Barbary Pirates
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Barbary pirates, Barbary corsairs, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim
pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and privateers who operated from the largely independent Ottoman Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barbary Coast, in reference to the
Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...
. Slaves in Barbary could be of many ethnicities, and of many different religions, such as Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. Their predation extended throughout the Mediterranean, south along West Africa's Atlantic seaboard and into the North Atlantic as far north as Iceland, but they primarily operated in the western Mediterranean. In addition to seizing merchant ships, they engaged in '' razzias'', raids on European coastal towns and villages, mainly in Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal, but also in the British Isles, and Iceland. While such raids began after the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 710s, the terms "Barbary pirates" and "Barbary corsairs" are normally applied to the raiders active from the 16th century onwards, when the frequency and range of the slavers' attacks increased. In that period,
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
, Tunis and Tripoli came under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, either as directly administered provinces or as autonomous dependencies known as the Barbary states. Similar raids were undertaken from Salé (see Salé Rovers) and other ports in Morocco. Barbary corsairs captured thousands of merchant ships and repeatedly raided coastal towns. As a result, residents abandoned their former villages of long stretches of coast in Spain and Italy. The raids were such a problem that coastal settlements were seldom undertaken until the 19th century. Between 1580 and 1680 corsairs were said to have captured about 850,000 people as slaves and from 1530 to 1780 as many as 1.25 million people were enslaved. However, these numbers are estimated and provided by only one historian, Robert Davis, and have been questioned by others like David Earle. Some of these corsairs were European outcasts and
converts Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
(renegade) such as John Ward and
Zymen Danseker Siemen Danziger ( – c. 1615), better known by his anglicized names Zymen Danseker and Simon de Danser, was a 17th-century Dutch privateer and corsair. His name is also written ''Danziker'', ''Dansker'', or ''Danser''. Danseker and the English ...
.Review of ''Pirates of Barbary''
by Ian W. Toll, ''The New York Times,'' 12 Dec. 2010
Hayreddin Barbarossa and Oruç Reis, Turkish Barbarossa brothers, who took control of Algiers on behalf of the Ottomans in the early 16th century, were also notorious corsairs. The European pirates brought advanced sailing and shipbuilding techniques to the Barbary Coast around 1600, which enabled the corsairs to extend their activities into the Atlantic Ocean. The effects of the Barbary raids peaked in the early-to-mid-17th century. Long after Europeans had abandoned oar-driven vessels in favor of sailing ships carrying tons of powerful cannon, many Barbary warships were
galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
s carrying a hundred or more fighting men armed with cutlasses and small arms. The Barbary navies were not battle fleets. When they sighted a European
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
, they fled. The scope of corsair activity began to diminish in the latter part of the 17th century, as the more powerful European navies started to compel the Barbary states to make peace and cease attacking their shipping. However, the ships and coasts of Christian states without such effective protection continued to suffer until the early 19th century. Between 1801 and 1815, occasional incidents occurred, including two Barbary Wars waged by the United States,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and the
Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
against the Barbary states. Following the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna in 1814–15, European powers agreed upon the need to suppress the Barbary corsairs entirely. The remainder of the threat was finally subdued for Europeans by the
French conquest of Algeria The French invasion of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Deylik of Algiers, and the French consul escalated into a blockade, following which the July Monarchy of France inva ...
in 1830 and so-called "pacification" by the French during the mid-to-late 19th century.


History

The Barbary corsairs were active from medieval times to the 1800s.


Muslim Historical Narratives

Both Europeans (e.g. the Dum Diversas) and Muslims considered themselves to be waging holy wars against each other during this era. European and American historical sources bluntly consider these operations to be a form of piracy and that their goal was mostly to seize ships to obtain spoils, money and slaves. Muslim sources, however, sometimes refer to the "Islamic naval jihad"—casting the conflicts as part of a sacred mission of war under Allah, differing from the more familiar form of jihad only in being waged at sea. Accounts of Andalusian Muslims being persecuted by the notoriously ruthless Spanish Inquisition—willingly abetted by the so-called "Catholic Monarchs", who (though inaugurating what would later become Spain's " Golden Age") were initially faced with the post- Reconquista necessity of binding their (hitherto-divided) territories together, and hence adopted a militantly Christian national identity—provided more than enough justification, in Muslim eyes.


