The Barbary Pirates 15th-17th Centuries

by Angus Konstam

  This depiction of a Barbary galiot, in a detail from a 17th-century painting by Lieve Pietersz Verschuir, may have an exaggeratedly raked bow and overhanging stern, but the proportions of the vessel reflect contemporary descriptions. Note that the artist depicts the hull as black and all upperworks and the oars as red.

  Armament invariably consisted of a single large gun mounted on the centreline of the ship in the bow. This would be a bronze weapon, possibly of Turkish manufacture, a captured weapon, or one cast in the small foundry in Tunis. It would have fired a 12- to 24-pound ball (5.4–11.8kg), with 16-pdrs (7.25kg shot) being the most common guns. By the later 16th century some of the larger galiots appeared with two smaller flanking guns mounted in the bow, usually 6- or 8-pdr weapons. All vessels also carried a number of light swivel-mounted pieces on top of their bow gun platform, capable of firing either 1-pdr (0.45kg) balls, or bags of ‘dice shot’ – musket balls or small scraps of stone or metal. While the larger gun was primarily to fire into the hull of the enemy ship, these swivel guns were purely anti-personnel weapons, to sweep an enemy’s deck immediately before the pirates boarded.

  This Venetian woodcut depicting the battle of Zonchip (1499) shows small Turkish galiots engaging Venetian armed carracks. The scene is interesting in its depiction of the boarding tatics employed by the Turks, and also provides us with a rare depiction of Kemal Reis (centre, labelled ‘Chmali’), the Ottoman naval commander who pioneered the use of privateers based on the Barbary Coast.

  The galley

  While galiots remained the Barbary pirates’ vessel of choice throughout the 16th century, galleys were also used in significant numbers. A typical galley of that period carried 20 to 25 oars per side, in a single line – the more oars, the longer the vessel. While other maritime powers experimented with a different rowing system powered by more men, the Barbary pirates and Ottoman Turks kept to their own version of the alla sensile system, with three men serving each oar. This gave a typical 24-bank Barbary galley a crew of 144 oarsmen, which tallies with Turkish manning accounts of the period. A galley of this size would also carry around 20 gunners and 80 to 100 soldiers.

  In addition to its large centreline gun it would carry at least one and sometimes two smaller pieces mounted on either side of it, in a similar fashion to the larger galiots. The only difference was that the greater size of the vessel permitted the employment of heavier guns, with centreline calibres of up to 36 pounds, and flanking guns of up to 18 pounds. A 24-bank galia sotil (ordinary galley) of the early 16th century was, according to Venetian treatises, the equivalent of 41m (134½ft) long, with a 5m (16½ft) beam, and a draft of 1.5m (5 feet). Typically, a galley of this size had a displacement of approximately 200 tons. They usually carried two masts, each fitted with a lateen sail. While the power-to-weight ratio might have been inferior to that of a galiot, these vessels made up for it with their greater fighting potential. There is no indication that the Barbary pirates made use of larger flagship galleys – sultanas or lanternas – during this period, except when these vessels formed part of an Ottoman fleet and were crewed by Turkish mariners.

  The fusta and barca longa

  A much smaller oared vessel occasionally used by pirates was the fusta. These had 10 to 15 oars per side, each served by two men, and carried a single small centreline gun (if any were carried at all, other than swivel pieces). With a crew of 60 oarsmen and about 30 soldiers, these craft were considered too small to participate in major engagements, and they also lacked the iron-shod spurs fitted to most galiots and galleys for ramming. However, they were suitable for short-range raiding and for scouting. A typical fusta was a little over 20m (65½ft) long, and was fitted with a single mast and lateen sail.

  A variant favoured by the Barbary pirates was the barca longa. (Some European writers described these vessels as begantines – a term applied to a range of ship types, as its definition evolved throughout the age of sail.) A barca longa had a similar number of oars to a fusta, but each was pulled by just a single rower. Their limited range made them unsuitable for operations far from the coast, but they were perfectly designed for darting out and attacking a passing ship before it could escape. While typically they could carry a crew of 20–30 oarsmen and 20 soldiers the numbers could be increased for short periods.

