The Algerian Slave Market

Note: This is another short story I found among my files. I recall writing it however, I can't remember if I ever posted it 

The Algerian Slave-market:

To the young seaman, Tobias, the market in Algiers is a colourful, feverish place of frenetic activity. It is mid-morning and people jam the narrow alleyways between the merchants’ stalls. The crowd gives evidence of the racial diversity of the Ottoman Empire; their skin colour and facial expressions speak of the Sultan’s sway over vast areas and many peoples. There are swarthy skinned Arabs and Jews, lighter skinned Turks and Europeans and black skinned Africans. And everywhere, there are the rich and the poor, the wealthy and the beggars and freemen and slaves.

To Tobias’s uncomplicated mind all this is bewildering. This city truly is a melting-pot for a polyglot humanity who are so different to the simple, rural folk of his happy childhood in faraway England.

An impatient overseer moves ahead the coffle of naked prisoners trying to clear the way through the angry crowd. Other whip-masters scourge the shoulders and backs of the captives to keep them moving forward to the slave-market. Reluctantly, the crowd part to allow the captives through but they don’t miss the opportunity to hurl abuse or to spit upon their hated Christian foes. Some, more daring than others, strike out at the recently captured slaves with their sticks adding their blows to the whips of the overseers.

Several times, a prisoner stumbles under the press of humanity and drags his fellows down into a struggling, seething mass of bodies. No time is wasted and no mercy shown in getting them back onto their feet. As the wretched men scramble to their feet, their naked bodies are viciously scourged by the impatient slave-drivers. And the captives’ distress amuses the onlookers who laugh and jeer at their suffering.

Slowly, the coffle weaves its way through the milling crowd of wildly gesticulating men and ululating women until it reaches a cleared, less crowded area on the far fringe of the market square. This is the area reserved for the sale of livestock and slaves. Viewed as livestock by their captors, the unfortunate wretches have reached their destination; this is the place where they are to be sold. Apprehensively, Tobias look about for the auction block. But where is it? Nothing remotely resembling a selling podium is in sight. How then are they to be sold?

Here the crowds are less pressing than back in the alleyways and they are engrossed in the sober business of buying and selling domesticated animals. And the air is malodorous and the atmosphere somehow ominous. The pungent odour of animal dung and urine permeates the area and the air is full of the bleating, neighing, snorting, cackling and quacking of the many varieties of farm animals and fowl being offered for sale.

There appears to be some order in the chaos; each variety of animal has its own reserved area where there they are displayed, inspected and haggled over. Tobias grew up on a farm and of course most of these are known to him. There is no mystery with the sheep, the goats, the cattle, the horses, mules, donkeys and the poultry. True there is strangeness about them with which he is unfamiliar but this has more to do with the difference in breeds rather than the species. However, there are some creatures which do astound Tobias and fill him with wonder. These are the camels.

These strange creatures defy logic. Never in his wildest imagination could Tobias have conjured up images of such a strange looking beast. Their humped backs and ungainly appearances make them seem ludicrous in the extreme. And their long necks, gangly legs and padded feet add to their ridiculous appearances. What whimsical mind designed such a weird creature and for what purpose were they placed upon the earth?

Eventually, Tobias will become more familiar with the camel and he’ll learn of its great capacity to carry heavy loads over long distances in the most arid environments with a minimum of water. He will learn too that they are highly regarded by his captors and their worth is considerably more than that of a mere slave. This morning, as he gazes in wonder at the camels, Tobias is unaware that each of them is worth considerably more than him or his fellow slaves.

The sounds of the Christians’ arrival arouse the buyers’ interest. The clanking of their shackles and the sharp crack of the whips cause them to look away from the animals and watch as the Nasrani prisoners are driven into the enclosure which will serve as a holding pen until they are taken out and offered for sale. They are the last of the livestock to arrive.

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Despite his overwhelming fear, Tobias’s curiosity gets the better of him. Like a moth drawn to the candle flame, he moves to the front of the pen where we can peer out into the market. He watches as the animals are inspected; usually these inspections are followed by animated discussions which often degenerate into unseemly arguments between buyer and seller. Then just as quickly, these arguments are settled amicably with smiles, laughter and handshakes as money is exchanged and the newly purchased animal is lead away by its new owner.