The Middle Ages

In 1198 the problem of Barbary piracy and slave-taking was so great that the Trinitarians, a religious order, were founded to collect ransoms and even to exchange themselves as ransom for those captured and pressed into slavery in North Africa. In the 14th century, Tunisian corsairs became enough of a threat to provoke a
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ...
-
Genoese Genoese may refer to: * a person from Genoa * Genoese dialect, a dialect of the Ligurian language * Republic of Genoa (–1805), a former state in Liguria See also * Genovese, a surname * Genovesi, a surname * * * * * Genova (disambiguati ...
attack on Mahdia in 1390 (also known as the " Barbary Crusade"). Morisco exiles of the Reconquista and Maghreb pirates added to the numbers, but it was not until the expansion of the Ottoman Empire and the arrival of the privateer and admiral Kemal Reis in 1487 that the Barbary corsairs became a true menace to shipping from European Christian nations.


16th century

From 1559, the North African cities of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, although nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, were in fact military republics that chose their own rulers and lived by war booty captured from the Spanish and Portuguese. There are several cases of Sephardic Jews, including Sinan Reis and Samuel Pallache, who upon fleeing Iberia turned to attacking the Spanish Empire's shipping under the Ottoman flag.
http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/55658.htm

During the first period (1518–1587), the
beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...
s were admirals of the
sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
, commanding great fleets and conducting war operations for political ends. They were slave-hunters and their methods were ferocious. After 1587, the sole object of their successors became plunder, on land and sea. The maritime operations were conducted by the captains, or ''reises'', who formed a class or even a corporation.
Cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s were fitted out by investors and commanded by the ''reises''. Ten percent of the value of the prizes was paid to the pasha or his successors, who bore the titles of ''agha'' or '' dey'' or '' bey''. In 1544 Hayreddin captured the island of Ischia, taking 4,000 prisoners, and enslaved some 2,000–7,000 inhabitants of Lipari. In 1551 Turgut Reis enslaved the entire population of the Maltese island of
Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...
, between 5,000 and 6,000, sending them to
Ottoman Tripolitania The coastal region of what is today Libya was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1912. First, from 1551 to 1864, as the Eyalet of Tripolitania ( ota, ایالت طرابلس غرب ''Eyālet-i Trâblus Gârb'') or ''Bey and Subjects of Tri ...
. In 1554 corsairs under Turgut Reis sacked Vieste, beheaded 5,000 of its inhabitants, and abducted another 6,000.


17th century

A notable counter action occurred in 1607, when the Knights of Saint Stephen (under
Jacopo Inghirami Jacopo (or Iacopo) Inghirami (July 1565 – 3 January 1624) was admiral of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and marquis of Montevitozzo. Career Born to an influential family in Volterra in July 1565, Jacopo was orphaned as a teenager. He was educated ...
) sacked Bona in Algeria, killing 470 and taking 1,464 captives. This victory is commemorated by a series of frescoes painted by
Bernardino Poccetti Bernardino Poccetti (26 August 1548 – 10 October 1612), also known as Barbatelli, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker of etchings. Biography Born in Florence, he was initially trained as a decorator of facades and ceilings, enrol ...
in the ''"Sala di Bona"'' of Palazzo Pitti, Florence. In 1611 Spanish galleys from Naples, accompanied by the galleys of the
Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
, raided the Kerkennah Islands off the coast of Tunisia and took away almost 500 Muslim captives. Between 1568 and 1634 the Knights of Saint Stephen may have captured about 14,000 Muslims, with perhaps one-third taken in land raids and two-thirds taken on captured ships. Ireland was subject to a similar attack. In June 1631 Murat Reis, with corsairs from Algiers and armed troops of the Ottoman Empire, stormed ashore at the little harbor village of Baltimore, County Cork. They captured almost all the villagers and took them away to a life of slavery in North Africa. The prisoners were destined for a variety of fates—some lived out their days chained to the oars as galley slaves, while women spent long years as concubines in harems or within the walls of the sultan's palace. Only two of these captives ever returned to Ireland. England was also subject to pirate raids; in 1640 sixty men, women and children were enslaved by Algerian pirates who raided
Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
. More than 20,000 captives were said to be imprisoned in Algiers alone. The rich were often able to secure release through ransom, but the poor were condemned to slavery. Their masters would on occasion allow them to secure freedom by professing Islam. A long list might be given of people of good social position, not only Italians or Spaniards, but German or English travelers in the south, who were captives for a time. In 1675 a Royal Navy squadron led by Sir John Narborough negotiated a lasting peace with Tunis and, after bombarding the city to induce compliance, with Tripoli. File:A French Ship and Barbary Pirates (c 1615) by Aert Anthoniszoon.jpg, ''A French Ship and Barbary Pirates'' by
Aert Anthonisz Aert Anthoniszoon (abbreviated Anthonisz.) or Anthonissen, also known as Aart or Aert van Antum (born ; buried 7 September 1620) was a Dutch marine painter. Life and career Aert Anthoniszoon was born at Antwerp. His parents moved the family to A ...
, File:Théodore Gudin-Combat d'un vaisseau français et de deux galères barbaresques mg 5061.jpg, ''Battle of a French ship of the line and two galleys of the Barbary corsairs'' File:Willem van de Velde de Jonge - Een actie van een Engels schip en schepen van de Barbarijse zeerovers.jpg, ''An action between an English ship and vessels of the Barbary Corsairs'' File:Action Between the Dutch Fleet and Barbary Pirates RMG BHC0849.tiff, Lieve Pietersz Verschuier, ''Dutch ships bomb Tripoli in a punitive expedition against the Barbary pirates'',


