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diff --git a/old/13689.txt b/old/13689.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3d51238 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13689.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11617 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean, by E. Hamilton Currey + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean + +Author: E. Hamilton Currey + +Release Date: October 10, 2004 [EBook #13689] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEA-WOLVES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Connal and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team, from images generously provided by the Million Books Project. + + + + + + +SEA-WOLVES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN + + + +[Illustration: KHEYR-ED-DIN BARBAROSSA--CORSAIR, ADMIRAL, AND KING.] + + + +SEA-WOLVES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN + + +THE GRAND PERIOD OF THE MOSLEM CORSAIRS + + + + +BY COMMANDER E. HAMILTON CURREY, R.N. + + +WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS + + + "Ships be but boards, sailors but men: + There be land rats and water rats, land thieves and water thieves, + I mean pirates." + + _Merchant of Venice_. + + +LONDON + +JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W + +1910 + + + + +TO THAT GRACIOUS LADY TO WHOSE COUNSEL AND ENCOURAGEMENT I OWE SO MUCH MORE +THAN ANY ONE--SAVE I--CAN IMAGINE... + +TO MY WIFE + +I DEDICATE THIS BOOK + + + + + + +PREFACE + + +When the ship is ready for launching there comes a moment of tense +excitement before the dogshores are knocked away and she slides down the +ways. In the case of a ship this excitement is shared by many thousands, +who have assembled to acclaim the birth of a perfected product of the +industry of man; the emotion is shared by all those who are present. It is +very different when a book has been completed. The launching has been +arranged for and completed by expert hands; she like the ship gathers way +and slides forth into an ocean: but, unlike the ship which is certain to +float, the waters may close over and engulf her, or perchance she may be +towed back to that haven of obscurity from which she emerged, to rust there +in silence and neglect. There is excitement in the breast of one man +alone--to wit, the author. If his book possesses one supreme qualification +she will escape the fate mentioned, and this qualification is--interest. As +the weeks lengthened into months, and these multiplied themselves to the +tale of something like twenty-four, the conviction was strengthened that +that which had so profoundly interested the writer, would not be altogether +indifferent to others. For some inscrutable reason the deeds of sea-robbers +have always possessed a fascination denied to those of their more numerous +brethren of the land; and in the case of the Sea-wolves of the sixteenth +century we are dealing with the very aristocrats of the profession. +Circumstances over which they had no control flung the Moslem population of +Southern Spain on to the shores of Northern Africa: to revenge themselves +upon the Christian foe by whom this expropriation had been accomplished was +natural to a warrior race; and those who heretofore had been land-folk pure +and simple took to piracy as a means of livelihood. It is of the deeds of +these men that this book treats; of their marvellous triumphs, of their +apparently hopeless defeats, of the manner in which they audaciously +maintained themselves against the principalities and the powers of +Christendom always hungering for their destruction. + +The quality which Napoleon is said to have ascribed to the British +Infantry, "of never knowing when they were beaten," seems to have also +characterised the Sea-wolves; as witness the marvellous recuperation of +Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa when expelled from Tunis by Charles V.; and the +escape of Dragut from the island of Jerba when apparently hopelessly +trapped by the Genoese admiral, Andrea Doria. All through their history the +leaders of the Sea-wolves show the resourcefulness of the real seamen that +they had become by force of circumstances, and it was they who in the age +in which they dwelt showed what sea power really meant. Sailing through the +Mediterranean on my way to Malta in the spring of this year, as the good +ship fared onwards I passed in succession all those lurking-places from +which the Moslem Corsairs were wont to burst out upon their prey. Truly it +seemed as if + + "The spirits of their fathers