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Our Story
In May 2019, Rashid Dossett visited Guatemala to conduct fieldwork for his Master's program Latin American Studies at Leiden University. The experience led to a deeper interest into the indigenous cultures of both Guatemala and the rest of Latin America. He graduated in 2020 for Latin American Studies and you can read his thesis here. In 2023, he and Daniel Louis decided to start a textile company in Guatemala City named Dossett & Louis Textiles.
That same year, the Government of Guatemala invited the Board of Dossett & Louis Textiles to attend an international textile and apparel summit in Guatemala City. Since then, Dossett & Louis Textiles have become invested in Guatemala and its textile and apparel industry.
However, both Rashid and Daniel realised that the branding and global appreciation of the local cultures was relatively low. Therefore, in collaboration with Mark McAfee (a journalist), the three men set up Dossett, Louis & McAfee Enterprises, also known as Morisco Partnership. We first aimed to make this a temporary film project called Morisco Partnership of Guatemala, Curacao, and The Indies. However, after much feedback from more experienced people in the field of business, we decided to establish a subsidiary company to Dossett & Louis Textiles that deals exclusively with media and film. Besides highlighting the cultural relevancy of local populations in Latin America, Morisco Partnership seeks to highligh the historical and present-day relevancy of the Moorish peoples.
Some would say... ''Moors? That means Muslim, right?''. Not fully correct! Many Moors were indeed Muslims, but not every Muslim was and is a Moor. And yes, Spain did expell the Moors (whom they also called Moriscos) between 1492 (after the fall of the Emirate of Granada, marking the end of a 7-centuries rule of the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors) and 1610.
The term Moor refers to a diverse nationality that has influenced many cultures worldwide. Take for example the Thai writing script that comes from the Brahmi scriopt. The Brahmi script originated in India around the same time that the Moriya tribe (which lived around the Kosala River) governed the Maurya Empire (320 BC – 185 BC). The Brahmi script derived from Aramaic, which in turn derived all the way back to the writing system of Ta-Merau (see: An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, 1920) which was the local name of the ancient Egyptian people.
In the Levant, you had another tribe called the Amorites and this relates to the mountain-area called Moriah (Moriya or Marwah) where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac.
Furthermore, Mauretania (Land of the Mauri people) was the name for Northwestern Africa from modern-day Morocco until Tunesia. The polity developed around 225 BC when Baga became ‘King of Mauretania’. He was from the Amazigh tribe (which was later renamed Berber peoples). Mauri eventually became Moor! So, you have the Moor developing in the West and the Moriya (Maurya) developing in the East and it linked to Ta-Merau.
Does the term Moor and Morocco sound similar? Well, the subjects of the Sultanate of Morocco was the first nation to recognise the independence of the United States in 1777.
The Sultanate of Morocco and the Kingdom of England (England merged with Scotland in 1707 as the Kingdom of Great Britain) had commercial ties since 1577.
Is it farfetched to say that the commercial interests of Britain, being frustrated by the support of the Emperor of Morocco for US independence, played a role in the United States finally becoming independent?
Add to that, the treaty between the United States and Morocco even preceded the Constitution of the United States of 1787 (ratified 1788). In this treaty the subjects of Morocco are called Moors.
In 1790, the State of South Carolina passed the Moors Sundry Act of 1790 which implied that subjects of the Sultanate of Morocco would not be subjected to the Negro Act of 1740.
Why was it needed to address a situation like this in South Carolina? This implies that there were subjects of Morocco in South Carolina at the time (late 18th century)- and enough of them to make them politically relevant to distinguish them from the (enslaved) Black population in the State.
This also means that people of Morocco, whether they were of Arab descent, of West-African descent, or mixed, were all referred to as Moors (not Moroccans, which became dominant after the French protectorate in Morocco lasting from 1912 until 1956). This also implies that in the late 18th century in South Carolina, the (enslaved) Black population and the Moorish residents (subjects of Morocco) were almost indistinguishable from one another - and that is why the Moors Sundry Act of 1790 came into being.
Overall, the Moors had a financial, economic, and (indirectly, cultural) leverage over the beginnings of the United States.
In addition, in 2016 the State of Delaware admitted - in the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 148th GENERAL ASSEMBLY HOUSE BILL NO. 345. - that the Delawares (also labelled as the Lenape Indians) were Moors. Does this imply that the Delaware Moors also had an alliance with the Emperor in Morocco? Something interesting to look into!
Also, do not forget that the numerals used in the West were introduced by the Moors, during the 10th century, in their domain Al-Andalus (present-day Spain and Portugal). So, every luxurious brand making fancy watches are - whether they are aware or not - bringing cultural tribute to the Moors (Mauri people) and Arabs (including its Hindu influence).
Furthermore, the Moors (from the Mauri people) had a financial, economical, and even cultural grip over medieval and renaissance Europe all the way to the 19th century?
Traces of this history can be seen on many family crests and local coat-of-arms from noble European families. Remember how the Moors ruled Al-Andalus (present-day Portugal and Spain) for seven centuries (711 AD - 1492 AD)? Consequently, Moors also had their own 'European nobility' that held generational wealth.
Take the last name Morrell (also spelled: Morel, Morrel, Morrall, Morrill, Murrill, etc.) which is derived from 'Moor'. It appeared in England during the Norman Conquest (1066 AD -1077 AD).
Also, Alessandro de'Medici (1510-1537), whose Italian family obtained wealth through textile and wool trade (which was at the beginning of the modern-day fashion industry). See more about the Medicis in: Belloc, M., Drago, F., Fochesato, M., & Galbiati, R. (2022). Wealth accumulation and institutional capture: The rise of the Medici and the fall of the Florentine Republic. Centre for Economic Policy Research.
