Speaker 1: History Versus is a production of I Heart Radio and
Speaker 1: Mental Floss. The villa on the hill of Jabul Kabir,
Speaker 1: to the west of Tangier in Morocco looks more like
Speaker 1: a palace than a home. Built in the Spanish style.
Speaker 1: It has white clad stone walls and turrets and looks
Speaker 1: over the Strait of Gibraltar. The inside is resplendent. Rooms
Speaker 1: overflow with fine art, pristine porcelains, damasks, and oriental rugs.
Speaker 1: There are many many servants and a menagerie of animals
Speaker 1: roam the grounds and the halls, among them dogs, cranes, pheasants,
Speaker 1: and two monkeys that jump into the owner's laps and
Speaker 1: eat orange blossoms from their hands. The villa is known
Speaker 1: as Adonia, or the place of Nightingales. It's May eighteenth,
Speaker 1: nine four and inside the villa, sixty year old globetrotter
Speaker 1: Ion Perdicaris, along with his wife Ellen Varley, and her
Speaker 1: son Cromwell, are sitting down to dinner, attended to by
Speaker 1: a servant in knee length scarlet pants and a jacket
Speaker 1: embroidered with gold. Ion is the son of Gregory Perdicaris,
Speaker 1: a Greek American who made his fortune in the gas industry,
Speaker 1: and he has reaped the benefits of his family's immense
Speaker 1: wealth by buying residences all around the world before he
Speaker 1: built the Place of Nightingales in eight seventy Tonight, as
Speaker 1: every night, they dine lavishly, then retreat to the drawing
Speaker 1: room to relax, at least until the piece is shattered
Speaker 1: by the sound of screams coming from the servants quarters.
Speaker 1: What happens next will soon become an international incident that
Speaker 1: garners the intervention of none other than President Theodore Roosevelt.
Speaker 1: From Mental Flaws and I Heart Radio, This is History Versus,
Speaker 1: a podcast about how your favorite historical figures faced off
Speaker 1: against their greatest foes. In this bonus episode, we'll take
Speaker 1: a look at how t R used his big stick
Speaker 1: diplomacy to make the most of an international incident in
Speaker 1: an election year. This episode is t R and the
Speaker 1: Pertacaris Affair. When Ion and Cromwell sprint to the source
Speaker 1: of the commotion, they come upon armed men standing in
Speaker 1: their home. The villa is under siege. The bandits have
Speaker 1: given the butler is swift clubbing with their rifle butts,
Speaker 1: and Ion and Cromwell are bound and brought to meet
Speaker 1: the man in charge of this operation. He introduces himself simply,
Speaker 1: I am the Rasuli, alternately described as a bandit, murderer
Speaker 1: and folk hero, depending on who's asking. The man known
Speaker 1: in English as Razuli is a charismatic, political idealist and
Speaker 1: insurgent ruling over groups of bandits, dedicated to disrupting the
Speaker 1: European influence in Morocco and waging war against the sultans
Speaker 1: who allowed it. And if you know Morocco as Perdicaris,
Speaker 1: does you know his handiwork. But bloodshed isn't the motivator tonight.
Speaker 1: Razuli has political demands he'll soon reveal. Ion his stepson
Speaker 1: and an attendant are whisked away on their horses, leaving
Speaker 1: the staff and Mrs Perdicaris to absorb what had just happened.
Speaker 1: Word of the incident got out as it was happening.
Speaker 1: The phone lines to the villa had not been cut,
Speaker 1: and as Rasuli's men tore through the Perdicaris home, one
Speaker 1: of the women of the house placed a call to
Speaker 1: the central office in Tangier, alerting them to the attack
Speaker 1: and kidnapping. It wasn't long before Samuel Gamier, the Consul
Speaker 1: General at Tangier got involved. He became the point of
Speaker 1: contact between Mrs Perdicaris and Washington. The first cable from
Speaker 1: Morocco went straight to the State Department on May nine.
Speaker 1: Gamer described the situation as most serious and requested a
Speaker 1: man of war, basically the biggest battleship available. The cable
Speaker 1: was received by Assistant Secretary of State Francis B. Loomis,
Speaker 1: who informed President Roosevelt. This was the era of big
Speaker 1: stick diplomacy, and Roosevelt ordered that seven warships had immediately
Speaker 1: to Tangier. But it wasn't an act of war. It
Speaker 1: was more like an aggressive flex. Days after the kidnapping,
Speaker 1: Razuli contacted Sultan Abdelazis of Morocco with his demands to
Speaker 1: let her Decarus and Varley free. He wanted political immunity
Speaker 1: for himself and his followers, the release of all political
Speaker 1: prisoners connected with his movement, the firing of a local
Speaker 1: official who had chained him years earlier, seventy thousand Spanish
Speaker 1: silver dollars, and he wanted tax free control over two
Speaker 1: of Morocco's wealthiest districts. The sheer extravagance of the demands,
Speaker 1: especially in exchange for the release of a foreigner like
Speaker 1: Carris was a non starter for the Sultan. When a
Speaker 1: messenger from the Sultan informed Rasuli there would be no
Speaker 1: d all, Rasuli had one of his men slit the
Speaker 1: messenger's throat. By ma Roosevelt had finally read Rasuli's demands,
Speaker 1: which Secretary of State John Hay described as preposterous, and
Speaker 1: while ships were on their way to speed up the talks,
Speaker 1: in reality, the men knew their hands were tied. The
Speaker 1: President couldn't really force the Sultan to accede to Rasuli's
Speaker 1: outlandish list. He could only make strong suggestions, and he
Speaker 1: couldn't just send troops into Morocco to retrieve Predicarus by force.
