Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/859

MOBOCCO letter. Christianity is now tolerated. Educa- tion is at a low ebb. In Fez only are there any remains of the ancient universities. Young men destined to letters, law, or the service of religion are instructed there in grammar and Arab poetry, and in Mussulman law and theol- ogy. Elsewhere youth are taught little more "lan to recite passages of the Koran. The once famous libraries of Fez and Morocco have dis- appeared, and the empirical use of a few sim- ples and the practice of immoderate bleeding and cauterization with fire are all that remains of the medicine of Avenzoar and Averrhoes. Printing is unknown, and the architectural skill once characteristic of the race is now but a tradition. Manufacturing industry is almost as degenerate. The most remarkable products are the beautiful and delicate tissues of wool and silk, woven by hand at Fez ; the embroi- deries on velvet and leather ; the famous mo- leather, now almost entirely superseded Europe by the products of the Marseilles tanneries ; the carpets and rugs of Eabat and Sale" ; arms, and silver and gold work. Most of the cities contain tanneries where morocco of different colors is produced, the red and the yellow being of particular excellence. The dyers use cochineal, rakaut, and pomegranate skins. The French introduced fuchsine, and for a time it superseded other red dyes, but its use was finally prohibited. At Fez are made and exported large numbers of the red caps which bear the name of that city. Their fine color is produced by a dye made from a berry found in the vicinity. Fez and Tetuan also manufacture bricks, which are sent to all the cities of Morocco, but not in large numbers, for they are used only in the houses of the rich. The best arms are made in Morocco and Tetuan. Jewelry and work in silver and cop- per are mostly in the hands of the Jews. The maritime commerce is wholly carried on by foreigners. No vestiges remain of the famous Barbary corsairs that once scoured the Mediter- ranean, and Morocco now has no ship capable of making sail, and no sailor able to manage one. In 1871, 1,307 ships, of the total ton- nage of 201,367, entered the eight free ports of Morocco. The entries at the several ports were as follows: Tetuan 214, Tangier 461, El-Araish 65, Rabat 24, Casablanca 168, Maza- gan 224, Saffy 56, and Mogadore 95. Of these, 617 were English, 172 French, 362 Spanish, 142 Portuguese, and 14 of other nations. The total value of the exports for 1871 was $3,906,- 000 ; imports, $4,566,000, The principal ex- ports are goat skins, wool, grain, olive oil, gum, wax, and almonds; the principal imports are Manchester goods, silver bullion, hardware, tea, and sugar. The inland traffic is inconsid- erable, as there are no roads except in the vi- cinity of the towns, and few of the rivers have bridges ; but there is a large trade with central Africa and with the East by caravans. The southern trade is carried on through Tafilet, and the caravans, which number sometimes 841 from 15,000 to 20,000 camels, go as far as Tim- buctoo, where they meet the merchants from further south and exchange products. The principal articles exported by this route are woollen cloths and haiTcs (mantles), Turkish daggers, looking glasses, salt, and tobacco; which are bartered for ivory, gold dust, ostrich feathers, gums, malagtieta or Guinea pepper, asafcetida, incense, and slaves. The trade with the East is carried on by one large caravan yearly, which assembles at Fez about seven months before the great festival at Mecca, and occupies the intervening time in dealing with the countries through which it passes. This caravan, which is much larger than those going south, carries skins and fine leather, woollen cloths and carpets, cochineal, indigo, and os- trich feathers; and brings back Persian silks and India goods, Egyptian cotton and raw silk, spices, perfumes, &c. The sultanate of Morocco consists nominally of the former kingdoms of Fez and Morocco, of Sus, of the oasis of Tafilet, and of several tribes S. E. of the Atlas ; but while the sultan, in his spiritual character of emir of the believers, is venera- ted by all the Mohammedans of the west, his temporal authority extends practically only over the cities and the plains. About two thirds of the whole country, including the Atlas, a large part of Sus, and, with the exception of Tafilet, all the S. slope of the Atlas from Wad-Ghir to the ocean, ought to be considered as politically independent. The sultanate is divided into 28 provinces, in each of which are from 2 to 15 small tribes, which are subdivided in the plains into dwars, or movable collections of tents, and in the mountains into tchurs, or hamlets and villages in which the dwellings are per- manently attached to the soil. Each province has its marabouts, sheikhs, and notables, who united form a council. In the semi-indepen- dent provinces this is called ait arbain, and it affects to govern according to the precepts of the Koran. In those belonging properly to the sultan each province has one or several Icaids or governors, who administer the gov- ernment as they please, on condition of keep- ing communication safe, paying the imposts, furnishing their contingent of men and horses for the army, and sending to the sultan at each great festival as large a present of money as possible. The kaids are assisted by sheikhs chosen by themselves, who act directly upon the chiefs of dwars and tchurs. The cities are governed by a kaid, who is amenable to the sultan. Under him are a cadi or minister of public worship and of justice; a moJitasseb or chief of police; a nadher or keeper of the property of the mosques; and the omena or administrators of the customs and the proper- ty of the state. All the cities are enclosed by walls, and the gates are shut at night. The streets have no names, and the houses no num- bers, but the division into quarters is distinct, and the inhabitants of each are held responsi- ble as a body for the maintenance of order.