ABSTRACT

The Tuscan poet, playwright and democratic activist Filippo Pananti (1766–1837) was captured by Algerian corsairs in the Mediterranean on his way back to Italy from England in 1813 and was briefly held captive before being released thanks to the intervention of a British diplomat. He published a highly coloured and melodramatic account of his sufferings, together with a description of the country, in 1817; the work, called Avventure ed osservazioni sopra le coste di Barberia, went through several editions and was translated into English, French and German. This article studies Pananti’s extremely hostile view of Algeria, which draws on many earlier writings about the country and reproduces contemporary racial, political and religious stereotypes about the Muslim world. It also throws light on the contemporary international context of his call for a European expedition to free the Mediterranean of North African pirates and liberate the Christian ‘slaves’ in Algeria.

摘要

托斯卡纳诗人，剧作家和民主活动家菲利波·潘南蒂（Filippo Pananti，1766–1837）在1813年从英格兰回到意大利的途中，被地中海的阿尔及利亚海盗劫持，在英国外交官的干预下被短暂释放之前被俘虏。1817年，他发表了关于他所受苦难的生动而生动的描写，并描述了这个国家。这项工作被称为Barberia的Avventure ed osservazioni sopra le coste，经历了多个版本，并被翻译成英文，法文和德文。本文研究了潘南蒂对阿尔及利亚的极为敌对的观点，该观点借鉴了有关阿尔及利亚的许多早期著作，并再现了关于穆斯林世界的当代种族，政治和宗教成见。他呼吁欧洲探险以释放地中海的北非海盗，并释放阿尔及利亚的基督教“奴隶”，这也激发了他的当代国际背景。