New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-02-27
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THE BARBARY CORSAlRS.

STANLEY Lane-Po with tne TonSo illus
Lientsnan ~ :. y; nm xviii3IG q. =. Putnam's
sons Tho
The story Of the Barbary corsairs IS perhaps '"c
most discreditable page in the history o' 'n''S""
dom. For three centuries the Chfi'i'h Io"''''
one and all, permitted gang oil ieroclo"s ''''eN'S
n ,nfest the seas TO rob and plumber BOTH "h"h'
80 ..ho,e n scze and condemn scores of fho'l-
!. IA. NJ Christians to the most cruel AMI ia'ocr-
.hi. .laverv: and this protractcd infamv was due
=. Oh. base iealousics and mutual c3ry anu enmitS
- ,u,ers who deliberately sacrificed the fortunes
ND lives of their own subjects, and WITHHOLD ''e
r,ot.ction they were under the most sacred ""h-
cation 70 afford, rather than destroy the plra'ha
newer which could. upon occasion. bc turned
sraipst their rivals. The prosperity ana immunity
Of the corsairs was in fact an exact h'e"S"''
~ tho sel6sbness greed, had faith ami ininora'rS
NJ the Christian Governments OF Europe ''o"
.he hfteenth to the end Of the eighteenth century
During that long period there was pro"aoN no
Elm. whom a. would not have been possible 10
.x,inouish the profession Of piracy had concert
h.,wecn thu Powers been at.anable. Az tue
..me time IL must not he forgotten t'at '"e
alta ndards Of ethics in those days were no' suon
N TO render piracy abhorrent In i's''' u"
almost ell seamcn were then po'eh'''.
and "A long previously. the commercial ihs'ihc'S
n
,nduluine in piracy when the circumstances "e'r
r.,o,.h,e .o tho merchants OF England were not
too scrunulous TO III out maritime expeditions o'
which the ostensible purpose was honeS' c'n'n'''e
and the reserved intent plumber
TIE BEGINNINGS OF the Barbary corsar business
v.,. however. directly evolved by Spain when
Ferdinand and Isabella expelled the Moors iron,
their country they laid the foundation Tor ana
sunnlied the strongest motive power 10 wta' was
a..tined IN bc the scourge OF Europe. II IS I'M
rossible TO sympathize with the cruel. stnph "ie
M. who had invited the desperate revenge OF a
vu,n.d and exilcd race. Whatever evils INC nan
i.bed Noors subsequently, rrtalated upon spain
must he considered as not undeserird ny the VIC
tims. who had heartily approved OF the nefc'esS
treatment OF the cxiles and had FASTENED 10 pos
$50 themselves Of the property aoahdohe" upon
compulsion How the corsairs cam" 10 es'a"''s'
&hsmselyes upon the Barbary coast is sihp"
enough. The Barbary States were weakly gov
erned by small princes, and their inhaoi'ah's "r''
NJ the same faith as the corsairs lhr ia''fr
were led by men Of strong character anu aumih-
fstrative capacity, who easily after lime pos
.essed themselves Of such portions OF the coas'
and .uch barbors as suited them Then Aleiers
t.u into their hands and developed into the head
quarters of piracy. which, after all. was ny no
means 80 bloody business rs II aitcrwsrd W.
came under ruffians like Teach. Blnckhead, i"oio-
nais and their kind The buccaneers were ihdeed
far more fierce and mercicss than were TIC
earlier carsairs, whose interest IT. was 10 save
alive as many as possible OF their vic'ins' 'hat
their price as slaves might he obtained. Some
indeed may consider that between walking u"
blank" and laboring in the galleys the hrs''
though final. may have bcen preferable to the iat-
ter That, no doubt, would be the modern conciu-
zion, but not the medieval one. In the middle ages
men were very tough. Injured TO hardship. used I"
dirt and squalor and bad food. and utterly uh-
knowing freedom Of action. The descent. Tor
them. from ordinary life. in which they were
always at the mercy OF some harsh Nrahh''a'
,eisneur or suzerain, to captivity among the Moors
was probably hardly So marked as the change
from liberty TO Ludlow Street Jail is TO an Amcri-
can of to-day As 10 the toll and physical s'ihcr
Ing Of the galeys. the common people perhaps
found no great aggravaton OF familiar mi>ercs
th.rc. For stripcs and even torture were part
Of the discipline on all public and MANY private
sbips in those days, and suffering is the badge
of all our tribe might have krn as truly as
seYted BY Christians as by Jews IN the "aces Of
faith" as Kenelm Digby terms them.
When n Grand Master Of the Knights Of Malta
or q corsair chief like Dragut found himrli
chained TO the oar-Or a man OF genius. Ike
Cervantes, we might add-the hardship was, OF
course, much more deeply felt. Yet, even III such
cases. II was held proper 10 display an Indian
stoicism and TO bear everything checrfully, re-
sarding all vicissitudes as merely fortune o.
war" II is q curious circumstance that for a
long time all the famous corsairs were Europeans
and renegades from Christianity. Later. the
Turks monopozed the profession, but with the
disappearance OF the renegade the spirit and genius
departed from Barbary piracy. and it fell into a
distinctly lower type. Barbarossa. Dracut, Ochi-
ali. were oil men Of mark, who would have
achieved distinction anywhere To realize how
they were regarded In the sixteenth century, Oh
Bxantome's account Of them should he consulted
Nobody then thought Of attaching the stigma OF
orimtnality 10 the work they were engaged In
and. indeed. It would have been difficult TO dc
.&h,. inasmuch as Christian and corsar employee
vrrcasely the same methods. II q corsair wal
c.usured. be was sent 70 the Christian galleys
vhich. in fact, were commonly manned BY Turk
ar Moor. Slavery was every where prsctised, ant
Al q time when most Christian emperOrs ard king
aid mot scruple to reduce their own subjects Il
rcoraur IL would he unreasonable to look fO
r,ea,er consideration when an enemy was con
rerned. Andre Doria, the famous Venetian al
mirsl. was himself q cOrsair on his private nc
count In truth, il was tue general custom tina
.they should take who had the power and "o
"a such a. could not bold their own.
The growth # the lfarbary corsairs, and In par
s,enlar their central stronghold OF Agers has bee
srsphically sketched by Mr.. Poole, but perhaps hi
+ narrative would have been clearer had he re
fsssped from going 30 extensively into TurkH
\ history. The chronicle Of the Turkish navy
certainly to some extent mixed with the story
ths corsairs but the hattie of Lrpanto can scarcr
be regarded q having any direct connection wit
lie Barbary roven. who in effect were in no wa
weakened by II, but rather rendered more form
dbl. After the death Of Dragu at the fruitles
teee of Malta, and the close Of Ochiali's carec