18th–19th centuries

Piracy was enough of a problem that some states entered into the redemption business. In Denmark: During the American Revolutionary War, the pirates attacked American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean. However, on December 20, 1777, Sultan
Mohammed III of Morocco Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
issued a declaration recognizing America as an independent country, and stating that American merchant ships could enjoy safe passage into the Mediterranean and along the coast. The relations were formalized with the Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship signed in 1786, which stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship treaty with a foreign power. Until the
American Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...
in 1776, British treaties with the North African states protected American ships from the Barbary corsairs. Morocco, which in 1777 was the first independent nation to publicly recognize the United States, in 1784 became the first Barbary power to seize an American vessel after the nation achieved independence. The Barbary threat led directly to the United States founding the United States Navy in March 1794. While the United States did secure peace treaties with the Barbary states, it was obliged to pay tribute for protection from attack. The burden was substantial: from 1795, the annual tribute paid to the Regency of Algiers amounted to 20% of United States federal government's annual expenditures. In 1798, an islet near Sardinia was attacked by the Tunisians, and more than 900 inhabitants were taken away as slaves. The Barbary states had difficulty securing uniform compliance with a total prohibition of slave-raiding, as this had been traditionally of central importance to the North African economy. Slavers continued to take captives by preying on less well-protected peoples. Algiers subsequently renewed its slave-raiding, though on a smaller scale. Europeans at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818 discussed possible retaliation. In 1824 a British fleet under Admiral Sir Harry Burrard Neale bombarded Algiers. Corsair activity based in Algiers did not entirely cease until France conquered the state in 1830.


Barbary slave trade

From bases on the Barbary Coast, North Africa, the Barbary pirates raided ships traveling through the Mediterranean and along the northern and western coasts of Africa, plundering their cargo and enslaving the people they captured. From at least 1500, the pirates also conducted raids along seaside towns of Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, England and as far away as Iceland, capturing men, women and children. On some occasions, settlements such as
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
, Ireland were abandoned following the raid, only being resettled many years later. Between 1609 and 1616, England alone had 466 merchant ships lost to Barbary pirates.


Slave quarters

At night the slaves were put into prisons called ' bagnios' (derived from the Italian word ''"bagno"'' for ''public bath'', inspired by the Turks' use of Roman baths at Constantinople as prisons),''Definition of "bagnio" from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary''
Accessed 23 February 2015
which were often hot and overcrowded. Bagnios had chapels, hospitals, shops and bars run by captives.


Galley slaves

Although the conditions in bagnios were harsh, they were better than those endured by
galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
slaves. Most Barbary galleys were at sea for around eighty to a hundred days a year, but when the slaves assigned to them were on land, they were forced to do hard manual labor. There were exceptions: During this time, rowers were shackled and chained where they sat, and never allowed to leave. Sleeping (which was limited), eating, defecation and urination took place at the seat to which they were shackled. There were usually five or six rowers on each oar. Overseers would walk back and forth and whip slaves considered not to be working hard enough.


