In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Barbary corsairs – pirates from the Barbary Coast of North Africa – regularly attacked the ships and coastlines of European countries. Not only that, but they took thousands of men, women and children as captives, holding them to ransom or forcing them into slavery.
While the existence of these pirates is relatively well known, we recently came across a document in our collections that gives a fascinating insight into the devastating effects their actions had on the ordinary people living on Dorset’s coast.
The document itself is undated, but we estimate that it was written sometime in the first half of the seventeenth century. It is a petition written to the King on behalf of the merchants and shipowners in the ports of Exeter, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Dartmouth, Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, and Lyme Regis, imploring him to take swift action against the “Mahumitan Pyrates”. The threat posed by these pirates was such that
“the sea men will not be p[er]suaded to goe to sea, sayinge that they had rather to suffer the worst of miseries at home then be taken and made slaves by the Turkes”.
“…the Pyrates of Sally in Barbary are of late [g]ro[wn] soe numerous powerful and bold in theire attempts that they infest the coasts of yo[u]r Ma[jes]t[y’]s Domynions and doe almost dayly take yo[u]r Ma[jes]t[y’]s subiects and theire goods and doe carry away great numbers of them into miserable captivity…”
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After a bit of digging, we found several other documents in our collections which mention the Barbary Pirates. In one of our churchwardens’ account books, from Charlton Marshall parish, a payment is recorded in 1664 being made to “two Gentlewomen and ther Childring […] ther husbands were twooke in to Turkey and ther houses burnt”.
The fact that this was recorded in a seemingly routine list of payments made by the churchwardens suggests that it was nothing out of the ordinary, and the people of Dorset were accustomed to their homes and ships being raided by pirates. Indeed, in several other churchwardens’ account books, we find lists of those who contributed to collections for the redemption of English captives taken to Africa. The example below is from the Kingston Magna account book, dated 1680/1.
“The contributions of the Inhabitants of Kington Magna towards the redemption of the English captives in Algiers etc. with the particular account of the names of the several persons contributing and the sum[m]s contributed according to his Majesties special com[m]and expressed in his gracious letters patents…”
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Outside of the parish collections, we hold three other documents relating to the raising of funds for certain sailors taken captive by pirates. The first, dated 1697, is addressed to all “well disposed Christians” of the town and county of Poole, and is an appeal for donations to ransom John King and Henry Hart, captives under the Turks.
“…the said John King hath beene a captive and under bondage and slavery…for about the space of fourteene yeares and the said Henry Hart for about the space of seven yeares…”
The second, from the borough of Poole collection, is a certificate showing that the crew of The Vine, according to letters written by the hands of crew members, have been taken to Sally (modern-day Rabat, in Morrocco) and Maccanesse. Dated 1691, it states that
“unlesse they have some speedy reliefe from England, which their relationes by reason of their great poverty cannot send them, they will perish under those cruell and mercylesse enemies”.
All donations were to be remitted to the crew through Samuel Nash, a merchant in London.
The third is a minute book for the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, dated 1617-1695 (reference DC-WYM/AD/1/3). This book is a record of the appointments, duties, decisions and ordinances of the borough council, and provides an insight into the day-to-day running of the town. An entry made on 3 September 1623 reads:
“…upon this present day it was and is agreed by a general consent of the mayor, alderman, bailiffs and capital burgesses of this borough and town…that for the enlarging of the thirteen persons hereunder named out of the captivity and slavery of the Turks the interest of the monies remaining in the hands of Mr John Bond and Mr Matthew Pitt shall be employed”.
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While these documents paint a rather depressing picture of the plight of Dorset’s sailors and coastal dwellers, we do know that at least some captives were returned to the county after their ransoms were paid. In the records of the borough of Lyme Regis, for example, is a document certifying that James Hearse, who had been on board a captured vessel bound for Virginia, was “safely returned” to Lyme in 1682.
If you are interested in finding out more about the impact that the Barbary Pirates had on our county, why not book an appointment to view these documents in our searchroom? Drop us an email to arrange a visit: archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk. You can also search our catalogue for other documents relating to these pirates – DC-LR/J/72, D-LRM/T/19 and D-LRM/T/24 would be good places to start!