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Arago thus evaded capture and made his way to Palma de Majorca where, in
June 1808, he too offered himself up for imprisonment by the Spanish authorities
in the castle of the Captain General. There Arago had the unique experience of
reading in a newspaper about his own execution, which was worrying, although he
took some satisfaction in the account of the heroic way he was reported to have met
his death as he was hung. It was clear, however, that his situation was serious, and
he was concerned that the false account might presage the fact.
Arago and Berthémie made arrangements to leave Majorca and in July 1808
they chartered a boat and left the island. By August they had landed in Algiers and
sought refuge in the house of the French consul, with whose aid they chartered
another (Algerian) boat to sail to Marseille, disguised as merchants, one from
Schwekat in Hungary and the other from Loeben in Austria. The boat was
approaching Marseille in mid-August when it was captured by a Spanish corsair
and taken to Rosas on the Spanish coast near the French border. Cross-examined on
arrival, Arago was momentarily disconcerted that he had forgotten whether he was
supposed to be the Hungarian or the Austrian but fortunately guessed correctly. At
first he was imprisoned in a windmill and then in September and October he was
transferred first to a fortress and then to the hulks at Palmos, where he was almost
starved of food. On the intercession of the Dey of Algiers
19
, Arago and Berthémie
were eventually freed along with the Algerian crew and the boat and were allowed
to continue their journey towards Marseille.
Within sight of Marseille in November 1808, the boat was caught up in a storm,
the strong wind of the mistral propelling it on to the coast of Sardinia where it was
severely damaged. It limped across the Mediterranean Sea south to Bejaia in Algeria
for repairs where Arago and Berthémie joined a caravan to walk through hostile
Arabs to Algiers, reaching the city on Christmas Day 1808 and the relative safety of
the French consulate. Even in Algiers, outside the arena of the direct confrontation of
the Big Powers, he was not safe. A new Dey of Algiers, replacing the beheaded Dey
who had negotiated their freedom from Spanish corsairs, refused to allow Arago and
Berthiers to leave. In February 1809, the Dey issued a demand for payment of back
taxes from France of two or three hundred thousand French francs. When the French
consul, on Napoleon's orders, refused to pay, all the French nationals in Algiers were
imprisoned save for Arago who had arranged a bail bond through the Swedish consul.
This Dey's reign was, however, limited and he was deposed and hung. The French
consul was persuaded to pay the demand to the new, third Dey by the Jewish com-
munity resident in Algiers who wished to normalize trading relations between Algiers
and France. Finally Arago was released to sail to France in June 1809.
19
“Dey” was the title given to the Regent of Algiers (and the Regent of Tunis) during the Ottoman
Empire from 1671 until the French conquered Algiers in 1830. Algiers was a city state, under the
Ottoman Sultan and was the chief haven of the Barbary pirates. As a regent, the dey was an elected
supreme ruler, chosen by local leaders to govern for life (unless deposed). The dey was advised
by an inner cabinet of ministers called the “divan” - the word has passed into the English language
for the seats on which they sat to deliberate.
