Republic of Salé

Not to be confused with Italian Social Republic.
Republic of Salé
Republic of Bouregreg
República de Salé
República de las Dos Orillas
1627–1668


Flag

Rabat-Salé, where the republic was located
Capital Kasbah
Languages Spanish, Arabic, Spanish based lingua franca[1][2]
Government Corsair Republic
History
 •  Established 1627
 •  Disestablished 1668
Population
 •  est. 20,000[3][4] 

The Republic of Salé was a short-lived city state at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river, founded by Moriscos from the town of Hornachos, in Western Spain. Moriscos were the descendants of Muslims who were nominally converted to Christianity, and were subject to mass deportation during the Spanish Inquisition. The Republic's main commercial activities were the Barbary slave trade and piracy[3] during its brief existence in the 17th century.[5] The city is now part of the Kingdom of Morocco.

History

The ancient harbor at the Bou Regreg, taken from Salé facing Rabat

Arrival of the Moriscos

The republic traces its origins back to the beginning of the 17th century, with the arrival of approximately 3,000 wealthy Moriscos from Hornachos in western Spain, who anticipated the 1609 expulsion edicts ordered by Philip III of Spain.[6] After 1609, approximately 10,000 down-and-out expelled Moriscos arrived from Spain.[7] Cultural and language differences between the native Saletin people and the Morisco refugees led the newcomers to settle in the old Medina of Rabat, on the opposite bank of the Bou Regreg.[8][3]

Pirates based on the western bank thrived and expanded their operations throughout the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean.[9] In 1624, the Dutchman Jan Janszoon (also known as Murad Reis) became the "Grand Admiral" and President of the Corsair Republic of Salé.[10]

Independence

After Janszoon left Salé n 1627, the Moriscos ceased to recognize the authority of the Sultan Zidan al-Nasir, and refused to pay his tithe on their incomes.[11] They proclaimed a Republic, ruled by a council or Diwan, a sort of government cabinet formed by 12 to 14 notable people whose members annually elected a Governor and a Captain General of the Fortalesa during the month of May. In the early years of the republic (between 1627 and 1630), the Diwan was controlled only by Hornacheros, whose grip on power was resented by the growing population of non-Hornachero Moriscos, called Andalusians.[12] After bloody clashes in 1630, an agreement was reached: the election of a Qaid by Andalusians and a new Diwan of 16 members of whom 8 Andalusians and 8 Hornacheros.[13]

In 1641, the zaouia of Dila, which controlled much of Morocco, imposed a religious hegemony over Salé and its parent republic.[14] By the early 1660s, the republic was embroiled in civil war with the zawiya, and eventually Sultan Al-Rashid of Morocco of the Alaouite dynasty, who still ruled Morocco into the 21st century, would seize Rabat and Salé, ending its independence. It ended up being controlled by the Sultan of Morocco after 1668, when Moulay al Rashid finally vanquished the Dilaites.[15]

In popular culture

The character Robinson Crusoe, in Daniel Defoe's novel by the same name, spends time in captivity of the local pirates and at last sails off to liberty from the mouth of the Salé river.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Coindreau 2006, p.43-44
  2. ↑ Barnaby Rogerson, « The Sallee Rovers », in travelintelligence.com
  3. 1 2 3 (French) Leïla Maziane, « Salé au XVIIe siècle, terre d’asile morisque sur le littoral Atlantique marocain », in Cahiers de la Méditerranée, no 79, 2009
  4. ↑ Maziane 2007, p.116
  5. ↑ Saïd Mouline (August 2008). "Rabat, Salé – Holy Cities of the Two Banks". In Salma K. Jayyusi. The City in the Islamic World, Volume 94/1 & 94/2 1. Renata Holod, Attilio Petruccioli, Andre Raymond. BRILL. pp. 652–653. ISBN 90-04-16240-2.
  6. ↑ Coindreau 2006, p.42
  7. ↑ Coindreau 2006, p.43
  8. ↑ Leïla Maziane (2008). Salé et ses corsaires, 1666-1727 (in French). Publication Univ Rouen Havre. pp. 69–70. ISBN 978-2-87775-832-1.
  9. ↑ (French) « Rabat/Salé, la conquête pirate », in Le Monde, September 1st, 2009
  10. ↑ "Murad Reis", Pirate Utopias, p. 97, Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  11. ↑ Maziane 2007, p.59
  12. ↑ Coindreau 2006, p.48
  13. ↑ Coindreau 2006, p.44-45 & 49-50
  14. ↑ "Class/social stratification in Islam", History and underdevelopment in Morocco, p. 43, Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  15. ↑ Roger Coindreau, 2006, p. 53
  16. ↑ "Robinson's Captivity at Sallee", The life and surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe, p. 14, Retrieved 30 September 2009.

Bibliography

Coordinates: 34°2′N 6°50′W / 34.033°N 6.833°W / 34.033; -6.833

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