chapter one
Enter Barbary
The Battle of Alcazar and “the World”
In the summerof 1578 , in the North African town of El-Ksar el-Kebir, two
Moors and their accumulated factions fought for rule over the domains sur-
rounding Marrakech and Fez, the regions early modern England would des-
ignate as Morocco or Barbary.^1 The current ruler, Abd el-Malek, was the
legitimate head of state, next in line after his brother (since succession trav-
eled through all the males of one generation before passing on to the next).
He was challenged by his brother’s son, Mulai Mohammed el-Meslokh, “the
Black Sultan,” who had usurped the reign in 1574 , had been ousted from
power in 1576 , and was now, in 1578 , fighting to regain control. As the con-
flict unfolded, Abd el-Malek enlisted the support of the Turks; meanwhile,
Mulai Mohammed sought aid from the Portuguese king, Don Sebastian, who
was additionally backed by Spain, Rome, and a wayward Englishman,
Thomas Stukeley. The culminating battle—what the early modern period
would know (and critics come to know) as “the battle of Alcazar”—restored
the legitimate line, although Abd el-Malek died from illness during the fight.
His brother, Ahmed el-Mansur, succeeded, ruling from 1578 to 1603 , when he
succumbed to plague and his family’s dynastic control over Morocco was dis-
rupted, diminished, and dispersed. Sebastian and Stukeley were killed at Al-
cazar, the dispossessed Mulai Mohammed drowned on the battlefield, and his
recovered body was flayed, stuffed, and displayed as part of the triumphant
progress of the restored regime.^2
In England, Alcazar was news from almost the moment it happened.