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

easons. Corsairing and counter-corsairing, imbued with religious animosity
and Muslim-Christian struggle for control of the Mediterranean, was
particularly damaging to maritime trade. Mediterranean corsairs, Muslims and
Christians alike, attacked each others shipping and British merchantmen were
caught in the midst of hostilities. 20
Up to late 16 th century, England was a weak country torn from the inside
by numerous religious and political problems and threatened from the outside
by the might of Catholic Spain and a multitude of other dynastic and territorial
quarrels with France. Those problems kept the Tudor monarchs occupied at
home, a reason for which they did not seek military confrontation with the
Ottoman Empire. Other reasons also prevented England from meddling with
the might of the Ottomans: diplomatically, it could not logically coalesce with
its own enemy Catholic Spain against Muslims and militarily, it was so weak
that it could not challenge Ottoman supremacy in the Mediterranean. Those
conditions favored the conclusion of capitulations between England and the
Muslim states; the first of those was concluded as early as 1579 and it granted
enormous privileges to English merchants in the Orient and North Africa. To
encourage trade and avoid the burden of administering justice in legal matter
involving foreign merchants, the Sultan agreed to “withdraw British subjects
from Turkish jurisdiction for most civil and criminal purposes,” 21 By doing so,
20 One should keep in mind that even though Britain did not take part in the resurging crusades of late
15 th and 16 th centuries against Algiers, it was one of the most formidable crusading countries during the
early Crusades. Richard I, King of England, was a prominent crusading leader; his deep hatred for
Islam and contests with Salah Eddin during the Third Crusade (1189–92) won him the sobriquet ‘Lion
heart.’
21 Hall, International Law, p. 252, fn. 1.
165