Zymen Danseker
Encyclopedia
Siemen Danziger better known by his anglicized names Zymen Danseker and Simon de Danser, was a 17th century Dutch
privateer
and corsair
. His name is also written Danziker, Dansker, or Danser.
Danseker and the English pirate John Ward were the two most prominent renegade
s operating in the Barbary coast
during the early 17th century, both of whom were said to command squadrons in Algiers
and Tunis
equal to their European counterparts, and represented a formidable naval power as allies (much like Aruj
and Hayreddin Barbarossa the previous century). Later in his Barbary career, Danseker became known by the Turkish epithet Simon Re'is.
He is suspected of teaching the Turks and the Moors to use sailing ships to go through the Strait of Gibraltar
as early as 1601. Commanding a vast squadron made up of English and Turks while in the service of Algiers
, he captured over 40 ships in a two-year period after "turning Turk" and was stopped only after his capture and execution in 1611. Both men are featured prominently in Kitab al-Munis fi Akhbar Ifriqiya wa Tunis written by Tunisian writer and historian Ibn Abi Dinar.
by traditional accounts, he first arrived in Algiers
from Marseilles, France around 1600 or 1601 where he eventually married and began a ship building business. Finding himself in the service of the Pacha, he soon became the chief naval architect for the Bey of Algiers teaching Algerian shipwrights how to build and use the larger European "round ships" as opposed to the ancient rowed galleys. He later used captured prizes as models to show his officers the management and navigation of round ships, which had higher decks, banks of sail and cannon.
The exact circumstances are vague as to the reasons behind his becoming a corsair. However, he "was made welcome as an enemy of the Spaniards" and had become one of the taiffe's leading reis within three years of his arrival. Often bringing Spanish prizes and prisoners to Algiers, he became known under the names Simon Re'is, Deli-Reis (Captain Crazy) and Deli Kapitan due to his exploits on the sea. His fleet quickly grew in power, as he incorporated captured ships into his fleet, and was supplied by Algiers with men and use of their shipyards. He was also the first to lead the Algiers out of the Straits of Gibraltar, the farthest distance any had ever successfully navigated, and traveled as far as Iceland
. Iceland would later be attacked by Barbary corsairs in 1616. Simon took at least forty ships and sank many of them during the three years that followed. The people on the Barbary coast and the Turks
gave Simon the nickname Dali-Capitan which means Devil-Captain. After three more years of pirating he had become quite rich and lived in an opulent palace. Simon The Dancer attacked ships of any nation and made trading in the Mediterranean Sea increasingly difficult for every nation. Many nations therefore looked for ways to stop his attacks (by counterattack, bribes for safe-passage or even employing him as a privateer in their navy).
Simon soon became aquatinted with other renegades, particularly Englishman pirates Peter Easton
and Jack Ward, and he formed a powerful alliance with the latter. Eventually, a French fleet under the command of De Beaulieu de Pairsac, while being assisted by eight Spanish galleys, for a short time threatened to capture him, but because of a sudden storm he was able to escape; he sailed along the coast with his ships where his pursuers could not reach them. Eight more Spanish men-of-war, under the command of Don Luiz Fayzardo, and an English squadron, under the command of Sir Thomas Shoreley, were also trying to capture Simon The Dancer at that time. Some of the exploits of Simon The Dancer are mentioned in a report written by Edward Barker in 1609.
In 1609, while taking a Spanish galleon off Valencia
, he used the opportunity to communicate a message to Henri IV and the French court through the Jesuit priests onboard. He wished to return to Marseilles, having left his wife and children behind long ago, and wished to be exonerated for his crimes. He was reunited with his family later that year, shortly after arriving in Marseilles with four well-armed warships on November 17, 1609. Welcomed by the Duke of Guise, he presented to him "a present of some Turks, who were at once sent to the galleys".
He resided in Marseilles for a time before he was requested by French authorities to embark on a diplomatic mission to secure the release of French ships being held in Algiers. Agreeing to return, he was lured from a French ship and, once ashore, he was immediately seized and beheaded for his past attacks on Muslim shipping. William Lithgow
, a Scottish adventurer present at the time, referred to him as "the onely inveterate enemy of the Moores" and later wrote "Loe there was a Turkish policy more sublime and crafty, then the best European alive could have could have performed".
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
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...
and corsair
Corsair
Corsairs were privateers, authorized to conduct raids on shipping of a nation at war with France, on behalf of the French Crown. Seized vessels and cargo were sold at auction, with the corsair captain entitled to a portion of the proceeds...
. His name is also written Danziker, Dansker, or Danser.
Danseker and the English pirate John Ward were the two most prominent renegade
Turncoat
A turncoat is a person who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal to another, betraying or deserting an original cause by switching to the opposing side or party...
s operating in the Barbary coast
Barbary Coast
The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...
during the early 17th century, both of whom were said to command squadrons in 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 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....
equal to their European counterparts, and represented a formidable naval power as allies (much like 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 Hayreddin Barbarossa the previous century). Later in his Barbary career, Danseker became known by the Turkish epithet Simon Re'is.
