When most people hear the word “pirate”, they usually think of Johnny Depp, hidden treasure, and “X marks the spot”. What they don’t often realize, however, is that the modern-day image of pirates is actually based off of real marauders who lived several centuries ago. After hearing about the Barbary pirates mentioned in the Jefferson Articles, I decided to do a bit of research.
As early as the 9th century, corsairs in the Ottoman Empire began to prey on ships in the Mediterranean Sea. While early piracy often took the form of slave raids and ransoms paid for captured officials, it didn’t really become a large concern to Europeans until the year 1198, when the Trinitarians were founded. The Trinitarians were a religious group that was devoted to collecting ransoms and offering themselves in exchange for those captured as slaves in North Africa. France and Genoa attacked a pirate stronghold in Tunisia in 1390, slightly reducing piracy along the coast for a short time. Many muslims exiled from Spain during the Reconquista became pirates, increasing the threat to Europe.
In 1495, Ottoman admiral Kemal Reis gained control of the Ottoman Navy, and led them on raids of various European ports. The most notable was his repeated attempts to defeat the Republic of Venice, Italy, in a series of battles called the Ottoman-Venetian Wars (1499-1503). The resulting Ottoman victory shows the strength of the empire and of the Barbary pirates, and the threat they posed to Europeans.
Countless other attacks occurred throughout the centuries, some on smaller vessels near the coast, and others reaching as far as Ireland and Iceland. While countries had varying levels of success at defending themselves against the pirates, they continued to be a threat, until the beginning of the 19th century.
From 1801-1815, the United States and Sweden formed an alliance to defeat, once and for all, the pirates that had ruled the Barbary Coast for almost a millennium. When Thomas Jefferson refused to pay tribute to the pirates in exchange for the release of several American merchant vessels, he sent a fleet of naval officers to attack several Barbary Coast ports. This started the First Barbary War (1801-1805), which eventually ended when the naval ship was taken by pirates (and later destroyed by another naval party so it could not be used). The Second Barbary War (1815) brought an end to America’s history of paying tributes to the pirates, and marked the beginning of the end of Ottoman piracy.
Overall, it was really interesting to learn about this issue, and about how it’s been existing in more or less the same way since over 1,100 years ago. I enjoy learning about continuities in history such as this, as well as the rises and falls of various powerful groups, such as the Barbary pirates.
Link to Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_pirates#16th_century
I like how you made the connection from modern-day interpretations of pirates to real pirates.
ReplyDeleteI like how you compared the modern day perception of pirates to that of the ones that were so prevalent centuries ago. The Trinitarians are especially interesting to me as well as the rise and fall of piracy in terms of awareness. No doubt, it still exists but it isn't really talked about in our present day.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. Often, the subject of piracy is breezed over in history classes. I always have a cartoonish image in my head when thinking about pirates and found it interesting to learn about them a little more in depth.
ReplyDeleteI think that its very interesting how you connected the Barbary pirates to their effects on American politics.
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