James Leander Cathcart (1 June 1767 – 6 October 1843) was an Irish-American diplomat,

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, and sailor. He is notable for his narrative as a slave in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

for eleven years.

Revolutionary War

Cathcart was born in Mount Murragh,

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

and emigrated to the North American colonies at eight years of age, under the care of a relative, Captain John Cathcart. He joined the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

and at the age of twelve served on a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. Three years later, as a midshipman on ''The Confederacy'', he was captured by the British and imprisoned on the prisoner ships, ''The Good Hope'' and from which he escaped in 1782. He became fluent in Spanish and French, which he learned from fellow prisoners during his three-year internment.

Slave in Algiers

In 1785,

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe ...

captured the American merchant ship ''The Maria Boston'', on its way to Cadiz carrying furs, lumber, and dried codfish. They took Cathcart and 20 other sailors as

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. During the 11 years of his slavery in

, Cathcart managed by means of good fortune, cleverness, and bribery to improve his circumstances, eventually becoming chief clerk to the

Dey Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 ...

. In that position, he acted as a mediator between the Dey and Joseph Donaldson, Jr., an agent for Colonel David Humphreys, the U.S. Minister to Portugal, which resulted in the Treaty of Algiers of 1796 and allowed his freedom. Cathcart, for the first several years of his captivity, endured the same terrible living conditions as his fellow slaves. One of a few handpicked by the Dey, Cathcart's first duties were to work in the Dey's palace garden caring for the lions, tigers, and antelopes. Although his assigned duties were relatively light, his masters provided scant food and administered several beatings, called

bastinado Foot whipping, falanga/falaka or bastinado is a method of inflicting pain and humiliation by administering a beating on the soles of a person's bare feet. Unlike most types of flogging, it is meant more to be painful than to cause actual injury ...

; in one instance, Cathcart lost several of his toenails. As his fortunes and positions in

improved, Cathcart acquired additional skills that he used later as a diplomat. He found opportunities to demonstrate his concern for his fellow prisoners. During his slavery, he became conversant in Arabic and Turkish. When Cathcart became clerk of the prison, he was able to buy several taverns, a house with servants, and more food for his fellow crew members. After the Treaty of Algiers freed them, Cathcart had the means to purchase a ship, which he sailed to Philadelphia in 1796 with 12 surviving members of the original crew.

Personal

On 5 June 1798, he married Philadelphia belle Jane Bancker Woodside, and they had twelve children. His daughter JB Newkirk put together Cathcart's narrative and published it in 1899, 56 years after his death, under the title of ''The Captives, Eleven Years a Prisoner in Algiers''.

Professional diplomatic career

He returned to the Barbary Coast in December 1798, as special agent to

William Eaton William Eaton or Bill Eaton may refer to: * William Eaton (soldier) (1764–1811), United States Army soldier during the Barbary Wars * William Eaton (athlete) (1909–1938), British long-distance runner * William Eaton (guitarist), American luth ...

. In 1802, he was appointed US Consul to

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and Tripoli. He participated in the negotiation of additional treaties with

, Tunis, and Tripoli. In 1806 he was appointed US Consul in

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, serving that position until 1815. He served the same position in

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

from 1815 to 1818, where he operated a merchant business with Richard Worsam Meade. Cathcart served in the diplomatic corps for the United States during the administrations of

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, and

James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...

References

Sources

* . * . * . * Revolutionary War Pension S12413