It would seem this is the way that business is conducted and Tobias wonders if he is to be sold in a similar manner. Will he be similarly inspected, haggled over and sold with a friendly handshake?

Gradually, those not buying the livestock gather in clusters in front of slaves’ pen and begin to discuss its unhappy inmates in their strange, incomprehensible language. They shout and gesticulate angrily at the terrified Christians who are strangers to their strange tongue and, uncomprehending, they cower fearfully at the back of the pen.

By their hand gestures, it is obvious these men want the slaves to move around the pen where they can see them as individuals rather than a tight scrum of forty-two, indistinguishable bodies. But, like frightened animals awaiting the butcher’s knife, the prisoners seek safety and security in a corner of the pen where pressed up against one another, none of them will break ranks to oblige the prospective buyers.

The buyers’ protests grow louder at the slaves’ unwillingness to co-operate and, finally, with their patience at an end, the gates to the pen are thrown open and three African overseers enter. Angrily, they lay about with their long, single strand whips. As the whips fall upon them, the hapless captives push and shove together in a futile struggle to escape their fiery bite. Those slaves closest into the corner fall to the ground and are in danger of being trampled underfoot by the rest of their terrified fellow prisoners. Panic stricken and desperate to escape the lash, each thinks only of himself.

Tobias is on the outer fringe of the crush and he bears the brunt of the overseers’ fury. Repeatedly the whips cut into his unprotected back and finally through the red haze of his pain, he breaks free and runs to the front of the pen to escape. He’s not the only one to do so; other slaves are of a similar mind and soon they are walking around the pen and giving the buyers a better view of their naked bodies.

The three African overseers remain within the enclosure and their shouted instructions and whips ensure the slaves move slowly around the pen in a clockwise procession. As they do so, they are closely scrutinized and discussed much as Tobias remembers the farmers of his boyhood did when they stood before a pen of captive pigs, calves or sheep on market day.  As Tobias’s thoughts return to those happier times on his father’s farm, his eyes brim with tears and he is overwhelmed with a great sense of loss. Tobias knows he is lost forever to his beloved parents and the realization that he will never see them again breaks his heart. But the sharp cut of the whip stirs him out of his self-pity and forces him move on.

And as he does so, Tobias thinks of freedom!

Even now, he still hopes to regain his freedom. Tobias supposes “hope springs eternal” in the young and despite his sufferings; he retains a small measure of optimism. Tobias knows some slaves are “redeemed” by Christian missionaries who work tirelessly to buy the freedom of Europe’s forgotten, white slaves.  But Christianity is fragmented and consumed by sectarian hatred and it is this hate that differentiates between the slaves purely on the basis of their belief.

Tobias is to learn that it is far better for a slave to be an Italian or a Spaniard rather than an English Protestant. He’s unaware that here in Tripoli there are representatives of those two Catholic countries – the Trinitarians and the Mercedarians - two religious orders founded during the time of the Crusades to redeem captured Christians out of Saracen slavery.

They still operate and throughout Catholic countries they have collection boxes inside the entrances to their churches marked with the words “For the Recovery of the Poor Slaves” and they urge the faithful to be generous in their donations to relieve the suffering of their Catholic brethren in Arab and Turkish bondage.

Yet even these charitable orders are inadequate to the task; at most they redeem just three or four out of every hundred unfortunate Christians taken as slaves each year.

For the remainder there is no hope. They are condemned to the living hell of the stone quarries or the galleys. A few will be slightly more fortunate and spend their days working on the large farms in the city’s hinterland. But the unending physical toil, the poor diet and the brutality of their lives will see them die within a few short years. The yearly deathrate among Nasrani slaves is one in five and the galleys must ply their oars harder and roam further afield in their quests to replace the numbers who die each year from starvation and exhaustion.

But today, as Tobias waits to be sold, he is blissfully ignorant of these things and he can still hope.

Suddenly, the loud clashing of a cymbal, announces to the buyers and spectators that the auction of today’s offering of slaves is about to commence. The crowd falls silent and turn their backs to the captives to listen as the dilaleen recites the rules governing the inspection and bidding for the slaves. Somewhere in the midst of the crowd, Tobias hears the auctioneer’s litany of rules but he doesn’t understand what he is saying. Yet, some deep instinct tells Tobias that he is spelling out the terms and conditions for the sale. The realization that they are about to be sold chills Tobias to the marrow and he begins to tremble.

