Majorca

Majorca is the intended destination of the escape party in the captive’s account of flight from Algiers, serving as the nearest Christian refuge they hope to reach by sea. Its importance lies in that plan and in the route’s immediate reversal: the party sets out for the island, but the weather prevents them from holding that course.

Role in the Escape Plan

Zoraida’s communications help the Christian captives devise a way to leave Algiers together. The plan under discussion includes obtaining a vessel and returning for those still held in captivity; the renegade argues against sending one man away to procure a boat, proposing instead to arrange a vessel locally. Majorca nevertheless remains a possible point from which a boat might be obtained, and the captives consider sending there for one.

Intended Destination and Change of Course

After the renegade’s vessel anchors near the garden where Zoraida is waiting, the escape party boards it and sets off toward Majorca, regarded in the account as the nearest Christian land. The intended passage changes almost immediately: a rising Tramontana and increasingly rough water make a direct course impossible, so the vessel is driven along the coast toward Oran. The party also fears being seen from Shershel or intercepted by a corsair vessel.

Narrative Significance

Majorca represents a practical threshold between captivity and hoped-for safety, rather than a place the narrative describes or confirms as reached. Its presence clarifies the escape’s urgent geography: the party must leave Algiers, find Christian territory, and avoid pursuit, while wind and sea constrain even a carefully planned departure. The account’s emphasis falls on the gap between the intended destination and the course the party can actually steer.