Jan Janszoon van Haarlem, commonly known as Reis Mourad the Younger (c. 1570 – c. 1641), was an
Ottoman and Salé Rovers Dutch
pirate
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 ...
in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
and
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
who
converted to Islam after being captured by a Moorish state in 1618. He began serving as a pirate, one of the most famous of the 17th-century "
Salé Rovers The Salé Rovers, also Sale Rovers or Salle Rovers, were a dreaded band of Barbary corsairs in the 17th century. They formed the Republic of Salé
The Republic of Salé was a city state at Salé (modern Morocco), during the 17th century. Locat ...
". Together with other
corsairs, he helped establish the independent
Republic of Salé
The Republic of Salé was a city state at Salé (modern Morocco), during the 17th century. Located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river, it was founded by Moriscos from the town of Hornachos, in Western Spain. Moriscos were the descendants of ...
at the city of that name, serving as the first President and Commander. He also served as Governor of
Oualidia
Oualidia ( ary, الوالدية ''l-walidiya'') is a village in Morocco's Atlantic coast in the Casablanca-Settat region and at the border of Merrakch-Asfi. It is situated between El Jadida and Asfi and is located beside a protected natural l ...
.
Early life
Jan Janszoon van Haerlem was born in
Haarlem in 1570, which is in
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
, then a province ruled by the
Habsburg monarchy. The
Eighty Years War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...
between Dutch rebels and the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
under King Philip II had started seven years before his birth; it lasted all his life. Little is known about his early life. He married Soutgen Cave in 1595 and had two children with her, Edward and Lysbeth.
Privateering
In 1600, Jan Janszoon began as a Dutch
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
sailing from his home port of
Haarlem, working for the state with letters of marque to harass Spanish shipping during the Eighty Years' War. Janszoon overstepped the boundaries of his letters and found his way to the semi-independent port states of the
Barbary Coast of North Africa, whence he could attack ships of every foreign state: when he attacked a Spanish ship, he flew the Dutch flag; when he attacked any other, he became an Ottoman Captain and flew the crescent moon and star flag of the Turks or the flag of any of various other Mediterranean principalities. During this period, he had abandoned his Dutch family.
Capture by Barbary corsairs
Janszoon was captured in 1618 at
Lanzarote (one of the
Canary Islands) by
Barbary corsairs and taken to
Algiers as a captive. There he "turned Turk", or
Muslim. Some historians speculate that the conversion was forced. Janszoon himself, however, tried very hard to convert his fellow Europeans who were Christian to become Muslim and was a passionate Muslim missionary. The Ottoman Turks maintained a precarious measure of influence on behalf of their
Sultan by openly encouraging the
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
to advance themselves through piracy against the European powers, which long resented the Ottoman Empire. After Janszoon's conversion to
Islam and the ways of his captors, he sailed with the famous corsair Sulayman Rais, also known as Slemen Reis, who himself was a Dutchman named
De Veenboer
Ivan Dirkie de Veenboer (died October 10, 1620 near Cartagena) was a 17th-century Dutch corsair. A privateer during the Eighty Years' War, he later turned to piracy and became an officer under Simon the Dancer. He later converted to Islam, bec ...
, whom Janszoon had known before his capture and who
["Murad Reis", p. 36] had also converted to Islam. They were accompanied by
Simon de Danser
Siemen Danziger ( – c. 1615), better known by his anglicized names Zymen Danseker and Simon de Danser, was a 17th-century Dutch people, Dutch privateer and Privateer, corsair. His name is also written ''Danziker'', ''Dansker'', or ''Danser''.
...
. But, because
Algiers had concluded peace with several European nations, it was no longer a suitable port from which to sell captured ships or their cargo. So, after Sulayman Rais was killed by a cannonball in 1619, Janszoon moved to the ancient port of
Salé
Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...
and began operating from it as a
Barbary corsair.