The auctioneer finishes his spiel and an excited murmur ripples through the crowd as an auctioneer’s assistant enters the pen. None of the prisoners wants to be the first to be led out and once more they jostle each other out of the way as they seek security at the far end of their prison. This time the African overseers don’t waste time; they roughly seize a captive and forces him to his knees as the assistant fastens a rope halter around the wretch’s neck. The slave is dragged to his feet and, obviously resigned to his fate, he submits meekly as he is led from the pen and disappears into the crowd of eager buyers waiting to inspect him.

He sets the example the rest are doomed to follow. The captives know from past experience that resistance is futile and that it will be rewarded with the lash. This first slave is showing them the way and all are to follow in his footsteps.

Tobias is of two minds. One part of him is repulsed by what is to happening to the hapless slave and yet another part needs to watch as he is sold. His curiosity gets the better of him and he moves to the front of the pen from where he peers out through the wooden slats into the crowd. If he’d hoped to see what is happening to his fellow slave then Tobias is doomed to disappointment. The press of eager bodies around the slave is too great and he is obscured from Tobias’s view. But he hears the auctioneer’s bantering sale’s pitch as he engages with the buyers.

From his vantage point it seems that the auctioneer is leading the slave in a circuitous route through the crowd. His voice ebbs and flows and at times it is drowned out by loud laughter and jeering. It seems the crowd is a jovial one and is enjoying the spectacle of a despised Nasrani - the hated spawn of Shaitan - being publicly paraded naked and bewildered through their midst.

From time to time, the crowd falls silent and the only voices to be heard are those of the auctioneer and one other. Tobias supposes these are the intervals when the slave’s physical attributes are explored, discussed and argued over.

How long does all this take? Tobias has no idea! But time seems to drag and no doubt this is more so for the unfortunate slave as he waits for someone to buy him. But then the crowd applauds loudly and Tobias watches as the slave is placed in an empty pen next to his own.

Finally, he has been sold!

Momentarily, Tobias looks at him. His eyes reflect his confusion and fear and he is shaking uncontrollably; no doubt from the realization that he has been sold and that he is now an owned slave. But his interest in the slave is cut short as the auctioneer’s assistant re-enters the pen bringing with him the rope halter with which he’ll lead the next slave out to be sold.

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Tobias doesn’t want to be that victim and he moves quickly to return to the anonymity of his fellow slaves huddled in a far corner. But his curiosity is to be his undoing; he is isolated from them and attracts the attention of the African overseers who pounce on him forcing him to his knees as the halter is slipped over his head and fastened tightly around his neck.

This all happens so swiftly and Tobias is taken by surprise. Before the realization that he is the next slave to be sold has time to crystallise in his mind, a sharp tug of the halter around his throat yanks him to his feet and Tobias now follows docilely three paces behind his handler as he is taken out to be sold.

As he is lead out of the pen and into the waiting throng of buyers and spectators, Tobias’s mind is a blank and fear numbs him. This all seems too surreal and it is as though he is detached from the reality of his situation. Vaguely, he’s aware that the crowd parts to allow him entry into their midst. As he stumbles along behind the auctioneer’s assistant, Tobias is distantly aware that hands are reaching out to touch him. He feel them pinching and prodding at his upper body while other hands grabs hold of his cock and balls or cradle his buttocks. At such moments, his handler stops to allow the eager buyers to scrutinize him more closely.

Then somewhere in the midst of onlookers they stop and Tobias is in the presence of the auctioneer or to give him his local title – the dilaleen. He is a tall, ascetic looking man dressed entirely in black and, given Tobias’s sombre mood, the colour is most appropriate. Black is the traditional colour of mourning in Christian countries and today Tobias’s grief is all too real as he mourns the death of his freedom.

The dilaleen scrutinizes Tobias with such intensity that his eyes seem to bore into his very soul and he carries a short, wooden rod which he uses it to poke at Tobias’s naked body. Fearfully, Tobias lowers his eyes to the ground.

The auctioneer is accompanied by a slave. Tobias recognizes him as a slave because of his cropped hair and beardless face. Already he has discovered his captors do this to further humiliate and shame their Christian slaves. In their society, the Ottomans regard long hair and beards as the hallmarks of a man and slaves, who they consider are no longer men, are forced to wear their heads and beards closely cropped at all times. This slave wears shapeless, loose fitting pantaloons made of unbleached, natural cotton and a matching shirt. And on his cropped head he wears the red, felt cap of slavery.