Speaker 1: The mere knew Rasuli would kill Ion and Varley long
Speaker 1: before they could reach him. I hope they may not
Speaker 1: murder Mr. Prodcarus, but a nation cannot degrade itself to
Speaker 1: prevent ill treatment of a citizen, Hey said. Still, Tira's
Speaker 1: brand of pressure could be very persuasive, and early on
Speaker 1: the morning in May, the imposing USS Brooklyn was first
Speaker 1: seen near Tangier Harbor. It would soon be joined by
Speaker 1: six other ships. Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris wrote that some
Speaker 1: thirty thousand tons of American gun medal should soon persuade
Speaker 1: the Sultan to start negotiating. Upon hearing the news of
Speaker 1: the arrival of American warships, Razuli actually showed relief. With
Speaker 1: this type of pressure on the Sultan, those preposterous demands
Speaker 1: were more likely to become a reality once the fleet
Speaker 1: was settled in the harbor. Hey cabled, gamer President wishes
Speaker 1: everything possible done to secure the release of Predcarus. He
Speaker 1: wishes it clearly understood that if Predicarus is murdered, this
Speaker 1: government will demand the life of the murderer. In America,
Speaker 1: the press and public were outraged at the situation and
Speaker 1: wanted action. Any crime against an American on foreign soil
Speaker 1: was seen as a crime against the country as a whole.
Speaker 1: For Roosevelt, a president both adored and criticized for his
Speaker 1: overt imperialist intentions, this was a prime opportunity to show
Speaker 1: the world with this so called American Century was all about.
Speaker 1: As Barbara W. Tuchman wrote an American Heritage, the President's
Speaker 1: instant and energetic action on behalf of a single citizen
Speaker 1: fallen among thieves in a foreign land made Perdicarius, symbol
Speaker 1: of America's new role on the world stage. The situation
Speaker 1: stretched into early June, and the number of countries involved
Speaker 1: kept growing. Now a British worship the Prince of Wales
Speaker 1: had come to Tangier, and Hay had contacted the French
Speaker 1: foreign minister, Theophil del Casse to put more pressure on
Speaker 1: the sultan. France had been increasing its presence in Morocco,
Speaker 1: so this tactic carried plenty of weight. Soon after, there
Speaker 1: seemed to be a breakthrough. The Moroccan government had apparently
Speaker 1: accepted all of Razzuli's demands outside of the ransom, which
Speaker 1: still needed to be reasonably negotiated, according to Marris, But
Speaker 1: once Razzuli was close to getting what he asked for,
Speaker 1: he simply came back with more demands. He now wanted
Speaker 1: additional districts to control. Secretary of State John Hay, clearly
Speaker 1: frustrated with Rasuli's games, wrote to Roosevelt, I feel that
Speaker 1: it would be most inexpedient to surrender to him. We
Speaker 1: have done what we can for Perdiccaus, and something else
Speaker 1: was emerging at this time that may have weakened he
Speaker 1: is already questionable enthusiasm for the whole episode. Evidence was
Speaker 1: mounting that Perdicaris might not actually be a U. S. Citizen.
Speaker 1: We'll be right back in June. With Ion, Perdiccarus and
Speaker 1: his stepson still being held hostage by Razulian Morocco, President
Speaker 1: Theodore Roosevelt was putting pressure on the Sultan to acquiesce
Speaker 1: to the ransom demands to bring them back home. But
Speaker 1: the president was about to learn that the man at
Speaker 1: the center of a potential international incident might not be
Speaker 1: a U. S. Citizen at all. This information first came
Speaker 1: to light on June one, when he received a letter
Speaker 1: from a cotton broker named A. H. Slocum who had
Speaker 1: read about the Moroccan crisis in the news. He claimed
Speaker 1: he had met Perdicaris in Greece as the Civil war
Speaker 1: raged in America. Ion had apparently told Slocum that he
Speaker 1: had renounced his U. S. Citizenship for Greek citizenship during
Speaker 1: the war, likely in an effort to avoid being drafted
Speaker 1: by the Confederacy and have his property confiscated by the government.
Speaker 1: Within days of the initial claims, Slocum's information was confirmed
Speaker 1: by Greek officials. According to Marris Hay sent the news
Speaker 1: to Roosevelt, who was apparently unaware of the initial whispers
Speaker 1: about Predcarus's citizenship or lack thereof. Right away, everyone knew
Speaker 1: that the information simply couldn't get out. The President had
Speaker 1: ordered American warships to Tangier. News of the kidnapping was
Speaker 1: filling newspapers, and even the French and British were involved
Speaker 1: in exerting pressure on the Sultan to make a deal.
