The Pirate Regency
For over three hundred years, from the early 16th century until 1830, the city of Algiers was the center of a formidable maritime power based almost entirely on piracy, or privateering. This state, known as the Regency of Algiers, was nominally a province of the Ottoman Empire but functioned as a largely independent military republic. Its politics and economy were dominated by the ta'ifa al-ra'is—the corporation of corsair captains. These captains were a diverse group of European renegades, Turks, and local Moors who used the city's well-defended harbor as a base for raids against European shipping and coastlines.
The foundations of the Regency were laid in 1516, when the corsair brothers Oruç and Hayreddin Barbarossa captured Algiers. Hayreddin later placed the city under the protection of the Ottoman Sultan, securing a contingent of 2,000 elite janissary soldiers to defend it from Spanish counterattacks. In 1529, he solidified his control by capturing the Spanish fortress on an islet in the harbor, the Peñón of Algiers, and used its stones to construct a formidable sea wall, creating the safe harbor that would be used by corsairs for centuries. This act transformed Algiers into the primary base for Ottoman power and corsair activity in the western Mediterranean.
The Business of Piracy
The corsairs of Algiers were skilled sailors who preferred swift, maneuverable vessels. Their ship of choice was the xebec, a vessel that combined the speed of lateen sails with the option of oars, making it effective in the variable winds of the Mediterranean and capable of overtaking becalmed merchant ships. A typical xebec might carry 20 to 30 cannons and a crew of over 100 men. Their primary objective was not to sink ships, but to capture them, along with their cargo and, most importantly, their crews and passengers.
Captured non-Muslims were taken back to Algiers and sold in the city's slave markets. Over the centuries, it is estimated that Barbary corsairs captured between 1 and 1.25 million Europeans. These captives faced a grim fate, either being sold into servitude, forced to row the corsair galleys, or held for ransom. The ransoming of captives became a complex and lucrative business, part of the Regency's economy and its diplomatic relations with European states. Many European nations found it more expedient to pay regular tribute to Algiers to ensure safe passage for their ships, rather than engage in constant naval warfare.
The End of an Era
The power of the Barbary corsairs began to wane in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as European and American navies grew more powerful and assertive. The newly independent United States, refusing to pay tribute, fought two wars against the Barbary states between 1801 and 1815. A major blow came in 1816 when a combined British and Dutch fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Exmouth subjected Algiers to a nine-hour bombardment. The allied fleet fired over 50,000 round shot and 960 explosive mortar shells into the harbor, destroying the Algerian fleet. Following the bombardment, the Dey of Algiers was forced to free over 1,000 Christian slaves.
While corsair activity continued on a smaller scale, the final end came in 1830. Using a diplomatic slight from 1827 known as the "Fan Affair" as a pretext, France launched a large-scale invasion. A French force of 34,000 soldiers landed west of Algiers on June 14, 1830, and the city surrendered on July 5. The French conquest brought the 314-year-old Regency of Algiers to an end, permanently dismantling the last of the Barbary corsair refuges.