He is a scrivano and carries a bundle of papers. Hastily, he searches through them before selecting one and passing it to his master.

The auctioneer studies the paper and periodically looks up from his reading to peer intently at Tobias who wonders about this; of course, he’s not to know this paper tells the auctioneer that he is a captured English seaman and that he is 22 years old. That’s all the dilaleen needs to know and he will use this information as a selling point as he presents Tobias to the buyers.

The dilaleen raises his hand to still the buzz of conversation that fills Tobias’s head with a sound akin to a thousand, angry wasps and waits in dignified silence until the crowd is hushed. Then and only then does he speak.  Tobias knows he is speaking about him and even though he doesn’t understand the words, he instinctively knows he is extolling Tobias’s virtues. If Tobias could understand him, he would be surprised for the auctioneer is fulsome in his praise of him.

“Behold the unbeliever! Have you ever seen a more worthy slave? Truly he was born to serve in whatever capacity his master decrees. Look at his youthful body; marvel at the strength of his powerful chest and the width of his shoulders. Gaze upon his strong limbs; the reach of his arms and the power of his legs. And behold the slave’s arse! Truly it is that of a work slave. This slave was born for hard labour; to toil at the oar of a galley, to labour in your fields or your quarries. And yet, he has the looks and the demeanour to serve you in your homes or bedrooms. Tell me! Have you ever seen a more promising slave than this young Nasrani? At twenty-two, he is a mere babe with many years of productive labour ahead of him. His papers tell me that the infidel’s name is Tobias and that he is a peasant, country born and raised in that far away den of iniquity, that home of Shaitan and his foul spawn – England. And in his later years he served as a seaman where his body was honed to the physical perfection you now see before you. Fortune smiled upon the true believer the day this young infidel was delivered into our hands. But come; don’t be shy! Come feel the hardness of the slave’s body. Feel the power of his muscles for yourselves. Test the strength of his limbs. Come place your hands on the slave. Inspect him, examine him and you will see that I don’t exaggerate when I say this slave is true perfection.”

Of course, Tobias is unaware of the auctioneer’s fulsome praise and he stands lost and bewildered in the midst of these men who now reach out to touch him. He lowers his head and submits to their ministrations. Tobias cringes with shame and horror as their hands roam over his nakedness and flinches each time a muscle is pinched or squeezed or a finger prods at his arse. Uncomprehendingly, he listens as his selling points are discussed.

Several times it is obvious that the auctioneer and a prospective buyer are arguing over him and Tobias now recognizes this as a necessary part of his sale. In his boyhood, he’d witnessed this same haggling between a farmer and a buyer over some farm animal offered for sale. And today, as a prospective buyer squeezes his arm muscles or prods him in the ribs or parts his buttocks to test the soundness of his anus, he identifies with those farm animals on those long ago market days.

But even worse for Tobias is the foulest of indignities; the testing of the cleanness and the health of his genitalia and the state of his teeth.

There seems to be an inordinate amount of attention shown over his teeth. It would appear that a slave’s teeth are a major consideration with the buyers. Later, as he serves on the galley, Tobias will learn a slave needs healthy teeth to chew the hard, black bread and biscuits which are a staple of the galley slave’s diet.

There is a brief exchange between the auctioneer and one buyer and the crowd moves backward to clear a wide circle around Tobias. From somewhere in the folds of his long flowing garments, the auctioneer produces a flexible cane and as he viciously swipes it across his ankles, Tobias leaps into the air from the shock of his unexpected blow. His loud yelps of pain amuse the watching audience and they laugh at Tobias’s distress.

For several minutes, the auctioneer continues to whip his ankles with his cane causing Tobias to leap and twist in the air to show the flexibility of his body. Then he changes tactics; now he whips each leg alternatively aiming his blows at the front and back of Tobias’s legs. Now, the auctioneer is making Tobias dance a ‘jig’ that further demonstrates his fitness. This further amuses the crowd who laugh and jeer mercilessly at the hapless slave.

