Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "algiers"

The Travels of Reverend Ólafur Egilsson by Ólafur Egilsson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


July 1627. Ships are sighted in waters around Iceland. With Danish warships still to arrive, the villagers can do little to stop the Barbary corsairs who come ashore in search of slaves. Among the 4,000 captured are Reverend Ólafur Egilsson, his pregnant wife, and two young sons. Once at the slave market, he is separated from his family, and while they remain in Algiers, his captors free him to secure the ransom money. In his sixties, he travels by foot and boat through Europe to Denmark, but unable to raise the money, he arrives in Iceland almost a year later. A decade passes before 35 slaves are ransomed; only 27 of whom successfully survive the journey home.

After his return to Iceland, Egilsson wrote about this event, known in Iceland as the Tyrkjaránið (the Turkish Raid), but it has never been accessible to those unfamiliar with Icelandic. Now translated into English, his tale brings to life the horrors of that raid – one conducted not just by men born and raised in Algiers and Salé (Morocco), but also by Europeans who renounced their faith to join the ranks of the corsairs of North Africa and the Ottoman Empire. His story also tells of the voyage to Algiers, the devastating and humiliating experiences of being sold into slavery, his religious turmoil, and his travels and struggles to secure the necessary ransom to rescue his family and friends. In addition, he talks about the people and countries that he visited, providing readers with rare glimpses of 17th-century customs, religions, and ways of life.

To complement Egilsson’s work, the editors include five translated letters. One is a sheriff’s account of the raid; the others are from slaves. Maps and images are interspersed throughout the book, which also includes an index, suggestions for further reading, and four appendices. The latter contains information about Algiers, Salé, and Iceland at the time in which the Icelanders were taken; the sources used in translating the manuscript, which survives only as copies and copies of copies; and aspects of early modern Europe (famous people, religious and historical events, publications, and science) in Egilsson’s lifetime.

Footnotes enhance readers’ understanding of unfamiliar elements within the narrative. They sometimes provide help with pronunciation and compare Egilsson’s account with first-person accounts from contemporaries, such as Father Pierre Dan, a Trinitarian friar who redeemed captives in Algiers. The introduction gives an excellent grounding in events leading up to the attack and the world in which Egilsson lived. If Hreinsson and Nichols know what happened to any of the captives, they editors supply this information as well.

A seamless and riveting translation, The Travels of Reverend Ólafur Egilsson goes far beyond a mere sharing of experiences at the hands of the Barbary corsairs. This haunting account opens our modern eyes to the realities of the past and shows us that we’re not the only ones who struggle to overcome tragedy, adversity, and heartache.




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The Most Bold and Daring Act of the Age: A Henry Doyle Novel by E. Thomas Behr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Napoleon escapes from exile and returns to Paris, where he proclaims himself emperor. If a shipment of gold, destined for his Shiite collaborators, succeeds in reaching its destination, the leaders of Russia and Prussia will be assassinated and the disruption of supplies to their armies will pave the way for his Grand Armée to defeat the British.

Ten years have passed since Henry Doyle left America and joined the Tuaregs, a nomadic desert people of North Africa. He’s now fifty-one years old, married to Dihya, the leader of his adopted tribe, and together they have a son. A Mohawk and former British spy, he knows England cannot succeed without her allies. The best way to thwart Napoleon is to snatch the gold as it passes through the desert, but to do that he must once again become El Habibka the spy. After successfully infiltrating an enemy tribe, he takes the information to his friend, the Dey of Algiers. But the Dey has his own enemies, and instead of achieving the desired outcome to their plans, the Dey dies and Henry is imprisoned in a dungeon where excruciating tortures are inflicted.

Once a feared manipulator of people and money during the Reign of Terror and later as one of Napoleon’s trusted secret agents, Chameau now lives in a crime-ridden section of Paris. He enjoys his reclusive retirement until he learns that his most despised nemesis is once again afoot. Finally having a chance to kill Henry Doyle entices Chameau to once again assist the emperor in his new bid for power. He must go to Algiers, but first he requires bait to tempt Doyle into a trap.

Patrick Kirkpatrick, a former captain in the American Navy and now a successful privateer, operates out of Nantes, France. He intervenes one night in a vicious assault on an American woman and her brother. Only later does he discover the truth about her and the attack and, realizing the danger Henry is in, he and his men head for the Mediterranean to warn his half-brother. On the way he encounters his old friend, Steven Decatur, now commodore of a squadron of vessels bound for Algiers to force an end to the raids on American ships and the payment of tribute in return for peace. Steven is only too happy to assist, but for Patrick to succeed in rescuing Henry they must find a way to get past the Algerine fortress and into the harbor without their true identity being discovered.

Intrigue, greed, betrayal, and love are intricately interwoven into this sweeping historical novel. Faith and philosophy also play important roles in Henry’s singular life, and Behr ably shows how different beliefs can respectfully intersect and peacefully co-exist. This long-awaited sequel to Blood Brothers takes readers from Algiers and France to the woodlands of the Iroquois Confederacy and the rebuilding of Washington, DC. There are also several sea battles, including an astounding confrontation with a legendary Barbary corsair. While the majority of the action occurs in 1815, brief interludes journey back to 1779 when Henry was a young Mohawk warrior.

