English expedition to Algiers (1620–1621)

1620–1621 military expedition

English expedition to Algiers

Part of Corsair War (1620–1621)

Depiction of Algiers in 1620
| Date| 1620–1621

|

Location|

Algiers

Result|  Algerian victory[1][2][3]
Belligerents
England|  Algiers
Commanders and leaders
Mansell|  Kassan Kaid Kussa
Strength
20 ships|  Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown|  Unknown

The English expedition to Algiers occurred between 1620 and 1621, it was a naval attack ordered by King James with the goal of ending Muslim piracy.[2][1]

## Background

[edit]

With the accession of James I (1603–1625) to power in England, Anglo-Algerian relations moved from peaceful diplomacy to maritime hostilities. An "opponent of Islam", he damaged relations with the Regency of Algiers by issuing privateering licenses to his subjects, enabling them to attack ships of the Barbary states.[4] Although the English government had recalled privateering licenses in 1595 due to English privateers committing infractions and being prosecuted and sentenced in admiralty courts, they still had "a freer command over the Mediterranean, where Turkish and Algerian ships were seen as rightful prizes."[5] In 1620, an English fleet under the command of Robert Mansell, supported by Richard Hawkins and Thomas Button, was sent to Algiers to put an end to the grips of the Barbary pirates on the trade route passing through the Strait of Gibraltar. After obtaining the release of 40 captives, following negotiations, in November 1620, Mansell took part in a second expedition in 1621.

## Expedition

[edit]

On 27 November in the year 1620, Mansell arrived at Algiers with 20 ships and formally demanded that the Dey of Algiers surrender all of the English subjects and vessels they had. He also demanded the execution or capture of all of the pirates who had captured them.[1] The Algerians pretended to show eagerness to comply with his demands and released some four-and-twenty captives. Mansell was aware that this was a small amount since the Algerians had captured 150 English vessels in the past six years, however he was not prepared to fight and sailed away.[1]

On 21 May, he returned to Algiers and three days later launched his attack.[1] The English launched several fire ships against the pirate ships, with flames being seen shooting up in no less than seven places amongst their rigging.[1] The English were low on ammunition and the Algerians took advantage of this, eventually driving off Mansell's fleet.[1][2][3]

## Aftermath

[edit]

The expedition prompted a violent response by the Algerian pirates: they not only raided merchant ships in the Mediterranean, but extended their piracy to the British mainland along the English Channel. Years of privateering did England more damage than Algiers. James I furthered a treaty through the Sublime Porte, where he negotiated directly in Constantinople in 1622 with the Pasha of Algiers, who happened to be visiting there.[6]

## English ships

[edit]

Ship  | Guns  | Commander  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Lion | 40  | Admiral Sir Robert Mansell |  | [7]
Vanguard | 40  | Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins |
Rainbow | 40  | Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Button |
Constant Reformation | 40  | Captain Arthur Manwaring |  | [7][8]
Antelope | 34  | Captain Sir Henry Palmer |  | [7][9]
Convertine | 36  | Captain Thomas Love |  | [7][10]
Mercury | 20  |  | Joined 26 February 1621  | [7]
Spy | 18  |
Golden Phoenix | 24  |  | Hired merchant ship  | [11]
Samuel | 22  |
Marygold | 21  |
Zouche Phoenix | 26  |
Barbary | 18  |
Centurion | 22  |
Primrose | 18  |
Hercules | 24  |
Neptune | 21  |
Bonaventure | 23
Restore | 12  |
Marmaduke | 12  |

## Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g Prince Charles and the Spanish Marriage (1617-1623): A Chapter of English History. Samuel Rawson Gardiner. Hurst a. Blackett.
2. ^ a b c Turks, Moors, and Englishmen in the Age of Discovery. Nabil Matar. Columbia University Press.
3. ^ a b The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain 660-1649. N A M Rodger.
4. ^ Marsden, Reginald Godfrey (1915). Documents Relating to Law and Custom of the Sea: A.D. 1205-1648. Navy Records Society. p. xxvii.
5. ^ Marsden, Reginald Godfrey (1915). Documents Relating to Law and Custom of the Sea: A.D. 1205-1648. xxiii: Navy Records Society. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
6. ^ Fatima Maameri (2008). Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with Particular Emphasis on Relations with the United States of America, 1776-1816 (PDF). Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Letters and Languages Department of Languages, University Mentouri, Constantine in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctorat d’Etat. p. 116. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
7. ^ a b c d e Winfield (2009), p. 57.
8. ^ Winfield (2009), p. 167.
9. ^ Winfield (2009), p. 218.
10. ^ Winfield (2009), p. 221.
11. ^ Winfield (2009), p. 799.

## References

[edit]

* Winfield, Rif (2009). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603–1714. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-78346-924-6.

