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Because of the large numbers of Britons captured by the Barbary States and in other venues, captivity was the other side of exploration and empire. Captivity narratives originated as a literary form in the seventeenth century. They were widely published and read, preceding those of colonists captured by American Indians in North America.

Captivity of Thomas Phelps
In 1685, Thomas Phelps, who was the secretary of the admiralty, was sent out to abandon and demolish the fortress that was being occupied by the English in Morocco since 1661. The Moroccan sultan refused to negotiate an agreement with the English, forcing them to pull out of the colony. Mulay Ismail was a cruel leader who besieged Tangier and used slaves as a way to build the architecture that he founded at Meekness. One of those slaves was Thomas Phelps, who was employed constructing the city. The purpose behind his accounts was to offer information and warning towards those who are seamen on the Barbary Coast. It is important to note that Phelps’ experience never led him into a lifestyle of religion or faith, merely a recognition of the privilege and freedom that he has as a native of a freed country and a citizen of England.

The ending of the account offers the readers a positive example of bravery among the British and navy, providing a mixture of victimization with a triumphant revenge on his part. The conclusion of the account of creates a symmetry among the English raid, when Phelps decided to burn down the very ship that he was taken a capture a year later.

On August 27th, 1684, Thomas Phelps went out to sail from a place called the Downs, the east coast of Kent between North and South Foreland, to a village Ireland, the Dingle Bay with a ship containing forty tons of salt, a rare spice for the time. After less than a month of sailing upon the Rock of Lisbon, heading for Maderias, Phelps’ ship comes across another ship heading towards the way that appears to be challenging a chase. The fellow ship was chasing them for hours on end, eventually losing sight of them around nightfall, only to regain sight of them for a few hours in which they exchanged conversation on who they were and commanded that Phelps stop that ship. In an instinct, the fellow ship charged upon Phelps's ship. Phelps made the steady decision in trying to outrun them, since he only but one great gun upon the ship and the other ship was great and massive. Phelps thought to himself that this ship could only be an Algerian ship, based upon the stories and tales told in England, and not from Sale. Instead of trusting his gut and listening to the fear in him, Phelps backed down on his attacks, only the fellow ship to gain up. The chase went on for the entirety of the night, with both ships trying to outsmart the other. It wasn’t until he next morning that the Algerian ship saw that Phelps boat was nowhere to be found and called up a pass to be put upon his ships.

Coming from the ship was old Moor, who was formerly a slave in England and spoke English quite well. Phelps's crew was ready with arms that they had on the ships, but the Moor told him that there was no need for trouble unless someone decided to make some. After Phelps showed Moor his papers and document, crewmen upon the fellow ships rounded up some of Phelps’ crew mates and demanded the Phelps comes along with them, stating that the crew mates were not enough to satisfy that captain. Upon Phelps refusal to leave his own ship, the captain threatened to attack his ship, to which Phelps took that to find the best way to escape and sail off, which he did when the other ship was put away with their ship. Soon after the Moors sent sail and came after Phelps once again, with only taking a halt when there was weather that neither ships could manage to sail in.

A conversation soon emerged among the two men, in which the Algerian revealed that they were Algerian and states that Phelps did not come with them, then he would sink his ship. Eventually, Phelps gave into the temptation that was of the Algerian ships and went abroad their ship, though still weary of the captain crewmates regardless of the promises that they made towards him of no trickery. The captain then began to take passengers on the Phelp’s ship that was seen to be Portuguese, even though Phelps had none, and kept taking passengers onto his ship until everyone was taking but only two Englishmen. The passengers were shown stripped, the ship was plundered and sunk, and meat and dry goods were taken out. They began to sail off west of the northern cape but made sure that they stayed far away from the shores in order to prevent passengers trying to seek safety or ships finding their ship. Phelps is quite satisfied with the treatment that the Algiers are placing upon him, but he fantasizes what it would be like if he got the opportunity to say himself and the other captives on the ships, which gives elements of bravery and leadership. The weeks following Thomas Phelp’s, the Algiers went on to captive more ships and passengers along their sailing, along with meeting a Fleming that told the commander that there were English men at the coast of Tangier, causing them to sail to Sale.

Other Narrative From Barbary Captives
There are countless stories that can told of the cpatives that taken for years at time and treated with brutality and creuality for genration. Some include:


 * 1) A journal of the captivity and suffering of John Foss; several years  a prisoner at Algiers: together with some account of the treatmenet of Christian slaves when sick:-- observation of the manners and customs of the Algerines.
 * 2) The Barbabry Captivity Narrative in Early America
 * 3) From Captives to Consuls: Three Sailors in Barbary and Their Self-Making Across the Early American Republic, 1770-1840