Number of people enslaved

The number of slaves captured by Barbary pirates are difficult to quantify. According to Robert Davis, between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in North Africa and Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 19th centuries."When Europeans were slaves: Research suggests white slavery was much more common than previously believed"
, ''Research News'', Ohio State University
However, to extrapolate his numbers, Davis assumes the number of European slaves captured by Barbary pirates were constant for a 250-year period, stating: Historians welcomed Davis's attempt to quantify the number of European slaves, but were divided as to the accuracy of the unorthodox methodology which he relied on in the absence of written records. The historian David Earle, author of ''The Corsairs of Malta'' and ''Barbary and The Pirate Wars'', questioned Davis, saying "His figures sound a bit dodgy and I think he may be exaggerating." He cautioned that the true picture of European slaves is clouded by the fact that the corsairs also seized non-Christian whites from eastern Europe and black people from west Africa. He wouldn't "hazard a guess about their total". Professor Ian Blanchard, an expert on African trade and economic history at the University of Edinburgh, said that Davis's work was solid and that a number over a million was in line with his expectations. Davis notes that his calculations were based on observers reports of approximately 35,000 European Christian slaves on the Barbary Coast at any one time during the late 1500s and early 1600s, held in Tripoli, Tunis and, mostly, Algiers.


Legacy

The history of Muslim enslavement of white Europeans has been cited by some as contextualising the importance of subsequent European and American enslavement of blacks. Scholar Robert Davis noted that the larger picture isn't so one-sided: during a "clash of empires... taking slaves was part of the conflict," and at the same time 2 million Europeans were enslaved by Muslims in North Africa and the Near East, 1 million Muslim slaves in Europe. As Dr. John Callow at University of Suffolk notes, the experience of enslavement by the Barbary pirates preceded the Atlantic slave trade and "the memory of slavery, and the methodology of slaving, that was burned into the British consciousness was first and foremost rooted in a North African context, where Britons were more likely to be slaves than slave masters."


Barbary corsairs

According to historian,
Adrian Tinniswood Adrian John Tinniswood FSA (born 11 October 1954) is an English writer and historian. Tinniswood studied English and Philosophy at Southampton University and was awarded an MPhil at Leicester University. He was a regional chair of the Heritag ...
, the most notorious corsairs were European renegades who had learned their trade as privateers, and who moved to the Barbary Coast during peacetime to pursue their trade. These outcasts, who had converted to Islam, brought up-to-date naval expertise to the piracy business, and enabled the corsairs to make long-distance slave-catching raids as far away as Iceland and
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. Infamous corsair Henry Mainwaring, who was initially a lawyer and pirate-hunter, later returned home to a royal pardon. Mainwaring later wrote a book about the practise of piracy in the Mediterranean, aptly titled the ''Discourse of Pirates''. In the book, Mainwaring outlined potential methods to hunt down and eliminate piracy.


Barbarossa brothers


Oruç Barbarossa

The most famous of the corsairs in North Africa were the Barbarossa brothers, Aruj and Khayr al-Din. They, and two less well-known brothers all became Barbary corsairs in the service of the Ottoman Empire who later became "Kings" when they established a new state in the Maghreb known as the Ottoman Regency of Algiers. They were called the Barbarossas (Italian for Redbeards) after the red beard of Oruç, the eldest. Oruç captured the island of Djerba for the Hafsids in 1502 or 1503. He often attacked Spanish coasts and their territories on the coast of North Africa; during one failed attempt in Béjaia in 1512 he lost his left arm to a cannonball. The eldest Barbarossa also went to capture Algiers in 1516. Well aided by his Berber allies from the Kingdom of Kuku, he vanquished a Spanish expedition intended to replace the Spanish vassal ruler of Algiers that he executed with his son along with everybody he suspected would oppose him in favor of his Spanish foes, including local
Zayyanid The Zayyanid dynasty ( ar, زيانيون, ''Ziyānyūn'') or Abd al-Wadids ( ar, بنو عبد الواد, ''Bānu ʿabd āl-Wād'') was a Berber Zenata dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Tlemcen, mainly in modern Algeria centered on the town of ...
rulers. He was finally captured and killed by the Spanish in Tlemcen in 1518, and put on display.


