White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves [Paperback]

 

 

Create your own review

Brilliant research and background work bring to life the story of Morocco's White slave trade. Milton has the skill of a novelist and manages to engage the reader immediately. His stories of Barbary corsairs sailing with inpunity up and down the English channel during the 17th century is incredible-particularly the year when they established a slave gathering base on Lundy Island. He estimates over 1 million European slaves were taken. He centralises his story around Thomas Pellow who endured 23 years in captivity before escaping.
I thoroughly recommend this book to all lovers of well written history.It fills a gap in our knowledge.

I have been a huge fan of Milton since Nathaniels Nutmeg, which was a phenomenal story. The whole point of his books are to take periods of history, little understood, and create a vivid story. It would be wrong to say it reads like fiction, because one is fully aware you are reading a book of history, but it is told with so much enthusiasm and poise as to make it eminently readable.
The story, as one would guess, is of the little known tale of white slaves that were captured bu the Barbary corsairs and sold to such places as Morocco and Algiers (Algeria). It goes into graphic detail about the conditions and brutality they endured, and the cruelty of their owners, particularly a despotic sultan of Morocco. I mean, you couldn't make up moulay Ismail, a brutal and ruthless villain, who was so unpredictable he could sometimes forgive even treason.
The character we follow is a chap called Thomas Pellow, captured at 11, and subjected to 23 years (ish) slavery. It follows his beatings, his enforced conversion to Islam, his rise in authority in the grandiose palace of Meknes, to when he even defied the Sultan yet lived. He then became a renegade, and thought in an army of such people, and made numerous desperate escape attempts.
Utterley absorbing. We follow sieges, naval battles, tortures, awful executions, daring emissaries, desperate escapes, betrayals. You couldn't ask for much more. If you like your history fast paced and bloody, this is for you.

captivating story,pardon the pun.this book really is an amazing
story of human endurance through the most horrific experiences
fate could throw at anyone,it also gave me an insight into how
the muslim world of north africa held christianity in hatred and
contempt.the tale of thomas pellow captured by barbary pirates
and his servitude under a cruel and sadistic ruler is a truly
remarkable and nightmarish journey told at a terrific pace but
still manages to pack in masses of historical facts and insight
into numerous locations and characters.apart from the central story of pellow and his adventures the descriptions of the conditions and labour of the european slaves is heart rending.
families torn apart,british governments powerless to stop the
white slavers is an episode of our history that needed to be told.a brilliant read.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 36 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable
I stumbled on this book and thought it looked interesting, albeit a subject I had scant knowledge of. Read more

Published 21 days ago by RMCT

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting subject brought vividly to life
The fact that white slaves were captured from all over Europe and taken to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and elsewhere in North Africa was a complete revelation to me. Read more

Published 29 days ago by B&B Owner

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Yet another fascinating book from Giles Milton on a subject that I had never even heard of before.

This is a fabulous book which reads like a novel and will have you... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Mr Gordon Davidson

5.0 out of 5 stars slavery
Up to the year 1816 thousands of Europeans (English,French.Italian,Spanish and Dutch) were captured by Barbary corsairs and taken to Meknes(Morocco),Algiers,Tunis and Tripoli as... Read more

Published 1 month ago by G. I. Forbes

5.0 out of 5 stars A very compelling story.
Wow, what a read. The extraordinary true story of the young Thomas Pellow. To be honest, I couldn't put this book down, every page was riveting. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Captain Howdy

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book about a little-known piece of history
I have started reading this well-written history about the Barbary pirates and their slaving activities. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Geronimo

5.0 out of 5 stars A forgotten and Ignored story
A fantastic piece of research on a subject that many people know nothing about.

Thomas Pellow and his comrades were captured by the Barbary Corsairs in the Summer... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Steven

5.0 out of 5 stars One-volume guide to north African war which is still little-known
This is mostly an 18th century story; it ends in 1816. The very last endnote quotes certainly a million European Christians enslaved from 1530-1780, in NW Africa - from Tunis... Read more

Published 14 months ago by Rerevisionist

5.0 out of 5 stars White Gold.
I bought the book in a Charity shop where I work and read it in four days.Need I say any more. I now need to read Pellow's own book.

Published 15 months ago by Roger Butterworth

5.0 out of 5 stars White Gold
Book arrived in a couple of days, very good condition and almost as new.
I would highly recommend this seller.
Fantastic book.

Published 17 months ago by Floss K

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 36 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

Search Listmania!