INTRODUCTION 13 



Henry III. of England (A.D. 1235), at Worms, 'the Im- 

 perial Court was completely Oriental in character, and 

 the historians of the time speak with astonishment of 

 the camels which attended its movements.' 1 These 

 animals, it is evident, came from Sicily or Eome, and 

 not from Africa direct, as Frederick was also King of 

 Naples and Apulia, and it is very probable that they 

 had not up to then been allowed to die out since 

 their introduction by the Arabs. 



When the Turks under Mahomet II. conquered 

 Constantinople in 1453, they brought the camel from 

 Asia Minor, using him to carry their baggage and 

 families. He is still employed in European Turkey, 

 but not to any great extent. 



In 1650 Ferdinand de Medici II., Grand Duke of 

 Tuscany, imported some camels, presumably from 

 Northern Africa, and established a stud at San Eossora, 

 where there is a large sandy plain, employing them to 

 carry goods between it and Pisa and neighbourhood. 

 This stud, averaging about 180, was kept up until 1840, 

 and since then it has gradually but very slowly in- 

 creased to 200 in 1887, but has never grown numerous. 

 Camels of the Arabian species from the Moorish States 

 in Northern Africa have penetrated the Sahara to the 

 Niger and Senegal, and have been employed on some 

 parts of the West Coast, but not to any great extent. 

 It must have been from Morocco that they were im- 

 ported to the Canary Islands in the early part of this 

 century to Fuerteventura, which lies about fifty to sixty 

 miles from the mainland, and they are still bred there, 



1 See English translation of Wenzel's History of Germany, i. 

 530. 



