Republic of Salé

The Republic of Salé, also known as the Bou Regreg Republic and the Republic of the Two Banks, was a city-state maritime corsairrepublic based at Salé in Morocco during the 17th century, located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river. It was founded by Moors and Moriscos from the town of Hornachos, in western Spain. The Moriscos were the descendants of Muslims who were nominally converted to Christianity, and were subject to mass deportation during Philip III's reign, following the expulsion of the Moriscos decrees. The republic's main commercial activities were the Barbary slave trade and piracy during its brief existence in the 17th century. A Moorish republic, it was culturally Arabic, Andalusian, and Berber.