Then, a tall figure dressed in colourful garb steps forward and speaks to the auctioneer. He is asking permission to inspect Tobias more closely. Gladly, the auctioneer gives his permission and the slave is made to stand docilely as he does so. Tobias doesn’t know it but he is in the presence of his future master.

he man examines Tobias with an expertise gained from many years of assessing the bodily strength of slaves suited to tug at the oars of his galley. He had watched Tobias’s progress through the throng of buyers and he’d watched as the auctioneer put him through his paces. Obviously, he liked what he saw and has decided that Tobias is eminently suited to serve aboard his galley.

He has an easy assurance and a confidence that comes from knowing exactly what he is looking for in a slave. As the man’s hands slide over Tobias’s body gauging his muscular strength and as his fingers probe the density and hardness of those muscles, Tobias feel great shame. And yet, unlike so many others who’d examined him this morning, this man’s interest in Tobias isn’t voyeuristic but rather it is purely professional. Tobias know instinctively that the man is looking to buy a slave to be used for hard labour and for no other reason. And there is a degree of comfort in this for him.

Since his capture, Tobias has had an underlying fear of becoming a garzon or pleasure slave to some perverted Master. As a seaman in the fo’c’stle, he’d listened with morbid interest to the “old hands” tales of the fate of handsome, young men enslaved by the corsairs. Despite his prudishness, he’d had a prurient interest in their tales. It had fed some deep seated erotic fantasy. However that is all it was – an erotic fantasy. Tobias had neither wanted it for himself nor had he ever dreamed that such a thing could happen to him. But that changed the day of his capture. Ever since that day, Tobias has feared that this could eventually become his fate.

And yet at some time in the future, as he toils at his oar, Tobias will revisit this and wonder pensively if life as a garzon isn’t preferable to that of a galley slave.

This man, who is soon to be his master, finishes with Tobias and with a nod of his turbaned head; he indicates his satisfaction to the auctioneer. The auctioneer acknowledges this by calling for bids from other interested parties.

Tobias is bewildered by the frenzied activity that swirls around him. At first it would appear that everyone in the crowd wants to buy and own him. But by a slow process of elimination, the number dwindles to just a handful. One by one these bidders are reduced further until just two remain; the tall man who had just examined me and another repulsive creature with an oversized body, a bloated face and lecherous appearance that Tobias likened to a toad.

Even though, Tobias can’t understand what is being said, he is astute enough to know these two are locked in a battle to buy him. Desperately, he watches as the two bid and counter bid for the right to own him. Tobias finds myself hoping that the tall man wins this tussle of wills. Mindful of the fo’c’stle stories, he thinks anything would be preferable to finding himself as a slave to “toad face”.

Perhaps, if he were to know of the fate that awaits him, Tobias would think differently.

With bad grace, “toad face” finally concedes defeat and bows out of the bidding leaving the auctioneer to declare the tall man as Tobias’s owner.

Tobias’s sale into slavery is greeted with loud applause and acclamation and it is as well that he doesn’t understand the brief conversation between the auctioneer and his new Master.

“Congratulations, Rashid! You have purchased well. The infidel slave is yours. What are your plans for the unbeliever? Will he be put to hard labour as befits all the sons of Shaitan?”

“Thank you, Mustapha! Rest assured that the slave will be sorely pressed. He is to serve as an oarsman on my galley”.

“Ahh, Rashid! That is indeed a fitting role for the slave. He is a lusty fellow with long limbs and his lungs are sound. One has only to look at him to see he was born to toil at the oar and to bend his back beneath the whips of the true believers. May he live long and serve you faithfully. May his labours reward you a thousandfold for the money you have spent in buying him.”

“Have no doubt about it, Mustapha! The slave will reward me many times over for my outlay on him. My overseers and their whips will indeed see that every dinar I have spent on him today is returned to me a hundredfold.”

As the auctioneer and his new Master talk together, a slave assistant approaches Tobias and leads him away to the empty pen where he’s confined with the first slave who stands dejected and alone in a corner. He looks up as Tobias is thrust through the gate to join him. Both slaves greet one another and stand together in their common misery.

Soon they are joined by another slave…. and another. And another…. until all forty-two of their fellow captives have been sold!

As yet, Tobias is blissfully unaware of the fate that lies ahead of him as he is lead away to a blacksmith for branding and collaring.

After that, the full horrors of the galley await him!

Finis!

Thus is one of Amalaric's earlier works and  I acknowledge his talent in producing this beautiful and evocative work. I have long admired it and although I have used it previously, it does seem to fit with the theme of my story.

Chris