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over unpaid import duties with the
Moroccan Sultans' officials in the town, Willshire and a number of other European merchants and their families were prevented from leaving the town and joining the British evacuation ships. The Europeans were able to shelter safely in Willshire's warehouse whilst the French started their bombardment, but when the Sultans' officials and troops fled Mogadore under the attack, local
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By 1840, with his fortune from his business interests amounting to some $ 200,000, he was ready to leave
Mogadore, and through James Riley he bought a home in New York at a cost of $ 16,000. But soon after this, James Riley died at sea and Willshire abandoned his plan to move to America, his New York
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Eventually the
Foreign Office decided that it did make financial sense to close the consulate in Adrianople and use the money saved to pay Willshire on his return to Britain, a pension of £100 a year. Palmerston proposed it and the Treasury agreed. They wrote to him on 18 August 1851 to let him know
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in 1844. As the most important foreigner in
Mogadore, it came to Willshire to negotiate with the Moroccan governor on the evacuation of foreign nationals out of the city and onto waiting British ships. Despite securing the safe evacuation of most of the foreigners out of the city, due to a dispute
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His position as Vice Consul in
Mogadore never carried with it significant financial reward (between 1831 and 1845 his salary from the foreign office was just a £100 a year), but during the 1820s and 30s as Willshire's business interests flourished, his social and professional influence in Mogadore
208:, describing his experiences as a slave in the Moroccan Sahara. In thanks to William Willshire for the kindnesses he had received during his redemption and subsequent convalescence, Riley named his third son William Willshire Riley. When building a new town in Ohio, USA in 1822, Riley named it
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coast in August of that year, and he and his crew were enslaved. Willshire was approached by Riley's master Sidi Hamet with the purpose of ransoming
Captain Riley and some of his crew. The ransom was completed successfully, with Riley and some of his crew delivered to Willshire. During Riley's
124:
William
Willshire was born in London in 1790 and spent his early life there. Having gained employment with the London-based, English trading house James Renshaw and Co, he was despatched to Mogadore (Essaouira), Morocco as the company's agent in early 1814, partnering a successful mercantile
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The families were eventually rescued by a French boat, and having been handed over to the
British, the Willshires arrived in London on 4 September 1844 utterly destitute, with no home, no business, and no money. William Willshire was never able to return to Mogadore to reclaim his property.
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Over time he began to play an important role in the various intrigues of the
Moroccan elite and the foreign and Jewish merchants. For example, during the early 1830s he was conferred power of attorney in the long and complex bankruptcy dispute between the influential Moroccan based
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seized the opportunity and plundered the town for two days and nights. During the ransacking, all of
Willshire's fortune and goods were looted, with Willshire and his family being manhandled and threatened in the process, his wife at one point having a scimitar held at her throat.
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Upon the return of James Riley to Mogadore that same year, the pair struck up what was to be a highly lucrative business partnership, exporting goods to New York. Other activities that Willshire engaged in included drawing a sketch map of Southern Morocco for the
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Desperate "to end my banishment from civilised society", he volunteered to retire and return to Britain to live on his pension. The foreign office replied that his post did not entitle him to a pension, and that he could not be treated as a special case.
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The Willshire family's time in Adrianople was one of misery, disease, and poverty. On an initial salary of just £60, despite frequent requests for a raise, it was only occasionally granted. Even after a miserable five years, his wife contracting
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The subsequent consolatory stance towards the belligerents by the British government prevented Willshire from claiming any compensation from the French and Moroccan governments, and Willshire was obliged to seek a new consular appointment.
