Hawk Of The Sea Chapter Summary
Hawks of the sea
The Pirates of Barbary, Corsairs, Conquests, and Captivity in the 17th-century Mediterranean by Adrian Tinniswood is an interesting book that details the ventures of the many Barbary Pirates. This book explains the effects of the often forgotten but highly important Barbary Pirates. Tinniswood explains the workings of the maritime cities, whose economies depended on the piracy that was engaged by the Anglo-Turkish pirates. He first discusses the famous raids and affects the pirates had on the Mediterranean shipping, then he describes what happens to the Barbary slaves, finally he goes on to explain the downfall of the Barbary Pirates. Tinniswood does a wonderful job explaining the terrifying pirate raids, however he is too …show more content…
caught up in the details and clouds the connections of the stories he tells to more globalized effects of piracy.
Many famous pirates like John Ward, Murad Rëis (Jans Janszoon), Zymen Danseker, Henry Mainwaring, and Robert Walsingham and their allies were a significant threat to Mediterranean shipping.
Many of the pirate captains were European renegades who abandoned Christianity and their native countries to join the ranks of the pirates. Tunis was just one of the cities that promoted piracy and facilitated the selling of stolen goods. The shipping of the venetians was so damaged that they were “forced to ask the sultan himself to intervene when an English corsair robbed ‘the Consul of the Republic and many other rich merchants’” ( Tinniswood 31). The English culture once had used piracy against other nations they were at war with or didn’t like so this led to the wider acceptance of piracy on other nations, especially in this case against the Catholics. Majority of the crew of the pirate fleets were of all coast bordering nations that either became enslaved or joined by choice. John Ward, an English pirate that based in Tunis captured many ships like the John Baptist, the Carminati, and the Reniera e Soderina. All these ships carried such great riches that the dey (the ruler of the regency of Tunisia) and the investors amassed a great wealth. The rulers of Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco supported piracy by supplying munitions and janissaries to fight on the ships. Some of the pirates, like John Ward became Muslim to gain support of the of the deys and pashas (governors, dignitaries, and
generals).
In the early 1600s John Ward was known as the arch-pirate and every pirate was seen as a “follower of Ward”. On the other hand, there were pirates like Henry Mainwaring who was at first the leader of the Trinity house, the guild that oversaw the shipping of England. After the Spanish ambassador caused the English to distrust him, he became a pirate and quickly built his reputation as a horrific pirate able to subdue any encounter. He was later pardoned by King James. In addition to pardoning few pirates, the governments whose merchants were being preyed on tried several times to counterattack or blockade the pirate haven ports, sometimes succeeding in a treaty. One attempt against the pirates was led by Sir Robert Mansell. Mansell went on an expedition to Algiers to ask for the “restitution of 150 sail ships taken from his majesty’s subjects…and the punishment of the offenders”( Tinniswood 15). He tried to get the diwan to accept, they agreed but did not honor their promise. Mansell spent a few months roaming the Mediterranean looking for pirates because the reinforcements never came and thus unable to blockade Algiers. William Rainborow was able to blockade the pirate haven of salë after Abd Allah ben Ali el-Kasri, the king of salë, refused to release the Christian slaves and return what all the pirates stole. Rainborow later worked with the pirates of old salë to defeat el-Kasri and freed 677 slaves. Despite what the Christians thought, being enslaved by the pirates wasn’t that bad. Oftentimes, the slaves would be put on ships to work, but other times, the slaves did housework and were treated very well. One example of this was the slave William Okeley, who was eventually sold to an old man who treated him with “not only pity and compassion, but love and friendship” ( Tinniswood 173). Around 1816 the English and the Dutch sent a fleet to destroy the Barbary corsairs, in which they succeeded forcing a pact upon the pirates. Pirates continued to insignificantly plague Mediterranean shipping for many years until the America had to fight a war with the Barbary states, in which they destroyed that last dregs of piracy. In the early 1800s, Commodore Stephen Decatur destroyed The Constellation and killed Hamidou Raïs, the last legendary corsair.
Tinniswood tells intriguing tales of famous pirates and special battles without being too caught in the excitement of the event. The level of specificity in which Tinniswood writes at allows for more interesting and non-orthodox tales, for example when the pirates went far west to Baltimore which was totally out of the Mediterranean area. By telling interesting stories, he makes the whole book engaging. When the descriptions are so detailed and specific, he misses the larger trends and parallels like perhaps comparing the Barbary Pirates with pirates in the Caribbean or the Vikings as a sort of early pirate. This book would have been more interesting if it gave more of a global perspective and how piracy affected economies in other potentially landlocked countries. Having such vivid descriptions of the horror and crimes the pirates have committed doesn’t connect to the larger importance of piracy’s effects on local economies being preyed upon by pirates. This book gave many varieties of situations, but never connected the events to a conclusion. One idea that was stated many times throughout the book was the concept of sea-jihad, which was never really explained. Sea-jihad was used as an impetus by the pirates who were often Muslim however Tinniswood never explains where that concept came from. He could have explained jihad and why the Barbary states sponsor the pirates and provide janissaries besides just saying that it was state sponsored.
Overall, this book was very informative and gave many interesting details about piracy and how pirates operated. This book was very well written and well researched because the facts presented are accurate and not confusing. Tinniswood could have added more global context and explained why the Ottomans sponsored the piracy, in addition to connecting the pirate tales to a conclusion. Tinniswood did however include a lot of information from the 18th century, so perhaps he could have added the “18th” century to the title. This book is an overall great resource for learning about how the Barbary pirates were state sponsored and the real effects they caused.
