Lectures

2nd March 2022: Kent and Turkish Piracy in the 17th Century

On Wednesday 2nd March Wye Historical Society welcomed Professor Jackie Eales to speak on Kent and Turkish Piracy in the 17th Century. The name 'Turk' in the 17th century was a loose term for those from the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary states on the North African coast. Corsairs from this area mostly preyed on ships in the Mediterranean but sometimes came as far as the coasts of England and Ireland. Most people captured were taken at sea and though coastal communities suffered too, land raids were very rare. However, in 1631 110 men, women and children were taken from Baltimore, Ireland in a single raid. At one time there were 8,000 captives in Algiers alone. Numbers peaked in the 17th century but the capture of Malta and Gibraltar by the British helped bring this period to an end.

The Church Wardens Accounts in Wye, detailed in the 'Old Book of Wye' by GE Hubbard, record some of the money given by the parish to help free sailors who had been taken prisoner. For example, "given to a poor woman who gathered to ransom her son from Turkie... 1s" and "unto two poor gentlemen whose friends were in Turkie". Sometimes money was given to returning slaves who passed through the village, such as "Thos. Downes, mariner, who had been 7 years a slave in Turkey…8d." Many sailors passed through Wye; in 1672 twelve seamen were given alms by the Parish.

Lady Ann Fanshawe wrote a vivid account of her brush with a Turkish Galley. Ordered to stay below, she bribed a cabin boy and snuck on deck; her ship narrowly avoided capture. Others were not so lucky. Edmund Coxere, a ship's gunner from Dover, wrote about his capture at Tunis in 1658 where he was chained at night while being made to repair ships by day. His diet consisted of horse beans, bread and water. After five months an English frigate arrived and 11,400 Spanish dollars (pieces of eight) were paid for the release of the English captives. One prisoner had been held there for 32 years.

Wealthy individuals bought their freedom but money to pay the ransoms of ordinary sailors came from national charity campaigns. The Church of England paid £10,000 to free 162 slaves and parishes contributed. For example, Wye was particularly generous in 1671, collecting £11 10s 10d. But getting the money where it was needed wasn't easy. In 1645 Edmund Casson set out for Algiers with cash raised but a fire broke out on his ship. His second ship sank at Cadiz and the money was lost. However, he tried again the following year and freed 200 prisoners, including eight men from Dover. Each person had to be negotiated for separately; for between 75 and 200 dollars each, with even more required for women. There were also attempts at gunboat diplomacy, as when in 1661 the Earl of Sandwich assaulted Algiers Castle, destroying 18 vessels.

There were notorious English pirates too - one man’s privateer is another man’s pirate; and some sailors became renegades who had "turned Turk" by converting to Islam. One of the most famous is John/Jack Ward from Faversham. In 1606 he was based in Tunis and by 1612 he had 1,500 men and 15 ships. Pamphlets, ballads and even a play was written about him. He also had two wives – one in England and another, called Jesima, from Italy. It has even been suggested that he may be the inspiration for Captain Jack Sparrow.

Ellie Morris