This story may not appeal to all readers. At times the language is explicit and leaves little to the imagination. Peter’s union with Lavinia aboard the privateer seems somewhat contrived. The exploration of Henry’s morality and evolving beliefs are at times lengthy, but they are essential elements to the story and his character.

The intricacy of the web Behr spins, the profound depth of his characters, and his ability to meld people from history with imaginary ones are the hallmark of this book and the series. For those who would like to learn more about Henry’s earlier life, he includes a sample chapter from Blood Brothers. For fans who eagerly await the next title in the series, he entices with a preview of The Lion’s Son. Regardless of whether a reader likes or dislikes The Most Bold and Daring Act of the Age, this thought-provoking novel leaves an indelible mark that lasts long after the story concludes.




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Barbarians on an Ancient Sea by William Westbrook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


On the shoals of Bermuda, a ship founders in a storm in 1800. All hands are lost. Among the scattered wreckage is a chest of gold coins. Later, nine-year-old Little Eddy roves the beach in search of his long-lost father and whatever treasure the sea deigns to wash ashore. This day of foraging delivers a single wooden plank with the letter “J” on it. He hurries back to tell Ezra Somers, whose ships carry salt throughout the Caribbean and the eastern seaboard of the United States.

Caught in the same storm, Nicholas Fallon cruises the ocean north of Hispaniola in hopes of encountering French privateers or pirates that have been harassing the ships of the Somers Salt Company. As captain of the Rascal, he carries a letter of marque and since the British are at war against France and Spain, he and his crew are eager to snare a few more prizes. Instead, they spy a signal rocket and investigate. As a New England sloop teeters on the brink of sinking, they embark on a daring rescue to save those aboard.

The loss of the sloop weighs heavy on Caleb Visser, but he prays that his brother’s ship has weathered the storm. His hopes are dashed once Rascal docks in Bermuda and Nicholas takes him to meet his future father-in-law and partner, Ezra Somers. Little Eddy shares what he found and Caleb knows that he’s lost not only his brother, but also any chance they had of rescuing their father. The gold his brother carried was the ransom demanded by the dey of Algiers, whose corsairs had captured and enslaved Wilhelm Visser.

When Little Eddy reveals the location of the wreck, a sliver of hope surfaces. If a diver can locate the gold, there’s a chance Caleb can recover what has been lost. Then all he will need is to find a merchant ship willing to venture into the dangerous waters of the Mediterranean, the hunting grounds of the Barbary pirates. Nicholas wants to help Caleb, but his wedding day approaches and he must convoy two salt ships to Boston – a journey fraught with peril from the pirates in the Caribbean and a French frigate prowling the waters near the Chesapeake.

First mate Beauty McFarland, Aja, and the rest of the Rascals return, some with important roles to play in this tale that depends on outcomes prefaced by “if.” While Nicholas’s first encounter with Achille Zabana, the Barbary captain with a portable beheading machine, is breathtaking, and the capture of Little Eddy provides additional impetus to go to Algiers, Nicholas and Aja’s furtive visit into Algiers is less plausible since their knowledge of the city, culture, and language is decidedly lacking. Even so, the denouement is galvanizing.

Single strands of diverse threads – Barbary slavery, international intrigue, heart-pounding sea battles, crafty subterfuge, ghastly torments, and vicious pirates – coalesce into a stirring gamble that affects characters and readers alike. Fans of the Nicholas Fallon Sea Novels will find this as immersive as the previous two books; newcomers will be lured by enthralling challenges and rich characters, especially Little Eddy who almost steals the stage from Nicholas.




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From Captives to Consuls: Three Sailors in Barbary and Their Self-Making Across the Early American Republic, 1770-1840 by Brett Goodin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The early days of a fledgling nation are a time of birth and rebirth, a time to establish both the identity of one’s nation and an individual. Such was the case when the United States shed its colonial yoke and emerged into a world where national character and liberty were relatively new concepts. It was also a time when the definition of manliness and intrusions into society’s hierarchical elite began to evolve. Freedom, however, came with consequences, one of which involved the hazards of maritime trade. Before the revolution, American sailors were protected by British treaties. After the war, seamen found themselves fair game for the corsairs who prowled the Mediterranean in search of slaves because the United States hadn’t paid annual tributes to safeguard their citizens. Three such Americans were Richard O’Brien (1758-1824), James Cathcart (1767-1843), and James Riley (1777-1840), who found themselves in this predicament. During their servitude, they had to learn to adapt and redefine themselves in order to survive. Each was eventually ransomed and published a narrative about his time and suffering in Algiers. From Captives to Consuls examines their experiences and writings to showcase how adaptation and reanalysis allowed them to weather captivity, as well as to subsist once they returned home to a country where nationhood, masculinity, and liberty continued to change.

From Captives to Consuls, the most recent title in the Studies in Early American Economics and Society series, is divided into six chapters that explore these men’s ability to adapt during the evolution of these three key concepts.

