MAGHREB, OR BARBARY. 



827 



Gadames, in the oasis of the same name, is also a place of much commercial activity. It 

 presents, like several other towns of Barbary, the singular spectacle of a small town, inhabited 

 by two separate conmiunities, who are frequently at war witli each other. A common wall 

 encloses the whole town, but the space within is divided by an interior wall into distinct sec- 

 tions, occupied by distinct tribes. The two sections communicate by a gate, v^hich is closed 

 in time of war. The commerce of the country consists in the exportation of dates, honey, 

 wax, madder, skins, oil, salt, safiron, gum, feathers, &c., some of which are brought by cara- 

 vans from the interior. Most of the commerce is transacted at Tripoli. The government is 

 absolute. 



5. Tunis. The smallest, but most populous and best cultivated of the Barbary States, 

 Tunis, is bounded north by the Mediterranean ; east by the same sea and Tripoli ; south by 

 the desert ; and west by Algiers. It contains an area of 54,000 square miles, with 1,800,000 

 inhabitants. A mountainous ridge traverses it from north to souih. In the south is a large 

 lake, known to the ancients as the Palus Tritonis. The climate is healthy and the soil of the 

 valleys and the lower part of the mountains is fertile. It is watered by the Mejerda or Ba- 

 gradas, a considerable river, and on the coasts are several good harbors. 



Tunis, the capital, is one of the best built towns of Africa, yet the streets are narrow and 

 dirty, and the houses low and mean. The palace of the bey is a large building in the Moor- 

 ish style ; there are several mosques, and a number of schools, and the town is supplied with 

 water by an aqueduct. Commerce and manufactures of velvet, silk, and linen, employ 

 many of the inhabitants. Population, 100,000. Six miles from the town is Goletta, the port 

 and citadel of Tunis, with an arsenal and ship-yards. In the neighborhood is the site of the 

 ancient city of Carthage, long the mistress of the Mediterranean and the rival of Rome. The 

 only remains of this celebrated place are detached fragments, or portions of walls, aqueducts, 

 &c. Cubes, on a gulf of the same name in a fertile district, has a good harbor, and 20,000 

 inhabitants engaged in commerce and manufactures. Cairwan, in the interior, is the centre 

 of an important inland traffic. Its population is about 50,000. 



6. Algiers. This rich and important territory, until 1830 the seat of a piratical state, is 

 now occupied by the French ; its fine climate, fertile soil, and central situation render it a 

 valuable acquisition. 



Algiers, formerly the capital of the state, and now of the French colony, is built upon the 

 declivity of a hill in the form of an amphitheatre ; the harbor is good, the streets narrow, and 

 the houses low, with flat roofs. The principal public buildings are the palace of the dey, 

 consisting of two large courts, surrounded by large buildings, and adorned with '•pacious mar- 

 ble colonnades ; the dshami or principal mosque ; the barracks, which are ih'^ handsomest 

 edifices in the town, and are decorated with marble and adorned with fountains ; the bagnios, 

 or prisons in which the slaves were shut up at night, and the bazars. The last dey resided in 

 the Cassaba or citadel, a strong fortress, in the vaults of which ihe French seized about ten 

 millions of dollars. The population of Algiers is now about 30,000. 



Oran, on the coast, with about 10,000 inhabitants, has a good harbor. Bona, to the east 

 of Algiers, with 10,000 inhabitants, is in the province of Constantina. Constantina is the 

 largest town of this part of Africa. It lies 20 days' march to the southeast of Algiers, and the 

 intervening tract is uninhabited. Population, 50,000. Biigeiah between Constantina and 

 Algiers, has a good harbor and rich iron mines. The Cabyles in this vicinity are remarkable 

 for their fierce disposition and warlike habits. Tremecen is the principal town in the prov- 

 ince of Oran ; it has about 20,000 inhabitants, who carry on some manufactures. Medea, in 

 the fertile province of Tittery, and Blida or Bclydah, delightfully situated in a productive 

 district, are important towns. 



Algiers formerly had a considerable trade in the exportation of corn, dates, si'ks, copper, 

 handkerchiefs, rugs, feathers, &c. The manufactures are carpets, silk, cotton, woolen, 

 leather, and coarse linen. The French had, previous to the revolution, formed establish- 

 ments upon several parts of the coast for commerce and the fishing of coral ; but these were 

 broken up by the late wars. Till this period most of the maritime trade was in the hands of 

 a French company at Marseilles. The population is 2,000,000. 



This petty state has long been infamous for its piracies. Until the present century all the 

 nations trading to the Mediterranean were subjected to an annual tribute in order to protect their 

 commerce from plunder and their citizens from slavery. A severe blow was struck at tiieir 

 naval power bv the American and English fleets, in 181 G. The French government in 1830, 



