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plication of the Algerincs in his favour to tlie Sdlton, he 

 \v IS appointed balhaw of Algiers. In 1577, after governing 

 Algiers little more than three years, he was forced to rclign 

 his office to HaOan Vencdic bafhaw, a Venetian rencgado. 

 During the wiiole government of Ramadan, it was conducted 

 with fo much jufticc and equity, that a fingle complaint was 

 not uttered againft it. The conduA of his fucceflbr was 

 very dih'erent ; his adminillration was fo oppreiTive, tliat 

 complaints being prefeiTed againft him to the Torte, he was 

 recalled, after being in office three years and a qviarter ; and 

 a new bafliaw, Jaffer A^a, an Hungarian rencgado, ap- 

 pointed in his room, A. D. 1580. At the commencement 

 of his g-overnmcnt, Algiers was reduced to the grcatell mi- 

 fery by^a famine, fo that Scco Arabians and Moors are laid 

 to have died in the llreets fi>r want in fix weeks, chiefly 

 th'ough the avarice of Jailer's prcdeceflor, who quitted his 

 adminillration with immenfe wealth nmidfl the execrations of 

 the people. Jaffer was of a generous difpofition, and did 

 everv thing in his power to relievo and mitigate the diftrefs 

 of the country- ; he alfo exercifed ftrift juflice againft thofe 

 who abufed the power wn'th which they were entrufted. A 

 plot, however, was formed againft him ; bat the execution 

 of it was prevented by forac of the principal officers of the 

 janizaries to whom it was propofed : who declared, that 

 they would prefer being cut in pieces to the ignominy of 

 pr ving trailoi-s to the .Sultan, and his worthy Jaffer Aga. 

 By the inconftaney of the Ottoman court Jaffer was dil- 

 placed, and the infamous Haffan reftored to the dignity of 

 bafliaw. He clofed his life at Conftantinople by poifon, 

 adminiftcred to him by the renegado Cigala, who fucceeded 

 him in the poft of captain baihaw. The new balhaw of 

 Algiers was Memmi Arnaud, an Albanian. This officer 

 exhibited fignal proofs of his great capacity and ftrict juftice ; 

 and gave much fatisfaftion, not only to the Algerines, but 

 to thofe Chriftian merchants who traded with them. During 

 his adminiftraticn, A. D. 1585, Morat Rais ventured to fail 

 tlirough the Straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic, and 

 thence to the Canaries, and h» was the firft of the Barbary 

 Corfairs who engaged in an expedition of this kind. After 

 a government of tv/o years, ^lemmi was fucceeded in 1586 

 by the rapacious Achmed, who purchafed the vicei-oylhip 

 of Algiers for a large fv.m, and exercifed his government by 

 violent extortions. His fucccifor Hidir gained the office by 

 the fame means, and condufted it in a manner lo haughty 

 and tyrannical, that the Algerines were made very happy by 

 his recall in 1592 ; but fuch was his intercll with the Porte, 

 that after a ftiort interval he was nominated baftiaw a fecond 

 time, to the great concern and mortification of the Algerines. 

 Mnftapha fucceeded in difplacing this arbitrary and rapacious 

 tyrant, and fecurcd the affectionate attachment of the people 

 by his courteoufnefs and generofity ; though nothing remark- 

 able happened, during his adminiilrntion, excepting tliat he 

 repaired the mole, fortifications, and other public buildings. 



At the beginning of the 17th century the Algerines 

 Complamed to the Porte in very ftrong terms of remonilrance 

 of ttie oppreffive couduft of the Turkifh viceroys, and in 

 confequence of this remonftrance obtained leave to chufe 

 their own Deys. They engaged, that the ufual tribute 

 (hould be faithfully tranfmitted to the Porte ; to acknow- 

 ledge the grand Signior fen- their fovereign ; to be ready 

 on all occaiions to affift hun with their forces and ftiip- 

 pmg ; to pay a due refpeft to his bifhaws, and to 

 maintain them in a manner fuitable to their dignity ; pro- 

 vided that the government of Algiers fliould be wholly 

 committed to the direftion of theDcyand his douwan. The 

 great douwan proceeded to the election of a Dey from their 

 own body, and to enaft a variety of laws and regulations 



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for the better maintenance of this new form of govemmenf . 

