Le commerce de la maison d'Ilîgh d'après le registre comptable de Husayn b. Hachem (Tazerwalt, 1850-1875)

Résumé En

The commerce of the House of High according to the account records of Husayn b. Hachem, Tazerwalt, 1850- 1875 P. Pascon By the middle of the 19th century, only a small portion of the trans-Saharan trade destined for Europe still passed through the port of Es-Saouira (Mogador). At Tazerwalt, the family of High continued to assure the protection of the annual moussem festival as well as the protection of one of the principal markets in South -Western Morocco, where products coming from Black Africa were exchanged with those from Europe. It was the cherifs, descendants of Sidi Ahmed b. Moussa el-Semlali, who, with the exception of some brief interruptions, guaranteed the security of these exchanges for almost two and a half centuries. In order to do so, they were obliged to organize a police force, procedures of protection, banking practices, a penal system, etc., all of which was outside the structure of the central makhzen. For the years 1850-1875, the daily details of these operations are known to us thanks to a register of accounts containing more than one thousand documents which was kept by the scribes of Husayn b. Hachem al-llighi. Thus, for the first time in Morocco, we are able to penetrate the my stico- religious exterior and discover the commercial and financial practices of the heirs of one of the greatest saints of the Sous.