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The Freedom Merchants
A riveting tale of piracy and slavery set in the early 1600s in Ireland and Northern Africa. Twenty-five years ago, young Liam's small fishing village on the Irish Coast was raided and its population decimated by brutal corsair pirates from the Barbary Coast who killed, plundered, and took a number of his people back to Northern Africa as slaves to Muslim masters. And now a pirate ship has been wrecked in Liam's bay, and survivors are struggling ashore...
- GenresHistorical Fiction
426 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Sherryl Jordan
37 books327 followersAward-winning New Zealand author Sherryl Rose Jordan (née Brogden) (1949-2023) began her writing career with picture books, but soon moved on to novels for older readers. Her breakthrough came with Rocco, published in the United States as A Time of Darkness, and since that time she has gone on to pen many more titles for young adult and juvenile readers that have been published both in her native New Zealand and throughout the world.
The recipient of a 1993 fellowship to the prestigious writing program at the University of Iowa, Jordan used her time in the United States to speak widely at schools and conferences about her books, which blend fantasy with bits of science fiction and romantic realism. "All my young adult novels have been gifts," she noted in the St. James Guide to Children's Writers. "I don't think them up. They hit me over the head when I least expect them; overwhelm me with impressions, sights, and sounds of their new worlds; enchant me with their characters; and dare me to write them."
The recipient of a 1993 fellowship to the prestigious writing program at the University of Iowa, Jordan used her time in the United States to speak widely at schools and conferences about her books, which blend fantasy with bits of science fiction and romantic realism. "All my young adult novels have been gifts," she noted in the St. James Guide to Children's Writers. "I don't think them up. They hit me over the head when I least expect them; overwhelm me with impressions, sights, and sounds of their new worlds; enchant me with their characters; and dare me to write them."
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 17, 2017
A great book about adventure and history. It is based on a true story, and is the most challenging read I have had in years. The characters are great, and the settings are also amazing. I recommend this book for anyone who likes pirates, stealing, and good books.
January 18, 2016
This book is incredible. I'm a huge Sherryl Jordan fan anyway, and have been since Winter of Fire. But this one takes the cake. It's the story of a boy who lives in Ireland in the days of the slave trade. His brother is taken by pirates and the boy goes with monks to search for him and pay the pirates gold to rescue him and other villagers taken. In the process, he's sucked right into the pirate and slavery trade. These slaves were Algerian and preyed on other countries, stealing not just gold and riches, but the people themselves and selling them into slavery. This book is fascinating and just so well written. If you haven't read any of her books, please check this one out. Normally she writes fantasy, but this is based on history.
April 22, 2020
I read this to my 11 year old and we both really enjoyed it. I cried a lot through it. I thought it did a great job of talking about religious hatred which in turn brought up some discussions about oppression and racism. I spent the first part of the book quite worried because it seemed that it may be setting up the white men as the good guys and the Muslims as the baddies, but I didn’t feel like it ended like that at all. It really did make you see that people are all a mixture of good and bad. We utterly fell in love with Iskander and his relationship with Liam was beautiful.
October 30, 2025
Another fantastic story from Tauranga author Sherryl Jordan. This time Jordan delves into historical fiction rather than her usual fantasy. The Freedom Merchants starts in the small seaside fishing village of Ballykilmara on the Irish Coast. It is 1615 and twenty five years prior the village was brutally raided by Barbary pirates from North Africa who carried off men and women to be slaves to Muslim masters. Over 1 million white Christians were captured by corsair pirates, and sold. These events were happening at the same time as the also abhorrent slave trade of Negros to America which saw over 12 million Africans enslaved.
The main protagonist is fifteen year old Liam who has been born since the raid. During a storm Liam hears the warning bell tolling; a pirate ship has been wrecked in the bay and survivors are struggling ashore. Armed menfolk rush to the shore to protect the village and what ensues is both bloody and brutal and leaves a guilt burden on the normally peaceful villagers.
Liam has a secret. One of the pirates, Iskander, washed up further along the beach and dragged himself to safety. He has terrible injuries. Liam confesses to his family who then nurse him back to health. The villagers, remembering the slaughter, now show clemency. But the local priest and the English land owners are not so lenient and Iskander is dragged off to be hung in England.
Some months later another pirate raid seriously wounds Liam's father and his older brother is amongst many other villagers carried off to be sold as slaves in the markets of Algiers.
Liam has heard of Monks paying for the release of hostages and approaches the Monks of the local monastery to mount a rescue mission using gold from the pirate ship sunk during the storm. They all set sail for North Africa in a leather boat.
Liam's adventures bring to life the cruel and brutal slave trade and two religions that have been at odds for centuries and continue to battle each other in the present day.
