The Pirate History Podcast

The contest for the Mediterranean reaches a fever pitch as Barbarossa ravages the shores of Italy and then returns to Africa. Charles V realizes his mistake in ignoring the younger Barbarossa brother, and decides to rectify the situation in the city of Tunis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we introduce the major players in the building conflict. We talk about Charles V & Suleiman the Magnificent. We talk about Khizr Barbarossa and his Italian raids that culminated in one of Renaissance Italy's greatest tales. We discuss Sinan Reis, who the Portuguese called 'The Great Jew' and his personal war on Spanish shipping that brought Mediterranean trade to a virtual halt. And then we introduce the last major player. Andrea Doria, a Genoese mercenary who turned down a crown to continue his fight against the Corsairs of Barbary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charles V arrives in Oman with ten thousand soldiers to face off against the Pirate King Barbarossa. Within months of his arrival territories have changed hands and most of the major players have changed. Soon enough it was an entirely new crop of soldiers and sailors and commanders facing off in an ancient contest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our story today is the pinnacle of piracy in the career of the Barbarossa brothers. Their actions, combined with Ottoman and Spanish policies, brought and end to their pirate career. But they were transformed into something more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1502 two Papal Galleys were attacked off the coast of Italy by two Barbary corsairs with fiery red beards. Their attack shook Europe to its core. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk about the history of a land, and its native inhabitants. The Mediterranean coast of North Africa and the Berber People. We cover all the big events from 10,000 BCE until 1492. Carthage, Rome, the Vandals, and finally Arabian rule. We talk about Pagan Berbers, Jewish Berbers, Christian Monastic Berbers, and Islamic Berbers. We don't talk about the Zoroastrians. There just isn't time. There is discussion of liberty as a concept and the personification of that ideal. We talk about the role of women in society, how and why empires fall, and what it means to endure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we discuss the Jewish population of Jamaica after most of the Catholics left. Then we'll talk about the first of two major figures in world politics that would influence their fate. It's a big picture episode, discussing how the Protestant Reformation, the Ottoman overthrow of the Dracula Dynasty, and an agent of the French king all play into the lives of the twenty Jewish families left on Jamaica. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jewish Pirates of the West Indies have their roots in the Sephardi Jews of Spain. Today we tell their story from the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE to their arrival on Jamaica in the company of Christopher Columbus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1697 France was at war, and had been for almost a decade. French artists, sculptors, dramatists and authors were encouraged to produce works that would bolster French spirits. It was propaganda. One of those authors was a former buccaneer ten years removed from his last pirate voyage, Raveneau de Lussan. His story was filled with everything the French fighting man could want. Valor, bravery, victory, spoils, and the charms of fair maidens. Today we poke holes in that story as the second Pacific Adventure draws to a close. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spring 1687. The pirates in the Pacific had been away from home for more than two years. They longed for Port Royal, or Tortuga, or anywhere they could sleep easy. Before they could return though, they needed one big prize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices