After Lepanto: Turkish and Berber corsairs on the coast of Galicia in the 17th century

Abstract

After the victory over the Moors and the success at the Battle of Lepanto, Christians and Muslims continued fighting each other at sea. In the seventeenth century, Turkish-Berber pirates, including Moors expelled from Spain and a large number of Christian renegades, succeeded in extending their corsair activities to the Atlantic Ocean by adapting the European way of building and arming ships. In 1617 the Turkish-Berber pirates started their attacks on Galicia with the assault on the Vigo estuary and the looting and burning of Cangas, and throughout the century they threatened maritime trade and coastal villages, capturing their inhabitants and damaging the fishing operations. About 1621 a Galician privateering arose especially directed against them and against the Dutch, with the construction of a “Squad of Galicia”, which could not fulfill its objectives. On the other hand, many captive Christians converted to Islam in the hope of a better treatment and fortune. Many of these renegades had the opportunity of joining as corsairs and of being able to flee and return to Christianity, but, as they were apostates, before getting their full reincorporation into Christian society they had to appear before the Inquisition tribunals to be acquitted. In the eighteenth century, Turkish-Berber corsairs began its decline, as their predatory bases and activities were annulled in the 19^th century with the establishment of European protectorates in North Africa and the withdrawal of the Turkish Empire from the western Mediterranean.