Introduction: Victims of American Independence
1. Farmers, Privateers, and Prisoners of the Revolution
2. Diaries of Barbary Orientalism and American Masculinity in Algiers
3. Captivity in Correspondence
4. From Captives to Consuls and Coup-Makers
5. Accidentally Useful and Interesting to the World
6. Sailing the Inland Sea
Conclusion: Opportunities of Empire

Goodin examines their lives before, during, and after captivity, as well as their narratives. He shares snippets from their correspondence, diaries, and government reports, and, when history is scarce, he supplements these with examples from other captivity narratives. He also incorporates maps and pictures into the text and includes an Essay on Sources, endnotes, and an index.

This is not an exploration of maritime history or piracy; rather, it is an insightful and scholarly analysis of what it meant to be a self-made American at a time when the nation and its place in the world were being defined. These three sailors who sold into slavery serve as the anchor that allows Goodin to accomplish this. O’Brien and Cathcart were taken when their ships were captured, but Riley became a slave after the ship he commanded wrecked on the African coast. After their releases, they became authors, diplomats, and politicians. Goodin deftly demonstrates how these men, time and again, overcame adversity to their benefit, showing others that it was possible to better themselves contrary to the prior belief that they must remain in the station of life into which they were born.



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The Lionkeeper of Algiers: How an American Captive Rose to Power in Barbary and Saved His Homeland from War by Des Ekin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When the American Revolution ended, the United States gained its liberty from Great Britain. It also lost its protection. As a new nation, America believed in free trade, but the Mediterranean Sea was a dangerous place for sailors and those vessels without protection were fair game for the Barbary corsairs. On 25 July 1785, the Maria was bound for Boston when a xebec captured the merchant ship off the Portuguese coast. The Algerine corsairs stripped the six men of all their possessions and forced them to board the xebec. The first American to do so was eighteen-year-old James Leander Cathcart. Taken to Algiers, he and the others became prisoners and slaves, forced to do their kidnappers’ bidding or face punishment and possible death while they waited for their ransoms to be paid. Cathcart was assigned to the palace gardens, where one of his responsibilities was tending to the lions who frequently managed to get out of their cage.

Today, Cathcart’s name is virtually unknown. He survived nearly eleven years in captivity, and during that time, he went from a lowly gardener and lionkeeper to chief clerk at the palace. He had an ear for languages and an insatiable curiosity. When combined with his ability to network with others and to work the system, he would achieve this most powerful position to help both his fellow countrymen survive horrendous conditions and to keep peace between Algiers and the United States.

This is not a biography of Cathcart, although Ekin does include information about what happens to the various participants in this story of human trafficking following the release of the American hostages. Nor is it simply a story of Cathcart’s time as a Barbary slave. It is also a story of Algiers and of the other captives who experienced this tragedy, as well as what happened to the folks at home and the political maneuverings on both sides to either gain the ransoms or the captives’ freedom. Within these pages, readers meet Isaac Stephens, captain of the Maria, and his wife, Hannah, who found herself evicted from their home and forced to put herself and their children to work to survive during his captivity. Or Scipio Jackson, an African American sailor who endured not only enslavement but also racism. Or Yusuf Rais (Captain Joseph), who started life in Algiers as a slave, converted to Islam, and kidnapped others. Or Charles Logie, the British counsel, who whispered in the dey’s ear that American ships were fair game for his corsairs, and who pretended to offer shelter to American officers only to treat them as no better than servants. Or Captain John Lamb, who somehow ended up being selected to parley for the American captives but was the most ill-suited man for the job. Or Sidi Ali Hassan, who some deemed insightful and savvy while others found him unpredictable and ambitious. He had one goal in life – to become dey, and he was ruthless enough to have members of his family killed to gain the throne. Or Consul Mathias Skjoldebrand of Sweden, who saved the life of an American captive by paying his ransom. This book is also a discussion of corsair tactics and what life was like in Algiers as a captive slave, including psychological torture and the culture of fear which these men endured.

In his introduction, the author assures readers that this book is pure nonfiction. All details and conversations are based on primary writings, but this is not a book intended for scholarly research. Instead, Ekin writes for the lay audience interested in learning more about little-known, but important, episodes in history. He includes a center section of black-and-white portraits, charts, and scenes of Algiers and Barbary slaves. If the book has any drawback, it is the lack of an index. Ekin does, however, include additional information and his resources in the Notes section at the end of the book. Although there is one brief recounting of a woman passenger taken from a ship, this is primarily about the men who were trafficked during this period in American history.

This is not the first time that I have read about Cathcart, but Ekin presents him in a totally different light from those other accounts. As a result, readers gain a new awareness and appreciation for this man and the experiences that influenced the rest of his life.

The Lionkeeper of Algiers is a thorough, well-rounded, and absorbing account of Cathcart and his fellow American captives and what they experienced. In the last sentence of the book, Ekin writes Cathcart’s “unique contribution to the early history of the United States has never been fully recognized and possibly never will be, but perhaps this book will help in some small way to remedy this oversight.” (221) Ekin admirably achieves this goal, providing readers with a provocative account that opens avenues of discussion and further exploration.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates & Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Ekin.html)




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