Hızır Hayreddin Barbarossa

Oruç, based mainly on land, was not the best-known of the Barbarossas. His youngest brother Hızır (later called Hayreddin or Kheir ed-Din) was a more traditional corsair. After capturing many crucial coastal areas, Hayreddin was appointed admiral-in-chief of the Ottoman sultan's fleet. Under his command the Ottoman Empire was able to gain and keep control of the Mediterranean for over thirty years. Barbaros Hızır Hayreddin Pasha died in 1546 of a fever, possibly the plague.


Captain Jack Ward

English corsair Jack, or John, Ward was once called "beyond doubt the greatest scoundrel that ever sailed from England" by the English ambassador to Venice. Ward was a privateer for Queen Elizabeth during her war with Spain; after the end of the war, he became a corsair. With some associates he captured a ship in about 1603 and sailed it to Tunis; he and his crew converted to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. He was successful and became rich. He introduced heavily armed square-rigged ships, used instead of galleys, to the North African area, a major reason for the Barbary's future dominance of the Mediterranean. He died of plague in 1622.


Sayyida al-Hurra

Sayyida al-Hurra was a female
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
cleric, merchant, governor of Tétouan, and later the wife of the sultan of Morocco. She was born around 1485 in the Emirate of Granada, but was forced to flee to Morocco when she was very young to escape the Reconquista. In Morocco, she gathered a crew largely of exiled Moors, and launched pirate expeditions against Spain and Portugal to avenge the Reconquista, protect Morocco from Christian pirates, and seek riches and glory. Sayyida al-Hurra became wealthy and renowned enough for the Sultan of Morocco, Ahmad al-Wattasi to make her his queen. Notably, however, she refused to marry in his capital of Fez, and would not get married but in Tétouan, of which she was governor. This was the first and only time in history that a Moroccan monarch married away from their capital.


Raïs Hamidou

Hamidou ben Ali, known as Raïs Hamidou (), or Amidon in American literature, born around 1770, and died on June 17, 1815, near
Cape Gata Cape Gata ( "cat cape", "falcon cape") is the south-eastern cape of the Akrotiri Peninsula on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located within the British Sovereign Base Areas, and is the southernmost point of the island. However, the ...
off the coast of southern Spain, was an Algerian
corsair A corsair is a privateer or pirate, especially: * Barbary corsair, Ottoman and Berber pirates and privateers operating from North Africa * French corsairs, privateers operating on behalf of the French crown Corsair may also refer to: Arts and ...
. He captured up to 200 ships during his career. Hamidou ensured the prosperity of the
Deylik of Algiers The Regency of Algiers ( ar, دولة الجزائر, translit=Dawlat al-Jaza'ir) was a state in North Africa lasting from 1516 to 1830, until it was conquered by the French. Situated between the regency of Tunis in the east, the Sultanate o ...
, and gave it its last glory before the French invasion. His biography is relatively well known because the French archivist Albert Devoulx has found important documents, including a precious ''register of prizes'' opened by the authorities of the Deylik in 1765. Songs and legends have also taken hold of this charismatic character.


Other Famous Barbary corsairs

* Kemal Reis (–1511) * Mohamed Ben Hassan ( – 1724) *
Muhammad I Pasha Muhammad Pasha was Pasha of the Regency of Algiers from 1566. He was son of the famous Pasha of Algiers Salah Rais. He was active in extending Algiers, and building several forts. He was succeeded by Uluç Ali Reis Occhiali (Giovanni Dionigi Ga ...
(–1784) * Hasan Pasha (–1572) * Gedik Ahmed Pasha (died 1482) * Sinan Reis (died 1546) * Piri Reis (died 1554 or 1555) * Turgut Reis (1485–1565) * Sinan Pasha (died 1553) * Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis (1487–) * Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis * Salih Reis (–1568) * Seydi Ali Reis (1498–1563) * Piyale Pasha (–1578) * Raïs Hamidou (1773–1815) * Uluç Ali Reis (1519–1587) * Ali Bitchin (–1645) * Simon de Danser or ''Simon Reis'' (–) * Ivan-Dirkie de Veenboer or ''Sulayman Reis'' (died 1620) * Murat Reis the Elder (–1638) * Jan Janszoon or Murat Reis the Younger (–after 1641)


