An Authentic Narrative of the Shipwreck and Sufferings of Mrs. Eliza Bradley: The Wife of Capt. James Bradley of Liverpool, Commander of the Ship ... on the Coast of Barbary, in June 1818 ...

by Eliza Bradley

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Genres: Nonfiction, History

118 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1820

Reviews

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the captive narrative of Eliza Bradley, the wife of Captain James Bradley, Commander of the ship Sally in 1818. On their way to Tenerife from Liverpool, the vessel endured rough seas on the Barbary Coast and the passengers and crew had to abandon the ship and head for the shore. Once on land, the survivors were captured by local Arabs and were forced to traverse the desert for many days before arriving at their captor's homes. During their arduous trip, the captors were stripped of most of their clothing and forced to travel under the hot sun exposed. Rations including water were sparse and many of the captives believe they would not survive the trek. For Eliza, as a woman in captivity, she was somewhat sheltered by her new master and allowed to travel by camel. Forced to eat bugs, snails, and tainted water, the passengers and crew of the Sally eventually arrived at their master's home to receive some respite and rest before being separated and forced into slavery and that included the separation of Eliza and her husband James.

There is a happy ending to the story but you have to read it to find out what happens. This is a first-person narrative of a woman captive in early modern Mediterranean history. Eliza's story as a Christian woman captured by Muslim corsairs and pirates is not unusual for its time but first-hand accounts are rare to find, and this one is a gem.

[Avis Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid account of the author's days in the storm that destroyed her husband's ship, and the misery of her own and the crew's captivity by the Arabs of the Barbary Coast in 1818. None of the crew expected to survive the storm, but when the weather abated enough to allow them to escape the ruined hulk of the ship to land, it a was case of out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire, almost literally. The crew had to trek days through the desert with scarcely any food or water. Then they fell into the hands of the Arabs, who quarreled over them, divided them up, and fed them on locusts, snails, and small amounts of brackish water. The men were forced to trek over the burning sands without shoes or socks, and they became emaciated from starvation. Bradley was given a camel to ride, mainly, it appears, because the Arabs knew the ransom paid for her would be higher than that for a man, so they didn't want to walk her to death.

At this point in history, enslaving Europeans was big business along the Barbary Coast, and so was their redemption. The captives were finally ransomed and set free by the Vice Consul at Mogadore, William Wiltshire, who spent an entire career rescuing and freeing European slaves. There are at least three other authors who wrote books (besides Bradley) that describe being rescued by Wiltshire, namely James Riley, Robert Adams, and Alexander Scott. By the way, Abraham Lincoln read Riley's account and said later it did much to form his views on abolition.

Bradley was allowed to keep her Bible with her, and says in her narrative that it was her greatest comfort in her time of distress. Although her account is written in the language of the times, it's a riveting one.

Available at the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/390200248...