Travels through the Empire of Morocco

Travels through the Empire of
Morocco, by

John Buffa
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Title: Travels through the Empire of Morocco
Author: John Buffa
Release Date: February 26, 2004 [eBook #11297]
Language: English
Character set encoding: US-ASCII
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS
THROUGH THE EMPIRE OF MOROCCO***
Produced by Distributed Proofreaders Europe, http://dp.rastko.net
Project by Carlo Traverso. This file was produced from images
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[Illustration: Map of the Empire of MOROCCO for Dr. BUFFA'S
TRAVELS]
TRAVELS
THROUGH THE
EMPIRE OF MOROCCO.
BY
JOHN BUFFA, M.D.
PHYSICIAN TO THE FORCES.
ILLUSTRATED WITH A MAP.
LONDON:

1810.

PREFACE.
My motives for publishing this volume of Travels, will be best
explained by a detail of the circumstances which gave rise to my
journey to Morocco. In 1805, I was serving in the capacity of Physician
to His Majesty's Forces, at the Depot Hospital in the Isle of Wight;
whence, by dexterous management of the Army Medical Board[*], I
was removed, and placed upon half-pay, in June of that year. At this
period, it occurred to Mr. Turnbull, Chairman of the Committee of
Merchants trading to the Levant, that it would be of advantage to the
public, were the offices of Garrison Surgeon of Gibraltar, and
Inspecting Medical Officer of the ships doing quarantine, which were
then united in the person of Mr. Pym, separated and made distinct
appointments; and he was pleased to think that, from my local
knowledge, and other circumstances, I should be a proper person to fill
the latter of these offices. This was also the opinion of His Royal
Highness the Duke of Kent, Governor of the garrison. Representations
were accordingly made on the subject, to the then Secretary of State for
the War and Colonial Department, Lord Castlereagh; and it was so
fully understood that the proposition had been assented to on his part,
that an order was issued from the Transport Board, to provide a passage
for myself and family to Gibraltar. There I waited some months, in the
expectation that the commission would be sent after me, but in vain. In
the mean time, I received a communication from Mr. Mattra, British
Consul General at Tangiers, requesting that I would cross over to
Barbary, and attend His Excellency the Governor of Larache, First
Minister of the Emperor of Morocco, then labouring under a dangerous
illness. It was on my return from this journey, that I found a letter from
Mr. Turnbull (See Appendix, No. III. p. 227), stating that my old
friends of the Medical Board had been at their usual work of
persecution, and by their scandalous misrepresentations to the new
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, Mr. Windham, had
succeeded in preventing the appointment which His Royal Highness
the Governor of Gibraltar had been graciously pleased to design for me.
During my residence in Barbary it was my good fortune to gain the
approbation and friendship of the Emperor of Morocco, and of the

principal Officers of his Court, by which I was enabled to give facilities
to the procuring of fresh provisions for our Navy, and render to my
country other services, not strictly in the line of my profession. (See the
various documents at the end of Appendix.) Having succeeded in
restoring the Governor of Larache to health, and performed some other
cures, acceptable to the Emperor of Morocco, I considered the objects
for which I had crossed over to Barbary accomplished, and returned to
Gibraltar, after having received the most flattering marks of distinction,
both from the Imperial Court, and from Lord Collingwood,
Commander of the British fleet in the Mediterranean. The letter of the
Emperor of Morocco to His Majesty (Appendix, No. X. p. 239) is an
ample proof of the disposition of that prince in my favour.
Finding the principal aim of my voyage to Gibraltar frustrated by the
machinations of the Medical Junta, whom I have already stated as ever
active in mischief, I determined to return to England. The letter of the
Emperor of Morocco to His Majesty, and a general certificate, couched
in the strongest terms of approbation, and signed by all the principal
merchants of Gibraltar, I thought were documents, which, added to my
correspondence with Lord Collingwood, and the officers of his fleet,
would not fail to have procured me a favourable reception, and some
attention to my claims.
But the letter of the Emperor of Morocco, as it still remains
unanswered, I cannot but believe has never