* v
* t
* e

Barbary Corsairs

Territories

* Regency of Algiers
* Annaba
* Barbary coast
* Bizerte
* Cherchell
* Mahdiya
* Oran
* Rabat
* Republic of Salé
* Tetouan
* Regency of Tripoli
* Regency of Tunis

Commanders

| 16th century|

* Aruj
* Hayreddin Barbarossa
* Sayyida al Hurra
* Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis
* Occhiali
* Salah Rais
* Murat Reis the Elder
* Kemal Reis
* Aydın Reis
* Muhammad I Pasha
* Hasan Corso
* Muhammad Kurdogli
* Hasan Agha
* Hasan Pasha
* Arnaut Mami
* Hassan Veneziano
* Sinan Reis
* Dragut

|

17th century|

* Jan Janszoon
* Salé Rovers
* Anglo-Turkish piracy
* Sulayman Reis
* Ahmed el Inglizi
* Omar Agha
* Ali Bitchin
* Simon Reis
* Yusuf Reis

18th century|

* Ahmed Karamanli
* Yusuf Karamanli

19th century|

* Ali Khodja
* Hussein Dey
* Omar Agha
* Mohamed Kharnadji
* Haji Ali
* Baba Mohammed ben-Osman

Diplomacy

* Franco-Ottoman alliance
* Anglo-Moroccan alliance
* Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship
* US Treaty with Tripoli (1796)
* US Treaty with Tunis (1797)
* US Treaty with Tripoli (1805)
* US Treaty with Algiers (1815)
* US Treaty with Tunis (1824)
* US Treaty with Morocco (1836)

Conflicts

| 16th century|

* Ottoman raid on the Balearic Islands (1501)
* Capture of Algiers (1516)
* Fall of Tlemcen (1518)
* Battle of Pianosa (1519)
* Siege of Rhodes (1522)
* Battle of Formentera (1529)
* Capture of Peñón of Algiers (1529)
* Conquest of Tunis (1534)
* Conquest of Tunis (1535)
* Sack of Mahón (1535)
* Siege of Corfu (1537)
* Battle of Preveza (1538)
* Siege of Castelnuovo (1539)
* Battle of Alboran (1540)
* Siege of Nice (1543)
* Ottoman wintering in Toulon (1543-1544)
* Capture of Mahdiye (1550)
* Invasion of Gozo (1551)
* Siege of Tripoli (1551)
* Battle of Ponza (1552)
* Invasion of Corsica (1553)
* Capture of Bougie (1555)
* Siege of Oran (1556)
* Ottoman invasion of the Balearic Islands (1558)
* Battle of Wadi al-Laban (1558)
* Expedition to Mostaganem (1558)
* Battle of Djerba (1560)
* Sieges of Oran and Mers El Kébir (1563)
* Great Siege of Malta (1565)
* Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568–71)
* Battle of Lepanto (1571)
* Conquest of Tunis (1574)
* Sack of Sori (1584)

|

17th century|

* Expulsion of the Moriscos (1609)
* Franco-Algerian War (1609–28)
* Raid on Żejtun (1614)
* Battle of Cape Corvo (1615)
* Dutch–Barbary War (1618–22)
* Anglo-Algerian War (1620–1621)
* Action of 3 October 1624
* Dutch expedition to Algiers (1624)
* Turkish Abductions (1627)
* Sack of Baltimore (1631)
* Raid on Ceriale and Borghetto (1637)
* Cretan War (1645–69)
* Action of March 1665
* Anglo-Algerian War (1677–82)
* French-Tripolitania War (1681–85)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1682)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1683)
* Morean War (1684–99)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1688)
* Sieges of Ceuta (1694–1727)
* Battle of the Oinousses Islands (1695)

18th century|

* Dutch–Algerian War (1715–26)
* Spanish conquest of Oran (1732)
* Action of 28 November 1751
* Battle of Cape Palos (1758)
* Danish–Algerian War (1769–72)
* Siege of Melilla (1774–75)
* Dutch–Moroccan War (1775–77)
* Invasion of Algiers (1775)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1783)
* Bombardments of Tunisia (1784–92)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1784)
* Moroccan seizure of the Betsey (1784)
* American-Algerian War (1785–95)
* Portuguese Algerian War (1790–1813)
* Siege of Oran (1790–1792)
* Bombardment of Tangier (1791)
* 1st Swedish-Algerian War (1791–92)
* 2nd Swedish-Algerian War (1796-1802)
* Action of 16 May 1797

19th century|

* First Barbary War (1801–05)
* Second Barbary War (1815)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1816)
* Battle of Tripoli (1825)
* Bombardment of Tripoli (1828)
* Austrian expedition against Morocco (1829–30)
* Invasion of Algiers (1830)

Slavery

* Barbary slave trade
* Slavery on the Barbary Coast
* Bagnio
* Lazarists
* Monte della Redenzione degli Schiavi
* Redemptorists
* Trinitarians

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