THE ODYSSEY OF RENÉ DU CHASTELET DES BOYS – PART 14

(This post is a continuation of The Odyssey of René du Chastelet des Boys – Parts 1 through 13. If you haven’t done so already, it’s probably best to read at least the more recent of those posts before continuing on here.)

This episode concludes the story of the captivity of René du Chastelet des Boys.

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As fate would have it, the Trinitarian expedition, which was led by Fathers Lucien Hérault and Boniface Duboys, arrived before the ship of Aly Alcaide, the renegade from La Rochelle, had left the harbor. I therefore declined Aly Alcaid’s offer and watched his ship set out to sea without too much regret, though still far from certain I had made the right choice.

Barely had the Trinitarians friars come ashore that they were mobbed by a large crowd of slaves of all nations. The French especially were there in greater numbers. The friars hurried through this crowd and made their way to the house of the Sieur Picquet, Consul of France. Up until this point, the Consul had been more concerned with the affairs of the Marseille merchants—especially those who trafficked in coral at Bastion de France, near Tabarque—than in the negotiations to free French slaves, groaning under the weight of their chains. Special interests, although baptized with different names, always produce the same effect.

The said Sieur Picquet was associated with the Sieurs Constant and Hauterive, in whose house the leaders of the Trinitarian mission, Fathers Lucien Hérault and Boniface Duboys, took up residence. After getting settled, they began to inquire about the quantity and quality of the French slaves, the intentions of the Bassa [the Ottoman Governor] and the Divan [the ruling Council] of Algiers. As preparation for their mission, they first presented the Bassa with a letter from his very Christian Majesty Louis XIV and distributed gifts to the said Bassa, to Aly Picheni, the General of the Galleys, and to others of the highest rank in the Divan.

I went to see Fathers Lucien and Boniface, as confessors rather than as redeemers. Father Lucien, heard my confession of my disgrace, the continuation of my persecutions, and the fecklessness of the Sieur de Cahaignes, who no longer wanted me go to leave Algiers to arrange his and my freedom. Father Lucien gave me his absolution, which reassured me and gave me hope that if I just resigned myself to the actions of divine providence, a way to break the chains of my slavery would appear.

However, the Sieur de Cahaignes, having been assured by Messrs. Mailland and Riboüillet (who commanded the ship on which the Trinitarians traveled) that his family were fully prepared to provide money sufficient to pay his ransom, pressed his freedom with Car-Ibrahim, offering him with authority to pay not only his own ransom but also all the cost of the various taxes and duties added on that were required before a ransomed slave could leave the city.

Car-Ibrahim was fairly well-intentioned, and he assured me that if I could guarantee that he could get back what I had cost him plus a modest profit, he was willing to ransom me. His good disposition prompted me to ask the Trinitarian Fathers to advance me my ransom money from the pubic alms in their treasury. I explained to them that I was beginning to despair of the continuation of good intentions on the part of my enslaved comrade, whose freedom was nonetheless being advancing by them. Fathers Lucien and Boniface, besides the goodly sum deposited into their hands, had ample authority jointly with Commanders Mailland and Riboüillet to provide funds and make advances as they deemed appropriate. So they went to find Car-Ibrahim.

They had no difficulty at first with the ransom price for the Sieur de Cahaignes, it having been previously settled. But during the discussion, Car-Ibrahim smiled and asked Father Lucien about me. He said that I and the Sieur de Cahaignes we were jointly liable, and he did not think that one could go be freed without the other. This surprised the Fathers, and they were afraid that Car-Ibrahim was trying to sabotage the discussion as a ploy in order to raise the price. They paused uncertainly, wanting to know what Car-Ibrahim’s intentions were.

Car-Ibrahim demanded a ransom of 900 ecus for our liberties, 800 for the Sieur de Cahaignes, and 100 for me, and he vowed that he would either ransom us together or not at all.