might start from every wave," + +and in imagination one pictured the rush of the pirate galley, with its +naked slaves straining at the oar of their taskmasters, its fierce, +reckless, beturbaned crew clustered on the "rambades" at the bow and stern. +It might be that they would capture some hapless "round-ship," a +merchantman lumbering slowly along the coast; or again they might meet with +a galley of the terrible Knights of St. John or of the ever-redoubtable +Doria. In either case the Sea-wolves were equal to their fortune, to +plunder or to fight in the name of Allah and his prophet. + +That which differentiated the Sea-wolves from other pirates was the +combination which they effected among themselves; the manner in which these +lawless men could subordinate themselves to the will of one whom they +recognised as a great leader. To obtain such recognition was no easy +matter, and the manner in which this was done, by those who rose by sheer +force of character to the summit of this remarkable hierarchy, has here +been set forth. + +E. HAMILTON CURREY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +INTRODUCTORY 1 + +CHAPTER I +THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS 13 + +CHAPTER II +THE COMING OF THE CORSAIRS 28 + +CHAPTER III +URUJ BARBAROSSA 43 + +CHAPTER IV +THE DEATH OF URUJ BARBAROSSA 59 + +CHAPTER V +KHEYR-ED-DIN BARBAROSSA 75 + +CHAPTER VI +THE TAKING OF THE PENON D'ALGER; ANDREA DORIA 91 + +CHAPTER VII +THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE CORSAIR KING 107 + +CHAPTER VIII +THE RAID ON THE COAST OF ITALY; JULIA GONZAGA 123 + +CHAPTER IX +BARCELONA, MAY 1535; THE GATHERING OF THE +CHRISTIAN HOSTS 139 + +CHAPTER X +THE FALL OF TUNIS AND THE FLIGHT OF BARBAROSSA 155 + +CHAPTER XI +ROXALANA AND THE MURDER OF IBRAHIM 172 + +CHAPTER XII +THE PREVESA CAMPAIGN; THE GATHERING OF THE + FLEETS 189 + +CHAPTER XIII +THE BATTLE OF PREVESA 205 + +CHAPTER XIV +THE NAVY OF OARS. THE GALLEY, THE GALEASSE, + AND THE NEF 221 + +CHAPTER XV +DRAGUT-REIS 238 + +CHAPTER XVI +DRAGUT-REIS 254 + +CHAPTER XVII +DRAGUT-REIS 269 + +CHAPTER XVIII +THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN 286 + +CHAPTER XIX +DRAGUT-REIS 306 + +CHAPTER XX +THE SIEGE OF MALTA 324 + +CHAPTER XXI +ALI BASHA 344 + +CHAPTER XXII +LEPANTO 362 + +AUTHORITIES CONSULTED 383 + +LIST OF THE KINGS OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, + SULTANS OF TURKEY, POPES OF ROME, AND GRAND + MASTERS OF MALTA FROM 1492 TO 1580 385 + +DISTANCES IN SEA MILES ON THE COAST OF NORTHERN + AFRICA 387 + +INDEX 389 + + + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +I wish to record my cordial recognition of the kindness shown to me at +Malta by Mr. Salvino Sant Manduca. The picture of the carrack opposite to +page 300 was a gift from him. The galley of the Knights of Malta is a +reproduction of a picture hanging in his house. I should also like to thank +him for the time and trouble which he took on my behalf during my stay at +Malta, and the keen interest he displayed in my subject. + +R. HAMILTON CURREY. + + +KHEYR-ED-DIN BARBAROSSA--CORSAIR, ADMIRAL, AND KING _Frontispiece_ + + FACING PAGE + +URUJ AND KHEYR-ED-DIN BARBAROSSA 44 + +ANDREA DORIA, PRINCE OF ONEOLIA, ADMIRAL TO CHARLES V. 92 + +SOLIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT 110 + +THE EMPEROR CHARLES V 150 + +MULEY HASSAN KING OF TUNIS 162 + +GALEASSE UNDER SAIL 194 + +GALLEY UNDER OARS 222 + +BRIGANTINE CHASING FELUCCA 236 + +GOZON DE DIEU-DONNE SLAYING THE GREAT SERPENT OF RHODES 294 + +CARRACK IN WHICH THE KNIGHTS ARRIVED AT MALTA, 1530 300 + +JEAN PARISOT DE LA VALETTE, GRAND MASTER OF THE KNIGHTS + OF MALTA, AT THE SIEGE OF THAT ISLAND BY THE TURKS + IN 1565 324 + +DEATH OF DRAGUT AT THE SIEGE OF MALTA 340 + +A GALLEY OF THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA 354 + +DON JOHN OF AUSTRIA 362 + +SEBASTIAN VENIERO 364 + + + + +INTRODUCTORY + +In all the ages of which we have any record there have been men who gained +a living by that practice of robbery on the high seas which we know by the +name of Piracy. Perhaps the pirates best known to the English-speaking +world are the buccaneers of the Spanish Main, who flourished exceedingly in +the seventeenth century, and of whom many chronicles exist: principally +owing to the labours of that John Esquemelin, a pirate of a literary turn +of mind, who added the crime of authorship to the ill deeds of a sea-rover. +The Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean in the preceding century did not raise +up a chronicler from among themselves: for not much tincture of learning +seems to have distinguished these desperate fighters and accomplished +seamen, descendants of those Spanish Moslems who had, during the Middle +Ages, lived in a land in which learning and culture had been held in the +highest estimation. Driven from their homes, their civilisation crushed, +their religion banned in that portion of Southern Spain in which they had +dwelt for over seven centuries, cast upon the shores of Northern Africa, +these men took to the sea and became the scourge of the Mediterranean. That +which they did, the deeds which they accomplished, the terror which they +inspired, the ruin and havoc which they wrought, have been set forth in the +pages of this book. + +It was the age of the galley, the oar-propelled vessel which moved +independently of the wind in the fine-weather months of the great inland +sea. Therefore to the dwellers on the coast the Sea-wolves were a perpetual +menace; as, when booty was unobtainable at sea, they raided the towns and +villages of their Christian foes. During all the period here dealt with no +man's life, no woman's honour, was safe from these pirates within the area +of their nefarious activities. They held the Mediterranean in fee, they +levied toll on all who came within reach of their galleys and their +scimitars. Places unknown to the geography of the sixteenth century became +notorious in their day, and Christian wives and mothers learned to tremble +at the very names of Algiers and Tunis. From these places the rovers issued +to capture, to destroy, and to enslave: in Oran and Tlemcen, in Tenes, +Shershell, Bougie, Jigelli, Bizerta, Sfax, Susa, Monastir, Jerbah, and +Tripoli they lurked ready for the raid and the foray. At one time all +Northern Africa would thrill to the triumph of the Moslem arms, at another +there would go up the wail of the utterly defeated; but in spite of +alternations of fortune the Sea-wolves abode in the localities of their +choice, and ended in establishing those pirate States which troubled the +peace of the Mediterranean practically until the introduction of steam. + +The whole record of the sixteenth century is one of blood and fire, of +torture and massacre, of "punic faith" and shameless treason; the deeds of +the sea-rovers, appalling as they were, frequently found a counterpart in +the battles, the sieges, and the sacking of towns which took place +perpetually on the continent of Europe. + +There was so much history made at this period, the stage of world politics +was occupied by so many great, striking, and dazzling personalities, that +the Sea-wolves and all they accomplished were to a great extent +overshadowed by happenings which the chroniclers of the time considered to +be of greater importance. In this no doubt they were right in the main; +but, in spite of this opinion which they held, we find that time and again +the main stream of events is ruffled by the prows of the pirate galleys. +Such men as the Barbarossas, as Dragut, and Ali Basha could only have been +suppressed and exterminated had the whole might of Christendom been turned +against them, for they held in their hands two weapons, the keenest and +most powerful with which to attain the objects which they had in view. + +The first and more powerful of these was the appeal in a rough and warlike +age to the cupidity of mankind. "Those who are content to follow us," they +said in effect, "are certain to enrich themselves if they are men stout of +heart and strong of hand. All around us lie rich and prosperous lands; we +have but to organise ourselves, and to take anything that we wish for; we +can, if we like, gather a rich harvest at comparatively small trouble." +Such counsels as these did not fall on deaf ears. Driven from the land of +plenty--from glorious Andalusia with its fruitful soil, its magnificent +cities, its vines and olives, its fruit and grain, its noble rivers and +wide-spreading _vegas_--the Spanish Moslem of the day of the Sea-wolves was +an outcast and a beggar, ripe for adventure and burning for revenge on +those by whom he had been expropriated. + +Great historians like William Hickling Prescott tell us that, in the course +of the seven centuries of the Moslem domination in Spain, the Moors had +become soft and effeminate, that "the canker of peace" had sapped, if it +had not destroyed, the virile qualities of the race, that luxury and +learning had dried up at their source those primitive virtues of courage +and hardihood which had been the leading characteristics of those stark +fighters who had borne the banner of the Prophet from Mecca even to Cadiz. +Tom