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

1. Distortions and Definitions
Corsairing was a maritime practice that flourished in the Mediterranean
Basin between the 13 th and 19 th centuries. Originally, it functioned as a form of
economic warfare whereby the belligerent European states issued commissions
to privately-owned ships permitting them to attack the commerce of the enemy.
Contrary to piracy, corsairing was a legal practice, well regulated and
meticulously organized. Those who engaged in corsairing detained
authorizations, called ‘letters of marque’ from the belligerent states that
allowed them to plunder enemy shipping. Since the crews were not paid, those
were allowed to make profits from the booty they could take, including ships,
cargoes, and captives. 5 By the 16 th century, corsairing reached the southern
shores of the Mediterranean and the Ottoman provinces of North Africa
became the center of Muslim corsairing. 6 By then, it transmuted and took the
form of holy warfare against the infidels—be they Muslims or Christians.
Officially, the Declaration of Paris of 1856 put an end to that practice. 7
Etymologically, ‘corsair,’ from which the verb ‘corsairing’ may be
extracted, is a term that derives from the Latin word cursarius (from currere,
meaning to chase or faire la course). 8 In the Mediterranean Basin, the French
expression “guerre de course” is commonly used to describe the activity of
5 For the intricacies of prize laws see D. J. Llewelyn Davies, “The Development of Prize Law under Sir
Leoline Jenkins.” Transactions of the Grotius Society, Vol. 21, Problems of Peace and War, Papers
Read before the Society in the Year 1935 (1935), pp. 149-160.
6 Leos Muller, Consuls, Corsairs, and Commerce: The Swedish Consular Service and Long-Distance
Shipping, 1720-1815 (Stockholm: Uppsala University Press, 2004), p. 31.
7 Francis R. Stark, The Abolition of Privateering and the Declaration of Paris (New York: Columbia
University, 1897), pp. 139-52.
8 Arthur L. Hayward and John P. Sparkes, The Concise English Dictionary, 5 th edition (London:
Cassell Ltd/Omega Books Limited, 1984), p. 253.
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