He is suspected of teaching the Turks and the Moors to use sailing ships to go through the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
as early as 1601. Commanding a vast squadron made up of English and Turks while in the service of 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...
, he captured over 40 ships in a two-year period after "turning Turk" and was stopped only after his capture and execution in 1611. Both men are featured prominently in Kitab al-Munis fi Akhbar Ifriqiya wa Tunis written by Tunisian writer and historian Ibn Abi Dinar.
Biography
A Dutchman from DordrechtDordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
by traditional accounts, he first arrived in 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...
from Marseilles, France around 1600 or 1601 where he eventually married and began a ship building business. Finding himself in the service of the Pacha, he soon became the chief naval architect for the Bey of Algiers teaching Algerian shipwrights how to build and use the larger European "round ships" as opposed to the ancient rowed galleys. He later used captured prizes as models to show his officers the management and navigation of round ships, which had higher decks, banks of sail and cannon.
The exact circumstances are vague as to the reasons behind his becoming a corsair. However, he "was made welcome as an enemy of the Spaniards" and had become one of the taiffe's leading reis within three years of his arrival. Often bringing Spanish prizes and prisoners to Algiers, he became known under the names Simon Re'is, Deli-Reis (Captain Crazy) and Deli Kapitan due to his exploits on the sea. His fleet quickly grew in power, as he incorporated captured ships into his fleet, and was supplied by Algiers with men and use of their shipyards. He was also the first to lead the Algiers out of the Straits of Gibraltar, the farthest distance any had ever successfully navigated, and traveled as far as Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. Iceland would later be attacked by Barbary corsairs in 1616. Simon took at least forty ships and sank many of them during the three years that followed. The people on the Barbary coast and the Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
gave Simon the nickname Dali-Capitan which means Devil-Captain. After three more years of pirating he had become quite rich and lived in an opulent palace. Simon The Dancer attacked ships of any nation and made trading in the Mediterranean Sea increasingly difficult for every nation. Many nations therefore looked for ways to stop his attacks (by counterattack, bribes for safe-passage or even employing him as a privateer in their navy).
Simon soon became aquatinted with other renegades, particularly Englishman pirates Peter Easton
Peter Easton
Peter Easton was a pirate in the early 17th century who operated along the Newfoundland coastline between Harbour Grace and Ferryland from 1611 to 1614...
and Jack Ward, and he formed a powerful alliance with the latter. Eventually, a French fleet under the command of De Beaulieu de Pairsac, while being assisted by eight Spanish galleys, for a short time threatened to capture him, but because of a sudden storm he was able to escape; he sailed along the coast with his ships where his pursuers could not reach them. Eight more Spanish men-of-war, under the command of Don Luiz Fayzardo, and an English squadron, under the command of Sir Thomas Shoreley, were also trying to capture Simon The Dancer at that time. Some of the exploits of Simon The Dancer are mentioned in a report written by Edward Barker in 1609.
In 1609, while taking a Spanish galleon off Valencia
Kingdom of Valencia
The Kingdom of Valencia , located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. When the Crown of Aragon merged by dynastic union with the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Valencia became a component realm of the...
, he used the opportunity to communicate a message to Henri IV and the French court through the Jesuit priests onboard. He wished to return to Marseilles, having left his wife and children behind long ago, and wished to be exonerated for his crimes. He was reunited with his family later that year, shortly after arriving in Marseilles with four well-armed warships on November 17, 1609. Welcomed by the Duke of Guise, he presented to him "a present of some Turks, who were at once sent to the galleys".
He resided in Marseilles for a time before he was requested by French authorities to embark on a diplomatic mission to secure the release of French ships being held in Algiers. Agreeing to return, he was lured from a French ship and, once ashore, he was immediately seized and beheaded for his past attacks on Muslim shipping. William Lithgow
William Lithgow (traveller and author)
William Lithgow , traveller, writer and alleged spy, born at Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, claimed at the end of his various peregrinations to have tramped 36,000 miles on foot....
, a Scottish adventurer present at the time, referred to him as "the onely inveterate enemy of the Moores" and later wrote "Loe there was a Turkish policy more sublime and crafty, then the best European alive could have could have performed".
Further reading
- Hebb, David Delison. Piracy and the English Government, 1616-1642. Aldershot, UK: Scholar Press, 1994. ISBN 0-85967-949-7
- Wilson, Peter LambornPeter Lamborn WilsonPeter Lamborn Wilson , is an American political writer, essayist, and poet, known for first proposing the concept of the Temporary Autonomous Zone , based, in part, on a historical review of pirate utopias...
. Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs and European Renegadoes. Autonomedia, 1996. ISBN 1-57027-158-5