Mardler April 18 Final

Turkish Bondage £9 5s 6p December 1670”
This is a hand-written note, on the side of a page, in the All Saints
record of management decisions made by the Church Officials known
as the Vestry Book. Well what’s this all about I wondered?
Piracy and the taking of slaves had been a fact of life in the
Mediterranean for over 300 years. The Mediterranean coastlines
were at the mercy of Barbary pirates (corsairs) from the coast of
North Africa, based mainly in the ports of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli.
Their number included not only North Africans but also English and
Dutch privateers operating against Spain with the support of the
English Government. Their aim was to capture slaves for the Arab
slave markets in North Africa.
The Barbary pirates attacked and plundered as far north as the
English Channel, Ireland, Scotland and Iceland, with the western
coast of England almost being raided at will. It is estimated that along
with raids along the coast that between 1677 and 1680 some 160
English ships were captured which would translate into a probable
7,000-9,000 able bodied souls taken into slavery in those years.
The English Government, unlike its Catholic neighbours, was slow to
organise or finance the freeing of its nationals by payment of a
ransom. The English Church however did seek funds and the note in
our Vestry Book is testament.
After an attack on Algiers by the British and Dutch in 1816 more than
4,000 Christian slaves were liberated and the power of the Barbary
pirates was finally broken.
Simon Beet
BROCKDISH AND THORPE ABBOTTS ALLOTMENT ASSOCIATION
Brockdish and Thorpe Abbotts Allotments Association (BATAAA) is
run by a small group of volunteers for members of the local
community. The allotments are situated at the end of Church Road in
Brockdish, just before the bypass.
We still have a few plots and half plots available. If you are interested,
would like to find out more or would like to look round the site, please
e-mail Rebecca Abrahall, BATAAA Secretary, at
bataaa@hotmail.co.uk or contact David Young on 01379 668556.
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