Hamet the Great. From that time to the present it has remained
under the government of the Moors, although the: supremacy of the
Grand Signor is still acknowledged, and tribute is paid to the
Porte.
We may say, in allusion to. the actual state of Tripoly, that it appears
to be making some advances towards civilization, and is beginning
to feel the good effects which result from a state of . security and
tranquillity. Indeed, when we reflect upon its deplorable condition
at the time of the accession of Sidi Yusuf, and look back upon., the
horrors of civil discord and contention to which it had been for more
than eight years exposed—impoverished at the same time by indiscriminate
extortion and plunder, and subjected during the period of
these heavy calamities to the dreadful effects of famine and plague—
we may venture to assert that the present state of Tripoly is far
better than might have been expected. I t is now secure under the
protection of an established government, property is respected, and
commerce is improving; its . markets are well supplied, its manufactures
are encouraged, and its population appears to be increasing *.
A considerable portion of the revenue of Tripoly was formerly
drawn from the plunder obtained by her corsairs ; and a very lucra*
Before we take leave of Tripoly it may be p roper to recommend, for the information
of those who may hereafter visit th a t country, the useful precaution of not subjecting
themselves to the fluctuation which is usual in the exchange of the place. Money, in
Tripoly, is in the hands of a few ; and its possessors, who are by no means unacquainted
with the most profitable methods of laying it out, are not at all times particularly remarkable
for a liberal treatment of strangers. Wd found 'th'e'exchange‘g et more unfavourable
as our demand for money increased ; and having been obliged to make some
tive branch of her commerce consisted in the traffic of slaves. The
humane interference, and the decisive measures, of England, have
contributed to check, if not quite to abolish, these execrable sources
of profit. Piracy, so far at least as we were able to learn, has been
wholly superseded by commerce; and when the Tripolines find
that it is more to their interest to give up their traffic in human
kind than to continue it, we may hope to see this also relinquished.
I t may, however, be added (we fear) that till then such a consummation
must not be expected, however devoutly it may be wished.
Indeed, we cannot reasonably expect that it should; for the feelings
which result from a high state of civilization will never be found to
precede civilization itself: and humanity, however strongly we may
believe, or may wish to believe, it is implanted in the breasts of all
mankind, has not often been found to weigh very heavy against the
scale in which interest, or inclination, has been opposed to it.
comparatively heavy payments in Spanish dollars, the value of them rose in proportion
as it was known we had occasion for them*. In order to remedy, or rather.to prevent,
impositions of a similar nature, it would be advisable for travellers to take with them,
in Spanish dollars, the amount of the sums they may have occasion for in Tripoly.; ifor
even if the exchange should be good on their arrival there, it would most probably
lower as they weye known to have occasion for money. Should this be inconvenient,
bills might be drawn on Malta, and the money in Spanish dollars* forwarded by the
first secure vessel which might be sailing from that port to Tripoly.
* It mast, however, be observed, in justice to the house of Messrs. Beaussier and Co;, .that we. experienced
a more liberal treatment from them than from any other house in, Tripoly.
b The Spanish dollar is the coin in most general request in; the northern and inland parts of Africa.