MEMORY OF THE WORLD REGISTER Privateering and the international relations of the Regency of Tunis in the 18th and 19th centuries (Tunisia) Ref N° 2010-03 PART A – ESSENTIAL INFORMATION 1 SUMMARY Privateering is the main feature of the collection nominated for inclusion in the Memory of the World Register. Essentially composed of documents from the end of the eighteenth/ beginning of the nineteenth century, the collection centres on privateering activities and diplomacy in the Regency of Tunis. The collection is unique, containing documents found nowhere else in the world. It includes complete, detailed lists of the names of European captives, their social and ethnic origins in their home country, as well as the biographies of some of them, including their professional and even political careers during their captivity in the Regency. Very Mediterranean and even international in character, the collection reflects cultural interactions through the phenomenon of privateering, which did not have only negative connotations. Despite the damage it caused, privateering also contributed to cultural dialogue and ethnic and linguistic métissage. Today, this collection can be seen as a source of dialogue between civilizations and cultures. Also contributing to the richness of the collection are the original, rare and well-preserved documents it contains, written in several languages such as Arabic, Osmanli, French, Spanish, Italian and English. The documents cover a geographical area extending from the Regency of Tunis to the United States, Europe, the Levant and Scandinavian countries. 2 DETAILS OF THE NOMINATOR 2.1 Name (person or organization): National Archives of Tunisia 2.2 Relationship to the documentary heritage nominated: The National Archives of Tunisia is the institution responsible for the preservation, safeguard and publicity of the nominated archive holdings. 2.3 Contact person(s): the Director-General of the National Archives of Tunisia 2.4 Contact details (include address, phone, fax, email): Address: 122, bd du 9 April 1938, 1030 Tunis, Tunisia Telephone: 00216-71 575 700 Fax: 00216-71 569 175 Email address: [email protected] 3 IDENTITY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE 3.1 Name and identification details of the items being nominated: “Privateering and the international relations of the Regency of Tunis in the 18th and 19th centuries”. Archive references: History series, files: 200-258 3.2 Description - 2 - Archive references: History series: files 200-258 Type and content of collection: registers The registers are classified according to content: Registers of State income and expenditure These registers contain accounting documents tied to the financing of privateering operations. They cover, in great detail, the sailors’ (corsairs’) spending, their food provisions, weapons, munitions and all equipment supplied by shipowners, which is also mentioned in the lists of the names of captains (Rais) and sailors. These registers also detail the value and nature of the prizes and captives. Also listed are the names of these captives, their ethnic origins, their “qualifications” to serve the State, public officials or dignitaries, ransom amounts and those responsible for the exchange (often European consuls). These data can be used to calculate the cost of a privateering operation and the revenue derived from it. Registers of the State and political figures These registers record information on financing for commercial transactions carried out for the State, the Bey or for certain ministers. Among other things, they contain data related to the spoils of privateering and their reinjection into the local or international economy. Comparison with European archives would make it possible to group together data on commercial exchanges, including their volume, prices, supply and demand, earnings and the main actors involved. These registers also contain information about the activities of European corsairs who displayed their booty on the Tunisian market, providing details of its source. The registers provide information about State spending on weapons, cannons and munitions. This information may prove useful as it indicates where weapons were sourced and may lead researchers to study the balance of power between different regional and international powers and the strategies they employed in times of conflict. These documents provide precious information on arms markets and on the changes which occurred in international relations at the end of the eighteenth century with the French Revolution, and the beginning of the nineteenth with Napoleonic expansionism and the growing interest of the United States of America in the Mediterranean. Hospitality registers These registers list all of the amounts spent hosting foreign dignitaries from various countries. They show the number of guests, their nationalities, professions, the reasons for their visits and the assignments of emissaries, diplomats or admirals who chose to take on supplies in Tunisia. This is revelatory of Tunisia’s importance in the Mediterranean basin by reason of its geographical position, which made it a relay between East and West and between the two shores of the Mediterranean. This information can also be used to study diplomatic relations between European powers and their competitors with a view to building coalitions and thus ensuring control over larger areas during periods of conflict. Registers containing copies of treaties - 3 - These registers date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and contain the text of every international treaty signed between the Regency of Tunis and European countries, in which articles dealing with privateering are omnipresent. They also contain lists of the presents offered by foreign countries to the Tunisian authorities and describe how these gifts were distributed among dignitaries and members of the court. These presents were of great importance, especially military equipment which was often used in privateering. These documents are a source of information on how political, military, diplomatic and cultural relations between the Regency of Tunis and European powers evolved over time. The files Files are classified by subject, in the following order: *International relations These files are classified by country. They contain correspondence and treaties signed with each country. The study of these treaties reveals how the balance of power evolved between European countries and the States on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. They also contain correspondence relating to the missions carried out by important public officials abroad, particularly in Europe and the United States. *Navy These files provide information about the activities of Tunisia’s navy and the support it provided to the Ottoman navy by taking part in conflicts or providing logistical assistance. They are a source of information about the types of weapons and ships, and the ethnic and social origins of Tunisian navy crews at the time. Privateering appears in correspondence describing a privateering operation in detail, giving the position of ships, the lists of the corsairs who boarded, the “procedure” for verifying the ship’s and crew’s papers, the nationality of the shipowner and captain and, lastly, the decision taken concerning the “legality” (buona prisa) of the operation. This collection includes a singular and unique file of more than 150 items, including registers with lists of Christian captives, and a very important separate register with a list of Tabarkans, a community of Genoese origin who had settled in Tabarka, a port located in north western Tunis which was conquered in the eighteenth century. Written in Italian, this document shows that captured Tabarkans were treated differently from “ordinary” captives. Tabarkans were rarely separated from their families, who were then assigned to the service of high government officials. Two prominent figures from Tabarkan families were Antonio Bogo and Giuseppe Raffo, ministers and counsellors under several Beys. *Mariano Stinca Mariano Stinca was a captive from Naples who worked for Hammuda Pasha Bey of Tunis (1782- 1814). After many years as a statesman, Stinca left behind a large number of documents written in Italian (letters and accounting statements). He also served as the personal interpreter, personal secretary and chief of protocol to the Bey. These positions enabled him to amass a great fortune and negotiate many transactions with European and Jewish merchants on behalf of the Bey and on his own account. These files also contain personal correspondence between Stinca and his family in Italy. - 4 - 4 JUSTIFICATION FOR INCLUSION/ASSESSMENT AGAINST CRITERIA 4.1 Is authenticity established? The documents in the collection are all authentic. In fact, none of the documents are copies, replicas, of questionable authenticity or hoaxes. Several researchers have consulted and confirmed the authenticity of the collection, using the documents as the basis for their books and other publications. All the information contained in the documents in the collection about places, events, people and the period are trustworthy and verifiable in the historical sources and archives of other countries, Mediterranean countries in particular. In point of fact, the lists of captives, treaties with foreign countries, official diplomatic correspondence and government accounting records come from the archives of the Tunisian State and were produced by its departments. 4.2 Is world significance,