MOROCCO. 



725 



*rco and the rest are quartered in the different towns of the 

 under tie Bashaws of the provinces. The 

 soldiery are clothed by the Emperor, and receive a lit- 

 tle pay, bot depend chiefly upon plunder. They are 

 distinguished from the other Moors only by their ac- 

 coutrements, which consist of a long musket, a sabre, 

 a small red leather box to hold their balls, and a pow- 

 der horn slung over their shoulders. The army is un- 

 der the direction of a Commander-in- Chief, some 

 principal Bashaws, and officers of divisions called Al- 

 asJde*. They bare little order and regularity in their 

 manoeuvres, and are more like a rabble than an army. 

 */ The Navy consists of about 20 small frigates, a few 



xebecks, and 30 row galleys. The number of seamen 

 in the service is computed at 6,000 ; the whole com- 

 manded by one admiral ; but, being chiefly used in 

 piracy, they are seldom united as a fleet. The naval 

 power of the empire is altogether contemptible ; and 

 the whole maritime department becoming every year 

 UM effective, from the filling up of the harbours by 

 and, and other causes of their demolition. 



Cieree. The tea-port towns of| Morocco carry on a very 

 limited commerce with foreign nations. European fac- 

 torie* have been established in some of them at differ- 

 ent time* ; bat have been often abandoned altogether, 

 .m account of the continually varying orders of the 

 Emperors, relating to trade and other matters ; and 

 partly on account of the unwillingness of Europeans 

 to transmit merchandise to a country where there is so 

 little security for property. The European merchant 

 ha* so many difficulties in recovering debts, due to him 

 by the natives, that credit is in a great measure anni- 

 hilated, and the trad* of Morocco is in a manner trans- 

 formed into barter. The principal commercial place in 

 the Empire, is the port of Mogadore ; into which are 

 cloths, linen*, muslins, damask, raw silk, 

 i, sugar, iron, and iron nails, hardware, 

 pawtai, ipicei, copper, thread, mirrors, earthen-ware, 

 knives, brm** pan*, glass, Mexico dollars ; and from 

 which an exported almond*, gam*, bees- wax, oil of 

 olive*, gat-skins, hide*, woof, feathers, elephant's- 

 teeth, drugs, tallow, leather, raisin*. At this place 

 The annual value of imports has been .151,450 

 The annual value of export* 



Thi* trad* is obviously of a valuable description to Eu- 

 rope, as it carries off manufactured goods of all kinds 

 and funiinhes useful raw materials in return ; and 

 might he ooMiderably augmented for the interest of 

 Great Britain, by the establishment of well qualified 

 parsons a* Consuls, to establish friendly treaties, and 

 to atnre as the authorised channel* of communication 

 with the Moorish government. 



There are large weekly markets held in the metropo- 

 lis, where all articles of foreign and home manufac- 

 ture are bought and sold. At these times, samples of 

 the different kinds of merchandize are carried up and 

 dwn the streets by itinerant auctioneers, who proclaim 

 tb price offered, and who apprize the highest bidder 

 of hi* parrhasi ; to whom the article is delivered upon 

 bis paying the money, and the transaction terminates. 

 A considerable trade i* carried on between the princi- 

 fipal cities of Morocco and Timbuctoo, by means of 

 large caravans, which cross the great desert ; and which 

 usually complete their jmimey from Fez to Timbuctoo 

 in the (pace of I2 days. The principal articles which 

 they carry out, are German and Irish linens, muslins, 

 casibocs. fine doth*, raw.silk*, beads, brass nails, tea, 

 tugar, ipires, tohaeco, salt, retl woollen caps, sashes, 

 hawk, and haiks of silk and gold, manufactured in 



Fez and Tafilelt. They bring back gold in dtist, rings 

 and bars, Elephant's teeth, gums of various kinds, and 

 slaves ; besides ostrich feathers, and ambergris collect- 

 ed on the confines of the desert. 



The religion of the empire of Morocco is Mahom- Religion. 

 medism ; but toleration is granted in some measure to 

 any sect which does not admit a plurality of gods ; 

 and, on proper application, they are permitted to ap- 

 propriate a place ibr public worship. There are Catho- 

 lic establishments in Morocco, Mequinez, Mogadore, 

 and Tangier. Through all the country, there are 

 buildings of an octagonal form, called Zawiat, or 

 Sanctuaries, with an uninclosed piece of ground attach- 

 ed to each, for the interment of the dead. In these 

 places is a priest or saint, who superintends divine 

 service, nnd the burial of the dead, and who is often 

 applied to as arbiter in disputes. In these consecrated 

 places, the wealthy inhabitants often deposit their 

 treasures for security ; and criminals find protection 

 against the hand of justice. The other religious in- 

 stitutions of the empire, are so similar to those of 

 other Mahommedan countries, as to render a separate 

 account of them altogether superfluous. 



The estimates given by different travellers of the po- 

 pulation of the empire, are so irreconcileable with one 

 another, that it is impossible to speak on the subject 

 with any degree of certainty. The whole inhabitants 

 of Morocco have been calculated at two, at six, and at 

 fifteen millions. The last is the statement of Mr. Jack- 

 son, who made his extracts from the Imperial Register. 

 The city of Morocco contains, or did recently contain, 



Topula- 

 tiow- 



According to Jardine, 

 Jacluon, 

 Doctor Buffit, 

 And Fez contains, 



According to Jardine, 

 Ali Hey. 

 Jacksou, . 



80,000 

 270,000 

 6JO.OOO 



30,000 

 100,001) 

 380,000 



The population of the empire of Morocco, is princi- inhabi 

 pally composed of two great original classes, the Bereb- tanti. 

 bers, nnd the Arabs. 



The Berebbers are the descendants of the original in- 

 habitants of the country before the Arabian conquest ; 

 and occupy all the mountainous districts. Though 

 they have acknowledged the authority of the Koran, 

 they have tenaciously maintained their independence, 

 ami curry on a desultory warfare against their Mahom- 

 medan invaders. They are an athletic, hardy, anil c-.i. 

 terprising race, with regular, and sometimes handsome 

 feature*, but remarkable for the ferocious expression of 

 their eye. They are characterised by a peculiar scan- 

 tiness of beard ; and, in the southern districts, many of 

 them have only a few straggling hairs on the upper lip, 

 with a small tuft on the chin. Their whole dress con- 

 sists of a woollen jacket without sleeves, and a pair of 

 trowsers. They dwell in caves, mud- huts, ot hovels of 

 stone and timber, which are generally situated on some 

 commanding eminence, and frequently surrounded with 

 walls furnished with loop-holes for musquetry. They 

 cultivate the ground, and feed cattle ; but are almost 

 universally robbers ; and fall without mercy upon all 

 travellers, who have not purchased a protection from 

 some of their chiefs. They are divided into a number 

 of petty tribes, distinguished by the names of their re- 

 spective patriarchs and founders, and speak a variety of 

 dialects, quite distinct from the Roman and Arabic 

 languages. The gre.it subdivisions of this class of na- 

 tives are the Errifi, who inhabit the extensive moun- 

 tainous province of that name, on the shores of the 



