Barbary State

Quick Facts: Who was Barbary State?

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Barbary State

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Coastal North African region encompassing Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli from the 16th to 19th centuries.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal areas of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, as well as the Sultanate of Morocco from the 16th to 19th centuries. The term originates from an exonym for the Berbers (now called Amazigh). Barbary was not always a unified political entity. From the 16th century onward, it was divided into four political entities—from west to east—the Alawi Sultanate, the Regency of Algiers, the Regency of Tunis, and the Regency of Tripoli. Major rulers and petty monarchs during the times of the Barbary states' plundering parties included the sultan of Morocco, the dey of Algiers, bey of Tunis, and pasha of Tripoli, respectively.

Career & Major Achievements

The slave trade was not just an economic lifeline to the Barbary States. Although mainly captives from sea piracy and coastal raiding around the Mediterranean, there were also Atlantic raids as far as Iceland. The Ottoman Eastern Mediterranean was the scene of intense piracy. As late as the 18th century, piracy continued to be a "consistent threat to maritime traffic in the Aegean". Slaving came to an end in the early 1830s after the French conquest of Algeria.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

In 1625, the pirate fleet of Algiers, by far the largest, numbered 100 ships of various sizes, carrying 8,000 to 10,000 men. The corsair industry alone accounted for 25 percent of the workforce of the city, not counting other activities of the port. The fleet only averaged 25 ships in the 1680s, but these were larger vessels than had been used since the 1620s, so the fleet still employed some 7,000 men. In addition, 2,500 men manned the pirate fleet of Tripoli, 3,000 in Tunis, and several thousand more in the various minor pirate bases such as Bona, Susa, Bizerta, and Salé. The corsairs were not solely natives of the cities where they were based; while many were Arabs and Berbers, there were also Turks, Greeks, Albanians, Syrians, and renegade Italians, especially Corsicans, among their number.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1625: 1625 Milestone — In 1625, the pirate fleet of Algiers, by far the largest, numbered 100 ships of various sizes, carrying 8,000 to 10,000 men.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Barbary State

True or False: “The primary economic activity of the Barbary States was exclusively based on raiding Christian European shipping lanes.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While piracy was central, the slave trade also included raids into the Atlantic as far as Iceland.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Barbary State