1st Edition

English Colonial Texts on Tangier, 1661-1684 Imperialism and the Politics of Resistance

By Karim Bejjit Copyright 2015
    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    Recent years have seen growing academic interest in England’s colonial venture in Tangier in the late seventeenth century, and the crucial role it played not only in influencing contemporary domestic politics in England, but also in shaping new imperial policies in the Mediterranean. This critical edition presents a remarkable collection of 18 Restoration pamphlets dealing with the English occupation of Tangier. In an extensive original introduction, Karim Bejjit narrates the various stages of the colonial venture in Tangier, and critically analyses both the British historiography and current scholarship on the subject. He provides an alternative reading of the Tangier episode, emphasising the Moroccan point of view and the significance of the local political agency. At the same time, as the author argues in the introduction, so intertwined were the affairs of the colony and the home country in 1680 that the political crisis which was then unfolding in England cannot be fully explained without acknowledging the impact of dramatic developments in Tangier. Despite their generic diversity, as Bejjit shows, the pamphlets in this collection share a common interest in the affairs of Tangier, and reflect the changing circumstances and shifting politics at home and in the colony. In bringing together these long forgotten narratives, this edition revives critical interest in the colonial adventure in Tangier which had considerable influence on the political scene in England. Read collectively, the texts offer a genuine glimpse into the colonial scene and the interplay of forces which governed English presence in Tangier.

    Part 1 Beginnings (1661-1666): A proclamation declaring His Majesties pleasure to settle and establish a free port at his city of Tangier in Africa.  A description of Tangier, the country and people adjoyning.  A brief relation of the present state of Tangier.  The Moors baffled. Articles of peace.  Part 2 Apologias (1676-1679): The present state of Tangier. A discourse touching Tangier.  The present interest of Tangier.  A short account of the progress of the mole at Tangier.  The present danger of Tangier.  Part 3 Crisis (1680): An exact journal of the Siege of Tangier.  A particular relation of the late success of His Majesties forces at Tangier against the Moors.  A particular narrative of a great engagement.  Great and bloody news from Tangier.  Part 4 Departure (1681-1684): The last account from Fez.  A letter from Tangier concerning the death of Jonas Rowland the Renegade.  A letter from Tangier to a friend in London.  Tangier's lamentation.

    Biography

    Karim Bejjit is Associate Professor of English at the University Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco.

    "The volume is well structured and written, and makes enjoyable reading. As Bejitt himself asserts in his Preface: ‘Read collectively, these texts offer a genuine glimpse into the colonial scene and the interplay of forces which governed the English presence in Tangier.’" – Rickie Lette, The University of Tasmania