Alan G. Jamieson

What I was looking for in this book was an overall examination of the Barbary Corsairs, and some insight as to how they hung on so long, once the Ottoman tide began to ebb. It turns out that even once they had essentially cut the apron strings, that they had their ways of making themselves useful partners to the various European naval powers, especially when England, France and the Netherlands were engaged in their round-robin wars; turns out that Gibraltar's real supply line during the Napoleonic wars went to the Barbary Coast. Another aspect of the Corsairs' survival was that there was a steady influx of Christian turncoats and adventurers who understood how conversion could lead to a career that they'd never enjoy in the Christian world. It was only when the European powers, particularly France, became serious about African empire that these states saw their sunset.

In regards to that, Jamieson also considers whether the Somali pirates active when he produced this monograph could be usefully compared to the Corsairs, with his conclusion being no. The Somalis were mostly small-scale criminals who mostly had nuisance values going for them, until the shipping companies started putting defense units on their ships.

Finally, what I probably like best about this book, is how Jamieson puts the Corsairs into context during the Franco-Spanish "Italian" wars, which was probably their golden age, though the more you know about that conflict the better off you're going to be.… (mais)