Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with ... - Bibliothèque

CHAPTER III
Corsairing Diplomacy, 1619-1816
Some of our Subjects of late, at Argier [Algiers], were by the Inhabitants
of those Places evill intreated and grievously vexed, We doe friendly
and lovingly desire your Imperiall Majestie, that You will understand
their Causes by Our Ambassadour, and afterwards give Commandement
to the Lieutenants and Presidents of those Provinces, that our People
may henceforth freely, without any Violence or Injurie travell and doe
their Busines in those Places. 1 Queen Elizabeth I (1584)
Introduction
More than just a form of warfare, corsairing was also a crucial element
that regulated relations between Algiers and the western countries. Algiers’
diplomatic relations with the major European powers, except Spain, go back to
the early 17 th century. Launched on an already uneasy background of crusading
and corsairing, those relations were punctuated by misunderstanding,
suspicions, tensions, and many a time effective warfare. Relations reached the
brink of rupture but in general peace treaties outlived diplomatic turbulence,
wars and antagonisms, plots and rivalries, and slaves and ransoms. Some of
1 As reproduced in Morgan, Complete History of Algiers, p. 583. For the full letter see Appendix A1.
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