In fiction

Barbary corsairs are protagonists in '' Le pantere di Algeri (the panthers of Algiers)'' by Emilio Salgari. They were featured in a number of other noted novels, including '' Robinson Crusoe'' by
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
, ''
The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...
'' by
Alexandre Dumas, père Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where ''Suffix (name)#Generational titles, '' is French language, French for 'father', to distinguish him from ...
, '' The Wind in the Willows'' by Kenneth Grahame, '' The Sea Hawk'' and the ''Sword of Islam'' by Rafael Sabatini, ''
The Algerine Captive ''The Algerine Captive: or the Life and Adventures of Doctor Updike Underhill: Six Years a Prisoner among the Algerines'' is one of America's first novels, published anonymously in 1797 by early American author Royall Tyler. The novel takes the f ...
'' by
Royall Tyler Royall Tyler (June 18, 1757 – August 26, 1826) was an American jurist and playwright. He was born in Boston, graduated from Harvard University in 1776, and then served in the Massachusetts militia during the American Revolution. He was ad ...
, '' Master and Commander'' by Patrick O'Brian, the '' Baroque Cycle'' by
Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, postcyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work exp ...
, ''
The Walking Drum ''The Walking Drum'' is a novel by the American author Louis L'Amour. Unlike most of his other novels, ''The Walking Drum'' is not set in the frontier era of the American West, but rather is an historical novel set in the Middle Ages—12th-ce ...
'' by
Louis Lamour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work "frontier stories"); however, he also wrote his ...
, '' Doctor Dolittle'' by Hugh Lofting, ''
Corsair A corsair is a privateer or pirate, especially: * Barbary corsair, Ottoman and Berber pirates and privateers operating from North Africa * French corsairs, privateers operating on behalf of the French crown Corsair may also refer to: Arts and ...
'' by Clive Cussler, '' Tanar of Pellucidar'' by
Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...
, and '' Angélique in Barbary'' by Anne Golon. Miguel de Cervantes, the Spanish author, was captive for five years as a slave in the '' bagnio'' of Algiers, and reflected his experience in some of his fictional (but not directly autobiographical) writings, including the Captive's tale in '' Don Quixote'', his two plays set in Algiers, ''El Trato de Argel'' (The Treaty of Algiers) and ''Los Baños de Argel'' (The Baths of Algiers), and episodes in a number of other works. In
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
's opera '' Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' (a
Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...
), two European ladies are discovered in a Turkish harem, presumably captured by Barbary corsairs.
Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
's opera '' L'italiana in Algeri'' is based on the capture of several slaves by Barbary corsairs led by the bey of
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
.


See also

* Albanian piracy *
Anglo-Turkish piracy Anglo-Turkish piracy or the Anglo-Barbary piracy refers to the collaboration between Barbary pirates and English pirates against Catholic shipping during the 17th century."At the beginning of the seventeenth century France complained about a new p ...
* Barbary slave trade *
Barbary treaties The Barbary Treaties refer to several treaties between the United States of America and the semi-autonomous North African city-states of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, known collectively as the Barbary States. * ...
*
Circassian beauty Circassian beauty or Adyghe beauty is a stereotype and a belief referring to the Circassians, Circassian people. A fairly extensive literary history suggests that Circassian women were thought to be unusually beautiful and attractive, spirited, s ...
* Corsairs of Algiers * Ghazi (warrior) * History of slavery in the Muslim world * Islamic views on slavery *
List of Ottoman conquests, sieges and landings The following is a List of Ottoman sieges and landings from the 14th century to Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, World War I. Rise (1299–1453) Growth (1453–1550) Transformation (1550-1700) Stagnation (1700–1827) De ...
*
Mathurin Romegas Mathurin d’Aux de Lescout, called Mathurin Romegas (1525 or 1528 – November 1581 in Rome), was a scion of the aristocratic Gascony family of d'Aux and a member of the Knights of Saint John. He was one of the Order's greatest naval commanders ...
* Morisco * Morocco–United States relations * Ottoman–Habsburg wars * Ottoman Imperial Harem * Ottoman Navy * Piracy in Scotland * Regency of Algiers * Republic of Salé * Slavery in the Ottoman Empire * Turkish Abductions


