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

experience and competence of captains, due to few naval engagements, had
diminished the character and affected the reputation of the whole navy.
The size and armament of the fleet are better known for the period 1737-
1827 than for preceding ones because of the availability of yearly records as
summarized in Table 2 (Naval Force of Algiers, 1737-1827). The French
consulate at Algiers recorded the activities of the corsairs in registers that went
uninterrupted throughout that period. That was possible because the peace
treaties Algiers signed with the different European countries required it. For
identification questions, the ships from both countries were to carry passes, or
passports, so as to avoid harassment and capture. The passports also permitted
legalization of prizes. As far as the treaty with France is concerned, the
Algerian corsairs had to get two documents from the French Consulate before
going out cruising: a nationality certificate and a passport. Those served as
protection for the corsairs and their prizes against capture by the French fleet
but also allowed them to visit French ports (in cases of bad weather, wreckage,
or need for supplies). 107 The registers in question, therefore, preserved all the
information relating to the fleet and corsairing. 108 For matters of comparison,
one should keep in mind that at its zenith in 1625, the Algerian fleet counted a
hundred vessels of different sizes. 109 During the 1630s, and according to Dan, it
107 E. Rouard de Card, Traités de la France Avec les pays de l’Afrique du Nord: Algérie, Tunisie,
Tripolitaine, Maroc (Paris: A. Pédone, Éditeur, 1906), pp. 52-60.
108 Albert Devoulx edited those records in 8 volumes entitled: Les archives du consulat-géneral de
France à Alger (1865).
109 Fontenay, “La course dans l’économie portuaire,” p. 1327.
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