| A long time
ago, Algeria was inhabited by Berber tribes. In the 7th century it was
conquered by Arabs, who converted the Berbers to Islam. During the
Middle Ages and in later periods, Algeria was a centre of piracy. Famous
buccaneers such as Hairaddine the Red Beard, Dragut and Ulge Ali
controlled the Mediterranean Sea, and a lot of European countries were
obliged to pay them tributes. During the period from 1609 to 1616,
Algerian buccaneers managed to capture a great number of vessels (only
446 of them were British ships). Their soldiers raided the Azores,
Denmark and Norway. Pirate ships were sighted at the Elba and the
Thames. In 1799, even the United States, who had just declared their
independence, had to pay the pirates 50 thousand dollars plus 28
cannons, 10,000 cannonballs along with a sufficient amount of gunpowder,
and to provide the buccaneers with ships and the necessary equipment.
Ottoman beys forced foreign visitors who brought their tributes to crawl
under a wooden plank in order to make them bow to them. Sea piracy was
legal and accompanied by the slave trade. Not just once did the European
countries try to capture Algeria and smite the pirates' lair. In 1655,
the British navy set sail and fought against Algeria. In 1683, the
French fleet fired about six thousand cannonballs at Algiers and left
the city in ruins. Five years later, in 1687, French Admiral d'Estre and
a huge fleet armed with 18 thousand bombs were sent to destroy the city
once again. But this time Algiers was greatly reinforced. About 100
cannons were set on the shore, while the city itself encamped 20
thousand soldiers. Civilians were evacuated to a safer place. When the
siege and bombardment began, Algerian General Mesamorto ordered his
troops to load the French consul and other French captives into the
cannon and fire them at the enemy. The French fleet faced a serious
counterattack. In 1830, the French army entered Algeria and took power
in their hands. |