 7'his centur)-, however, opened with a frcfh attempt of the 

 Spaniards on the capital of this kingdom, under the conduft 

 of the famous John Andrew Doria, but the event of it, in 

 confequence of adverfe winds, VN'as unfuccefsful. The Al- 

 gerines, in order to counteratl: thefe renewed attempts, de- 

 termined to direft their attention to the improvement of 

 tlieir navy ; and in 161 6 they had fo far fucceeded, that it 

 confiftcd of 40 fail of ihips, of between 200 and 400 tons, 

 divided into two fquadrons ; one of 18 fail lay before the 

 port of Malaga, and the other, wiihout the Straits, at the 

 cape of Santa Maria, between I-ifbon and Seville, where they 

 attacked all Chriftian ihips, without diftinftion, that came 

 in their way, and rendered themfelves fonnidable to all the 

 maritime ftates of Chriftendom. The French were the fivd 

 who dared lo refent this contemptuous breach of treaty ; 

 and M. Beaulicu was fent with ?. fleet of 50 fail of men of 

 war and gallies agxinft the Algerines; but upon his departure, 

 they returned to their accuitomed depredalions on the Spa- 

 nirti eoafts, which, being bcft known by the expelled Mo- 

 I'elcocs, were expofed to all the barbarity and refentmcnt of 

 tliefe exafperated infidels. In 1620, in confequence of the 

 earneft folicitations of the Spanifh court, by means of Gon- 

 demar, an Englifh fquadron was fent into the Mediterranean, 

 under the conduct of Admiral Sir Robert Manfel. He di- —J 

 reded his courfe to the bay of Algiers, and attempted to jf} 

 fct fire to the fliipping in the harbour, but returned without 

 doing much damage. As foon as he retired, the Algeriiie 

 Corfiiirs put to lea, and made prize of about 40 good fhips 

 belonging to the fubjecls of the Englifh fovereign. With 

 all the European powers, except the Dutch, the Algerincs 

 were at open defiance : but to them they fent a propofal, 

 A. D. 1625, addreffcd to the prince of Orange, that if they- 

 would fit out 20 fail of fhips to be employed in the next 

 year againft the Spaniards, they would join them with 60 

 fail ; but the propofal was not accepted. In the next year 

 the Collogies, or Couiolies, /. e. the children of fuch Turks 

 as had been permitted to marry at Algiers, formed a con- 

 fpiracy, and fcized on the citadel of Algiers, and had very 

 nearly made themfelves mafters of that ftate. The plot was 

 difcovered, and the infurgents were defeated with great 

 flaughter. About two years after this confpiracy, the Al- 

 gerine ftate underwent a memorable change, by which they 

 became foon after able to fliake off the Ottoman yoke, and 

 to become an independent ftate imder their own Deys. 



The occafionof this revolution was a truce for 25 years, 

 which Amurath IV. had concluded with the emperor Fer- 

 dinand II. This truce was univerfally difapproved by the 

 Larbary Corfairs ; and by none more than the Algermes, 

 who were become haughty and opulent in confequence of 

 their gainful depredations on the Chriftians for the laft three 

 years. They and their neighbours unanimoudy refolved, to 

 fet up for three independent ftates, and to conUder them- 

 felves as wholly unconcerned in any treaties which were 

 made by the Porte with any Chriftian power. Having 

 adopted this refolution, the Algerines began to make prizes 

 of feveral fhips belonging to powers at peace with the Otto- 

 man Porte, and even purfued fome of them to the port of 

 Rhodes and carried them off". They did the fame at Salamis, 

 in the ifle of Cypres, and at Alexandretta, they not only 

 feized a Dutch fhip and a polacre, but ventured on fhore, 

 plundered the magazines and vvarehoufes, and then fet them 

 on fire. They alio drove the I'Vench away from a new fort, 

 called the baftion of France, which Louis XIII. depending 

 on his league with the Turks, had erefted on their eoafts, A 

 inftead of that which had been formerly conftru£ted by the S 

 Mari'iliaus. The Porte confidered thefe depredations as open 



inftaaces 



i 