Alessandro de'Medici, Duke of Florence.
Let us not forget the Moorish castles...
The Moorish Castle in Gibraltar, built in 711 AD, was one of the first military strongholds of the Moors in Europe. In 1462 AD, the Spanish took over the fortification (again) and in 1713 AD it became a British possession (until this day).
In the 8th century, the Moors also constructed a big castle in present-day Sintra, Portugal. That castle is called in Portuguese 'Castelo dos Mouros' (English: Castle of The Moors).
The Moors built more fortifications in Al-Andalus during their rule of the Iberian Peninsula (until the Catholic Monarchs expelled them in 1492 AD during the military defeat of the Emirate of Granada).
Their presence, however, was not limited to Al-Andalus...
There was also a 16th century palace, in England, named Manor of the More (shortened: The More) where Catherine of Aragon (the first wife of King Henry VIII) resided. It was located in Hertfordshire. This place was demolished in 1661 AD.
In Italy there is the Castle of Sammezzano which is considered a 'Moorish Rival' castle which took (allegedly) 280 years to construct (1605 till 1885)!
During the 1860s till 1890s, a trend in Britain triggered many landlords to demolish their mansions (including country houses) and historical houses (many inherited by conquest).
The British government eventually had to intervene to preserve the national heritage of Britain. See: ''1882 and 1900 Ancient Monument and Amendment Acts''. Strange thing is that this happened around the same time that the British Empire reached its peak in its world domination.
Besides that, around the same time that the World's Fairs occurred in the United States... In which is claimed that those US palaces were only built for the fair events (in less than two years' time) and later demolished...
Coincidence? Something to further look into...
Moorish Castle in Gibraltar
Castle of Sammezzano, Italy
As you've read, the Moors (or Moriscos) have a rich cultural history that crossed borders and continents. Even though, there were many contributions of the Moors related to Islam, not every Moor was a Muslim and the term Moor doesn't exclusively mean Muslim (as many assume falsely). We honour the contributions of the Moors no matter what their religion or political affilication was.
And a final note:
Rashid noticed how the contributions of the Haitian people are often 'downplayed' by the world. Both Rashid and Daniel are from Haitian descend. And there is a link between Chicago and the Haitian revolution. What is it you may ask?
The name Haiti (Ayiti) was the indigenous name of the island Hispañola before Christopher Colombus ever arrived in the Caribbean.
Also, when the West of the island became a French colony in 1697, it was the wealthiest colony in the Western hemisphere and considered by some richer than the entire Spanish Empire combined (by 1789, there were around 8000 plantations!).
Chicago's founder, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, was from African descent (so called 'Black') and he was called a 'native of Santo Domingo' by a 19th-century American historian Juliette Magill Kinzie. With his name being French (and not Spanish), this would associate him with Saint-Domingue (Haiti). Even though much of his early life is debated by scholars, the connection with Haiti is often disregarded.
Why does that matter? The Haitian Revolution began on the 21st of August 1791 and lasted till the foundation of the independent Empire of Haiti on the 1st of January 1804 by Jean-Jacques Dessalines (as Emperor Jacques I). Napoleon had the last Governor General of Saint-Domingue, Toussaint Louverture (a former enslaved person), arrested for insisting on the independence of the island. Why would Napoleon make so much effort to keep Haiti and to re-install slavery there? Because of the riches that France would miss out on if Haiti became independent - and it became independent (also with the aid of some Polish migrants that supported the revolt).
Saint-Domingue (Haiti) under French rule.
Toussaint Louverture, Haitian revolutionary.
Emperor Jacques I of Haiti
Vincent Ogé
Understand that Haiti was financially, economically, culturally, and politically relevant and it already had enormous influence prior to its revolution and independence from France. The Haitian revolution wasn't just enslaved Africans revolting against their slave-masters. Vincent Ogé (1757-1791) was a creole native of Saint-Domingue and a member of the French military elite and he used his riches to trigger a big revolt that became the Haitian revolution. And there were big revolts before that too.
At that same time, you have someone else from Haitian descent founding a trade centre at the Great Lakes in North America around 1780 while the place was still a war zone between the British forces and the American revolutionary army. And this trade centre, which became part of the United States of America in 1783 (due to land concessions of 'Indian lands' by Britain to the United States).
Don't forget: the Mississippi River was one of the main location of economic and financial activity in North America that overlapped the British Empire, the Spanish Empire, French trade through Haiti, and the United States. Chicago is founded just 293,85 km (182,59 miles) from the Mississippi River and 419,81 km (260,86 miles) away from St. Louis (back then the main Spanish port linking Mississippi trade with the Caribbean and South America).
Also, the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 revealed links to the Moors. As mentioned before, the Moors (=Moriscos) didn't cease to exist after 1492...
As you just read, the Moriscos are more advanced in history than you might think. As Moorish people, we the founders of Morisco Partnership, aim to highligh the this relevancy and how this relevancy related to other cultures who have historically been involved (or at least, in contact with) the Moors.
As you can read in our Spanish slogan (''Yo Vine, Poseo y Entregaré'') - English for I came, I took possesion and now I hand it back - our aim is to contribute to the current generation and the generations to come. It is a priviledge and honour to contribute to those alive and those who will still live.
Thanks for reading all of this! Join us in our mission!
Rashid Dossett
Chairman
r.e.dossett@moriscopartnership.eu
Daniel Louis
Chairman/Creative Director
d.k.louis@moriscopartnership.eu
Mark McAfee
Chairman/CEO
m.d.mcafee@moriscopartnership.com
