Abdallah bin Aisha on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Abdallah ben Aisha (), also Abdellah bin Aicha, was a Moroccan Admiral and ambassador to 
One of Abdallah's main missions had been to obtain an agreement to prevent the capture of Muslims by French ships, and to obtain the return of captured Moroccan pirates employed on French
Abdallah ben Aisha (), also Abdellah bin Aicha, was a Moroccan Admiral and ambassador to France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in the 17th century. Abdallah departed for France on 11 November 1698 in order to negotiate a treaty.''In the Land of the Christians'' by Nabil Matar, p.197 He spoke Spanish and English fluently, but not French. His embassy followed the visit of François Pidou de Saint Olon to Morocco in 1689.
Abdallah met with Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
on 16 February 1699. He was welcomed warmly in Paris and visited many landmarks. He also met with the deposed English king James II, exiled in France at that time, whom he had apparently known in his youth when he had been a captive in England.
One of Abdallah's main missions had been to obtain an agreement to prevent the capture of Muslims by French ships, and to obtain the return of captured Moroccan pirates employed on French galleys
A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for warfare, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during antiquity and continued to exist ...
. Louis XIV however denied a treaty, and on the contrary boasted about his power to the Moroccan king.
After Abdallah's return to Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, numerous letters continued to be exchanged with France, and the Moroccan ruler Mulay Ismail even offered James II military support to reinstall him on the English throne if he wished to convert to Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, and if not, at least to Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
.
See also
* Islam and Protestantism * Anglo-Moroccan alliance *Franco-Ottoman alliance
The Franco-Ottoman alliance, also known as the Franco-Turkish alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between Francis I of France, Francis I, King of France and Suleiman the Magnificent, Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire. The strategic and s ...
Notes
References
* Matar, Nabil ''In the Land of the Christians'' Routledge 2003, New York and London, Ambassadors of Morocco to the Kingdom of England Ambassadors of Morocco to France 17th-century Moroccan people Moroccan diplomats Moroccan translators 17th-century diplomats {{Morocco-bio-stub