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A native of London, he became an employee of English trading house James Renshaw and Co, and in early 1814 he was dispatched to Mogadore as that company's agent there. In the years thereafter he established himself as the foremost European
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convalescence at Willshire's house in Mogadore, the two became firm friends and later, business partners, forming a close relationship that lasted until Riley's death in 1840. Riley later went on to find fame with his published journal
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An intensely religious man, during his lifetime William Willshire, despite receiving thanks from many quarters for his work in redeeming Western Christian sailors from a life of slavery, including a vote of thanks from the
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is quoted as saying that Riley's journal of his experiences in Africa, which might never have been written without Willshire's help to secure Riley's freedom, was one of the most important works in guiding his opinion on
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Willshire was also recipient of many notes of thanks from organisations and individuals for his humanitarian work in Mogadore during his tenure as Vice Consul there, including in 1821 being elected honorary member of the
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Shortly after the redemption of Riley and his crew, he also redeemed another notable enslaved Westerner, Captain Alexander Scott, who had survived captivity for 6 years, and who also wrote an account of his hardships for
373:, his children with frequent fevers, and Willshire himself having an operation on a cancerous growth, his constant requests for a transfer were always turned down flat. A typical response from
404:, didn't seek any accolades or recognition for his selfless and far-reaching humanitarian work, but James Riley's son described him as "an honour to his nation and an ornament to mankind".
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throughout his life, and upon arriving in Mogadore and learning of the desperate hardships suffered by enslaved, mostly European and American Christian sailors who had been wrecked on the
157:(usually sailors) from slavery under the terms of an Anglo/Moroccan treaty. To secure a redemption, he employed as payment The Ironmongers' Fund, which was administered by The
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merchant house Macnin & Co and its several dozen London based creditors, in their attempt to recoup the company's £21,729 debt from its Moroccan based assets.
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When Dupuis returned to Britain in August 1814 he recommended Willshire to take over as British Vice Consul in Mogadore, a recommendation that was accepted by the
296:, where he received the blessings of the monarch. It was at this time that Riley persuaded Willshire that he ought to think about returning to Christian lands.
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It was during one such redemption in 1815 that he first became aware of Captain James Riley. An American national, Riley's ship had been wrecked off the
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Africa to Europe and North America. Today Willshire is best remembered as the man who redeemed, cared for, and helped repatriate hundreds of Western
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establishment that was engaged in trading between Mogadore and Great Britain with the resident British Vice Consul and merchant
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for Mogadore too, (there being no Americans in the town to accept the duties of vice consul), until he left Mogadore in 1844.
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By 1832 Willshire had married and had a young family, two sons Leonard and Alexander, a daughter Sara and two small girls.
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in London. After his appointment he remained the Vice Consul in the city and the agent of the American Consul General in
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Willshire instead remained in Mogadore, and his business interests continued to flourish until an attack by the French
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coast, he resolved to work tirelessly to secure the freedom of as many as he was able, regardless of nationality.
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In late 1839, Willshire, along with his son Leonard and James Riley, were granted an audience with the Moroccan
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took Europeans for ransom or slavery from passing ships or from coastal towns as far north as Iceland. The
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in London and set up in 1723 by one of its members, Thomas Betton, who himself had been enslaved in
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A response sent from Adrianople informed Palmerston that William Willshire had died on 4 August.
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Details of Thomas Betton's bequest at the website of The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers
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Part of the British Vice Consul's duties at Mogadore involved the redemption of British
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After initial refusals, the Foreign Office offered him the consulship of
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attempted to stop the practice, but this stoppage proved temporary; the
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also known as William Wiltshire (c. 1790 – 4 August 1851), was British
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in the city, which was at that time an important trading port linking
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1825 – British Consuls in Morocco in the Early Nineteenth Century
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of Morocco during the early part of the 19th century, including
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The Life of James Riley and later anti slavery work in Ohio
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The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal Vol I (1821)
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Biographies of Europeans in 18th and 19th Century Morocco
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Biographies of Europeans in 18th and 19th Century Morocco
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commemorates their involvement in the first Barbary war.
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was simply "write larger and in a more upright hand".
251:, where William Willshire spent most of his adult life
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The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, Vol I
212:in his honour. The town today has 400 inhabitants.