Speaker 1: Tier couldn't just turn is back on the whole affair now.
Speaker 1: The political embarrassment would be terrible. It was also an
Speaker 1: election year, and quite frankly, backing down wasn't an option.
Speaker 1: As this crisis was unfolding, Tire was dealing with the
Speaker 1: start of the Republican National Convention in Chicago. While tr
Speaker 1: was a no brainer to secure the nomination, he still
Speaker 1: had plenty of enemies in his own party, and the
Speaker 1: last thing he needed was Predicaris's citizenship controversy coming out.
Speaker 1: As Mars explains in Theodore Rex, Roosevelt chose to rationalize things.
Speaker 1: Since Zuli had believed Predicaris to be a US citizen,
Speaker 1: he had, in Roosevelt's mind, taken action against an American,
Speaker 1: Whether it was technically true or not. Hey recommended that
Speaker 1: the United States give Rasuli and the Sultan one last
Speaker 1: warning before any real military action needed to be taken.
Speaker 1: Roosevelt agreed. Despite these new findings, Roosevelt knew this was
Speaker 1: an issue of both pride and politics. At this point.
Speaker 1: It was up to Hay to write the ultimatum to
Speaker 1: the Sultan, and it needed to be an aggressive one.
Speaker 1: The results was seven words that hit the exact right note,
Speaker 1: we want pert to carris alive or Rasuli dead. Of course,
Speaker 1: there was more to the cable than just that one
Speaker 1: chilling warning, but that single sentence so perfectly captured the
Speaker 1: mood of the message that no one needed to read
Speaker 1: any further than that. Tr through the words of Hay,
Speaker 1: was dispatching a concise warning to the Sultan, to Rasuli,
Speaker 1: and to anyone else who dared bring harm to an
Speaker 1: American citizen, even if they were only American in spirit.
Speaker 1: As he prepared to send the wire to Gamir and Tangier,
Speaker 1: Hay read the draft to Edwin Hood, a news correspondent
Speaker 1: at the State Department, who loved it so much that
Speaker 1: he took a copy and send it over the news wires.
Speaker 1: Right as hey send it to Morocco. The warning soon
Speaker 1: made its way into the public, and it didn't take
Speaker 1: long for Republican National Convention Chair arm In Joseph Cannon
Speaker 1: to get a copy. At approximately three pm on June,
Speaker 1: he made his way near the convention stage, where Henry
Speaker 1: Cabot Lodge had just finished a vague spiel on the
Speaker 1: party stances on riveting topics like tariffs and the civil service.
Speaker 1: Cannon took his copy of the cable and gave it
Speaker 1: to a clerk to read to the crowd. At the
Speaker 1: words we went either to Carris alive or Rasuli dead,
Speaker 1: the crowd went nuts. Supporters stood on their chairs, the
Speaker 1: cheers were deafening. One Republican from Kansas exclaimed, are people
Speaker 1: like courage will stand for anything those two men do?
Speaker 1: While another described it as good hot stuff. The message
Speaker 1: showed action, It showed excitement. It showed that the American
Speaker 1: people had a president that meant business. If it wasn't
Speaker 1: already set in stone, it was now clear that Roosevelt's
Speaker 1: nomination was secure. But over in Morocco, the cable was
Speaker 1: a moot point. The soul sin of Morocco had already
Speaker 1: agreed to Razuli's demands, paying a seventy thousand dollar ransom
Speaker 1: for the release of Perdicaris and his stepson. On top
Speaker 1: of that, an extra four thousand was sent to the
Speaker 1: US for its expenses. Predicaris later wrote that the memory
Speaker 1: of that evening is associated with an ineffaceable sense of horror. Still,
Speaker 1: he wasn't terribly traumatized by the ordeal. In fact, he
Speaker 1: and Rasuli had struck up a friendship. Perdicaris would recall
Speaker 1: that he was treated more like an honored guest rather
Speaker 1: than a prisoner, and upon parting, Razuli told Ion that
Speaker 1: if anyone tried to harm him in the future, I
Speaker 1: will come with all of my men to your rescue. Later,
Speaker 1: the incident would serve as the basis for a movie
Speaker 1: starring Sean Connery and Candice Bergen called The Wind and
Speaker 1: the Lion. Brian Keith, who you may know as the
Speaker 1: Dad in The Parent Trap, played tr as for the
Speaker 1: truth behind Perdicaris's Greek citizenship. It would remain a secret
Speaker 1: for another thirty years. History Versus is hosted by me
Speaker 1: Aeron McCarthy. This episode was written by Jay Serafino, with
Speaker 1: fact checking by Austin Thompson. The executive producers are Aaron McCarthy,
Speaker 1: Julie Douglas, and Tyler Clang. The supervising producer is Dylan Fagan.
Speaker 1: The show was edited by Dylan Fagan and Loll Brolante.
Speaker 1: To learn more about this episode and Theodore Roosevelt, check
Speaker 1: out our website and Mental flaws dot com. Slash History
Speaker 1: Versus History Versus is the production of I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: and Mental Flaws. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favor rit shows.