Lost History – The wizarding war that really happened
You may think magic is no more than a literary device, a contrivance expertly deployed by the likes of J K Rowling and JRR Tolkein to adorn their fantasies. You may believe that the supposed age of sorcery was debunked and destroyed by the advent of the Abrahamic faiths, or that the artistry of Merlin is inadequately attested to in works of historical fiction, but a real war of magic was waged, not long ago, between France and Algeria.
In 1865, Napoleon III sent Europe’s most celebrated illusionist, Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, to Algeria on a devious and magical diplomatic mission. Insurrection threatened to destabilise the region that French had eagerly annexed in 1834. It would have resulted in international humiliation for France in a politically precarious time. Local religious leaders with an almost shamanic status, known as the “Marabouts”, performed beguiling spells that inspired their followers and galvanised support for resistance and revolt. The Emperor tasked Houdin with a simple aim – to show how powerful French magic was. It was a conflict fought by conjurers, revealing the awesome effect prepossessing performances have on impressionable spectators.
Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin was born in 1805 in Blois. His father was considered the best clockmaker in the city, a reputation his son aspired to match. When shopping for books on horology, he was presented with a set of beginners guides to practical magic. Being intellectually curious and a gifted engineer, Houdin studied the discipline and enhanced his appeal by utilising the technical talents he had cultivated while training to be a clockmaker. He gained national notoriety and opened his own theatre where he dazzled audiences with his amazing demonstrations. His groundbreaking tricks included ethereal suspension, second sight and the growing of a mysterious orange tree in a matter of seconds. He invented mechanical butterflies, manufactured peculiar compounds and experimented with electricity, investing an original verisimilitude in his wondrous productions. His influence on the magical community was soon unparalleled, inspiring almost every major magician thereafter. His fame even provoked a young Hungarian man called Ehrich Weiss to change his name to Harold Houdini.
Houdin arrived in Algeria on the 27th September 1865, the day of the annual fête in the capital. He staged two performances a week at the Bab Azoun Theatre and hosted several grand galas for tribal elders. One of his most popular tricks was The Light and Heavy Chest. In France, he would ask a child to come on stage to lift a box he claimed could not be breached by bulgers. The child would lift this box with ease. Then Houdin would invite an adult to try. The adult would huff and puff and pull and groan but the box would never budge. In his home country, this trick was played for comic effect as well as for bemusement but in Algeria, it was presented with the severity of a Herculean challenge.
Houdin asked the strongest tribesman in the audience to lift the box. The electric contraptions he attached to the chest to withstand the might of his challenger also rigged the handles to shock anyone who tried to rip open the lid. The tribesman became infuriated by his inability to achieve this basic feat and attempted to pry the box open by its handles. The electric shock that shot up his arms compelled him to run out of the theatre screaming in agony. A cruel yet convincing ploy to those unfamiliar with the potentiality of electricity. Once his city tours ended, he travelled to the desert interior to present his supernatural skills to the local dignitary, Bou-Allem. There he asked a retainer of Bou-Allem to fire a bullet directly at his face. Houdin caught the bullet in his teeth, astonishing France’s sternest detractors. He left Algier with a letter of commendation from the leaders who had witnessed his extraordinary accomplishments. His mission was complete.
Houdin never claimed paranormal abilities. He ascribed the enticement of his spells to science and hard work. However, his is the best example of theurgy – the operation of divine or supernatural agency in human affairs – in all of modern history. Like the magicians of old and the wizards of fiction, Houdin manipulated the beliefs of those lucky enough to have witnessed his incredible flair. It was a true wizarding war, one which a man who did not believe in magic won.