1To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 12 June 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Gibraltar, 12 June 1792. Since writing to TJ on 19 May he has learned that the report of the capture of a Spanish boat by the Moors was untrue. In Morocco, Muley Ischem is about to march north with a large army commanded by Ben Assar, so that by July or August the civil war will be decided by force of arms or a partition of the Empire. Last month Muley Ischem sent an ambassador to Spain to ask...
2To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 13 July 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Gibraltar, 13 July 1792. Nothing of consequence has occurred in Morocco since his letter of 13 June. A force of 1,500 soldiers commanded by Abdalmeluk Ben Idris, a branch of the family of the Sharifs, appeared at Tetuán, reportedly to rendezvous with an army supporting the claims of Muley Suliman. Ben Idris pursued a group of mountaineers, who had attacked a caravan, and camped near Tangier,...
3To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 31 July 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Gibraltar, 31 July 1792 . He has received TJ’s letter of 9 Apr. with the newspapers, which latter enabled him to make agreeable communications to others who are highly interested in the prosperity of the United States. He hopes he will shortly be able to settle the business committed to him. The situation in Morocco must change after the celebration of Mahomet’s birth. Since the harvest Muley...
4To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 22 August 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Gibraltar, 22 Aug. 1792. He encloses a copy of his 31 July letter, but is no longer confident that by the end of September Suliman or Ischem will be sole sovereign of Morocco. For the last three weeks “our Eyes have been anxiously turned towards Barbary in expectation of the result of a Very Novel experiment which has been made in that Country.” According to accounts received yesterday, some...
5To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 8 September 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Gibraltar, 8 Sep. 1792. The unexpected delay of this vessel enables him to convey the following intelligence from Francisco Chiappe, who has just left here after a short visit. The outcome of the succession struggle in Morocco is still in doubt. Both Suliman and Ischem are poor, and Spain, content with the death of Muley Yezid, is disinclined to support either. It would be unwise of the United...
6To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 10 September 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Gibraltar, 10 Sep. 1792. He continues to write by the same conveyance. Chiappe was surprised by Barclay’s lack of authority to compensate him for services rendered to the United States since Congress approved his appointment about five years ago. In enumerating these services, Chiappe claimed that he had prevented Muley Yezid from preying on American shipping and noted that his brothers had...
7To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 1 October 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Gibraltar, 1 Oct. 1792. Having nothing worth communicating from Barbary, he sends copies of his letters of this date to Geronimo and Joseph Chiappe. He wrote to the former at Tangier because Muley Suliman will probably arrive soon in Tetuán, where he will meet the consuls and make inquiries about the United States. It would be unwise to offend Suliman because his three or four galleys at...
8To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 26 October 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Cadiz, 26 Oct. 1792. Since his letter of 1 Oct. everything has remained tranquil in Morocco. He plans to return to Gibraltar or perhaps San Roque and remain there “probably untill I hear from America, or untill something from Barbary shall remove me.” There being no end in sight to the struggle between the two Emperors, it is wise to consider what he should do if the conflict continues. He...
9To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 20 November 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Cadiz, 20 Nov. 1792. Nothing consequential has happened in Morocco since his last letter, nor is there much chance of anything decisive happening this winter. Mahomet Proty, the customhouse official at Tetuán, the governor, “the Cadi,” and two customhouse clerks recently brought 100,000 dollars in customs duties to Suliman at Fez. Suliman levied a fine of 100,000 dollars on the people of...
10To Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Barclay, 17 December 1792 (Jefferson Papers)
Cadiz, 17 Dec. 1792 . Even though he could wish to hold this letter until the contents can be confirmed, he sends it by way of Gibraltar and Baltimore for want of a vessel sailing from here to America. A vessel which arrived at Gibraltar from Tangier on 13 Dec. brings word from Peter Wyke, the Swedish consul there, that Ischem has had his father-in-law Rachmani executed and that Bashas Ben...