Sharing History

Captives seized by privateers were generally dispersed far from their homelands. Spaniards, Italians, Portuguese, French, Dutch and English ended up in Tripoli, Algiers, Tunis or Salé. Muslim captives from the Maghreb and Ottoman Turkey were taken to Malta, Marseille, Spain and Italy. Captured prisoners could be freed for a ransom, usually monetary or in kind. The fate of others depended on certain criteria. The most competent could advance socially and even join the court of a sovereign, including some captured Christians of European descent who converted to Islam. For example, the Muradid Beys of Tunis descended from an Italian Corsican, while Hammuda Pasha, the great builder of Tunis, and the reformer Ahmad Pasha Bey I were born to a Genoese captive. Most captives, however, were not so lucky and ended up working on state-sponsored projects, in penal colonies and on galleys.