  This slightly odd 17th-century European depiction of a pirate galley shows the stern as too massive and stately, belied by contemporary descriptions of these low, fast vessels. Nevertheless, it is interesting for its faithful depiction of the rig of the galley’s single lateen sail, and its impression of the fighting crew packed on the central deck between the rowing benches.

  One great advantage enjoyed by the Barbary pirates was that for the most part their smaller galiots and fustas were manned by free men, and barca longas were exclusively crewed by free volunteers. This meant that (as demonstrated in the action between Oruç Barbarossa and the Papal flagship) when the ships came alongside, the oarsmen could pick up a weapon and join in the fight. This gave them a useful edge in boarding actions, and allowed these small craft to ‘punch above their weight’.

  This contemporary depiction of a Barbary or Ottoman Turkish galley, and a smaller galiot beyond it, shows many flags in dark red, black, green and white; contemporary Christian accounts speak of pirate galleys festooned with taffeta and silk banners. Note that the oars are shown as red, the masts and spars greenish-blue, and the canopy over the poop as a Turkish ‘carpet’ design on a red ground.

  The xebec

  While the romanticized view of the Barbary pirates is that they almost exclusively used oared warships, the truth is that they also employed the types of sailing vessels that had operated out of the Barbary ports for centuries. Some of these were powered by both sail and oar. While this also applied to galleys of various sizes, those were primarily designed to be propelled by oars, using sail only in favourable wind conditions and never in combat. By contrast, these other vessels were primarily sailing ships, which retained some ability to be propelled by oars in light winds or when becalmed. The influx of European renegades in the early 17th century led to an increase in the use of sailing vessels as privateers. These desperadoes brought with them expertise in the operation of square-rigged craft, and an amalgam of their experience with traditional Barbary designs proved a successful combination.

  The largest and most powerful of these sail-powered ships was the xebec. This was a slim, fast-looking vessel, with an elegant and rakish overhang at the bow and the stern. While the hull at the waterline was noticeably narrow, it widened out as it rose so that the upper deck was surprisingly beamy. This was a three-masted vessel, usually rigging large triangular lateen sails on all three masts. Later in the 17th century some began to appear with a combination of lateen and more conventional square sails, of the kind used in northern Europe. This was achieved by hauling down the spar used for a lateen sail and hoisting up a new spar suitable for a square-rigged sail. More commonly, however, the lateen sails were left where they were, and square topsails were hoisted on smaller square-rig spars. This combination meant that, in the right hands, these craft could sail closer to the wind than most square-rigged European merchant ships, but could also take advantage of wind conditions that favoured square sails. By the very end of our period, in the late 17th century, the lateen sail on the mainmast was sometimes replaced by two or three square-rigged spars, carrying a square mainsail or course, a topsail and a topgallant. This development was, of course, due to the influence of the European renegades. However, for most of our period, and in most cases, a Barbary xebec would simply carry three lateen-rigged sails.

  The larger Barbary xebecs were typically about 30–35m (98–114ft) long, with a 6–8m (20–26ft) beam. They had a row of oar ports in their hull sides, so sweeps or oars could be used if the occasion demanded. This, and the potential array of sails it could carry, gave a Barbary xebec an impressive degree of flexibility. In most cases these ships carried between 12 and 16 guns, half of them in ea
ch broadside or with some repositioned to serve as bow chasers. The usual swivel guns were also fitted along the gunwales.

  The polacca

  The polacca might appear, to a landsman, to be virtually identical to the xebec. Both had three masts and generally similar-shaped hulls, but the polacca, though rigged with a combination of lateen and square sails, lacked the xebec’s versatility. It carried lateen sails on the mizzen mast and foremast, but in most cases the mainmast was designed to carry nothing but three square sails – a course, a topsail and a topgallant. Some also carried square topgallants above the lateen sails on the foremast and mizzen mast, but unlike the case with the xebec these were permanently rigged; the distinction is that a polacca did not carry a combination of lateen and square sails for selective use depending on wind conditions.

