Category: Corsairs

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

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Charles V’s ill-fated expedition against Algiers was the storm that put an end to[…]

In its heyday as a corsair capital, the city of Algiers had one major economic driver: piracy. Legally speaking, Algerian[…]

(This post is a continuation of Of Piracy, Profit, and Prudence — Part 1. If you haven’t done so already,[…]

Barbary corsairs weren’t just pirates. They were part of a larger enterprise. There was a religious element to that enterprise:[…]

When people think of Barbary corsairs, they often envision them in oared galleys massing to attack European sailing ships—rather like[…]

(This post is a continuation of Oared Galleys – The Story of La Real: Part 1. If you haven’t done[…]

By the early decades of the seventeenth century, Barbary corsairs were employing two very different types of ships: oared galleys[…]

(This post is a continuation of Corsair Ships: Square-Rigged Vessels – Part 1. If you haven’t done so already, it’s[…]

Barbary corsair ships—whether the galleys that hunted the Mediterranean or the square-rigged ships that plied the Atlantic littoral—were armed. Galleys[…]