The sack of Madeira occurred in 1617 when Algerian pirates sacked the Island and took 1,200 inhabitants as slaves.
[White Women Captives in North Africa: Narratives of Enslavement, 1735-1830]
K. Bekkaoui
Springer,
The Algerians had established a base on the Islands of
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
from which they operated against ships in the Atlantic.
[The Verneys: Love, War and Madness in Seventeenth-Century England]
Adrian Tinniswood
Random House,
In 1617 the Algerians arrived in
Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
with 8 vessels and 800 men.
They plundered the Island and enslaved 1,200 inhabitants.
The Algerians burned the archives and had sacked much even the church bells.
It is also said that they had emptied the Portuguese Island of
Porto Santo
Porto Santo Island () is a Portuguese island northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe and Africa.
The muni ...
enslaving 663 inhabitants.
The Corsairs’ Longest Voyage: The Turkish Raid in Iceland 1627
Þorsteinn Helgason
BRILL,
The activity of the Algerian pirates only seemed to increase later sacking Baltimore in Ireland as well as the famous raid in Iceland.
References
{{reflist
History of Madeira
1617 in military history
Barbary pirates