e Spaniards in 1518, his brother
Khair-ed-Din appealed to Selim, the sultan of Turkey, who sent him troops.
He drove the Spaniards in 1529 from the rocky island in front of Algiers,
where they had a fort, and was the founder of the Turkish power. From about
1518 till the death of Uluch Ali in 1587, Algiers was the main seat of
government of the beylerbeys of northern Africa, who ruled over Tripoli,
Tunisia and Algeria. From 1587 till 1659, they were ruled by Turkish
pashas, sent from Constantinople to govern for three years; but in the
latter year a military revolt in Algiers reduced the pashas to nonentities.
From 1659 onwards, these African cities, though nominally forming parts of
the Turkish empire, were in fact anarchical military republics which chose
their own rulers and lived by plunder.

It may be pointed out that during the first period (1518-1587) the
beylerbeys were admirals of the sultan, commanding great fleets and
conducting serious operations of war for political ends. They were
slave-hunters and their methods were ferocious, but their Christian enemies
were neither more humane nor more chivalrous. After 1587, plunder became
the sole object of their successors--plunder of the native tribes on land
and of all who went upon the sea. The maritime side of this long-lived
brigandage was conducted by the captains, or _reises_, who formed a class
or even a corporation. Cruisers were fitted out by capitalists and
commanded by the _reises_. Ten per cent of the value of the prizes was paid
to the treasury of the pasha or his successors, who bore the titles of Agha
or Dey or Bey. Bougie was the chief shipbuilding port and the timber was
mainly drawn from the country behind it. Until the 17th century the pirates
used galleys, but a Flemish renegade of the name of Simon Danser taught
them the advantage of using sailing ships. In this century, indeed, the
main strength of the pirates was supplied by renegades from all parts of
Christendom. An English gentleman of the distinguished Buckinghamshire
family of Verney was for a time among them at Algiers. This port was so
much the most formidable that the name of Algerine came to be used as
synonymous with Barbary pirate, but the same trade was carried on, though
with less energy, from Tripoli and Tunis--as also from towns in the empire
of Morocco, of which the most notorious was Salli. The introduction of
sailing ships gave increased scope to the activity of the pirates. Wh