  The other major difference was that polaccas were generally broader beamed at the waterline than xebecs, since they were designed primarily to carry cargo. This made them slightly slower, but under a full press of sail, and in most conditions, they could still overtake most European merchant ships. Another distinction was that the polacca was not fitted with oar ports, so lacked the xebec’s ability to attack a becalmed enemy. Generally, polaccas were smaller and less well armed than xebecs, carrying four to eight guns as well as swivel pieces.

  While the use of Barbary galleys and galiots continued in the 17th century, an increasing use was made of sailing craft. These came in a variety of designs and sizes, but this ship-rigged three-masted privateer is one of the larger ones. (Original painting by Andries van Ertvelt)

  The felucca and tartan

  The felucca was a small one- or two-masted vessel used throughout the Mediterranean, but particularly favoured by the Barbary pirates. Like a xebec, a felucca had a narrow beam, and it also boasted the elongated stem which was a distinctive feature of the larger xebec. While it lacked the ability to replace its two triangular lateen sails with square-rigged ones, it did have oar ports – usually between three and six per side, but some of the larger feluccas of the late 17th and early 18th centuries had up to 16 per side. However, in our period a felucca was more of a sailing than an oared craft, and its narrow hull and good power-to-weight ratio gave it useful speed. While a felucca did not normally carry guns other than a couple of swivel pieces, it was an ideal craft from which to launch a sudden boarding attack. Even smaller vessels were also used on occasion. The tartan was a small lateen-rigged Mediterranean fishing vessel; in the hands of pirates they were unobtrusive, and a number of them could be mistaken for a fishing fleet until they launched themselves against an unsuspecting victim. Usually no more than 15m (50ft) long, they carried a single mast fitted with a small lateen sail, as well as a jib running between the mast and a bowsprit. The tartan lacked the speed of the barca longa, and could hold no more than about 30 men.

  The imposing figure of Ali V Ben-Ahmed, (or Ali Khoja), a late 18th-century ruler of Algiers, depicted surrounded by the severed heads of his enemies. While out of our period, this stands for the caricatured Western image of Barbary rulers: cruel, despotic and self-indulgent. In fact many were experienced sea-captains, and their rule was often perceived as efficient and just by contemporary Muslim standards.

  D POLACCA & TARTANS

  These craft are typical of the types that frequented Barbary Coast ports during the 16th and 17th centuries, being employed for both commerce and privateering. Their everyday appearance helped deceive potential victims into identifying them as harmless merchantmen or fishing boats until it was too late to escape a sudden attack.

  1 & 2: Tartans

  These were small coastal craft with a single small mast and a lateen sail augmented by a jib. They were rarely armed, and if at all with nothing more than a pair of swivel guns mounted on the gunwales. Such craft were employed to dart out from hiding-places along the coast and attack a passing ship before it could escape. These two slightly differing rigs for the lateen sail and jib were both commonplace during our period.

  3: Polacca

  These three-masted sailing vessels used lateen sails throughout the 16th century, but pictorial evidence suggests that as the 17th century wore on combinations of lateen and square rig became common, giving them versatility in the highly changeable wind conditions encountered off the North African coast. This example has a square-rigged course (mainsail), topsail and topgallant on its mainmast; a lateen sail on its foremast; and a square topsail above a smaller lateen on its mizzen. It has only one pierced broadside gunport, the smaller holes being scuppers. More guns could be mounted if needed, but the fewer were visible, the better the chances of being mistaken as harmless.

  4: Small craft

  Even smaller boats were also employed by privateers for various purposes, including towing sailing vessels when they were becalmed, or approaching anchored craft surreptitiously by night. Many had the curved hull shape still seen in the Mediterranean.

