Ottoman Algeria
Encyclopedia
Ottoman Algeria was an Ottoman territory centered on Algiers
, in modern Algeria
. It was established around 1525 when Hayreddin Barbarossa recaptured the city. The Regency of Algiers was the principal center of Ottoman Empire
power in the Maghreb
. It was also a base from which attacks were made on European shipping. It roughly covered the area of modern Algeria
, between the states of Tunisia
and Morocco
. It rivaled and displaced the Zianids, the Hafsids and the Spanish possessions in northern Africa, and became a major hub of Mediterranean piracy
, until the French invasion of Algiers in 1830.
From 1496, the Spanish conquered numerous possessions on the North African coast, which had been captured since 1496: Melilla
(1496), Mers-el-Kebir
(1505), Oran
(1509), Bougie
(1510), Tripoli
(1510), Algiers
, Shershell, Dellys
, Tenes
.
Around the same time, the Muslim
privateer
brothers Aruj
and Khair ad Din -- the latter known to Europe
ans as Barbarossa, or Red Beard—were operating successfully off Tunisia
under the Hafsids. In 1516, Aruj moved his base of operations to Algiers
and asked for the protection of the Ottoman Empire
in 1517, but was killed in 1518 during his invasion of Tlemcen
. Khair ad Din succeeded him as military commander of Algiers.
, Barbarossa's brother, captured Algiers
in 1516, apart from the Spanish Peñón of Algiers
. Following the death of Aruj in 1518 at the hand of the Spanish in the Fall of Tlemcen
, Barbarossa requested the assistance of the Ottoman Empire, in exchange for acknowledging Ottoman authority in his dominions. Before Ottoman help could arrive, the Spanish retook the city of Algiers in 1519. Barbarossa recaptured the city definitively in 1525, and in 1529 the Spanish Peñon in the capture of Algiers
.
in command as his deputy when he had to leave for Constantinople in 1533.
The son of Barbarossa, Hasan Pashan
was the first governor of the Regency to be directly appointed by the Ottoman Empire in 1544, when his father retired, and took the title of beylerbey
. Algiers became a base in the war against Spain
, and also in the Ottoman conflicts with Morocco.
Beylerbeys continued to be nominated for unlimited tenures until 1587. After Spain had sent an embassy to Constantinople in 1578 to negotiate a truce, leading to a formal peace in August 1580, the Regency of Algiers was a formal Ottoman territory, rather than just a military base in the war against Spain. At this time, the Ottoman Empire set up a regular Ottoman administration in Algiers and its dependencies, headed by Pasha
s, with 3 year terms to help considate Ottoman power in the Maghreb.
Despite the end of formal hostilities with Spain in 1580, attacks on Christian, and especially Catholic shipping, with slavery for the captured
, became prevalent in Algiers, and was actually the main activity and source of revenues of the Regency.
In the early 17th century, Algiers also became with other North African harbours such as Tunis
, one of the bases for Anglo-Turkish piracy
, with as many as 8,000 renegades
operating from the city in 1634.
A contemporary letter states:
Piracy and slavery of Christians originating from Algiers were a major problem throughout the centuries, leading to regular punitive expeditions by European powers. Spain (1567, 1775, 1783), Denmark (1770), France (1661, 1665, 1682, 1683, 1688), England (1622, 1655, 1672), all led naval bombardments against Algiers. Abraham Duquesne
fought the Barbary pirates in 1681 and bombarded Algiers
between 1682 and 1683, to help Christian captives.
During the early 19th century, the Regency of Algiers again resorted to widespread piracy
against shipping from Europe and the young United States of America, mainly due to internal fiscal difficulties. This in turn led to the Barbary Wars
, which culminated in August 1816 when Lord Exmouth executed a naval Bombardment of Algiers.
of Turks and local women).
During the Napoleonic Wars
, the Regency of Algiers had greatly benefited from trade in the Mediterranean, and of the massive imports of food by France, largely bought on credit by France. In 1827, Hussein Dey
, Algeria's Ottoman ruler, demanded that the French pay a 31-year old debt, contracted in 1799 by purchasing supplies to feed the soldiers of the Napoleonic Campaign in Egypt.
The French consul Pierre Deval
refused to give answers satisfactory to the dey, and in an outburst of anger, Hussein Dey touched the consul with his fan. Charles X used this as an excuse to break diplomatic relations. The Regency of Algiers would end with the French invasion of Algiers in 1830, followed by subsequent French rule for the next 132 years.
