Knowing the Maghreb in Stuart Scotland, Ireland and Northern England

Tunis, 1612: Scotsman William Lithgow visits notorious English-born corsair Murat Rais at his sumptuous palace. Baltimore, 1631: Corsairs from Algiers and Salé carry away over 100 villagers. Tangier, 1680: 400 soldiers arrive Ireland in the nick of time to a colony under Moroccan siege. London, 1682: ambassador Mohammed ben Hadou entertains dignitaries as far afield York. Algiers, 1709: The Isabella Kirkcaldy is captured sea, triggering year-long diplomatic dispute around complexities British union. Throughout Stuart era, Scottish, Irish, northern English merchants, sailors, soldiers, captives, travellers encountered Maghreb varied ways their southern counterparts, yet accounts relations between ‘Britain’ usually become mainly south. By late seventeenth century, not only did many individuals Scotland, Ireland, North encounter person, but extensive news networks, both mediated through independent brought robust, detailed, up-to-date intelligence on events, movements, demographics Maghreb, educated readers accessed longer numerous sources. This paper, focusing particularly locally printed publications Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, examines for first detail Maghreb's reputation urban thought. Using quantitative qualitative methods comparison London-based equivalents, I argue that these regions developed own idiosyncratic impressions this distant dangerous land, confronting disjunct new realities ancestral prejudices they moved rapidly towards assurance naval power imperial authority.