Islamic White Slavery Newsrael News Desk 10:00 PM
The Barbary white slave system — and how it ended in Algiers
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For centuries (roughly the 1500s–early 1800s), Barbary pirates operating from North Africa ran a vast slave system targeting white Europeans.
Coastal raids hit Spain, Italy, southern France — and yes, even as far as Iceland, Ireland, and Cornwall. Entire villages were sometimes emptied. Modern historians estimate over 1 million Europeans were enslaved during this period.
By the early 19th century, Algiers had become the main hub of this trade. In 1816, around 30,000 Christian slaves were held there alone.
BRITAIN’S ULTIMATUM
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