RAIDS ON THE NORTH

Although the pirates were most active in the Mediterranean, they also ventured further afield for their spoils

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The year 1492 was significant for many reasons. It was the date upon which Granada was taken as part of the Spanish Reconquista of lands occupied by the Muslims for centuries, and it was also the date Christopher Columbus set sail for the East Indies. Although the two events seem unconnected, they both had an effect on the future of the Barbary pirates.

Having been forced out of mainland Europe, the Muslims in North Africa had reason to fear an invasion, but the major states of Europe were preoccupied with their own arguments and with the exploitation of the New World. Repeated expeditions captured ports and established footholds on the coast of North Africa, but there was no concerted effort to push into the continent and drive out the Muslims. As a result the Barbary pirates were free to continue their predations in the Mediterranean.