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sometimes the Makhzan officials’ absence was the cause of delay. When officials traveled to
participate in the ḥaraka (the sultan’s expedition on a military campaign), for instance, they
pledged to resolve the cases upon their return. 122
When it came to repaying debts, a settlement could also be delayed by the poverty of the
debtors. Scholars have documented the rapid impoverishment of Moroccan peasants during the
nineteenth century, due partly to the opening of Morocco’s economy to global trade, partly to
increased taxes, and partly to severe droughts and other natural disasters. 123 The registers of the
Ministry of Complaints reflect this reality; many Makhzan officials reported that debtors were
unable to pay and requested a delay to accommodate them. 124 In one particularly striking entry,
al-Būmūmānī wrote that the debtors in question “possess nothing [literally, neither much nor
little] and have plowed [the land] with their animals in order to restore the region (laysa
‘indahum qalīl wa-lā kathīr wa-innamā yaḥruthu kullu wāḥidin minhum bi-bahīmatihi bi-qaṣdi
ta‘mīri al-bilād).” 125 However, the sultan did not accept this excuse: “Our lord says: he [al-
Būmūmānī] lied. The majority of them are not destitute. Let them settle.” 126
More surprising is the fact that some cases could not be resolved because the Jewish
petitioner refused to cooperate with the Makhzan official in charge of reaching a settlement. At
times, a creditor refused to collect his debts or send a guarantor to do so. 127 In other cases the
122
BH, K 181, p. 134, 17 Sha‘bān 1309; p. 244, 25 Muḥarram 1310; p. 262, 25 Ṣafar 1310. At times, however, the
reason for the official’s absence was not mentioned: BH, K 181, p. 52, 7 Rabī‘ II 1309.
123
Ennaji, Expansion européenne, Chapter 3.
124
BH, K 157, p. 174, 6 Rajab 1307; BH, K 181, p. 86, 1 Jumādā II 1309; p. 108, 5 Rajab 1309; p. 153, 13 Ramaḍān
1309 (two relevant entries on this page); p. 158, 21 Ramaḍān 1309; loose sheet, 10 Jumādā I, 1310 (two relevant
entries on this page). See also DAR, Fez, Mawlāy Ḥasan to Sa‘īd b. Farajī, 25 Jumādā I 1295: DAR, Yahūd, 28207,
Muḥammad b. Karūm al-Jahābī to Mawlāy ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, 6 Jumādā I 1312.
125
BH, K 181, p. 83, 25 Jumādā I 1309. Presumably, the debtors were plowing land that had previously yielded no
crops, which was a sign of their destitution.
126
Qāla sayyidunā, kadhaba, julluhum lam yu’kal, yufāṣil.
127
BH, K 157, p. 63, 25 Dhū al-Qa‘da 1306; BH, K 171, p. 35, 14 Sha‘bān 1307; BH, K 181, p. 351, 18 Sha‘bān
1310. For more cases of debts which the Jewish creditor refused to settle, see BH, K 181, p. 108, 5 Rajab 1309; p.
118, 17 Rajab 1309; p. 121, 22 Rajab 1309; p. 133, 16 Sha‘bān 1309; p. 271, 16 Rabī‘ I 1310.
213