57:from 1814 until 1844, before being assigned to the
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630:The Sultan's Jew, Morocco and the Sephardi World
365:(Edirne) following the previous consul's death.
725:The Captivity of Captain Alexander Scott, from
116:is named after him, in thanks, by James Riley.
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304:Impoverishment and Consularship in Adrianople
235:, receiving an award of $ 45 with the title.
224:The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal
641:Retrieved from Google Books 15 October 2009.
606:Retrieved from Google Books 12 October 2009.
590:Retrieved from Google Books 12 October 2009.
588:(1821), E Littell and R. Norris Henry, p679
256:increased, along with his personal fortune.
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378:Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
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276:and writing a commentary on it in 1845.
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19:For the Australian police officer, see
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471:Riley, James; Evans, Gordon H (2001)
757:Civil servants in the Foreign Office
513:, Pen Press Publishers Ltd, p. 406,
165:. Willshire was an intensely devout
807:19th-century English businesspeople
802:19th-century British businesspeople
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787:English people of Moroccan descent
632:, Stanford University Press, p.140
475:, Long Riders Guild Press, p.298,
149:The redemption of Christian slaves
120:Early life and posting to Mogadore
65:in 1845, until his death in 1851.
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239:Life as a merchant in Mogadore
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737:in early 19th Century Morocco
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21:William Willshire (policeman)
653:, Retrieved 14 October 2009.
575:, Retrieved 12 October 2009.
462:, Retrieved 14 October 2009.
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628:Schroeter, Daniel J (2002)
604:, Hillard and Metcalf, p.35
602:The Friend of Peace, Vol II
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233:Massachusetts Peace Society
185:finally stopped it. The US
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767:Businesspeople from London
618:Retrieved 12 October 2009.
357:Consularship of Adrianople
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309:The French attack Mogadore
274:Royal Geographical Society
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437:History of Western Sahara
600:Pacificus, Philo (1821)
509:Maislish, David (2005),
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294:Sultan Mulay Abdir Ahman
288:Audience with the Sultan
32:William Willshire, from
216:Captain Alexander Scott
102:Captain Alexander Scott
415:in the United States.
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315:Bombardment of Mogador
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34:Captain James Riley's
529:Riley; Evans, p. 293.
500:Riley; Evans, p. 298.
491:Riley; Evans, p. 288.
425:James Riley (Captain)
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300:property being sold.
280:Marriage and children
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133:Appointed Vice Consul
31:
16:British civil servant
571:10 February 2020 at
566:American Fact Finder
473:Sufferings in Africa
249:Mogadore (Essaouira)
205:Sufferings in Africa
51:Mogadore (Essaouira)
36:Sufferings in Africa
325:Mogador (Essaouira)
193:Captain James Riley
112:in the US state of
94:Captain James Riley
63:Adrianople (Edirne)
442:History of Morocco
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183:second Barbary war
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792:British diplomats
762:British Anglicans
707:Maislish, p. 409.
698:Maislish, p. 407.
689:Maislish, p. 406.
680:Maislish, p. 397.
671:Maislish, p. 405.
662:Maislish, p. 393.
556:Maislish, p. 389.
547:Maislish, p. 387.
538:Maislish, p. 393.
327:, 16 August 1844.
179:first Barbary war
43:William Willshire
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402:US Congress
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47:Vice Consul
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448:References
363:Adrianople
264:/Moroccan
413:abolition
342:tribesmen
227:in 1821.
210:Willshire
155:nationals
110:Willshire
90:Sultanate
569:Archived
431:Commerce
419:See also
375:Viscount
167:Anglican
86:enslaved
71:merchant
408:Lincoln
340:desert
171:Saharan
163:Barbary
143:Tangier
88:in the
83:sailors
75:Saharan
55:Morocco
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371:typhus
266:Jewish
106:desert
100:, and
388:Death
333:fleet
262:Anglo
635:ISBN
515:ISBN
477:ISBN
338:Arab
114:Ohio
77:and
61:of
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