THE LAST OF THE ALGERINE CORSAIRS
And now let us take a final look at that pestilential spot, Algiers. We
have seen how that during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it had
been constantly attacked and conquered, but before long the Algerines had
again broken out into piracy. So soon as their invaders withdrew their
forces the corsairs rebuilt their walls, fitted out their new craft and
went roving the seas and harassing innocent ships. They had pillaged the
coastline of the French Riviera, burning and killing and destroying in
their ruthless manner. And then the French had been compelled to send
Admiral Du Quesne against them, who had bombarded the place for a time
until bad weather had caused him to withdraw his ships from Algiers.
The pirate trouble had therefore begun afresh, and the Dey had sent to
Louis the impudent message that if the French monarch would give him half
the money the last French expedition had cost, the Dey would be pleased
to burn down his city! So once more Du Quesne had been sent out, who had
bombarded Algiers and caused wholesale destruction. Then he had consented
to cease firing and discuss terms, but in the meantime the Dey had been
assassinated by his own followers, who now elected a new one and ordered
the Algerine flag to be re-hoisted on their walls. With greater fervour
hostilities were now resumed, and in a few days the place was reduced to
ashes and large numbers of the Algerines had perished. This so infuriated
the new Dey that he ordered all the French captives to be cruelly
murdered, and with great brutality caused Father Vacher to be bound hand
and foot, tied to a mortar and fired off like a bomb against the French
fleet outside.
Du Quesne had then brought his ships as near in as possible, destroyed
all their shipping, fortifications and buildings, and, having done all
that he could, sailed away, leaving the Algerines plenty of subjects for
meditation. And yet it was not long before these pirates had regained
their good spirits and were again engaged in piracy. Was it not their
profession and calling? Was it not by such methods that they kept
themselves alive? They knew perfectly well they were rogues, but as other
men were traders so they were pirates. Therefore, diplomatic measures
being obviously impotent, the only way to treat with them was to keep on
sending expedition after expedition. In 1700 Captain Beach attacked seven
of their craft, drove them on shore and burnt them. Less than a hundred
years later ten American ships had been seized by these corsairs and 150
men from their crews taken into captivity. In order to obtain these men
back, the Americans had to pay a heavy ransom, and build the Dey a 36-gun
frigate, but thereby they also received protection for the American ships
and the right of free trade with Algiers.
At an earlier stage of this book I have had occasion, in discussing the
Moslem corsairs, to refer to the port of Bona, a little to the east of
Algiers. In the year 1816 there was an establishment here for carrying on
the coral fishery under the protection of the British flag. Hither came a
number of Corsican, Neapolitan and other Italian fishercraft. Ascension
Day in that year fell on the 23rd of May, and as the fishermen were about
to attend Mass there was a gun fired from the castle, and simultaneously
there rushed into sight 2000 infantry and cavalry, consisting of
Moors, Turks and Levanters. Fire was opened on the poor fishermen, and
practically the whole lot were massacred. The English flags were then
torn to pieces and trampled on, the British Vice-Consul’s house was
pillaged, as well as the supplies of coral which had been obtained by the
fishermen.
As soon as news of this incident reached England the country was roused
to immediate action, and a punitive expedition was got together and sent
out under Admiral Lord Exmouth. He had been delayed by head winds, but
got under way in the last week of July. His flagship was the 120-gun
_Queen Charlotte_, Rear-Admiral Sir David Milne being second in command
in the 90-gun _Impregnable_. There were also three 74-gun ships in
addition to a number of frigates, brigs, bombs, fireships and several
smaller ships well supplied with shrapnel and the ordinary means of
warfare of those times. By the 9th of August the fleet had arrived and
anchored at Gibraltar, where it was joined by the Dutch fleet of five
frigates and a corvette under Admiral Van Cappillen. Meanwhile H.M.S.
_Prometheus_ had been dispatched ahead to Algiers to bring away the
British Consul and his family, but did not succeed in the entire task. By
disguising them in midshipmen’s uniform the Consul’s wife and daughter
were able to escape, but the Consul had been seized by the Dey and thrown
into chains. For the Algerine had learnt from French papers of the
forthcoming British expedition, and having heard of the escape of Mrs.
and Miss Macdonell, he immediately ordered the detention of two of the
boats from the _Prometheus_ which chanced to be ashore. The crews were
thrown into slavery; but when this information reached the ears of Lord
Exmouth, this, if anything were wanting, completed his eagerness to wipe
out the plague-spot of European civilisation.
So the fleet left Gibraltar and arrived before Algiers on 27th August.
An interpreter was sent ashore with Lieutenant Burgess (the Admiral’s
flag-lieutenant), under a flag of truce, with a letter to the Dey
demanding reparation, and while this was being done the fleet, taking
advantage of a light breeze springing up, came into the bay and hove
to about a mile from Algiers. But after waiting beyond the stipulated
time, since no answer was forthcoming, Mr. Burgess and the interpreter
returned to the flagship, where every one was ready and anxious for the
order to blaze away at the enemy. The Admiral now made a signal to know
whether all the ships were prepared, and the affirmative answer being
returned, the _Queen Charlotte_ led the line towards the shore, and to
the amazement of the enemy ran across all the batteries without firing or
receiving a single shot. She then brought up within eighty yards of that
mole which the reader will recollect had been built long years before
by Christian captives. The spot selected by the Admiral was where an
Algerine brig was seen lying. The rest of the fleet, including the Dutch
vessels, then took up their assigned positions in regular order.
