Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes

210 Pages·2003·4.49 MB·English

by  Peter Lamborn Wilson

PII\A TE UTOPIAS
MOOI\.ISH COI\.SAII\.S &
EUI\.OPEAN I\ENEGADOES

Pil\AT E UTOPIAS
MOOl\ISH COl\SAll\S &
EUl\OPEAN R.ENEGADOES
PETEI\ LAM.BOl\N WILSON
AUTONOMEDIA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank the New York Public Library,
which at some time somehow acquired a huge pirate-lit col­
lection; the Libertarian Book Club's Anarchist Forums, and
the New York Open Center, where early versions were audi­
ence-tested; the late Larry Law, for his little pamphlet on
Captain Mission; Miss Twomey of the Cork Historical
Society Library, for Irish material; Jim Koehnline for art, as
always; Jim Fleming, ditto; Megan Raddant and Ben
Meyers, for their limitless capacity for toil; and the Wilson
Family Trust, thanks to which I am "independently poor" and
free to pursue such fancies.
DEDICATION:
For Bob Quinn & Gordon Campbell, Irish Atlanteans
¢
Anti-copyright 1995. The text may be freely pirated, pro­
viding the author is credited, and informed at the address
below. The author reserves rights solely to lucrative
Hollywood movie adaptations or other actual booty.
Autonomedia
PO Box 568
Williamsburgh Station
Brooklyn, NY 11211-0568
Phone & Fax [phone]
Printed in the United States of America
4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I Pil\ATE AND MEl\MAID
7
II A CHl\ISTIAN TUl\N'D TUl\K
11
III DEMOCl\ACY BY ASSASSINATION
27
IV A COMP ANY OF l\.OGUES
39
v AN ALABASTEI\ PALACE
IN TUNISIA
51
VI THE MOOl\ISH l\.EPUBLIC OF SALE
71
VII MUl\AD l\.EIS AND
THE SACK OF BAL TIMOl\E
93
VIII THE COl\SAil\'S CALENDAI\
143
IX Pil\A TE UTOPIAS
187
BIBLIOGl\APHY
205
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I
PII\AT E. AND M E.l\MAID
1
Some yearJ ago a tall tower Jtood at the extreme
end of Cape Marabata; the Chri.Jtiall.f called it Torre
Blanquilla (White Tower) and it wa.J known to the
Moha.mdme all.f a.J El-Minar. All day long the tower
looked out on the Jea; at night it wa.J lulled to J/epe by
the murmur of the wind on the water. It wa.J an
ancient tower whOJe walU were covered with gnarled
vine<J; Jcorpioll.f hUJ between her Jtone<J, and evil jinn
gathered nearby at nightfall The .l/Ypt!W, who knew
about all thingJ, Jaw the tower wa.J built by the
PortugUNe who came here to fight againt!t the
Mohammedall.f. The nwuntaineerJ of And;'era are
better informed; they Jay the tower Wa.J built by La.it!
el-Behar the pirate in order to hwe hi.J trea.Jure<J with­
in itJ walU.
La& el-Behar came from Rabat. He wa.J a Jkil­l
ful navigator, and Jkille'J at an even nwre 'difficult
art-that of comman'din.l/ men. The Spania,rJ" and
ltaliall.f knew hiJ name only too well El-Behar'.!
frigate waJ Jlender and light aJ a JwaUow; the oarJ of
1. "The Legend of El-Minar." Chimenti (1965)
7
a hun'Jre'J ChriJtian galley Jlave.t made it Jkim Jwi/t­
ly over the wave.t. The Jhip WaJ greatly feared becaUJe
of the bo/Jne.tJ of her JailorJ and her many cannon.J,
each 'differentf rom the other, which the pirate had cap­
tured from ChriJtian ve.tJe/J of variou.1 nationalitie.J.
La.JJ el-Behar WaJ young, hand.Jome,. and brave.
Many a captive ChriJtian woman fell 'deeply in love
with him, aJ 'did the dau.qhterJ of rich and poweiful
MohammedanJ. But he re/ecte'J the love of ChriJtianJ
and Mohammeda11.1 alike, for hiJ Jhip meant far
nwre to him than the beauty of women. He loved hiJ
Jhip, the companion.Jhip of hiJ valiant warriorJ, and
the glorioUJ battle.1 which were later to be celebrated in
Jong an'J poetry. Above all it WaJ the Jea he loved; he
loved her with JO deep a paJJion that he cou/J not live
away from he1; and he Jpoke to her aJ men Jpealc to
their JweetheartJ. HiJ warriorJ would Jay that at the
hour of prayer he wou/J turn hiJ eye.t away from the
'direction of Mecca in order to .t/= at the Jea.
On the 'Jay of Aid el-K6ir (Jheep Jacrifo:e), La.JJ
el-Beha1; who waJ in the village of El-Minar with hiJ
companionJ-in-arnl.1, 'declined to .<Jo to Tangier to
hear the Jermon of the ca'Ji and to pray in the compa­
ny of the devout.
"Go if you muJt, "he Jaid to hiJ men. ''.A.1..for me
I Jhall re.tt here. "
He Jhut hti1l.1el/ up in hiJ tower; from there he
cou/J contemplate the Jea and the Jhip.1 aJ they moved
Jlowly on the horizon. The charqm: more breeze than
win'J, made the water dance under the warm Jummer
light.
"The be.it Jermon of the cadi, "thought el-Behar,
"cou/J never equal the beauty of thi.J Jcene. What
8
prayer, he it ever Jo pe1fect, cou/J equal the Jweet mur­
mur of rippling waterJ? What on earth id aJ powe1fu l
aJ the Jea which JtretcheJ from one Jhore of the wor/J
to the other? Oh, wou/J that the waveJ were a woman
Jo that I might marry her and the ocean a nUJJque in
which I might pray. "
AJ theJe thou,qhtJ were running through hid
mind a Jtorm gathered in the weJt; it Jwept over the
plainJ and the mountainJ and roared ahout the tower.
The Jea gulu cried out uz fright and flew away; flockJ
of Jheep ran frantically to theu· encl0.1ureJ. The tem­
peJt ladted a day and a night.
When the wind quieted down and the Jea ceaJed
to bellow like a thoUJand oxen, LaJJ el-Behar
deJcended from hid tower. On the narrow hand of Jand
which lay between the rockJ and the water he Jaw a
woman lyin,q Jtretched out, white and cold. He
approached clo.1e1:
"She nu1.1t he a Chridtian," he Jaw to him..Je/f,
'Jor her hau· id the color of new ,qo/(). "
He lifted her up and took her in hid arnw.
"PerhapJ Jhe id .itill alive."
The woman opened her eyeJ; they were ,qreen
eyeJ, green aJ the a(qae which grow.I in the crackJ of
rock.1. She wa.1 a hahria, a ;i'nniyeh (female genie) of
the Jea. Her beauty wa.1. ma,qic and el-Behar fell
madly in love with he1: He ne,qlected hi.J warriorJ for
her Jake; he forgot hid Jw�ft ,qaL!ey, hid glory, and even
hid prayerJ to Allah.
'1 love you more than anythin,q on earth, "he once
JaW to her, "more than my life and my aalvation. "
Durin,q the equuw.-i.:, thefariou.. 1 aea aq, ain ham­
mered at the tower and threatened the Pi!fa,qe nearby.
9