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

freedom of navigation. Slavery was an underlying source of all conflicts,
central in all diplomatic negotiations, and key to any appeasement between
belligerents. Matters relating to slaves were the concern of all, Muslims and
Christians alike; hence, its importance for this work.
1. 3. 1. Slavery in the Mediterranean Basin
Enslavement of captives and prisoners of war is an ancient custom of
war, probably as old as humanity itself. In the Muslim tradition, prisoners of
war were treated humanly and could be ransomed as early as the mid-seventh
century according to the precepts of Islam. 54
In medieval Europe, the
vanquished, when not massacred, were enslaved by the victors and their
property was confiscated. By the 15 th
century, however, leading European
jurists defended the view that lives could be saved and enslaved prisoners could
be freed through the payment of a ransom. 55
On the whole, in the
Mediterranean Basin enslavement of prisoners of war was common practice
accepted by all belligerents and slaves were viewed as a valuable source of
labor as were usually used for rowing on galleys. This explains the presence of
thousands of Christian slaves at Algiers as well as the presence of thousands of
Algerian slaves on the opposite flank of the Mediterranean on Christian
galleys. Under such circumstances, it was not rare that galley slaves and slave
masters ended up in a totally reversed social condition after a battle was won or
54 Belhamissi, Captifs Algériens, pp. 37-38.
55 William E. Hall, A Treatise on International Law, 3 rd ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1890), pp. 409-
410.
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