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, in modern Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. It was established around 1525 when Hayreddin Barbarossa recaptured the city. The Regency of Algiers was the principal center of Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
power in the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
. It was also a base from which attacks were made on European shipping. It roughly covered the area of modern Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, between the states of Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. It rivaled and displaced the Zianids, the Hafsids and the Spanish possessions in northern Africa, and became a major hub of Mediterranean piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
, until the French invasion of Algiers in 1830.
Establishment
Melilla
Melilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...
(1496), Mers-el-Kebir
Mers-el-Kébir
Mers-el-Kébir is a port town in northwestern Algeria, located by the Mediterranean Sea near Oran, in the Oran Province.-History:Originally a Roman port, Mers-el-Kébir became an Almohad naval arsenal in the 12th century, fell under the rulers of Tlemcen in the 15th century, and eventually became a...
(1505), Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
(1509), Bougie
Bougie
Bougie, Bougis or Bougy as a place name or surname may refer to:- Places :*Bougy , village, Département Calvados, Normandy, France*Bougy-lez-Neuville, village, Département Loiret, France...
(1510), Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
(1510), Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, Shershell, Dellys
Dellys
Dellys is a small coastal town in northern Algeria, almost due north of Tizi-Ouzou and just east of the river Sebaou. It is notable for an Ottoman-era casbah, two colonial-era lighthouses , and some beaches; the principal activities of the area are fishing and farming. In Roman times, it was...
, Tenes
Tenes
In Greek mythology, Tenes was the eponymous hero of the island of Tenedos. He was the son either of Apollo or of King Cycnus of Colonae by Proclia, daughter or granddaughter of Laomedon. Cycnus' second wife Philonome, daughter of Tragasus or Cragasus, falsely accused Tenes of rape, bringing in a...
.
Around the same time, the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
brothers Aruj
Aruj
Aruj or Arouj was the elder brother of Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha and Ottoman Bey of Algiers and Beylerbey of the West Mediterranean...
and Khair ad Din -- the latter known to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans as Barbarossa, or Red Beard—were operating successfully off Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
under the Hafsids. In 1516, Aruj moved his base of operations to Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
and asked for the protection of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1517, but was killed in 1518 during his invasion of Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
. Khair ad Din succeeded him as military commander of Algiers.
Occupation of Algiers
ArujAruj
Aruj or Arouj was the elder brother of Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha and Ottoman Bey of Algiers and Beylerbey of the West Mediterranean...
, Barbarossa's brother, captured Algiers
Capture of Algiers (1516)
The Capture of Algiers in 1516 was accomplished by Hayreddin Barbarossa and Aruj against the Habsburg garrison of Spain located in the city of Algiers.-Background:...
in 1516, apart from the Spanish Peñón of Algiers
Peñón of Algiers
Peñón of Algiers refers to a small islet off the coast of Algiers, fortified by the Kingdom of Spain during the 16th century...
. Following the death of Aruj in 1518 at the hand of the Spanish in the Fall of Tlemcen
Fall of Tlemcen (1517)
The Fall of Tlemcen occurred in 1517, when the Ottoman corsair Uruj Barbarossa captured the city of Tlemcen from its Sultan, Abu Zayan, the last member of the Beni-Zian lineage....
, Barbarossa requested the assistance of the Ottoman Empire, in exchange for acknowledging Ottoman authority in his dominions. Before Ottoman help could arrive, the Spanish retook the city of Algiers in 1519. Barbarossa recaptured the city definitively in 1525, and in 1529 the Spanish Peñon in the capture of Algiers
Capture of Algiers (1529)
The Capture of Algiers was accomplished when the Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa took the Algerian city of Algiers from the Kabyles as well as the Habsburg Spanish in 1529.-Background:...
.
Base in the war against Spain
Hayreddin Barbarossa established the military basis of the regency. The Ottomans provided a supporting garrison of 2,000 Turkish troops with artilley. He left Hasan AghaHasan Agha
Hasan Agha or Hadim Hassan Agha, also Hassan the eunuch , was a Sardinian renegade and effective ruler of the Regency of Algiers from 1533 to 1545...
in command as his deputy when he had to leave for Constantinople in 1533.
The son of Barbarossa, Hasan Pashan
Hasan Pasha (son of Barbarossa)
Hasan Pasha was the son of Hayreddin Barbarossa and three-times Beylerbey of Algiers, Algeria. His mother was a Morisco. He succeeded his father as ruler of Algiers, and replaced Barbarossa's deputy Hasan Agha who had been effectively holding the position of ruler of Algiers since 1533.-Ruler of...
was the first governor of the Regency to be directly appointed by the Ottoman Empire in 1544, when his father retired, and took the title of beylerbey
Beylerbey
Beylerbey is the Ottoman and Safavid title used for the highest rank in the hierarchy of provincial administrators It is in western terms a Governor-general, with authority...
