Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with ... - Bibliothèque

tribes were razed and the survivors, for the most part women and children,
were sold into slavery. 50
On ascending the throne, Isabella’s grandson the Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V (r. 1519-1558) was the most powerful sovereign in
Christendom. He inherited or conquered lands that included the Spanish
kingdoms of Aragon and Castile, the Netherlands, the Habsburg lands, and the
Italian states of Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia—in addition to the American
colonies. With the wealth of this huge empire backing him, and in league with
the Papacy, he continued with Spain’s conquest policies and prepared to attack
Algiers as a first step towards the conquest of North Africa. The preparations
for his projected expedition were euphorically impregnated by a crusading
fervor. The Pope issued a bull not much different from those which incited
Christians in the Medieval Ages to seize Jerusalem and the Holy Lands from
the ‘infidels.’ He exhorted all Christians to join Charles V “promising
absolution from all sins and crown of martyrdom for all those who would die
fighting the infidels.” 51
His crusading package also included “numerous
indulgences for the would-be wounded and those who would contribute person
or property to this enterprise proportionally with the services offered.” 52 In
short, the Pope left nobody out provided that they joined to the invasion
expedition against Algiers.
50 Alessandra Stella, Histoires d’esclaves dans la Péninsule Ibérique (Paris: Édition de l’École des
Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 2000), p. 68 ; Kaddache, L’Algérie Ottomane, p. 5; Gurkan,
“Ottoman Corsairs,” p. 36.
51 Tassy, Royaume d’Alger, p. 43.
52 Ibid.
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