Siemen Danziger ( – c. 1615), better known by his anglicized names Zymen Danseker and Simon de Danser, was a 17th-century
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 ...
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 ...
and
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 ...
. His name is also written ''Danziker'', ''Dansker'', or ''Danser''.
Danseker and the English pirate
John Ward were the two most prominent
renegade
Renegade or The Renegade may refer to:
Aircraft
*Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design
*Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design
*Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design
Games
*'' Comman ...
s operating in the
Barbary coast during the early 17th century. Both were said to command squadrons in
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 ...
and
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
that were equal to their European counterparts, and, as allies, together represented a formidable naval power (much as had
Aruj and
Hayreddin Barbarossa
Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an Ot ...
in the previous century). Later in his Barbary career, Danseker became known by the Turkish epithet Simon Re'is.
Commanding a vast squadron made up of English and Turks while in the service 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 ...
, Danziger captured more than 40 ships in a two-year period after "turning Turk" and was stopped only by his capture and execution in 1611. Both men are featured prominently in ''Kitab al-Munis fi Akhbar Ifriqiya wa Tunis'' written by Tunisian writer and historian
Ibn Abi Dinar.
Biography
A Dutchman, Danseker served as a privateer in 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 Refo ...
. He settled in
Marseilles, France
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the France, French Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regio ...
, marrying the governor's daughter. In 1607 he stole a ship and sailed for
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 ...
. Finding himself in the service of Redwan, the Pasha of Algiers, he led a brief but infamous career as a
Barbary corsair
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe as the ...
. According to Ina B. McCabe, he introduced th
round ship
It is unclear why he became a corsair. He ''was made welcome as an enemy of the Spaniards'' and, within a year of his arrival, became one of the
taife reisi's leading captains. Often bringing Spanish prizes and prisoners to Algiers, due to his exploits he became known under the names ''Simon Re'is'', ''Deli-Reis'' (Captain Crazy) and ''Deli Kapitan'' among the people on the Barbary coast and the
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
. He incorporated captured ships into his fleet, and was supplied by Algiers with men and the use of their shipyards. He was also the first to lead the Algiers out of the
Straits of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medit ...
, the farthest distance any had ever successfully navigated, and traveled as far as
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 ...
. Iceland would later be attacked by Barbary corsairs in 1616. Simon took at least forty ships and sank many of them during the three years that followed. After three more years of pirating, he had become quite rich and lived in an opulent palace. Simon The Dancer attacked ships of any nation, making trading in the Mediterranean Sea increasingly difficult for every nation. Many nations therefore looked for ways to stop his attacks (by counterattack, bribes for safe-passage or employing him as a privateer in their navy).
Simon soon became acquainted with other renegades, particularly English pirates
Peter Easton
Peter Easton ( – 1620 or after) was a pirate in the early 17th century. The 'most famous English pirate of the day', his piracies ranged from Ireland and Guinea to Newfoundland. He is best known today for his involvement in the early En ...
and
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 ...
. He formed a powerful alliance with the latter. Eventually, a French fleet under the command of De Beaulieu de Pairsac, while being assisted by eight Spanish
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, for a short time threatened to capture him, but because of a sudden storm he was able to escape; he sailed along the coast with his ships where his pursuers could not reach them. Eight more Spanish
men-of-war
The man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a ship armed wi ...
, under the command of Don
Luis Fajardo, and an English squadron, under the command of Sir
Thomas Shoreley
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
, were also trying to capture Simon The Dancer at that time. Some of the exploits of Simon The Dancer are mentioned in
report written by Andrew Barkerin 1609.
In 1609, while taking a Spanish galleon off
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, Danziger used the opportunity to communicate a message to
Henri IV
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
and the French court through the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
priests on board. He wanted to return to Marseilles, having long ago left his wife and children behind, and sought to be exonerated for his crimes. He was reunited with his family later that year, shortly after arriving in Marseilles (where a
pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
awaited him) with four well-armed warships on November 17, 1609. Welcomed by the
Duke of Guise
Count of Guise and Duke of Guise (pronounced ɥiz were titles in the French nobility.
Originally a seigneurie, in 1417 Guise was erected into a county for René, a younger son of Louis II of Anjou.
While disputed by the House of Luxembourg (1 ...
, he presented to him "a present of some Turks, who were at once sent to the galleys", as well as a considerable sum in Spanish gold.
Danziger had been residing in Marseilles for a year when French authorities asked him to lead an expedition against the corsairs. Despite rumors of his capture, he returned to France later that same year. In 1615 he was called up by Louis XIII to negotiate the release of French ships being held by
Yusuf Dey Yusuf Dey (c.1560 in Tripoli – 1637 at Tunis) was Dey of Tunis from 1610 until his death.
Biography
Son of Mustapha El Turki, an Ottoman Turkish soldier stationed at Tripoli, he took up a post in the militia of Tunis. He was recognised by ...
in Tunis. According to the account of
William Lithgow, Dansker was led ashore in a ruse by Yusuf, captured by
janissaries
A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
, and beheaded.
Tinniswood, p63
/ref>
References
Further reading
* Hebb, David Delison. ''Piracy and the English Government, 1616–1642''. Aldershot, UK: Scholar Press, 1994.
* Wilson, Peter Lamborn. ''Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs and European Renegadoes''. Autonomedia, 1996.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danziger, Simon
1570s births
1611 deaths
17th-century Dutch people
Dutch pirates
17th-century pirates
Barbary pirates
Dutch privateers
People from Dordrecht
Converts to Islam
Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War
Executed military leaders
Pardoned pirates
Emigrants from the Dutch Republic to France
Emigrants from the Dutch Republic to the Ottoman Empire