Car-Ibrahim’s resolution greatly disturbed the said Sieur de Cahaignes, who did not know which way to turn. He tried pleading and lamenting his sad fate, but these had no effect on Car-Ibrahim. I stood silently while the Sieur implored Car-Ibrahim to reconsider. Finally, having no other option, he offered to pay for my ransom with money loaned to him by the commanders of the Marseille ship.

I accepted the offer readily,

Without further delay, we went to find the Trinitarians, Commanders Mailland and Riboüillet, and the Sieur Picquet at the house of the Sieurs Constant and Hauterive. There, we completed the necessary formalities. Fathers Lucien and Boniface officially ransomed the Sieur de Cahaignes for 800 ecu, a price that did not include the taxes and duties added on that were required, which amounted to an extra 150 crowns. I did not cost nearly that much. Commanders Mailland and Riboüillet gave as payment for my freedom for 100 crowns worth of opium, coral, woolen cloth instead of cash money.

The recovery of my freedom initially gave me such an excess of joy that I was unable to sleep. So impatient was I to get to a Christian country that I remained violently agitated. However, Fathers Lucien and Boniface encountered so many obstacles that we languished among the infidels for six whole weeks, trying to be as patient as we could while waiting for the occasion of our departure.

Finally, as the Ottoman Easter holidays [Ramadan] commenced, we were informed that the process of departure was about to begin. Fathers Lucien and Boniface ordered the redeemed slaves to gather with the Sieur Picquet and to be ready in three days for departure.

The day of our impatiently awaited embarkation being finally come, each of the redeemed slaves joined the crowd surrounding the Trinitarian Fathers. Baby chicks that take shelter under the shadow of the wings of the hen hurry no more than we did. The tears, wails and cries of rage on the part of the many remaining unransomed slaves were moderated somewhat by Father Lucien’s promise to return promptly with more funds collected through public alms.

The sails and the rudder having been returned to the ship, we went aboard with Commanders Maillaud and Riboüillet. The Fathers stayed a little longer, to deal with any last-minute problems or confusion that might arise, and also to try to console their unfortunate and desperate compatriots who were left behind.

Finally, the Fathers were rowed out to our ship and climbed aboard. After the Algiers port guards had completed one final inspection of the ship and had departed, the Commander gave the order to raise the sails.

And so I left Algiers, a free man, finally… after more than two years of miserable servitude.

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For those who may be interested…

The above excerpt (which, as usual, has been considerably abridged) comes from des Boys’ L’Odyssée ou diversité d’aventures, rencontres et voyages en Europe, Asie et Affrique, pp. 98 – 108.

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Also for those who may be interested…

To my knowledge, René du Chastelet des Boys’ L’Odyssée has never been translated in its entirety into English before.

Having said that, I have to remind readers of this blog that the translation that appears in this series of L’Odyssée posts is far from complete. I paired down the original considerably, focusing on the ‘plot,’ so to speak—on events in Algiers—and I left out well over half of the original. (The parts I omitted consisted of wandering discussions, side stories, and allusions to things that I figured casual readers would not find especially interesting.)

The basic story of des Boys’ Algiers adventure has been presented here in its entirety, though, and readers of this blog are, as far as I know, the first, to be able to read that full story in English.

The accuracy of de Boys’ L’Odyssée has been questioned by a number of critics. In fact, some go so far as to say that it should be considered a work of fiction rather that a memoir of actual events. I reckon that takes things a little too far. Too much of des Boys’ descriptions of Algiers fits too well with what other authors of the period describe for his work to be dismissed as mere fiction.

So while the actual autobiographical events he narrates may be questionable, des Boys’ depiction of life in Algiers seems reasonable accurate. Moreover, L’Odyssée evokes a strong sense of place. Reading it gives you a first-hand feel for what life might have been like for a slave in Algiers in the first half of the seventeenth century.

Which was the reason I chose to embark on this long series of L’Odyssée posts.

Next week… on to something new.