Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean: The grand period of the Moslem corsairs — John Shaqi
Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean: The grand period of the Moslem corsairsCurrey, E. Hamilton (Edward Hamilton)
History
Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean: The grand period of the Moslem corsairs
Currey, E. Hamilton (Edward Hamilton)
Africa, North -- History; Pirates
Having settled with Kara-Hassan, Uruj continued his march along the
coast. Arrived at Algiers, he opened in form a siege of Navarro’s
Tower; but, being unable to make any impression on its defences, he
abandoned the siege after twenty days’ fruitless fighting, during which
he lost a number of men in his assaults. Baffled and furious, he turned
on the Berber chieftain, the luckless Selim Eutemi, and caused him to
be assassinated, regarding him as being responsible for the failure.
The Spanish chroniclers relate, with some wealth of detail, how Uruj
personally fell upon Selim Eutemi, when that chieftain was in his bath,
and strangled him with his own hands. However this may have been, the
Spanish records of the deeds of the corsairs cannot well be taken _au
pied de la lettre_; there is no doubt that Selim was murdered, and from
that time the Berbers recognised that he who had come to help was now
remaining to plunder. Uruj now established himself in the town, and set
to work making raids into the adjoining country, carrying off sheep,
cattle, and slaves. For the Berbers this was a true awakening. He who
now oppressed them had come in the guise of a champion to assist them
in the sack and plunder of Navarro’s Tower; they had exchanged King
Log, who dwelt securely locked up, for a King Stork of the most active
description. Although we cannot sympathise with such people, it is
quite possible to understand their very natural annoyance at the turn
which things had taken, and it does not surprise us (in this age of
“punic faith”) that a conspiracy was set on foot between the dwellers
of the hinterland and the Spaniards of the fortress.
Uruj was informed of all that was going on through his own spies, and,
although he kept his finger on the pulse of the conspiracy, he acted as
though the tribesmen were still his very faithful friends and allies.
The corsair was more patient than his wont. In this affair he wished
for ample proof of delinquency, and also for a vengeance adequate to
the occasion when he should discover all the guilty parties; and so
some weeks went by while the plot was maturing, apparently, from the
point of view of the conspirators, to a successful conclusion. But Uruj
had bided his time with a subtlety and _finesse_ which would have done
credit to Kheyr-ed-Din himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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