Wonderfully researched with detailed historic notes and bibliography along with a contents page, this is an all-round fantastic book. In my opinion this excellent story should be an essential reading resource in any class of teenagers learning about the history of slavery. Very well done.
Reviewed by Debbie McCauley for Bookrapt (3 August 2013).
The main protagonist is fifteen year old Liam who has been born since the raid. During a storm Liam hears the warning bell tolling; a pirate ship has been wrecked in the bay and survivors are struggling ashore. Armed menfolk rush to the shore to protect the village and what ensues is both bloody and brutal and leaves a guilt burden on the normally peaceful villagers.
Liam has a secret. One of the pirates, Iskander, washed up further along the beach and dragged himself to safety. He has terrible injuries. Liam confesses to his family who then nurse him back to health. The villagers, remembering the slaughter, now show clemency. But the local priest and the English land owners are not so lenient and Iskander is dragged off to be hung in England.
Some months later another pirate raid seriously wounds Liam's father and his older brother is amongst many other villagers carried off to be sold as slaves in the markets of Algiers.
Liam has heard of Monks paying for the release of hostages and approaches the Monks of the local monastery to mount a rescue mission using gold from the pirate ship sunk during the storm. They all set sail for North Africa in a leather boat.
Liam's adventures bring to life the cruel and brutal slave trade and two religions that have been at odds for centuries and continue to battle each other in the present day.
Wonderfully researched with detailed historic notes and bibliography along with a contents page, this is an all-round fantastic book. In my opinion this excellent story should be an essential reading resource in any class of teenagers learning about the history of slavery. Very well done.
Reviewed by Debbie McCauley for Bookrapt (3 August 2013).
February 4, 2021
I've decided to start a project of going through all the book reviews i did in primary/elementary school for my teacher. This is the fourth review i'll be copying down. Keep in mind that I was 11 when writing this, was a little lazy in class, had a very small sheet of paper to contain my words in, and had to follow the teachers format of a plot summary, list of main characters, and what i'd change about the book. (as well as hiding any juicy, not-age-appropriate stuff in the book from the teacher haha) (contains spoilers)
Book Title: The Freedom Merchants
Who are your main character/s?
Liam, Iskandar
What happened in the book?
Beginning- There is a pirate attack and Liam's brother is stolen.
Middle- Liam goes with some monks to ransom his brother. They get captured by pirates on the way.
End- Liam is sold to one of his old friends. Together they find his brother and sail back to Ireland.
If I could change one event in this story it would be:
I would change it so instead of Iskandar being a pirate, he would just be a merchant.
I rate this book:
5 stars!!
Book Title: The Freedom Merchants
Who are your main character/s?
Liam, Iskandar
What happened in the book?
Beginning- There is a pirate attack and Liam's brother is stolen.
Middle- Liam goes with some monks to ransom his brother. They get captured by pirates on the way.
End- Liam is sold to one of his old friends. Together they find his brother and sail back to Ireland.
If I could change one event in this story it would be:
I would change it so instead of Iskandar being a pirate, he would just be a merchant.
I rate this book:
5 stars!!
October 30, 2022
A great adventure story from the 1600's when pirates were a plenty and raided the English coastline. This is a tale of how a teen, Liam, manages to find enough money to be able to travel to the Barbary Coast of North Africa to barter back the freedom of his brother who was captured. An epic adventure with many twists and turns as you follow Liam on his travels.
February 5, 2018
I can't believe that I didn't read this book sooner!
A part of me is bagging for a sequel, but the other part is satisfied and doesn't want a sequel to possibly ruin my view of the book.
I can hardly believe that it's based upon a true story!
A part of me is bagging for a sequel, but the other part is satisfied and doesn't want a sequel to possibly ruin my view of the book.
I can hardly believe that it's based upon a true story!
June 28, 2013
The blurb on the back of this book and what you read in the description above are two different things and both give me different thoughts as to what this book is exactly about. Above has me thinking it is a tale about a young boy who's home is attacked by pirates and what the aftermath is that occurs, the blurb on the back of the book itself tells me that this is a story of a young boy who's brother is taken by pirates and he begins a journey to rescue his brother. Whilst both of these blurbs are right... I don't think either fit the actual book well.
Young Liam lives in a tiny little village in Ireland. One night the bell tolls and they fear either a shipwreck or a pirate attack, the events that follow affect the village in more ways than they expect and has a bigger effect than expected upon Liam. Later, when his brother and others are taken by pirates, the events of that fateful night ends up helping Liam in his quest and changing his life.
