The last Punic war, Vol. 1 (of 2) : $b Tunis, past and present : with a narrative of the French conquest of the regency.Broadley, Alexander Meyrick
History
The last Punic war, Vol. 1 (of 2) : $b Tunis, past and present : with a narrative of the French conquest of the regency.
Broadley, Alexander Meyrick
Tunisia -- History; Tunisia -- History -- French occupation, 1881-1956
The term Moors demands some explanation. It formerly served to denote
generally an inhabitant of Mauritania. This use of the word has now
entirely passed away. It then served to describe the Saracens, who left
Africa to conquer Spain and parts of France and Italy, and who at last
returned to the countries from which they came. The Spanish Moors form
in Tunis an exclusive and aristocratic clan. The word Moor is also
applied to the townspeople of the cities of North Africa, who are
essentially members of a more or less mixed race.
The picture of the Tunisian Moors has been drawn over and over again.
They constitute the most admirable type of the Moslem population. They
are generally well made, of almost fair complexion, and possess regular
and often noble features. Although they are no longer warlike
themselves, they are deeply attached to the religious and political
teachings of their creed, and have a considerable influence over their
uneducated although more hardy compatriots of the interior. Nearly all
the Spanish Moors in Tunis have adopted some kind of trade, and they
invariably show a marked preference for those callings which allow a
minimum of exertion and a maximum of indolence. They retail silks,
perfumes, incense, jewellery, drugs, and bric-à-brac, and it is
difficult to say whether foreigners are more impressed by their
dignified languor or their suave politeness. A scent-seller in Souk-el-
Attarín (Bazaar of Essences) at Tunis is a lineal descendant of the
Abencerrages, while his next-door neighbour (a living portrait of our
own Henry VIII. in his prime) represents the lordly race of the
Almoravides. They possess pedigrees of wonderful length and correctness,
and retain as heirlooms the rust-eaten keys of their long lost
Andalusian homes. They look on trade as no disgrace, and spend their
time in filling and sealing hermetically small phials of the otto of
roses and jessamine, in gossiping with their neighbours, and in reading
and discussing the orthodox _Jowaib_, the official organ of the
Panislamite enthusiasts at Stamboul. They look on the Bey of Tunis
rightly or wrongly as a traitor to the Sultan, anathematise the French
invaders under their breath, and await with patience the time when a
European complication will allow Abdul Hamíd to have his own again in
the Tunisian Pachalik. The Moors have a quick sense of humour, and are
able at an emergency to indulge in a keenly pointed repartee. The report
of the _procès_ Roustan-Rochefort translated into classical Arabic has
afforded them unceasing amusement since the beginning of the year, but
their excessive mirth over the adventures of the French Minister and his
friends the Musallis led them into indiscretion. Their proceedings
reached the ears of General Japy, who summoned one of the most venerable
members of the ancient confraternity of Moorish scent-sellers to appear
before him. “You are always talking against the French,” said the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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