The people of the country were strongly in favor of Abd-el-Kader; and
when their Sultan, after a French bombardment of Tangiers and Mogador,
made a treaty with France by which the Algerian hero was "placed beyond
the pale of the law throughout the Empire of Morocco, as well as in
Algeria," and was to be "pursued by main force by the Moroccans on their
own territory," the Moorish population was filled with resentment.
Letters reached Abd-el-Kader from Fez, the capital, dictated and signed
by the first grandees in the State, both civil and military, and from
the commercial classes, inviting him to ascend the throne of his
ancestors. Had he been a mere adventurer or usurper he might have lived
henceforth, and died, Emperor of Morocco, But his whole soul was
patriotically bent on one object, the freedom and independence of
Algeria. He disdained to wear a borrowed crown. As he afterward
declared, "His religion forbade him to injure a sovereign chosen and
appointed by God."
During the year 1844 the Sultan had made a rapid incursion into the
Tell, everywhere appealing to the tribes; but he found the national
spirit overawed by the presence of French detachments in all directions,
and he returned to his deira in despondent spirit.
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