Slaves in Algiers

Slaves in Algiers, or a Struggle for Freedom is a play written by Susanna Haswell Rowson in 1794.[1] First staged at the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia,[1] Rowson's comic opera engages with the Barbary captivity crisis.[2]

Characters
  • Augustus: Son of Rebecca and Constant
  • Ben Hassan: British-born Jew who converts to Islam
  • Constant: Rebecca's British husband
  • Fetnah: The daughter of Ben Hassan
  • Frederic: American slave
  • Henry: American slave, Olivia's fiancé
  • Muley Moloc: Dey of Algiers
  • Mustapha: Servant in the harem
  • Olivia: The daughter of Rebecca and Constant
  • Rebecca: Zealous American woman
  • Sadi: Servant in the harem
  • Sebastian: Spaniard sailor
  • Selima: Servant in the harem
  • Zoriana: The daughter of Dey, princes

Plot

Act I.

Scene I. The play opens with a scene of the harem. Fetnah, an Algerian, feels trapped. She has met Rebecca, an American woman held captive by her father Ben Hassan, and is influenced by Rebecca's notions of freedom.

Scene II. Rebecca is deceived by Ben Hassan, who has received a ransom to release her, as he tries to seduce her in vain. Frederic, an American captive, on behalf of the other white slaves, asks Ben Hassan to purchase an escape vessel.

Scene III. Zoriana learns that Olivia and her father Constant, are captured by the Algerine corsair on their way to visit Lisbon. Zoriana, the Dey's daughter, declares that she is “Christian by heart” and offers to help them escape.

Scene IV. Henry finds out that his fiancé Olivia is being held captive by the Dey.

Act II.

Scene I. Olivia and Henry reunites as Zoriana sacrifices her love for Henry. Unknown to Henry, Olivia fears that the escape plan is too risky and, to save her father, decides to marry the Dey.

Scene II. Fetnah meets Frederic at the harem garden and hopes that he, a Christian, will take her to America where she imagines everyone is free.

Scene III. Fetnah schemes to escape from the harem by disguising herself as a boy.

Act. III.

Scene I. Slaves gather and prepare to embark on the ship. Fetnah, wearing a disguise, meets and asks them to save her American friend Rebecca from her father's house.

Scene II. Sebastian leads a group to Ben Hassan's house to save Rebecca. Ben Hassan is mistakenly alerted that the Dey is looking to punish him.

Scene III. Panicking with the thought of severe punishment, Ben Hassan puts on Rebecca's head dress. Sebastian takes Ben to the ship under the assumption that he is Rebecca.

Scene IV. Henry goes to the harem. Zoriana helps Henry free Olivia's father Constant.

Scene V. Sebastian flirts with and takes disguised Ben Hassan to the ship.

Scene VI. Dey Mulec realizes the captives’ plans to escape. Olivia selflessly offers Dey Mulec her hand in marriage to save her father and friends, despite their protests.

Scene VII. Rebecca, finding the money Ben Hassan stole from her, storms into the harem to pay ransom for the Christian captives. Constant, long separated from Rebecca, realizes that Rebecca is his wife and Olivia's mother. As Mulec refuses to free Olivia, the slaves in Algiers rebel. The final scene ends with Dey Mulec repenting for his mistakes and asking for forgiveness.

References
  1. Rowson, Mrs (March 2005). Slaves in Algiers; or, A struggle for freedom: a play, interspersed with songs, in three acts.
  2. Dillon, E. M. (September 1, 2004). "Slaves in Algiers: Race, Republican Genealogies, and the Global Stage". American Literary History. 16 (3): 407–436. doi:10.1093/alh/ajh022. ISSN 0896-7148.
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