal comes directly from Moroccans. In this way there will
be no change in the good harmony that we so desire to maintain with
Muley Soliman.47
The Secretariat of State also favored naming the agent, and took the governor
of Cádiz to task: “It appears that Your Excellency has not wished to approve
another Moor named Hamet Almanzor, who since August 1798 has been acting
as a Moroccan agent in Cádiz, under an order of the consul general at the time
and the agreement of Your Excellency’s predecessor in the government.” The
royal decree required him to recognize the agent, even though Almanzor had
falsely called himself a “consul”:
After I informed the king of everything, His Majesty has decided that the
Moor Hamet Almanzor may continue as a Moroccan agent in that port;
and that Your Excellency recognize him in that office, as he was recog-
nized by your predecessor (though not with the name of consul, which –
doubtless through ignorance –he wished to assume).48
The king’s orders were obeyed, at least until 1807. In 1801 we find new mention
of Almanzor in documents from Cádiz: he was arranging for Moroccan ships
that arrived there to be issued the necessary patent from the Board of Health
47 “…haber aprobado el Gobernador de Tanger la elección que se hizo de Hamet Almanzor
para Agente de los de su Nacion, desprendiendonos en esta parte de los requisitos que
debiera preceder para que el Gobierno de Cadiz lo reconozca en la expresada calidad,
juzgo muy interesante el que V.E. se digne prevenir á aquel Gobernador que al paso que
debe separar de toda intervención y conocimiento de los asuntos de los Moros (excepto
en los casos en que se le requiera de oficio para Ynterprete), a Pedro Sanchez, reconozca
á éste fin, y en clase de Agente de los mismos, al enunciado Hamet Almanzor, no admi-
tiendo quexa, ni demanda, asi en lo adverso como en lo favorable sin que le sea presentada
por el susodho, quando se trate de un recurso hecho directamente por los Marroquies;
mediante lo qual no se alterará en este parte la buena harmonia que tanto nos interesa
mantener con Muley Soliman”: A. González Salmón to M.L. de Urquijo, Tarifa, 10 June
1800. ahn, Estado, leg. 4358.
48 “[H]abiendo dado cuenta de todo al Rey ha resuelto S. M. que el Moro Hamet Almanzor
continue en calidad de Agente Marroqui en esa Plaza, y que en esta Calidad lo reconozca
V.E. como estaba reconocido por su Antecesor (aunque no con el nombre de Consul que
sin duda por ignorancia habrá querido atribuirse)”: Aranjuez to the governor of Cádiz, 22
June 1800. ahn, Estado, leg. 4358.
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before returning to their home ports.49 We last hear of him in 1807, when he
was accepted as an agent in the case of Mahamet Bencherif.50
We lose track of Hamet Almanzor after this date, and do not know if oth-
er Moroccans succeeded him in his post. In any event, it was not until long
after our period that Morocco established stable diplomatic representation
in Spain.
In fact, however, most Moroccan merchants did not meet excessive difficul-
ties. While a number of North Africans became involved in conflicts, incidents,
and even crimes, there were many more about whom we hear nothing precise-
ly because of their good behavior. Most of them learned to bring their disputes
to local courts, commercial tribunals, or consulates, and had their contracts
and agreements with Spanish or foreign partners witnessed by notaries.51
∵
The absence of consuls from Muslim nations on Spanish soil did not mean that
North African and Levantine merchants were defenseless after the Treaties of
Peace and Commerce signed between 1767 and 1799. They were often helped
and even favored by Spanish authorities in the problems, conflicts, incidents,
and crimes in which they might be involved. As we have recounted in earlier
chapters the king himself, and especially the Secretariat of State and the con-
sul general in Morocco, worked constantly to keep such incidents from dam-
aging or even breaking off relations between the two countries.52 That same
49 “The agent for the Moroccans in this port has informed me that there is a problem in
issuing the necessary patent of health from Your Excellency to the captain of the ship of
that nation, the Mesout, so that it may return to the port from which it came”: Antonio
González Salmón to José de Yturrigaray, Cádiz, 7 February 1801. ahn, Estado, leg. 5821.
In 1801 Almanzor interpreted for four Moroccans (Taibe Menaiza, Meliro Açabel, Jamete
Melfa, and Jamete Zen Zen), “current residents in this city of Cádiz,” who swore before a
notary that they owed money to Benito Picardo (see section 9.4.23). Notary José Gómez
Torices, 1801. ahpc, caja 1891, fol. 231.
50 See section 9.4.27.
51 There are many other cases beyond those we relate in Chapters 8 and 9. For example, in
the early nineteenth century Hafsuna D’Ghies, a Tripolitan living in Málaga, gave a power
of attorney to Antonio María Baso y Bensi that allowed him to collect sums owed him by
the government, the Royal Treasury, or any other entity: Archivo Provincial de Málaga,
scribe Miguel de Ávila, leg. 3752, fol. 1801.
52 We leave for a future study the story of Muslims who went to Spain to convert to
Christianity, whether sincerely or not. There were also those who left North Africa in
search of a better life: exiles, those who wished to enter the king’s service, artisans seeking
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policy, with some variations, was applied to Algerians, Tunisians, and Tripol-
itans as well.
The policy worked fairly well until the beginning of the nineteenth centu-
ry, at a time when the two sides, especially Spain and Morocco, were seeking
a rapprochement that would benefit them both. But political, economic, and
social problems on both shores of the Mediterranean took a toll on those re-
lationships, making each nation turn inward toward its own concerns. Later,
the peaceful period that followed the Napoleonic Wars changed the politics
of Europe and made it less necessary for Spain to cultivate Morocco and the
North African Regencies, while those countries, mired in many difficulties of
their own, also drew away from Europe.
to improve their skills, and visitors for shorter or longer periods. There is some bibliogra-
phy about them: see Arribas Palau, “El salvoconducto” and “Nuevos datos sobre moros en
la Alhambra”; Estremera Solé, “Aprendizaje de un cerrajero.”
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