There were probably two chief reasons for the increasing activities of the corsairs. One the one hand, the commanders of such ships had a personal and mercenary interest in what they were doing, much like privateers such as Sir Francis Drake. In short, they were largely in it for the money. For the Ottomans, who encouraged and more or less licensed and taxed the trade in Christian slaves, there was another motive. Showing that their ships could go wherever they wished and land in any country was a good way to demonstrate the power of the Ottoman Empire. The message was clear; they were
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