The Pirates of Barbary, Corsairs, Conquests, and Captivity in the 17th-century Mediterranean by Adrian Tinniswood is an interesting book that details the ventures of the many Barbary Pirates. This book explains the effects of the often forgotten but highly important Barbary Pirates. Tinniswood explains the workings of the maritime cities, whose economies depended on the piracy that was engaged by the Anglo-Turkish pirates. He first discusses the famous raids and affects the pirates had on the Mediterranean shipping, then he describes what happens to the Barbary slaves, finally he goes on to explain the downfall of the Barbary Pirates. Tinniswood does a wonderful job explaining the terrifying pirate raids, however he is too …show more content…
caught up in the details and clouds the connections of the stories he tells to more globalized effects of piracy.
Many famous pirates like John Ward, Murad Rëis (Jans Janszoon), Zymen Danseker, Henry Mainwaring, and Robert Walsingham and their allies were a significant threat to Mediterranean shipping.
Many of the pirate captains were European renegades who abandoned Christianity and their native countries to join the ranks of the pirates. Tunis was just one of the cities that promoted piracy and facilitated the selling of stolen goods. The shipping of the venetians was so damaged that they were “forced to ask the sultan himself to intervene when an English corsair robbed ‘the Consul of the Republic and many other rich merchants’” ( Tinniswood 31). The English culture once had used piracy against other nations they were at war with or didn’t like so this led to the wider acceptance of piracy on other nations, especially in this case against the Catholics. Majority of the crew of the pirate fleets were of all coast bordering nations that either became enslaved or joined by choice. John Ward, an English pirate that based in Tunis captured many ships like the John Baptist, the Carminati, and the Reniera e Soderina. All these ships carried such great riches that the dey (the ruler of the regency of Tunisia) and the investors amassed a great wealth. The rulers of Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco supported piracy by supplying munitions and janissaries to fight on the ships. Some of the pirates, like John Ward became Muslim to gain support of the of the deys and pashas (governors, dignitaries, and
generals).
In the early 1600s John Ward was known as the arch-pirate and every pirate was seen as a “follower of Ward”. On the other hand, there were pirates like Henry Mainwaring who was at first the leader of the Trinity house, the guild that oversaw the shipping of England. After the Spanish ambassador caused the English to distrust him, he became a pirate and quickly built his reputation as a horrific pirate able to subdue any encounter. He was later pardoned by King James. In addition to pardoning few pirates, the governments whose merchants were being preyed on tried several times to counterattack or blockade the pirate haven ports, sometimes succeeding in a treaty. One attempt against the pirates was led by Sir Robert Mansell. Mansell went on an expedition to Algiers to ask for the “restitution of 150 sail ships taken from his majesty’s subjects…and the punishment of the offenders”( Tinniswood 15). He tried to get the diwan to accept, they agreed but did not honor their promise. Mansell spent a few months roaming the Mediterranean looking for pirates because the reinforcements never came and thus unable to blockade Algiers. William Rainborow was able to blockade the pirate haven of salë after Abd Allah ben Ali el-Kasri, the king of salë, refused to release the Christian slaves and return what all the pirates stole. Rainborow later worked with the pirates of old salë to defeat el-Kasri and freed 677 slaves. Despite what the Christians thought, being enslaved by the pirates wasn’t that bad. Oftentimes, the slaves would be put on ships to work, but other times, the slaves did housework and were treated very well. One example of this was the slave William Okeley, who was eventually sold to an old man who treated him with “not only pity and compassion, but love and friendship” ( Tinniswood 173). Around 1816 the English and the Dutch sent a fleet to destroy the Barbary corsairs, in which they succeeded forcing a pact upon the pirates. Pirates continued to insignificantly plague Mediterranean shipping for many years until the America had to fight a war with the Barbary states, in which they destroyed that last dregs of piracy. In the early 1800s, Commodore Stephen Decatur destroyed The Constellation and killed Hamidou Raïs, the last legendary corsair.
Tinniswood tells intriguing tales of famous pirates and special battles without being too caught in the excitement of the event. The level of specificity in which Tinniswood writes at allows for more interesting and non-orthodox tales, for example when the pirates went far west to Baltimore which was totally out of the Mediterranean area. By telling interesting stories, he makes the whole book engaging. When the descriptions are so detailed and specific, he misses the larger trends and parallels like perhaps comparing the Barbary Pirates with pirates in the Caribbean or the Vikings as a sort of early pirate. This book would have been more interesting if it gave more of a global perspective and how piracy affected economies in other potentially landlocked countries. Having such vivid descriptions of the horror and crimes the pirates have committed doesn’t connect to the larger importance of piracy’s effects on local economies being preyed upon by pirates. This book gave many varieties of situations, but never connected the events to a conclusion. One idea that was stated many times throughout the book was the concept of sea-jihad, which was never really explained. Sea-jihad was used as an impetus by the pirates who were often Muslim however Tinniswood never explains where that concept came from. He could have explained jihad and why the Barbary states sponsor the pirates and provide janissaries besides just saying that it was state sponsored.
Overall, this book was very informative and gave many interesting details about piracy and how pirates operated. This book was very well written and well researched because the facts presented are accurate and not confusing. Tinniswood could have added more global context and explained why the Ottomans sponsored the piracy, in addition to connecting the pirate tales to a conclusion. Tinniswood did however include a lot of information from the 18th century, so perhaps he could have added the “18th” century to the title. This book is an overall great resource for learning about how the Barbary pirates were state sponsored and the real effects they caused.