From London to Marrakech

Date: 1600

Size: W:28.5mm

Made in: Marrakech

Made by: the Sherifs of Morocco

Material: Gold  

Our encounter with African treasure begins not in lands far away but in seas only twelve miles off the coast of Devon. It was here in 1994 that a hoard of Moroccan gold was discovered.

This astonishing array of golden riches tells of vast Moroccan wealth. The 450 coins speak of powerful dynasties and of far-reaching trade networks spanning the globe.

But behind the glistening gold lies a more disturbing tale of xenophobia meted out by the people of London to the Moors in London, leading to the eventual expelling of Moors from Elizabethan England.

Shakespeare didn’t shy away from the subject of inter-racial marriage and around 1604 he takes us back to Venice to explore the treatment of his most famous Moor, Othello.

This object is from the British Museum

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• The treasure was discovered in 1994 by a team of amateur marine archaeologists and semi-professional divers on the seabed 12 miles off the Devon coast
• They found about 400 gold objects (coins, ingots and jewellery) along with other items such as lead weights and pewter tableware - but no ship wreck
• The ship was almost certainly travelling from Morocco to Europe when it sank
• Moor' was quite a loose term to an Elizabethan: depending on the context it could mean Muslim, white North African, Indian, Native American or Jew

Justin Champion examines how the presence of Moorish, Black and Asian immigrants in London contributed to a veritable melting-pot of cultures and influences.

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Neil MacGregor's world history explores the great empires of the world around 1500 - the threshold of the modern era. Today he examines the signature of Suleyman the Magnificent.

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