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12.07.04 |
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CorsairsThe feared Algerian corsairs sailed up from the Barbary Coast ( North Africa ) to harass ships and even attack coastal towns. In 1630, for instance, corsairs landed near Weston-super-Mare and carried off men and women from a village. They joined the
30,000 slaves from Britain, France, Spain and as far north as Iceland, who
were used as slave labour in Algeria and Morocco. They got much better
treatment, and sometimes freedom and honoured positions, if they agreed to
become Muslims. One Minehead youth did just that before escaping and
returning home in Moorish costume. It was hardly worth the effort - he was
strongly criticised for his heathen attire and attacked in a sermon for
changing his religion.
The corsairs, like pirates before and after them, used Lundy Island as a base. The Vikings had found it ideal for channel raiding years before, and a twelfth-century Lord of Lundy, William de Marisco, turned to piracy after his father quarrelled with King Henry II. Lundy flourished on pirate loot until 1242 when de Marisco was captured. He gained a dubious place in history as the first person to be hanged, drawn and quartered as a legal punishment...
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Stand: 28.05.04