Notes


References

* Clissold, Stephen. 1976. "Christian Renegades and Barbary Corsairs." ''History Today'' 26, no. 8: 508–515. Historical Abstracts. * Davis, Robert C., ''Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, The Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500–1800.'' Palgrave Macmillan, New York. 2003. * * Earle, Peter. ''The Pirate Wars''. Thomas Dunne. 2003. * Forester, C. S. ''The Barbary Pirates''. Random House. 1953. * Heers, Jacques. ''The Barbary Corsairs: Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1480–1580''. Greenhill Books. 2003. * Konstam, Angus. ''A History of Pirates''. Lyons Press. 1999. * Kristensen, Jens Riise. ''Barbary To and Fro'' Ørby Publishing. 2005. * Leiner, Frederick C. ''The End of Barbary Terror: America's 1815 War against the Pirates of North Africa.'' Oxford University Press, Oxford. 2006. * Lambert, Frank. ''The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World''. Hill & Wang, 2005. * Lloyd, Christopher. 1979. "Captain John Ward: Pirate." ''History Today'' 29, no. 11; p. 751. * Matar, Nabil. 2001. "The Barbary Corsairs, King Charles I and the Civil War." ''Seventeenth Century'' 16, no. 2; pp. 239–258. * Pryor, John H., ''Geography, Technology, and WarStudies in the Maritime History of the Mediterranean, 649–1571.'' Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1988. * Severn, Derek. "The Bombardment of Algiers, 1816." ''History Today'' 28, no. 1 (1978); pp. 31–39. * Silverstein, Paul A. 2005. "The New Barbarians: Piracy and Terrorism on the North African Frontier." CR: ''The New Centennial Review'' 5, no. 1; pp. 179–212. * Travers, Tim, ''Pirates: A History.'' Tempus Publishing, Gloucestershire. 2007.
World Navies
* ''To the Shores of Tripoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines.'' Annapolis, MD : Naval Institute Press, 2001
991 Year 991 (Roman numerals, CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Peace and Truce of God, Truce of God, between ...


Further reading

* Clark, G. N. "The Barbary Corsairs in the Seventeenth Century." ''Cambridge Historical Journal'' 8#1 (1944): 22–35
online
*Gawalt, Gerard W. "America and the Barbary pirates: An international battle against an unconventional foe." (Library of Congress, 2011)
online
* London, Joshua E. ''Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation.'' New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. * Sofka, James R. "The Jeffersonian idea of national security: commerce, the Atlantic balance of power, and the Barbary war, 1786–1805." ''Diplomatic History'' 21.4 (1997): 519–544
online
* Turner, Robert F. "President Thomas Jefferson and the Barbary Pirates." in Bruce A Elleman, et al. eds. ''Piracy and Maritime Crime: Historical and Modern Case Studies'' (2010): 157–172.
online
*
Adrian Tinniswood Adrian John Tinniswood FSA (born 11 October 1954) is an English writer and historian. Tinniswood studied English and Philosophy at Southampton University and was awarded an MPhil at Leicester University. He was a regional chair of the Heritag ...
, ''Pirates of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests and Captivity in the Seventeenth-Century Mediterranean,'' 343 pp. Riverhead Books, 2010.
NY Times review
* White, Joshua M.''Piracy and Law in the Ottoman Mediterranean'' (Stanford University Press, 2017). . *''White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves'' by Giles Milton (Sceptre, 2005) * Zacks, Richard. ''The pirate coast : Thomas Jefferson, the first marines and the secret mission of 1805'' Hyperion, 2005. * ''Christian slaves, Muslim masters : white slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500–1800'' by Robert C. Davis. New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. *''Piracy, Slavery and Redemption: Barbary Captivity Narratives from Early Modern England'' by D. J. Vikus (Columbia University Press, 2001)
The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary Pirates by Des Ekin
* ''Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival'' by Dean King, * Oren, Michael. "Early American Encounters in the Middle East", in ''Power, Faith, and Fantasy.'' New York: Norton, 2007. * * Lambert, Frank. ''The Barbary Wars''. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005. * Whipple, A. B. C. ''To the Shores of Tripoli: The Birth of the U.S. Navy and Marines''. Bluejacket Books, 1991.


External links



* ttp://histclo.com/essay/war/bp/bar-pir.html The Barbary Pirates
New book reopens old arguments about slave raids on Europe

Barbary Warfare

The Barbary Wars at the Clements Library
An online exhibit on the Barbary Wars with images and transcriptions of primary documents from the period.

{{authority control 19th-century conflicts History of international relations Early modern history of Morocco History of the foreign relations of the United States United States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuries Wars involving the United States