by faction, by strife among themselves, they had succumbed to the arms +of the Northern chivalry; by its warriors they had been driven out, never +to return. + +When this was accomplished, when the curtain fell on the final scene of the +tragedy, and the Moors, after the fall of Granada, were driven across the +sea into Africa, there came to pass a most remarkable change in those who +had been expropriated. The learning, the culture, the civilisation, by +which they had been so long distinguished, seemed to drop away from them, +cast away like a worn-out garment for which men have no further use. In +place of all these things there came a complete and desperate valour, a +bitter and headstrong fanaticism. + +It was one of the attributes of the Moslem civilisation in Spain, and one +of the most enlightened thereof, that religious toleration flourished in +its midst. Jew and Christian were allowed to worship at the altars of their +fathers, no man hindering or saying them nay; one rule, and one alone, had +to be preserved: none must blaspheme against Mahomet, the Prophet of God, +as he was considered to be by the Moslems. The penalty for infraction of +this rule was death; otherwise, complete liberty of conscience was +accorded. + +We have spoken of the two weapons held by the leaders of the Sea-wolves. +The first, as we have, said, was cupidity; the second was fanaticism, the +deadly religious hatred engendered, not only by the wholesale expropriation +of the Moslem population, but also by the persecution to which the +Moriscoes--as those Moslems were known who remained in Spain--were +subjected by their Christian masters. It requires little imagination to see +how these two weapons of avarice and intolerance could be made to serve the +purpose of those dominant spirits who rose to the summit of the piratical +hierarchy. Not only did they dazzle the imaginations of those who followed +in their train by promises of wealth uncounted, but they added to this the +specious argument that, in slaying and robbing the Christian wheresoever he +was to be found, the faithful Moslem was performing the service of God and +the act most grateful to his holy Prophet. + +Could any rule of life be at the same time more simple and more attractive +to the beggared Mohammedan cast on the sterile shores of Northern Africa to +starve? + +With the main stream of history, to which we have before referred, we have +no concern in this book. He who would embark thereon must sail a powerful +vessel which must carry many guns. Also for the conduct of this vessel many +qualities are necessary: a commanding intellect, acute perceptions, +indefatigable industry, complete leisure, are among those things necessary +to the pilot. These must be supplemented by a genius for research, a +knowledge of ancient and modern languages, and an unerring faculty for +separating the few precious grains of wheat from those mountains of chaff +which he will have to sift with the utmost care. There are, however, +subsidiary rivulets which feed the onward flow of events, and of such is +the story of the Sea-wolves of the Mediterranean. On these the adventurous +mariner can sail his little cockboat, discreetly retiring before he becomes +involved and engulfed in the main stream. That he cannot altogether avoid +it is shown by the fact that the men who are here chronicled took part in +events of first-class importance in the age in which they lived. +Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa fought the battle of Prevesa against his lifelong +antagonist, Andrea Doria. Dragut was killed at the siege of Malta, at the +moment almost of the fall of the castle of St. Elmo; had he lived it is +more than probable that Jean Parisot de la Valette and his heroic garrison +would have been defeated instead of being victorious. Ali Basha was the one +Moslem commander who increased his reputation at the battle of Lepanto, +because, as was usual in all maritime conflicts of the time, the corsairs, +who had the habit of the sea, were more than a match for soldiers embarked +to fight on an unfamiliar element. + +We shall speak, later on, of the autocratic rule of these leaders who +possessed so absolute a domination over the men by whom they were followed. +The fact of this absolute supremacy on the part of the chiefs is very +curious, as theoretically in the confederacy of the Sea-wolves all were +equal; we are, in fact, confronted with pure democracy, where every man was +at liberty to do what seemed best in his own eyes. He was a free agent, +none coercing him or desiring him to place himself