Thomas Pellow facts for kids
Thomas Pellow (born 1704, died 1745) was an author from Cornwall, England. He is famous for his book, The History of the Long Captivity and Adventures of Thomas Pellow in South-Barbary. This book tells the amazing story of his 23 years as a captive, from 1715 to 1738. It describes how he was captured by Barbary pirates, his time as a slave under Sultan Moulay Ismail, and his exciting escape back home to Cornwall.
Thomas Pellow was only eleven years old when his adventure began in the summer of 1716. He was sailing with his uncle, John Pellow, who was the ship's captain. After crossing the Bay of Biscay, their ship was attacked by Barbary pirates. Thomas and five other Englishmen were captured and taken to Sultan Moulay Ismail in Morocco. The Sultan chose Thomas and three others to become his personal slaves.
Contents
Life as a Slave
After being chosen by the Sultan, Thomas Pellow was taken to the armoury. His first job was to clean weapons for the Sultan's army. But he didn't stay there long. The Sultan soon gave him to his son, Muley Spha.
Muley Spha was not a kind person. He often gave his slaves pointless tasks, like running after his horse all day. When Muley Spha saw how smart Thomas was, he tried to convince him to become a Muslim. He promised Thomas gifts and a better life as a friend. But Thomas said no to all the offers. This made Muley Spha very angry. He treated Thomas harshly, keeping him imprisoned for months and punishing him daily. After weeks of this terrible treatment, Thomas was forced to convert to Islam. Later, Sultan Moulay Ismail ordered his son to bring Thomas to learn the Moorish language. When Muley Spha did not obey, he was punished by the Sultan.
Over time, Moulay Ismail assigned Thomas Pellow to the 'Abid al-Bukhari'. This was a special group in the army. White European converts could join the Moroccan military. However, they were in their own separate units. These units were usually less important than other parts of Ismail's army.
Marriage and Family
Thomas Pellow didn't write much about his marriage in his book. Most of what we know comes from his description of a collective wedding. At this event, he received his wife as a reward from Moulay Ismail. He also mentioned his wife's family and his new brother-in-law. After that, he only talked about his wife and children a few more times.
Sultan Ismail might have married off his slaves to reward them. But he also benefited from any children born from these marriages. Thomas Pellow never said his wife was a slave. So, we don't know if his children were born into slavery. These marriages also made it harder for slaves to escape. They would have to leave their families behind or risk being caught with more people.
Thomas Pellow never had to decide if he would bring his wife and daughter when he escaped. They both died while he was away fighting as a slave-soldier. When he heard the news, he wrote that he felt they were "far better off" out of "this troublesome World." He said he was "very glad that they were delivered out of it."
Pellow as an Elite Slave
Thomas Pellow's book tells the story of a twelve-year-old Christian cabin boy. It shows how he became an important military slave. This happened during the rule of Moroccan Sultan Mulay Ismail. From age 12, Pellow was trained for a military role. He became a high-ranking captain in the Moroccan Army. Important slaves like Thomas Pellow were very useful in the army. They served as soldiers and officers. They also got important jobs in government and public life.
Thomas was one of many European men who became military slaves. He was part of a group of European slaves mixed with other races. This group formed a special army unit. As one of these elite members, Pellow fought bravely. His main role in battle was as an "infantryman," meaning he fought on foot. These slave soldiers were a key part of the army. However, they were still treated as servants. They were not allowed to carry a sword or an iron spear. These weapons were only for free men. But slaves did carry other types of weapons.
Soon after his capture and conversion to Islam, Pellow quickly moved up in the slave system. He learned to speak Arabic and understand Moroccan customs. From about age 12, Thomas Pellow was put in charge of 80 slave boys. He did very well in this job. Later, he was moved to the palace to work as a personal helper for Moulay Ismail's son, Mulai Zidan. Being so close to the royal family showed him the harsh ways the Mulai family sometimes acted. During his time there, he witnessed a sad event where Zidan's slave was punished for a small mistake. This role tested Pellow's ability to serve the monarch.
Seeing the Sultan's harshness helped Pellow prepare for other difficult events. In his book, Pellow talks about the daily worries he faced. He compared this to how laws were followed in England. Pellow was a valuable slave. He lived in constant fear for his life. This fear affected all his relationships with the Mulai family.
As Pellow grew older, Ismail gave him a high military position. Pellow became an officer in the Sultan's army. He took part in three military campaigns. He led other slave-soldiers into battle. He even went on a trip to sub-Saharan Africa to gather more slaves. Pellow finally escaped Morocco by getting on an Irish ship. He returned home in the summer of 1738.
The Slave Army
After serving the Sultan's son, Pellow joined the Sultan's army. This army was almost entirely made up of slave-soldiers. These soldiers had been captured as young children and trained for war. Pellow became an officer in this slave army. Unlike most military slaves, who trained their whole lives, Pellow joined the army later. He led other slave-soldiers into battle and went on a slave-gathering trip to sub-Saharan Africa.