  ‘Roundships’

  At the other end of the spectrum was the three-masted ‘roundship’ or carrack. This was the archetypal northern European ship of the Renaissance period, which could be employed either as a merchantman or a warship. With high sides, they were difficult to board from galleys or smaller craft, and what they lacked in speed they made up for in their ability to mount broadsides of guns. While such vessels were not used by the Barbary pirates before the 17th century, the later influx of European renegades created a large pool of seamen with the experience to handle them, so if one was captured it might be pressed into service as a privateer. There are even accounts of renegades bringing roundships with them to the Barbary ports, either after a mutiny or having captured one at sea en route. This underlines the fact that by the late 17th century the corsairs had vessels at their disposal to suit every purpose.

  THE PIRATES

  The Barbary pirates were a surprisingly organized group, with a command structure that promoted skill and performance, and one that was closely integrated with the governance of the state where the corsairs were based. The same basic system remained in place throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, both in terms of the way the ships were run, and the manner in which the state’s administrative system was designed to support privateering operations. The result was a well-integrated organization that varied little from one Barbary state to another, particularly after the three main states were assimilated into the Ottoman Empire as the Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli regencies.

  Officials working for a Barbary ruler are shown negotiating payment for the purchase of Christian slaves by the Redemptionist Fathers. The Muslim states did not allow religious hostility to stand in the way of commerce; to them slaves were a commodity like any other, and if the price was right they had no objection to allowing Christians to buy back their co-religionists.

  E BARBARY XEBEC, EARLY 17th CENTURY

  Typical of the small privateering sailing vessels operating out of the Barbary ports, the xebec was a three-masted design with a pronounced rake at bow and stern, and a notably narrow beam at the waterline which gave fast sailing lines. Traditionally they were lateen-rigged, but as the 17th century progressed they tended to carry spare spars so that they could haul up square sails if conditions demanded, and a row of oar ports allowed the crew to use sweeps (here carried aft) if they were becalmed. Although the craft illustrated is a small example, little more than 25 metres long, the surprisingly beamy deck allows it to mount a substantial broadside of at least eight to ten 4-pdr or 6-pdr guns, plus pairs of swivels on the gunwales. They could usually overhaul most contemporary merchantmen, and their crews, several dozen strong, could usually overcome any resistance when they boarded. To encourage early surrender the plain black flag sends the corsairs’ message: ‘No quarter!’

  Chain of command in the Ottoman regencies

  First, the Ottoman sultan issued a firman (‘royal decree’) appointing a ruler to govern one of his Barbary provinces. This governor might hold the rank of Pasha, Beylerbey or Bey (in descending seniority), and his
initial appointment was usually for three years, after which it could be extended or cancelled. The sultan expected the obedience of the ruler, particularly in matters of foreign policy; an annual financial tribute to Istanbul; and to be provided with ships and men for his fleets when they were demanded. Otherwise the ruler was given a surprisingly free hand to govern his territory as he saw fit.

  The ruler would be guided by a divan – a council of local notables – while another council known as a taiffa advised him in naval or privateering matters. This taiffa consisted of the port’s senior privateering captains, led by the regency’s Capudan Pasha or local admiral (sometimes known as the ‘Reis of the Marine’). This direct access to the ruler gave the privateering captains considerable influence in the regency. For military matters the ruler was advised by a Bey de Camp, usually the commander of his janissaries, whose duties included the annual collection of taxes as well as ensuring the security of the regency. The Grand Kehya (‘chamberlain’) controlled the administration of the regency, and also chaired meetings of the divan. Meanwhile the chamberlain’s deputy supervised foreign affairs, and also the kasbah guards, who for security reasons were not under the control of the Bey de Camp. Other lesser officials oversaw various aspects of the regency’s administration, including the operation of the slave-markets, trade within the regency and the policing of the city. As the regency’s legal framework was based on the Sharia, the ruler was advised by a mufti, and justice was usually swift and severe. In theory the same draconian system applied on the regency’s ships and privateers when they were at sea; in practice, however, the Capudan Pasha, the taiffa and individual captains were largely left to govern their own affairs.