He was succeeded by his brother _Muley Ishmael_, who distinguished himself by some brave actions; and his reign would have formed a grand epoch in the history of this country, had he not stained it by a succession of tyranny and cruelties, too shocking to dwell upon. He died in 1727 at the advanced age of eighty-one, leaving behind him a numerous offspring. This prince, in order to ensure his despotic and arbitrary power, contrived to form a regular army of foreign soldiers, which he effected, partly from the negro families, then settled in Barbary, but principally from a vast number of blacks which he obtained from the coast of Guinea.
_Muley-Achmet-Daiby_, one of the numerous sons of Ishmael, ascended the throne of Morocco, and, after reigning two years, died of a dropsy. His successor, _Muley Abdallah_, by far surpassed all his predecessors in point of vices and cruelty. His conduct was so flagrant, that he was deposed no less than six times, but as often re-elected. Amidst civil wars, divisions, and devastations, the plague again made its appearance, and committed the same dreadful ravages as in the reign of _Ishmael_. Being reinstated for the sixth time, _Abdallah_ took advantage of the troubles occasioned by this terrible disease, to excite divisions among his negro soldiers, by whose power alone he had suffered all his humiliations. Vast numbers of this warlike race fell the victims of his treachery, and he succeeded in reducing them so low, that they were no longer a subject of dread to him. Having thus freed himself of all cause of restraint, he recovered his power, and, if possible, plunged deeper than ever into the gulf of iniquity; and each succeeding day was stained with crimes of the blackest hue. The only sentiments with which he inspired his unhappy people were those of terror and disgust. At length, worn out with age, he died at Fez in 1757; and was succeeded by his son _Sidi Mahomet_, who had begun to reform several abuses, during the latter part of his father's reign, when he had been entrusted with the government of Morocco.
This prince, the father of the present Emperor, was endowed with an intelligent mind, and possessed nothing of the barbarian. His political views, and excellent regulations, soon restored the order of things. He directed all his care to the welfare of his people, both at home and abroad; he concluded, and renewed, several advantageous commercial treaties, with England, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, and Holland, with all of whom he maintained a good understanding till 1777; when, gained over by the courts of France and Spain, he broke the treaty with England, and refused to supply Gibraltar with fresh provisions. He appointed officers of the strictest integrity, and of moderate and resolute characters, to the government of his provinces; and the whole period of his reign was exempt from those horrible cruelties which had almost invariably disgraced the sceptres of his predecessors. He died at an advanced age, at _Rabat_, on the 11th of April 1790.