There was a big difference between independent fighters and slave soldiers. Independent fighters kept their own loyalties. But slaves could be forced to change their loyalties. Before joining the army, they were prepared for service. The government made sure they were loyal and trained their fighting skills. Unlike free allies, a slave's life depended on their masters. They were forced to fight against their will. Making them obey their masters was a long and hard process. They were often beaten to make them fearful and loyal. These foreign soldiers were isolated. This isolation made them accept their new life as normal. They were taken from their homes to a strange country. They were cut off from the rest of society. They had no choice but to accept their new groups and become loyal to the Sultan. They formed close bonds with their fellow soldiers, who shared the same difficult situation.
The slave soldiers lived in poor conditions and were often beaten. The emperor would say he did these cruel acts to see if they were tough enough to fight in his army. He would say, "Sometimes you would see forty or fifty of them all sprawling in their blood." They were not allowed to get up until he left. If they seemed discouraged, he would say they were "of a bastard-breed" and should leave his service. Even after this treatment, the soldiers were completely loyal to their emperor. The emperor would give them money as a reward. This made them eager to go on expeditions. The Sultan could quickly gather large armies and force them to be loyal.
A paper by Allen R. Meyers describes how the 'Abid al Bukhari' slave army developed. This army helped Sultan Ismail ibn al-Sharif build a large and strong Moroccan state. Ismail created the slave army to "strengthen his power," "expand the kingdom," "stop internal disagreements," and "push back European and Ottoman threats." Meyers says that with the army's help, Ismail could collect taxes, stop rebellions, and keep public order. Ismail first created his army by taking three thousand male slaves from people in Marrakech. He later increased this to about fifty thousand slaves. Many of these were from a group called Haratins. Creating this army could also have problems, like uprisings. Some Islamic scholars also disagreed with him enslaving fellow Muslims, which was seen as a serious religious wrong.
When Pellow returned to Europe after his escape, he faced confusion. He was no longer the English man he remembered. People viewed him with suspicion even before he reached England. When his boat arrived, guards stopped him. They said they would not let any "Moor" land. Pellow replied, "Moor! said I, you are very much mistaken in that, for I am as good a Christian (though I am dressed in the Moorish Garb) as any of you all." Like other captives, Pellow found it hard to get used to life back home. His appearance was so different that even his parents did not recognize him at first. Some scholars think that enslaved people in Islamic lands had better chances to fit into society. But Pellow's story shows this was not always true. He was a Christian Englishman, but he had trouble proving his loyalty when he returned home.
Pellow's Return Home
After his years as a slave ended, Pellow faced the big challenge of finding his way home to Penryn, Britain. He managed to get a ride on a ship going to Gibraltar. But when the ship docked, Pellow was not allowed to go ashore. Pellow's clothes, tanned skin, and long beard (a sign of manhood in Islamic culture) made the guards think he was a Moor. They refused to let him off the ship until they had orders. Pellow called out to them, trying to convince them he was a Christian man like them. The guards didn't believe him until his identity was finally confirmed. Once the confusion was cleared, Pellow could leave the ship. While in Gibraltar, Pellow was worried about being taken back to Morocco. A man named Mr. Abramico threatened to take Pellow back to Barbary. Pellow became very upset and had a confrontation with Mr. Abramico, but his friends helped calm the situation. A few days later, he found a ship going to London and got a ride. After a short time in London, Pellow made several trips to finally get back to Penryn.
Pellow was troubled by his twenty years of fighting. When he returned, he found it very hard to fit back into English society. "Thomas Pellow had not just been captured by Barbary: he had in the process been changed." This change was permanent. He was never able to build a happy life for himself back in Britain. Pellow's difficulty fitting in was greatly affected by his life in Barbary. He was far from home, but he had learned the Arab way of life and accepted their religion. This permanent change made Pellow feel like an outsider. It made it impossible for him to find meaning in a place that was once his home. "Pellow's inability to settle back in and make good, may have been due to more, however, than his own alienation. In his absence, not only he but his country had been transformed." Pellow had only one set of skills, and he felt completely lost in a place that used to be his home. The world at home was not what he remembered. He felt distant from it and couldn't connect with the people there. Even when he saw his cousin during his escape, he chose to avoid him. He felt so distant after many years away from his family. He wrote, "I looked sharp out for a vessel, but could not find anyone to my Mind; not but here were two, and one belonging to Joshua Bawden,…my first Cousin, we being Sisters Children; however, tho' I met him twice, and my Blood boiled in my Veins at the Sight of him, yet we did not speak on either Side, which was no doubt a very great Misfortune to me; for had he known who I was, he would, I am well satisfied, have carry'd me with him."
Pellow's confusion and worry continued when he arrived in his hometown of Penryn. Even though he was happy to be back, Pellow admitted that everything felt strange to him. He didn't recognize anyone. Even his parents only recognized him because they had heard he was coming home. (Pellow originally had a sister, but his book doesn't mention her during his homecoming. People think she might have died years before. If Pellow had any other siblings born after his capture, his book doesn't say.) Pellow was treated like a returning hero and even had a celebration. But sadly, his home country had become strange to him, and the land where he was held captive felt more like home.
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