MAGHREB, OR BARBARA' 



829 



Morocco ; the Cabyles, a white people, in the mountains of Algiers and Tunis ; the Tibboos, 

 and the Tuaricks. 



The Berbers are probably the original inhabitants of a great part of Norihern Africa ; some 

 of them are quite black, but they have not the negro physiognomy. The Jews are also nu- 

 merous in the Barbary States, where they are treated with great harshness, and are a general 

 object of hatred and contempt. The Turks are the ruling race in Tunis and Tripoli, as they 

 were in Algiers, until its conquest by the French ; but they are not nunieious. Beside these 

 various races, are the negroes, who are imported from Nigritia, as slaves ; in Morocco, how- 

 ever, they form the standing army of the empire, and the garrisons of the fortresses. 



10. Commerce. With a fertile soil, and a little manufactuiing industry, the productions of 

 the earth must form the principal articles of export from this region. Barbary, in ancient and 

 even modern times, has been the granary of Europe ; but, as corn is not now allowed to be 

 exported, fruits, gums, hides, wax, and morocco, are the chief materials for the maritime 

 commerce. Haicks, a species of woolen cloth, always worn by the iMoors, when they go 

 abroad ; sashes and silk handkerchiefs, carpets, and tiie conical woolen caps, called skull-caps, 

 and worn all over Barbary and the Levant, are manufactured, and furnish articles of inland 

 traffic. The caravan trade with the interior of Africa, is chiefly carried on frotn Morocco 

 and Tripoli ; the caravans carry salt, tobacco, and European goods, and bring back slaves, 

 ivory, and gold-dust. 



11. Government. The government of Morocco is an absolute despotism ; but most of the 

 numerous tribes, which are found in all parts of Barbary, are governed by their own chiefs, 

 whose authority is limited, by the usages and free spirit of the respective people. The gov- 

 ernment of Tunis and Tripoli is also despotic ; the Bey of Tunis, and the Pacha of Tripoli, 

 are nominally dependent upon the Porte, but really independent sovereigns. The monarchs 

 of Morocco claim the crown in the capacity of sheriffs, or descendants of Mahomet ; and 

 they attempt to increase the lustre of die regal dignity and the authority of their office, by as- 

 suming the character of doctors, prophets, and saints ; which, however, they seem to regard 

 as not inconsistent with the most unboimded indulgence of cruelty and sensuality. The em- 

 peror, claiming the supremacy in religion, which, in Mahometan countries, includes law, there 

 is no body that has any check or control over him, but everything depends on his caprice. 

 The Bey of Tunis, in 1 816, not only emancipated himself from a dependence on the Porte, 

 but also got rid of the licentious and turbulent Turkish soldiery. The Pacha of Tripoli, in 

 the beginning of the present century, was merely a Turkish governor ; but, having seized all 

 the Turkish officers at a feast, he caused them to be strangled, and his adherents then massa- 

 cred most of the Turkish soldiers. The government, though a-bsolute, has been of a mild 

 character, and the country has assumed an orderly and civilized appearance. 



12. Dress. The complete dress of a Moor, includes a red, pointed cap, with a turban, or 

 cotton sash, wrapped round it ; a shirt, with wide sleeves ; short, white drawers, of great 

 width ; a woolen waistcoat, or a small, cloth jacket ; a silk or woolen sash, and yellow slip- 

 pers. The legs are always bare. The haick is a universal garment ; it is a piece of cloth, 5 

 ells long, and \h broad, thrown over the shoulder, and fastened around the waist. Many Moors 

 wear the caftan, a loose coat, reaching to the knee. The females dress loosely, and encumber 

 themselves with ear-rings, bracelets, and rings on the ankles. They dye the hair, feet, and 

 finger-nails, a deep saffron-color, with henna. The only paint they use for the face, is white. 



13. Language. The common languages are the Turkish, the Hebrew, and the Arabic ; 

 the latter predominates, though it is not spoken with purity. 



14. Manner of Building. Generally, the houses are rudely and unskilfully built. They 

 are square, with flat roofs, and an open area, or court, within, in which the cooking is perform- 

 ed, for there are no chimneys. There are few windows. In some cities, the houses are 

 mostly whitewashed. The pastoral tribes dwell in tents, shaped like an inverted boat. In the 

 mountains of Tripoli, there are subterranean villages, with wells and space for cattle. They 

 are so constructed, that they can stand a siege. 



15. Food and Drink. The chief articles of food are bread, mutton, poultry, fish, butter, 

 cheese, oil, olives, and fruits. Little beef is used. The common dish is the Kouskousou, a 

 kind of paste made of meal, formed into small rolls, and placed in a colander over the vapor 

 of a kettle, in which meat is boiling. The common people add to it milk or butter, the rich 

 a nouiisliing broth. Coffee used to be as general as in the East, but of late years it has been 

 suporsedod by the use of tea, which is now given to visiters at all hours. Wines and spirits, 



