The Barbary pirates or corsairs, also known as the Ottoman corsairs, were pirates and privateers from North Africa who operated mainly from the ports of Algiers, Tunis, Sale and Tripoli. Of these states, Algiers was their strongest port of operation. The pirates frequented the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic ocean. The Barbary pirates derive their name from the Berber tribe who inhabited these states, thereafter known as the Barbary states. It is also speculated that the West described these Muslim pirates as “barbarians” from which they get their name. The pirates operated between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. They worked for the deys or rulers of the vast Ottoman Empire, who encouraged their occupation as long as they received
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Oruc Barbarossa was the bey or governor of Algiers. He was fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, Greek and Arabic which facilitated him in his conquests. In 1502, he captured the island of Djerba in North Africa for the Ottoman Empire. He frequently attacked and executed people who he thought would oppose him. In one of his conquests he even lost his left arm. He attacked and conquered multiple Spanish territories in North Africa, and was eventually caught and killed by them. His influence was far-reaching and Hector Barbossa from The Pirates of the Caribbean Sea movie series is based on his character. Oruc's younger brother Hizir Hayreddin Barbarossa was a capable engineer. Under his command, the Ottoman Empire was able to obtain and maintain control of the Eastern Mediterranean for over thirty years. Numerous films were made on the Barbary pirates in the USA, like Barbary Pirate (1949) and Old Ironsides (1928). They were also immortalized in literature in the form of plays, poems and captivity narratives. These throw light on their conquests as well as the social and economic conditions of the time. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, The Algerine Captive by Royall Tyler and The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas along with others mention the Barbary
Oruc Barbarossa was the bey or governor of Algiers. He was fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, Greek and Arabic which facilitated him in his conquests. In 1502, he captured the island of Djerba in North Africa for the Ottoman Empire. He frequently attacked and executed people who he thought would oppose him. In one of his conquests he even lost his left arm. He attacked and conquered multiple Spanish territories in North Africa, and was eventually caught and killed by them. His influence was far-reaching and Hector Barbossa from The Pirates of the Caribbean Sea movie series is based on his character. Oruc's younger brother Hizir Hayreddin Barbarossa was a capable engineer. Under his command, the Ottoman Empire was able to obtain and maintain control of the Eastern Mediterranean for over thirty years. Numerous films were made on the Barbary pirates in the USA, like Barbary Pirate (1949) and Old Ironsides (1928). They were also immortalized in literature in the form of plays, poems and captivity narratives. These throw light on their conquests as well as the social and economic conditions of the time. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, The Algerine Captive by Royall Tyler and The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas along with others mention the Barbary