Smuggling the consul's family from Algiers

[Ohmisterporter]

A story that I had never heard of before is told in this article from the Defence of the realm. blog. The efforts made by Britain, especially the navy, to stop the slave trade is usually overlooked and is almost exclusively concentrated on the trade in black Africans. The fact that white Europeans have been enslaved for centuries is overlooked. Don't want to get political but hope you find this article of interest.

 

   https://defenceoftherealm.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/smuggling-the-consuls-family/

[Ozexpatriate]

The Barbary Wars are an interesting relatively modern period that in many ways are a throwback to the Renaissance and the historical battles between the Portuguese, (post-Reconquista) Spanish and the Italian City states with the North African, Ottoman tribute states. Corsairs like Hayreddin Barbarossa figure prominently in the early 16^th century.
 
The nascent US Navy engaged in the first Barbary War, primarily with the Bashaw of Tripoli, in the 1801-1805 period. At this time the British paid tribute to the Barbary states to permit unfettered Mediterranean trade, something the impoverished US treasury could not afford. Ironically it was ultimately more cost effective for the US to build a navy than to pay the Barbary tributes.  Famously the reference to the "shores of Tripoli" in the USMC hymn is tribute to the Marines contribution there. The loss of the USS Philadelphia and the subsequent raid to torch it in the harbour at Tripoli are also part of the US Navy's founding tales of heroism.

 

The investment in a navy to fight the Barbary states would serve the US well as it entered the War of 1812.
 
Once the War of 1812 was resolved, the US embarked on the Second Barbary War in 1815. After a string of Algerine captures by the USN, the Dey of Algiers submitted to US demands.
 
Having seen the success of American naval forces against the Algerines, the Royal Navy essentially followed the same strategy with Lord Exmouth's squadron in 1816.

Edited February 6, 2018 by Ozexpatriate

[Guius]

Thanks for posting, a tale worthy of C. S. Forester himself. Many slaves were taken in raids from Cornish coastal villages over a long period by Barbary Corsairs and I wonder if any Cornish genes have been discovered in North Africa as a result.

 

Guy

[PhilJ W]

I read a book on the subject of the Barbary pirates. Although the south west of England did suffer somewhat from their attacks southern Ireland suffered even more, the raiders taking the entire population of some villages.

[Fat Controller]

I read a book on the subject of the Barbary pirates. Although the south west of England did suffer somewhat from their attacks southern Ireland suffered even more, the raiders taking the entire population of some villages.

It goes some way towards explaining the number of ginger-haired people you see in places like Corsica and Sicily.

[Ohmisterporter]

Barbary corsairs even went on slave raids as far as Iceland led by a Dutch sea captain who had turned against his countrymen. Jan Janszoon became a respected officer in the Moorish countries. His wiki biography is below. There is a good description of the slave trade in Patrick O'Brian's books The Commodore, and The Hundred Days,  part of the Aubrey and Maturin series.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Janszoon

 

Edit to add wiki lead to Jan Janszoon.

Edited February 6, 2018 by Ohmisterporter

[PatB]

Thanks for posting, a tale worthy of C. S. Forester himself. Many slaves were taken in raids from Cornish coastal villages over a long period by Barbary Corsairs and I wonder if any Cornish genes have been discovered in North Africa as a result.

 

Guy

DNA went the other way too. My late father-in-law was Cornish but would not have looked out of place anywhere between Morocco and Egypt.

[Guius]

This subject is very topical it would seem, Sally Magnuson has just had published a novel based around Icelanders being taken as slaves to Algeria by Barbary raiders. (courtesy of BBC Radio 4 Women's hour this a.m.)

 

Guy

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

The Barbary Wars are an interesting relatively modern period that in many ways are a throwback to the Renaissance... 

 

The nascent US Navy engaged in the first Barbary War, primarily with the Bashaw of Tripoli, in the 1801-1805 period. At this time the British paid tribute to the Barbary states to permit unfettered Mediterranean trade, something the impoverished US treasury could not afford.

 

Having seen the success of American naval forces against the Algerines, the Royal Navy essentially followed the same strategy with Lord Exmouth's squadron in 1816.

 

Alternatively. in early C19th the UK was the politically conservative global maritime superpower attempting to maintain status quo ante, combating the revolting French and their allies, the United States, who were upsetting the world order.

 

In the Med. UK interests were best served by keeping the African coastal states onside, as they were essential for fleet supply purposes, what with the Northern shore of the Med being in the unfriendly hands of Napoleon and his revolting crew.

 

Once Napoleon's empire was properly terminated, then those African states became an obstacle to free trade.

 

DNA went the other way too. My late father-in-law was Cornish but would not have looked out of place anywhere between Morocco and Egypt.

 Did he arrive on the Camel? ;-)  With the tin trade to the Eastern Med littoral anciently established, there's bound to be some very mixed heritage there.

[Ozexpatriate]

Alternatively. in early C19th the UK was the politically conservative global maritime superpower attempting to maintain status quo ante, combating the revolting French and their allies, the United States, who were upsetting the world order.

 

In the Med. UK interests were best served by keeping the African coastal states onside, as they were essential for fleet supply purposes, what with the Northern shore of the Med being in the unfriendly hands of Napoleon and his revolting crew.

 

Once Napoleon's empire was properly terminated, then those African states became an obstacle to free trade.

I was originally included a reference in my post that the British were busy with the French at the time of the US's first Barbary War, but it actually took place mostly during the Peace of Amiens so I redacted it.

 

My opinion being perhaps too much informed by historical fiction, I suspect that no one really considered that "peace" to be anything more than a cease fire at the time.

 

It's certainly true that the Royal Navy was stretched extraordinarily thin and that after Napoleon's final defeat, they turned their attention to policing slavery - in the Mediterranean and West Africa - which had not remotely been a priority before.

Edited February 7, 2018 by Ozexpatriate