Moroccan princesses 1Arrival of the Moroccan brig
Moroccan princesses
Original title: Princesas Marroquinas
Account of the unexpected arrival at Funchal in April 1793 of a Moroccan brig carrying the family and household of Prince Muley Abdessalam, fleeing civil war, and of their onward journey via São Miguel and Lisbon back to Morocco.
1Arrival of the Moroccan brig
On 19 April 1793 a Moroccan brig put in to the harbour of Funchal. On board were the wife, three daughters and two sons of Prince Muley Abdessalam, together with nine of his concubines and several other persons of high rank in Morocco, among them the widow of the former emperor Muley Ismael.
The retinue of the prince’s family consisted of two ladies’ maids, a eunuch, a skipper (arrais) in command, a secretary, a black doorkeeper who served in place of a eunuch, seventeen female musician servants, thirty male servants, seventeen wives of the servants, one hundred and nineteen slaves, male and female, with their children, eleven Moorish passengers, a Jew and a Jewess, the latter a friend of the skipper.
Counting the crew, there were more than two hundred people aboard the brig, all of them in great discomfort, owing both to the smallness of the vessel and to the shortage of water on board.
The brig was bound for Salé, where Muley Abessalam intended to place his family out of reach of the dangers of the civil war then ravaging the empire of Morocco. However, it met contrary winds that drove it away from its port of destination, and its commander was forced to bring it into the harbour of Funchal, where he knew he would find the means to continue the voyage in better conditions.
2Reception and onward voyage
The princesses were very well received in Funchal, both by the governor and captain-general Dom Diogo Forjaz Coutinho and by the Moroccan consul Diogo Teles. The governor had two Portuguese brigs made ready and divided the travellers between them; the consul also embarked on one of them, intending to accompany the princesses as far as Salé.
The voyage was not a happy one. After leaving the harbour of Funchal the ships were driven off their course, and the princesses had to land on the island of São Miguel. From there they went on to Lisbon, and finally returned to their own country on 8 August, aboard three vessels that the Portuguese government had placed at their disposal.
The consul Domingos Teles accompanied the princesses only as far as the island of São Miguel, abandoning them there without troubling to justify his conduct.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 01Place
Places mentioned · 05
Abroad
- Funchal
Port where the Moroccan brig put in, driven off course, in April 1793.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
- Lisbon
Portugal. City from which the princesses finally sailed home.
The Portuguese capital, seat of the Relação court and of the Misericórdia whose privileges and statutes were extended to Funchal. Henrique Franco de Sousa studied at its Royal Academy of Fine Arts, and Luiz José Baiardo moved there in 1821.
- Morocco
Country of origin of the princesses, then torn by civil war.
Morocco is recorded as the scene of the Portuguese strongholds where Madeirans, including Zarco, fought the Moors, and where Zarco won his knighthood. Moorish captives brought from its coast carried their tales to Madeira. It was also the country of origin of the Moroccan princesses.
- Salé
Morocco. Moroccan port that was the brig's intended destination.
Moroccan port that was the brig's intended destination.
- São Miguel
Portugal. Azorean island where the princesses had to land after being blown off course.
An Azorean island discovered by Gonçalo Velho Cabral. Its captaincy was bought and governed by Rui Gonçalves da Câmara, son of Zargo. It was the birthplace of Brito Rebelo, and Frutuoso wrote his work there in 1590; its oranges are said to surpass Madeira's.
People
People mentioned · 04-
Governor and captain-general of Madeira who welcomed the Moroccan princesses in 1793 and provided two Portuguese brigs for their voyage.
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Moroccan consul at Funchal (also called Domingos Teles in the text) who accompanied the princesses only as far as São Miguel and abandoned them there.
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Moroccan prince whose family and household arrived at Funchal in 1793 while he sought to shelter them at Salé from civil war.
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Former emperor of Morocco whose widow was among the passengers of the brig that reached Funchal in 1793.