. Algiers became a base in the war against Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and also in the Ottoman conflicts with Morocco.
Beylerbeys continued to be nominated for unlimited tenures until 1587. After Spain had sent an embassy to Constantinople in 1578 to negotiate a truce, leading to a formal peace in August 1580, the Regency of Algiers was a formal Ottoman territory, rather than just a military base in the war against Spain. At this time, the Ottoman Empire set up a regular Ottoman administration in Algiers and its dependencies, headed by Pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
s, with 3 year terms to help considate Ottoman power in the Maghreb.
Mediterranean piracy
Barbary Slave Trade
The Barbary Slave Trade refers to the slave markets which flourished on the Barbary Coast, or modern day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and western Libya between the 16th and 19th centuries. These markets prospered while the states were nominally under Ottoman rule, but in reality were mostly autonomous...
, became prevalent in Algiers, and was actually the main activity and source of revenues of the Regency.
In the early 17th century, Algiers also became with other North African harbours such as Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, one of the bases for Anglo-Turkish piracy
Anglo-Turkish piracy
Anglo-Turkish piracy refers to the collaboration between Barbary pirates and English pirates against Catholic shipping during the 17th century.-Anglo-Turkish collaboration:...
, with as many as 8,000 renegades
Renegades
-Film:*Renegades , starring Myrna Loy*Renegades , starring Evelyn Keyes*Renegades , starring Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips-Music:*Renegades Drum and Bugle Corps, a Drum Corps Associates corps...
operating from the city in 1634.
A contemporary letter states:
Piracy and slavery of Christians originating from Algiers were a major problem throughout the centuries, leading to regular punitive expeditions by European powers. Spain (1567, 1775, 1783), Denmark (1770), France (1661, 1665, 1682, 1683, 1688), England (1622, 1655, 1672), all led naval bombardments against Algiers. Abraham Duquesne
Abraham Duquesne
Other topics that could fall under Duquesne can be found at Marquis Duquesne Abraham Duquesne, marquis du Bouchet was a French naval officer, who also saw service as an admiral in the Royal Swedish Navy. He was born in Dieppe, a seaport, in 1610, and was a Huguenot...
fought the Barbary pirates in 1681 and bombarded Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
between 1682 and 1683, to help Christian captives.
Barbary Wars
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
against shipping from Europe and the young United States of America, mainly due to internal fiscal difficulties. This in turn led to the Barbary Wars
Barbary Wars
The Barbary Wars were a series of wars between the United States of America and the Barbary States of North Africa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At issue was the Barbary pirates' demand of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. If ships failed to pay, pirates...
, which culminated in August 1816 when Lord Exmouth executed a naval Bombardment of Algiers.
French invasion
As of 1808, the population of the Regency of Algiers numbered around 3 million people, of whom 10,000 were Turks, and 5,000 Kulughlis (from kul oġlu, "son of Janissaries", i.e. metisMetis
Metis meant "cunningness" or "wisdom, craft, skill" in Ancient Greek.Metis may also refer to:* Métis people , a mixed-race people of Canada* Metis , a Titaness and the first wife of Zeus...
of Turks and local women).
During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the Regency of Algiers had greatly benefited from trade in the Mediterranean, and of the massive imports of food by France, largely bought on credit by France. In 1827, Hussein Dey
Hussein Dey
Hussein Dey was the last ruler of Ottoman Algeria.Hussein Dey may also refer to:* Hussein Dey District, a district in Algeria* Hussein Dey...
, Algeria's Ottoman ruler, demanded that the French pay a 31-year old debt, contracted in 1799 by purchasing supplies to feed the soldiers of the Napoleonic Campaign in Egypt.
The French consul Pierre Deval
Pierre Deval (diplomat)
Pierre Deval was French Consul-General in Algeria from 1814 to 1827. He is known for his diplomatic mission to the Regency of Algiers, and the diplomatic slights he received while there, which gave a pretext to the French invasion of Algiers in 1830....
refused to give answers satisfactory to the dey, and in an outburst of anger, Hussein Dey touched the consul with his fan. Charles X used this as an excuse to break diplomatic relations. The Regency of Algiers would end with the French invasion of Algiers in 1830, followed by subsequent French rule for the next 132 years.