The Way It Was In Tripoli, 1817

A Trip to Libya with Booktryst

"In 1816, Tripoli was one of the pirate Barbary States, collecting tribute from the U.S. in exchange for protection of America's maritime commerce in the Mediterranean. The first and second Barbary Wars had been fought by the U.S. against the Pasha's demands for increased amounts of extortionate baksheesh. The English-speaking public had little knowledge of Tripoli. That would change in 1816 with the publication of Narrative of a Ten Years' Residence at Tripoli in Africa, still, rare book or otherwise, a key behind-the-scenes source. This singular collection of letters relating to Tripoli contains valuable information on the court of the city's Pasha and remains one of the few public accounts of the private world of the North African despot."

Stephen Gertz travels to Tripoli through the eyes of Miss Tully, sister-in-law of Richard Tully, British Consul in Tripoli from 1783 to 1793, and real author of (Richard) Tully's "Narrative of a Ten Years' Residence at Tripoli in Africa, published from the originals in the possession of the family of the late Richard Tully … comprising authentic memoirs and anecdotes of the reigning Bashaw, his family, and other persons of distinction; also an account of the domestic manners of the Moors, Arabs, and Turks"

>>> The Way It Was In Tripoli, 1817, by Stephen J. Gertz (Booktryst March 2, 2011)