Republic of Salé
In 1619,
Salé Rovers The Salé Rovers, also Sale Rovers or Salle Rovers, were a dreaded band of Barbary corsairs in the 17th century. They formed the Republic of Salé
The Republic of Salé was a city state at Salé (modern Morocco), during the 17th century. Locat ...
declared the port to be an independent republic free from the Sultan. They set up a government that consisted of 14 pirate leaders and elected Janszoon as their President. He would also serve as the Grand Admiral, known as Murat Reis, of their navy. The Salé fleet totalled about eighteen ships, all small because of the very shallow harbour entrance.
After an unsuccessful siege of the city, the Sultan of Morocco acknowledged its semi-autonomy. Contrary to popular belief that Sultan
Zidan Abu Maali
Zidan Abu Maali ( ar, زيدان أبو معالي) (? – September 1627; or Muley Zidan) was the embattled Saadi Sultan of Morocco from 1603 to 1627. He was the son and heir of Ahmad al-Mansur by his wife Lalla Aisha bint Abu Bakkar, a lady of ...
had reclaimed sovereignty over Salé and appointed Janszoon the Governor in 1624, the Sultan acknowledged Janszoon's election as president by formally appointing him as his ceremonial governor.
Under Janszoon's leadership, business in Salé thrived. The main sources of income of this republic remained piracy and its by-trades, shipping and dealing in stolen property. Historians have noted Janszoon's intelligence and bravery, which were expressed in his leadership ability. He was forced to find an assistant to keep up, resulting in the hiring of a fellow countryman from The Netherlands, Mathys van Bostel Oosterlinck, who would serve as his Vice-Admiral.
Janszoon had become very wealthy from his income as pirate admiral, payments for anchorage and other harbour dues, and the brokerage of stolen goods. The political climate in Salé worsened toward the end of 1627, so Janszoon quietly moved his family and his entire operation back to semi-independent Algiers.
Plea from his Dutch family
Janszoon became bored by his new official duties from time to time and again sailed away on a pirate adventure. In 1622, Janszoon and his crews sailed into the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
with no particular plan but to try their luck there. When they ran low on supplies, they docked at the port of
Veere
Veere (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Ter Veere) is a municipality with a population of 22,000 and a town with a population of 1,500 in the southwestern Netherlands, in the region of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland.
History
The name ''Veere ...
,
Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
, under the Moroccan flag, claiming diplomatic privileges from his official role as Admiral of Morocco (a very loose term in the environment of North African politics). The Dutch authorities could not deny the two ships access to Veere because, at the time, several peace treaties and trade agreements existed between the Sultan of Morocco and the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
. During Janszoon's anchorage there, the Dutch authorities brought his Dutch first wife and children to the port to try to persuade him to give up piracy. Such strategies utterly failed with the men. Janszoon and his crews left port with many new Dutch volunteers, despite a Dutch prohibition of piracy.
Diplomacy
Dutch captives
While in Morocco, Janszoon worked to secure the release of Dutch captives from other pirates and prevent them from being sold into slavery.
Franco-Moroccan Treaty of 1631
Knowledgeable of several languages, while in Algiers he contributed to the establishment of the
Franco-Moroccan Treaty of 1631
The Franco-Moroccan Treaty of 1631 was a treaty signed between France and Morocco in 1631.
The negotiations were handled by Admiral Isaac de Razilly, after numerous discussions and encounters due to the problem of pirates from the harbour of Sal ...
between
French King
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the firs ...
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
and Sultan
Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik II.
Notable raids
Lundy
In 1627, Janszoon captured the island of
Lundy
Lundy is an English island in the Bristol Channel. It was a micronation from 1925–1969. It forms part of the district of Torridge in the county of Devon.
About long and wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently chang ...
in the
Bristol Channel and held it for five years, using it as a base for raiding expeditions.
Iceland
In 1627, Janszoon used a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
"slave" (most likely a crew member captured on a Danish ship taken as a pirate prize) to pilot him and his men to
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. There they raided the fishing village of
Grindavík
Grindavík () is a fishing town on the Southern Peninsula of Iceland not far from the tuya Þorbjörn.