[Illustration: THE BOMBARDMENT OF ALGIERS
When Lord Exmouth attacked this den of piracy and cruelty, even the
British women served at the same guns as their husbands, and never
shrank.]
The position of the _Queen Charlotte_ had been selected with great
foresight, for here she was exposed to only three or four flanking guns,
while her own broadside swept the whole of the enemy’s batteries. But
so far not a shot had been fired, and the shore batteries were lined
with spectators who gazed in astonishment at the quiet order with which
the ships had each come to her berth in such close proximity to the
defensive works. For a time Lord Exmouth was in hopes that the Dey would
yield to his lordship’s demands, but this delay was not caused by any
such intention on the part of the enemy but owing to the fact that the
Algerines were completely unprepared for such a sudden approach, and
their guns were not even shotted. It was only as the fleet came to anchor
that the gunners ashore could be seen getting busy. To the last minute
the British Admiral was minded to spare human life and even was seen on
the quarter-deck repeatedly waving his hat as a warning to the crowd to
retire from the mole.
So at 2.45 p.m. the enemy opened fire at the _Queen Charlotte_. Before
the sound of the firing reached his ears, and while the first smoke was
visible, Lord Exmouth gave the order to fire, and then three broadsides
were fired in about six minutes, the rest of the fleet following the
example. This caused terrible devastation ashore, as many as 500 people
being killed or wounded. Then the attack began in deadly earnest. It was
a repetition of the history of the sixteenth century. On the one hand,
the Christian forces of Europe: on the other, the infidel corsairs and
enemies of the human race. Both sides fought with the same fierceness
which had marked their contests in many a previous generation. In the
hot, overpowering sun, with the last vestige of breeze vanished away, the
gunners blazed away in fine style. Algerine vessels in close proximity
to the English fleet burst forth into flames and for a time endangered
the wooden walls of England. On both sides frightful slaughter was
taking place. The Dey had 500 guns mounted and doing their work to our
great loss, but our own men and guns were hurling death into the nest
of pirates in a manner that surprised the Algerines. There was in the
breasts of the invaders, not merely the hatred of the Algerines as
infidels and pirates, but the fact that these men had been responsible
for the capture of so many Christian ships and the cruelties to so many
European seamen, sufficed to increase the determination and enthusiasm
with which the destruction was being dealt out to these poisonous wasps.
But if the enemy was clearly suffering heavy losses, the attackers were
not without heavy casualties. About sunset Rear-Admiral Milne made a
signal to Lord Exmouth announcing the losses on the _Impregnable_ alone
as 150 killed and wounded, and requesting that if possible a frigate
might be sent to take off some of the enemy’s fire. The _Glasgow_ was
therefore ordered to go, and actually got up her anchor, but the wind was
so scant that she was obliged again to let go, though in a rather more
favourable position. But meanwhile on shore flames were bursting out and
making an end to matters. One of the enemy’s frigates had been gallantly
boarded and set on fire, but now all the Algerine ships in the port were
in flames, and thence the fire spread with all-devouring force to the
arsenal and storehouse, causing a marvellous sight against the background
of darkness. Our shells had been splendidly aimed, and although in some
cases they had to be fired right across our own men-of-war, yet never an
accident occurred to our ships as they went to find their billet in the
home of the Algerine pirates. And then, as if to bring about the climax
of this hot battle, the attacking fleet had brought near to the battery
of the enemy the special ship which had been specially charged with
explosives. And as she blew up there was another wealth of damage done to
the cause of the defenders. And so by midnight the enemy’s batteries had
been silenced, and in the morning the Dey was compelled to surrender.
The net result of Lord Exmouth’s fine attack was as follows. Twelve
hundred Christians were released from their terrible slavery, all the
demands were complied with, the British Consul had been indemnified
for his losses, and the Dey, in the presence of all his officers, made
an apology for the insults offered. Even though, a few years later,
the French had further trouble with these Algerines, yet Exmouth’s
expedition had the effect of giving the death-blow to a monster that had
worried Europe for about three centuries. The scourge of the tideless
Mediterranean had been obliterated: the murders and enslavery of so
many thousands and thousands of European Christians of past centuries
had been avenged, and a universal enemy which neither Charles V., nor
Andrea Doria, nor many another had been able to exterminate was now laid
low. The combined squadrons of those two historic maritime nations—Great
Britain and Holland—had shown that even a race so long accustomed to the
sea as the Algerine pirates could not resist for all time. In the history
of the world few nations have ever done so much for the development of
ships and sea-power as these two northern peoples, and the chance which
enabled them to combine forces against a common evil of such antiquity
was singularly happy.