Category: Background

The Barbarossa brothers were famous pirates. Most people with any interest at all in pirates are familiar with the name[…]

This week, we continue the story of the Spanish monarch Charles V’s ill-fated expedition against Algiers in 1541. Perhaps the[…]

When people hear the phrase “the Spanish Armada,” they invariably think of the great fleet of ships sent by the[…]

This week we continue with the story of Tycho Brahe. In the sixteenth century, astronomy had a problem. As we[…]

This week, we’re going to look at something a little different. Instead of focusing on corsairs or captives directly, we’ll[…]

(This post is a continuation of Cannons – Parts 1 and 2. If you haven’t done so already, it’s best[…]

  (This post is a continuation of Cannons – Part 1. If you haven’t done so already, it’s best to[…]

This week, we’re going to do something a little different. Instead of presenting excerpts from old texts, we’re going to[…]

This week—the last of 2024—we continue the series of posts drawn from Corsairs & Captives, my new book. This week’s[…]

This week, we’ll take a short break from the series of posts on the experiences of captives in Algiers and[…]