Because of what I expected the book to be about, it took a little while to really get into the book as I kept wondering when the stuff in the blurb on the back was going to happen. After a while it didn't matter, once I really got into the book, Liam and his life. The best way to describe the first 1/3 of the book was that it was like a big back story, without it you couldn't have had the book go in the direction that it did but the blurb on the book felt to me a bit misleading.
The characters themselves are nothing amazing but they are believable and it is easy to imagine that a young lad like Liam really did exist and wish to reunite his family. There is enough description in this book for you to really get a good picture of slave life and the world that they are in without being hideous.
Took me one day to read it and I did have to push myself quite a bit to read it at first as it was difficult to get into when you are wanting the action to start happening, but it was still a good read.
Young Liam lives in a tiny little village in Ireland. One night the bell tolls and they fear either a shipwreck or a pirate attack, the events that follow affect the village in more ways than they expect and has a bigger effect than expected upon Liam. Later, when his brother and others are taken by pirates, the events of that fateful night ends up helping Liam in his quest and changing his life.
Because of what I expected the book to be about, it took a little while to really get into the book as I kept wondering when the stuff in the blurb on the back was going to happen. After a while it didn't matter, once I really got into the book, Liam and his life. The best way to describe the first 1/3 of the book was that it was like a big back story, without it you couldn't have had the book go in the direction that it did but the blurb on the book felt to me a bit misleading.
The characters themselves are nothing amazing but they are believable and it is easy to imagine that a young lad like Liam really did exist and wish to reunite his family. There is enough description in this book for you to really get a good picture of slave life and the world that they are in without being hideous.
Took me one day to read it and I did have to push myself quite a bit to read it at first as it was difficult to get into when you are wanting the action to start happening, but it was still a good read.
September 4, 2013
I throughly enjoyed reading this book. I felt that i could relate to Liam as he is a similar age to me. I like how the book was based on a real event that happened in history, it even interested me so much that i went and researched it even more. At first i found the book a bit dull and slow, but i decided to continue to read on and after i while i realized i was engulfed by the book, i couldn't put it down and i finished it in two days. You can really emphasize with the grief the community must have been going through after losing ten people, and the community was already small. And you can feel the sadness as it is there second pirate attack in 25 or so years, and that the main reason for enslaving the christian people was to get revenge for being kicked out of Spain, something that was out of the little community control and something they didn't even have involvement in.
August 23, 2015
I decided to read this book because I saw it in Whitcoulls and read the blurb and decided to get it.
A character that I found interesting was Liam, I thought that he shows great courage and initiative to go after his relatives on a wild goose chase.
My favourite quote from this book is when Liam tells his father about what he's been hiding in the hills,"No,Da, I've got a pirate". I think this shows Liam's open mindedness towards different races and cultures.
Something that I've learned from this book is to be open minded towards others no matter their appearance.
A character that I found interesting was Liam, I thought that he shows great courage and initiative to go after his relatives on a wild goose chase.
My favourite quote from this book is when Liam tells his father about what he's been hiding in the hills,"No,Da, I've got a pirate". I think this shows Liam's open mindedness towards different races and cultures.
Something that I've learned from this book is to be open minded towards others no matter their appearance.
January 12, 2015
This is the best book i have ever read!! I cried of both happiness and sadness! I have read many books but none come anywhere near the quality of this one! Liam is so couragous! Im so glad everyone go reunited in the end. I was estatic when i found out that liams new master was iskander!! I had tears of joy streaming down my face! This is an amazing book and i think everyone should read it!!!!! :)
March 6, 2014
I haven't quite finished this but am very enthusiastic as you can see.
because of t he violence and cruelty factor I wouldn't recommend this for under 12 years and it might disturb some readers. However I learnt a lot about the white /European slave and bounty trade and now wonder why we encourage children to dress up and pretend to be pirates? There is nothing funny about theft and slavery.
because of t he violence and cruelty factor I wouldn't recommend this for under 12 years and it might disturb some readers. However I learnt a lot about the white /European slave and bounty trade and now wonder why we encourage children to dress up and pretend to be pirates? There is nothing funny about theft and slavery.
May 23, 2013
I've always enjoyed Sherryl Jordan's books, and this one is no exception. It's a fascinating tale about the slave trade, the Spanish muslims and Barbary pirates.
Highly recommended, particularly for pre-teen and early teen boys.
Highly recommended, particularly for pre-teen and early teen boys.
April 12, 2017
Best new Sherryl Jordan book I've read in years - reminded me of why I love story. Great characters, lovingly drawn. Love her depiction of Christianity and tolerance. A very interesting historical setting.
April 21, 2024
This is an amazing book it is just so good I could not stop reading if I could I would have rated it a billion stars. One hundred percent reccomend it. SO GOOD!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews