Research Paper On Barbary Pirates

The Barbary Corsairs by Vaidehi Pathak

The Barbary pirates or corsairs, also known as the Ottoman corsairs, operated mainly from the ports of Algiers, Tunis, Sale and Tripoli in North Africa. The pirates frequented the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and derive their name from the Berber tribe who inhabited these states. Another speculation is that the West described these Muslim pirates as “barbarians”, and thus the name Barbary Corsairs. They operated between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, with Algiers being their strongest port of operation. The pirates worked for the rulers of the vast Ottoman Empire, who encouraged them in exchange of shared profit. The free-booters had two aims; one, to capture Christian merchants,

Over the years they were constantly harassed by Algerian pirates, leading to the belief that Britain had a major hand behind it. The corsairs even attacked the colonies during the American Revolution. The Barbary state of Morocco was the first nation to recognize the new country that was the United States of America, and also the first one to attack American waters after its Independence. After their periodic threats, the United States Navy was formed in 1794 to counter-attack and protect the American interests. Then-President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay the high tributes demanded by the Berbers and protested against the enslavement of American crewmen, leading to the First Barbary War fought at Tripoli between 1801 and 1805. It is renowned as the first military expedition approved and authorized by the Congress that was fought on foreign land and sea and saw the victory of the Americans. However, in 1807, Algiers began recapturing American ships and a final settlement was reached in 1815 with the Second Barbary War, fought at Algeria. America totally stopped the practice of paying tributes to the Berber states, marking the beginning of the end of piratical activity in the

Only the young and healthy were taken captive and meted out sub-human treatments. Many of them starved to death and those who offered resistance were executed. Slaves were paraded through the market where they stood all day long as bidders passed by. During their auction the slaves had to show their stamina, strength and worth by doing different things. At night, the slaves were amassed in hot, stuffy and over-crowded prisons called bagnios. Well-to-do captives were capable of securing their release through the payment of ransom, and thus exempted from work. Well-known Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes was captured and held by the Ottoman corsairs for five years in Algiers before his release. The rest were condemned to a life of slavery, offered freedom only if they converted to Islam. Women and attractive young boys were sent to harems and were sexually exploited, in a fate considered worse than death. But the most deplorable state was that of the galley slaves who were chained and shackled to the ships and remained at sea for long time. They had to eat, sleep and defecate all at the spot where they were tied and even whipped if they didn’t work hard