Away? Yes - Gran Canaria

Yes, been away for a bit, so no postings recently. Had a great week away with the new boyfriend at a place called Maspalomas on Gran Canaria. Spent a happy week in the clubs and on the beach, including a rather lovely beach where I could get more off than normal - so much for the new swimming costume

My avatar on IMVU

Here are some pics of my IMVU avatar, which I've tried to make as much like me as I can....

Slavery in North Africa 2

Shackled white slave girls

Female slaves were required for two main needs - the first was as domestic servants in rather the same way as the house slaves on American plantations - older women would usually be destined for this role. The younger and especially the more attractive women were required as sex slaves by the ruling class and richer merchants. The first requirement for a sex slave was that she should be a virgin and preferably young - around 12 being the ideal age. In a way similar to what happened in slave markets in America the girls would be stripped and put on public display at auctions - those who were most desirable would fetch the most money and go to the ruler or members of his family, those a little less desirable and thus cheaper would go to more minor nobles and so on. Slaves of all colors would be sold at these markets not just the European girls, but European girls tended to fetch more money - this was due to the color bias of the Ottoman buyers.

The sale of white slave girls

Illustrations made at the time almost always show very white girls in the harems of high-status Ottomans - any black girls present tend to be depicted as servants - of course there might be some bias on the part of the artists involved here. Over time a hierarchy of desirability was established all based upon the Ottomans' lust for white flesh - at the bottom would be slaves from sub-saharan Africa, then girls from non-muslim North African tribes, then girls from the Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy, then girls from England and other northern countries. At the top of this hierarchy were Circassian girls from the area of the Caucusus mountains - the Ottomans regarded these girls as the purest and most beautiful of whites.

Young Circassian slave girl

The enslavement of these Europeans mostly caught by pirate raids on ships and coastal settlements was much talked about in Europe at the time, even though it might be an almost forgotten episode today and much was made of the lustful Turk and the terrible state of the female prisoners - in reality it was the male prisoners who were more harshly treated, many being worked to death - for many of the female slaves their life was not that terrible in reality as they could be highly pampered within the harems. It should be remembered that these girls were almost all European peasent girls from very poor backgrounds - if their relatives had had any money their pirate capturers would have held them for ransom rather than selling them at a slave auction.

Life in the harem

Barefoot jogging

If you are a person who runs to keep fit you probably always wear trainers or running shoes. You probably won't want to jog through the streets barefoot unless you've done plenty of barefoot walking before, but there is a compromise - Huarache sandals - these are based on the running sandals of the Tarahumara Indians and you can find out more about them from here....


http://www.invisibleshoe.com/


They look like this...

Slavery in North Africa 1 - the Barbary Pirates

Recently I've discovered the amazing fact that 1.5 million Europeans were taken to Africa as slaves in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. These people were captured from ships and from coastal settlements by Barbary Pirates and then sold as slaves of the Ottoman Empire. Most of the people captured were from the Mediterranean countries, which opens up the possibility that some of my Sicilian ancestors may have had relatives enslaved in this way. There can't have been much more terrifying a sight than to see a Barbary pirate galleon bearing down upon you. I'm going to gradually post more about this period as I learn more and more about it. Here are some pictures of these galleons, quite different to the Pirates of the Caribbean type ship. They were powered by wind when there was some and by European galley slaves when there wasn't....

African slaves in America

One thing about being born part African American is that you pretty much know for certain that some of your ancestors were slaves - people kidnapped from their homes in Africa and forced to work in America. There are plenty of sites on the web that give all too graphic accounts of the slave trade and the horrors of life as a slave. When my ancestors first arrived in the US they would have looked very obviously black, but after a few generations of enforced interbreeding people looking like me would have been produced - these people would have still been slaves and could be bought and sold the same as any other slave - the system was governed by economics as much as color....

Just to confirm how white looking some 19th century black slaves had become look at these two adverts posted by slave owners trying to recapture runaway slaves...

Runaway, a bright woman, named Julia, about twenty-five years old. She is white and very likely may attempt to pass for white. She is a good seamstress, dresses fine, and can read a little. $200 reward, if caught in any Free State and put into any good jail in Kentucky or Tennessee. — A.W. Johnson. The Republican Banner and The Nashville Whig, Tenn. July 14, 1840.

Runaway from me, a woman named Fanny. She is as white as most white women; with straight light hair and blue eyes, and can pass herself for a white woman. She is very intelligent; can read and write, and so forge passes for herself. She is very pious, prays a good deal, and was, as supposed, contented and happy. I will give $500 for her delivery to me. — John Balch, Tuscaloosa Alabama, May 20, 1845.

New Zealand - barefoot capital?

People often think me plodding around London in my bare feet is a bit odd, but if I lived in New Zealand I think I'd be one of many as these snaps of barefoot walkers there show...

Maybe its something to do with the warmer climate there - apparently its very common on the warmer north island, but not on the colder south island.

One thing though, don't agree to have a game of hockey without shoes as I now have 2 rather bruised toes from getting wacked with the ball - OUCH!