To this day, the West is ashamed of its history of the slave trade and abuse of African slaves. From the 15th century to the 19th century, they pushed 12.8 million blacks into a tragedy of unequal life in Europe and America.
But during this period, 1.25 million whites were also trafficked across the dark continent by North African pirates. Their fate is no less unfortunate than that of the colored slaves.
The buyers of white slaves were the nobility of Africa and the Middle East.
Kidnapped the whole village
At 2 a.m. on June 20, 1631, Baltimore – a coastal village in Ireland (a country in Europe), was quietly asleep when it was suddenly attacked.
Below the coast, more than 200 Barbary pirate ships silently collapsed. The group of pirates held muskets, iron sticks and torches overflowing. They openly broke doors, stormed houses.
All of Baltimore’s 20 men, 33 women and 54 children were forced to board the ship, never having a chance to return.
Barbary Pirates are pirates operating on the coasts and off the coast of North Africa. Their main supply areas are the ports of Salé, Rabat (Morocco), Algiers (Algeria), Tunis (Tunisia) and Tripoli (Libya). All of these ports are located on the Barbary Coast, so the pirate groups here are collectively known as the Barbary Pirates. The rights of the Barbary pirates use white slaves as “living oars”.
According to the history of North Africa, the Barbary pirates appeared around the year 710. From the 14th century, they raged off the Barbary coast, attacked and looted merchant ships.
In the 15th century, Europe discovered Africa. The medieval culture of the black continent flourished with slavery. Many communities here punish their members for their mistakes by depriving them of their freedom and human rights. Avid Western businessmen immediately saw good deals. They buy colored slaves, take them on boats to Europe, ushering in the era of the African slave trade.
Originally, the Barbary pirates’ shipbuilding techniques for the sea were very outdated. Therefore, they can only go around the coast and off Barbary.
Europe brought innovation, improving the North African pirate ship system. From the 16th century, the Barbary pirates easily conquered the Atlantic Ocean, landing on the Mediterranean coast (Europe).
Unfortunate outcome
The white chicks were sold to the Ottoman Empire as soldiers.
In fact, the Barbary pirates attacked every victim in sight. They are not old people or children, black or white, Christian or Muslim …
The Barbary pirates themselves are not just black people, but a mixture of races, multinationals and religions. They only have one thing in common: they are based in Barbary.
The barbarian pirate’s goal was looting. Whenever they attack a boat, port, or village, they pick up cleanly. In the midst of the slave trade, humans were also a commodity. The Barbary pirates took everyone they could and took them to the Barbarian Coast to sell money. Their victims were called Barbary slaves.
The white man was only part of the barbarian slave. However, Barbary slaves were still referred to as white slaves because they stood out in the black world.
In addition, this name also matches and represents opposition to black slaves in the white world.
The white victims of the Barbary pirates are businessmen, tourists (arriving in Africa by sea boat, disembarking in North Africa) and inhabitants of Mediterranean coastal towns and villages.
From the moment they were pushed onto the pirate ship, their barbaric slave destiny began. For the 107 inhabitants of the village of Baltimore, Ireland in 1631, the new destination was the port of Algiers.
On the way to Barbary, the white slaves were given nothing but breathtaking food. After being long chained, locked up, starving and floating on the surface of the sea, most of them became emaciated and sick. Some people didn’t even survive the entire trip, being thrown overboard by pirates.
As soon as they arrived in Barbary, they were dragged to the ground, stripped of their clothes, chained to their hands and feet, and taken to the slave market.
In the slave market, white slaves were sold for work. Their fate was forced labor for life. The most tragic are those that have been turned into “living paddles”. The pirate ship at this time was sailing (taking the wind) and rowing (using human strength). The “living paddles” were chained under the boat and had to pull the paddles hard and continuously. And yet, they also have to eat, sleep and clean on the spot.
White slaves were sold to the African and Middle Eastern aristocracy as maids, concubines or tools of entertainment. Children were not spared either, impelled into the “youth body”, undergoing extensive military training to become soldiers of the Ottoman Empire (Middle East).
400 years of travel
As the number of European tourists coming to Africa is increasingly low for fear of Barbary pirates, this group of pirates frantically attacks the villages of the Mediterranean coast. The long coastline from Spain to Italy is under constant attack. In the Iberian Peninsula alone (southwestern Europe), it is estimated that between 100,000 and 250,000 whites were kidnapped by them.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Barbary pirates roamed the coasts of Europe. It is estimated that in 1780, they kidnapped and enslaved 1.25 million whites. Compared to North African pirates, the European navy exceeds both in numbers and armaments.
However, when they fought at sea, they lost more than won. Barbary pirates were very good at naval warfare and agility. They attacked in a flash, also withdrew in a flash, rendering the European fleets powerless.
At the end of the 17th century, European nations sharing the Mediterranean coast had to cooperate against barbaric piracy. They strictly guarded the merchant ships, preventing pirates from approaching. Thanks to this, trade activities between Europe and Africa have become more secure.
The number of blacks trafficked to Europe and America has also increased dramatically. On the other hand, the villages along the Mediterranean have been neglected, vandalized by the Barbary pirates. In many parts of Europe seafarers have to leave fishing villages and retreat deep inland.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the European navy cooperated with the American navy to drive out the Barbary pirates. A series of North African pirate gangs have been torn apart and wiped out. Even so, the survivors continued to steal and sell white people.
It was only when slavery was eliminated worldwide (1911) that this human trafficking activity ended. Across Africa and the Middle East, living Barbary slaves were freed. The era of white slavery ended with the era of black slaves.
