Stephen Decatur and the Suppression of Piracy in the Mediterranean: An Address at a Meeting of the Connecticut Society of the Order of the Founders ... April 19, A. D. 1900 (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Inhaltsangabe

Excerpt from Stephen Decatur and the Suppression of Piracy in the Mediterranean: An Address at a Meeting of the Connecticut Society of the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America, April 19, A. D. 1900

On the northern coast of Africa, there appeared toward the close of the Middle Ages the four Bar barian States of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, which were ruled for the most part by Chieftains of a singularly ferocious temper. Of one of these it is related that he prided himself on an accomplishment in which practice had given him great skill. It con sisted in leaping onto his horse, and at the same instant, with a single blow of his scimitar, cutting ofl the head of the groom who was holding the bridle. There was nothing malicious in this. It was simply an eccentric way of releasing the horse for the ride. Under such rulers, piracy was adopted as a State institution, and regarded as a legitimate source of revenue. Said the Dey of Algiers on one occasion, If I were to make peace with every nation, what should I do with my corsairs? My soldiers cannot live on their miserable allowance.

During more than three centuries, the pirate ships of the Barbary powers were the scourge of the Medi terranean, where they sometimes cruised in fleets of seventy or eighty sail, defying the strongest European navies of the time. Not content with booty secured at sea, they would swoop down on the coast villages of Southern Europe and carry OR the inhabitants into_s.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.