From this account, contrasted with the actual appearance of the place in question, we must either suppose that the level of the lands here alluded to, which are those in the immediate neighbourhood of Tripoly, is higher, at the present time, than it was in the age of Leo, or that the sea has retired since that period. For although the soil of Tripoly still continues to be sandy, there is now no part of it, as we have stated above, overflowed to the southward of the town[9]. As we cannot suppose that the sea has retired since the time of the author in question—(for we shall hereafter point out several instances on the coast, between this part of Northern Africa and Alexandria, in which it rather appears to have gained)—we must conclude that, since the age of Leo Africanus, the land alluded to has been rising in a greater proportion than the sea.
This elevation of soil is, at the same time, by no means inconsistent with the rise of the waters already mentioned; for, as the coast is here sandy, we may venture to conclude, that the sea, notwithstanding it continued to rise, threw up, from time to time, a sufficient quantity of sand to raise the level of the country above it; and we shall thus have an additional confirmation of what appears to be actually the case on the coasts of the Greater Syrtis, and Cyrenaica, as well as of the ingenious conjectures of Major Rennell with regard to the Lake Tritonis and the Lesser Syrtis.
It is well known that Tripoly, after the destruction of Carthage, became a Roman province; and that on the conquest of a great part of Northern Africa by the Vandals, it passed into the hands of those barbarians, from which it was rescued, in the reign of Justinian, by the valour and abilities of Belisarius. The rapid and extraordinary progress of Mahometanism, soon after the death of its founder, involved Tripoly, together with the whole of Northern Africa, in the general wreck of civilization and Christianity: since that period it has remained, with few exceptions, in the hands of its Moslem conquerors, passing successively from the government of the Caliphs to the tyranny of Morocco, Fez, Tunis, and the Porte. After the erection of the walls of the town, already mentioned as the work of Dragut, Tripoly became the secure resort of most of the Corsairs who roved under Turkish colours; and from that port they continually make attacks and descents on the opposite shores of the Mediterranean.
After the death of Dragut, the Porte continued to send Governors to Tripoly under the titles of Sangiac and Bashaw; and the castle was garrisoned by Turkish troops while the Moors inhabited the city. At length, in the year 1714, it was finally rescued from the oppression of the Turks by the great-grandfather of the reigning Bashaw; who, having contrived to assassinate the whole of the garrison, took the reins of government into his own hands, and obtained the title of 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. It 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[10].
A considerable portion of the revenue of Tripoly was formerly drawn from the plunder obtained by her corsairs; and a very lucrative 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.
It 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.
Geographical Remarks on the Towns and District of Tripoly.
The town of Tripoly has been usually considered to occupy the site of the ancient Oea; one of the cities which, with Sabrata and Leptis Magna, the Tripoli Vecchia and Lebida of modern times, composed the three principal towns of a district which took from them the appellation of Tripolis.
At what precise period this tract of country assumed the title of Tripolis does not appear to be clearly ascertained; but we may probably conclude that it acquired it in the reign, either of Titus, or of his successor Domitian; soon after the building of Sabrata and Oea, which may be supposed to have taken place before the middle of the first century[11].