It is one of the few cities with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work in the fishing industry. The Blue Lagoon, Grindavík ...
. Their takings were meagre, some salted fish and a few hides, but they also captured twelve Icelanders and three Danes who happened to be in the village. When they were leaving Grindavík, they managed to trick and capture a Danish merchant ship that was passing by means of flying a false flag.
The ships sailed to
Bessastaðir
Bessastaðir () is the official residence of the president of Iceland. It is situated in Álftanes, about from the capital city, Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, ...
, seat of the Danish governor of Iceland, to raid but were unable to make a landing – it is said they were thwarted by cannon fire from the local fortifications (''Bessastaðaskans'') and a quickly mustered group of
lancers from the
Southern Peninsula. They decided to sail home to Salé, where they sold their captives as slaves.
Two corsair ships from Algiers, possibly connected to Janszoon's raid, came to Iceland on 4 July and plundered there. Then they sailed to Vestmannaeyjar off the southern coast and raided there for three days. Those events are collectively known in Iceland as ''Tyrkjaránið'' (the
Turkish abductions
The Turkish Abductions ( is, Tyrkjaránið) were a series of slave raids by pirates from Northwest Africa that took place in Iceland in the summer of 1627.
The pirates came from the cities of Algiers and Salé.
They raided Grindavík, the Ea ...
), as the Barbary states were nominally a part of the Ottoman Empire.
Accounts by enslaved Icelanders who spent time on the corsair ships claimed that the conditions for women and children were normal, in that they were permitted to move throughout the ship, except to the quarter deck. The pirates were seen giving extra food to the children from their own private stashes. A woman who gave birth on board a ship was treated with dignity, being afforded privacy and clothing by the pirates. The men were put in the hold of the ships and had their chains removed once the ships were far enough from land. Despite popular claims about the treatment of captives, Icelander accounts do not mention that slaves were raped on the voyage itself, however,
Guðríður Símonardóttir
Guðríður Símonardóttir (1598 – December 18, 1682) was an Icelandic woman who was one of 242 people abducted from the Westman Islands, Iceland in 1627 in a raid by Barbary pirates. , one of the few captives to later return to Iceland, was sold into sex slavery as a concubine.
Sack of Baltimore, Ireland
Having sailed for two months and with little to show for the voyage, Janszoon turned to a captive taken on the voyage, a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
named John Hackett, for information on where a profitable raid could be made. The Protestant residents of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, a small town in
West Cork
West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownber ...
, Ireland, were resented by the Roman Catholic native Irish because they were
settled on lands confiscated from the O'Driscoll clan. Hackett directed Janszoon to this town and away from his own. Janszoon
sacked Baltimore on 20 June 1631, seizing little property but taking 108 captives, whom he sold as slaves in North Africa. Janszoon was said to have released the Irish and taken only English captives. Shortly after the sack, Hackett was arrested and hanged for his crime. "Here was not a single Christian who was not weeping and who was not full of sadness at the sight of so many honest maidens and so many good women abandoned to the brutality of these barbarians". Only two of the villagers ever returned to their homeland.
Raids in the Mediterranean Sea
Murat Reis chose to make large profits by raiding Mediterranean islands such as the
Balearic Islands,
Corsica,
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, and the southern coast of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. He often sold most of his merchandise in
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
, where he befriended the
Dey
Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 o ...
. He is known to have sailed the
Ionian Sea. He fought the Venetians near the coasts of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
and
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
with a corsair crew consisting of
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
,
Moriscos
Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the ope ...
,
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
,
Turkish, and elite
Janissaries.
Capture by Knights of Malta
In 1635, near the
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
n coast, Murat Reis was outnumbered and surprised by a sudden attack. He and many of his men were captured by the
Knights of Malta. He was imprisoned in the island's notorious dark
dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...
s. He was mistreated and
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...
d, and suffered ill health due to his time in the dungeon. In 1640, he barely escaped after a massive Corsair attack, which was carefully planned by the
Dey
Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 o ...
of
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
in order to rescue their fellow sailors and Corsairs. He was greatly honoured and praised upon his return to Morocco and the nearby
Barbary States.
