Moor Pirates ((link)) -

Thomas Jefferson had had enough. When the Pasha of Tripoli declared war on the US by chopping down the flagpole at the American consulate, Jefferson sent the US Marines.

When we hear the word "pirate," most of us picture the rugged, European outlaws of the "Golden Age" (think Blackbeard, eye patches, and the Jolly Roger ). But for nearly 300 years, the most feared pirates in the world weren't based in the Caribbean. They were based in North Africa, and they were known as the Moor Pirates. moor pirates

Their leaders were not ragged drunks; they were admirals. The most famous of them, the Barbarossa brothers (Aruj and Hayreddin), were actually Ottoman Turkish privateers who turned Algiers into a military powerhouse. They didn’t just steal treasure; they stole people . We often discuss the transatlantic slave trade, but the Barbary slave trade ran concurrently and is less discussed in Western curricula. The Moor pirates were masters of razzia (raid). Thomas Jefferson had had enough

This brings us to a famous line in the : "To the shores of Tripoli." But for nearly 300 years, the most feared