Escape and return to Morocco
After Janszoon returned to Morocco in 1640, he was appointed as Governor of the great fortress of
Oualidia
Oualidia ( ary, الوالدية ''l-walidiya'') is a village in Morocco's Atlantic coast in the Casablanca-Settat region and at the border of Merrakch-Asfi. It is situated between El Jadida and Asfi and is located beside a protected natural l ...
, near
Safi. He resided at the Castle of Maladia. In December 1640, a ship arrived with a new Dutch consul, who brought Lysbeth Janszoon van Haarlem, Janszoon's daughter by his Dutch wife, to visit her father. When Lysbeth arrived, Janszoon "was seated in great pomp on a carpet, with silk cushions, the servants all around him". She saw that Murat Reis had become a feeble, old man. Lysbeth stayed with her father until August 1641, when she returned to Holland. Little is known of Janszoon thereafter; he likely retired at last from both public life and piracy. The date of his death remains unknown.
Marriages and issue
In 1596, by an unknown Dutch woman, Janszoon's first child was born, Lysbeth Janszoon van Haarlem.
After becoming a pirate, Janszoon met an unknown woman in
Cartagena, Spain, who he would marry. The identity of this woman is historically vague, but the consensus is that she was of a multi-ethnic background, considered "Morisco" in Spain. Historians have claimed her to be nothing more than a concubine, others claim she was a Muslim
Mudéjar
Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...
who worked for a Christian noble family, and other claims have been made that she was a "Moorish princess." Through this marriage, Janszoon had four children: Abraham Janszoon van Salee (b.1602), Philip Janszoon van Salee (b. 1604),
Anthony Janszoon van Salee (b.1607), and Cornelis Janszoon van Salee (b. 1608).
It is speculated that Janszoon married for a third time to the daughter of
Sultan Moulay Ziden in 1624.
["VAN SICKELEN & VAN HOORN LINES continued"]
, Michael A. Shoemaker. PCEZ. Accessed 9 September 2011
Popular culture
In 2009, a play based on Janszoon's life as a pirate, "Jan Janszoon, de blonde Arabier", written by
Karim El Guennouni toured The Netherlands. "Bad Grandpa: The Ballad of Murad the Captain" is a children's poem about Janszoon published in 2007.
In 2015, Janszoon was a key antagonist in the historical novel ''Slave to Fortune'' by D.J. Munro.
Names
Janszoon was also known as Murat Reis the Younger. His Dutch names are also given as Jan Jansen and Jan Jansz; his adopted name as Morat Rais, Murat Rais, Morat; ''Little John Ward'', ''John Barber'', ''Captain John'', and ''Caid Morato'' were some of his pirate names. "The Hairdresser" was a nickname of Janszoon.
See also
*
Murat Reis the Elder
Murat Reis the Elder ( tr, Koca Murat Reis; sq, Murat Reis Plaku 1534 – 1609) was an Ottoman privateer and admiral, who served in the Ottoman Navy. He is regarded as one of the most important Barbary corsairs.
Early career
Born into ...
*
Jack Ward
John Ward or Birdy ( 1553 – 1622), also known as Jack Ward or later as Yusuf Reis, was an English- Ottoman pirate who later became a Barbary Corsair for the Ottoman Empire operating out of Tunis during the early 17th century.
According ...
Notes
References
*Karg, Barb, Arjean Spaite. 2007. ''The everything pirates book''.
*
Wilson, Peter Lamborn (birth name of Hakim Bey). 1995, 2003. ''Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs and European Renegadoes''. Brooklyn, NY: Autonomedia.
External links
* theatrical production
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janszoon, Jan
1570s births
17th-century deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death unknown
Dutch pirates
Dutch Muslims
Converts to Islam
People from Haarlem
Turkish Abductions
Dutch emigrants to Morocco
People from Salé
16th-century Dutch people
17th-century Dutch colonial governors
17th-century businesspeople from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman slave traders