under discipline or +command. This, be it observed, was the theory. As a matter of fact the +corsairs, who were extraordinarily successful in their abominable trade, +abode beneath an iron and rigid discipline. This was enforced by the lash, +as we shall see later on when it is related how Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa +flogged one Hassan, a captain who, he considered, had failed in his duty: +or by the actual penalty of death, which Uruj Barbarossa inflicted on one +who had dared to act independently of his authority. + +The theory of equality obtained among the Mediterranean pirates; but the +Barbarossas, Dragut, and Ali believed that, in practice, the less +interference there was with their designs by those, whom Cardinal Granvelle +denominated in a letter to Philip II. as "that mischievous animal the +people," the better it would be for all concerned. The conception held of +rights and duties of "the mischievous animal" by these militant persons +was, that it should behave as did those others recorded of the Roman +centurion in Holy Writ: if it did not, and difficulties arose, the leaders +were not troubled with an undue tenderness either towards the individual or +the theory. Of this we shall see examples as we go on. + +This period has been called "The Grand Period of the Moslem Corsairs" +because it was in something less than a century, from the year of the +expulsion of the Moors from Granada in 1492 to the death of Ali Basha in +1580, that the Sea-wolves were at the height of their power, that the +piratical States of the Mediterranean were in the making. That subsequently +they gave great cause of trouble to Christendom is written in characters of +blood and fire throughout the history of the succeeding centuries; but the +real interest in the careers of these men resides in the fact that they +established, by their extraordinary aptitude for sea-adventure, the +permanent place which was held by their descendants. Time and again in the +sixteenth century the effort was made to destroy them root and branch: they +were defeated, driven out of their strongholds on shore, crushed apparently +for ever. But nothing short of actual extermination could have been +successful in this; as, no matter how severe had been the set-back, there +was always left a nucleus of the pirates which in a short time grew again +into a formidable force. The Ottoman Turk, magnificent fighter as he was on +land, seemed to lose his great qualities when the venue was changed from +the land to the sea. The Janissaries, that picked corps trained as few +soldiers were trained even in that age of iron, who never recoiled before +the foe but who fought only to conquer or die, seem to have failed when +embarked for sea-service. That which the hard teaching of experience alone +could show--that the man who fights best upon the sea is he who has the +habit of the sea--was at this time not generally recognised, and this it +was that rendered the corsairs so supreme on the element which they had +made their own. Some among the great ones of the earth there were who +appreciated this fact, who, like that great statesman Ibrahim, Grand Vizier +to Soliman the Magnificent, recognised what it was to lay their hands upon +"a veritable man of the sea"; but the rule was to embark men from the shore +and to entrust to them the duty of fighting naval actions. + +When "the Grand Period" came to an end, as it did about the date already +indicated, the corsairs had become a permanent institution; they remained +established at Algiers, Tunis, and other ports on the littoral of Northern +Africa as a recognised evil. Pirates they remained to the end of the +chapter, the scourge of the tideless sea; but no longer did they array +themselves in line of battle against the mightiest potentates of the earth +allied for their complete destruction. It was the men of the sea who set up +this empire; it was they who defied Charles V., a whole succession of +Popes, Andrea Doria and his descendants, the might of Spain, Venice, Genoa, +Catalonia, and France. It was they who taught the so-called civilised world +of the age in which they lived that sea-power can only be met and checked +by those who dispose of navies manned by seamen; that against it the master +of the mightiest legions of the land is powerless. + +This contention is by no means invalidated by the fact that frequently the +corsairs were defeated by land forces embarked on board ship. Thus when +Dragut was defending Tripoli against an expedition sent against him in 1559 +by the combined forces of Spain, Tuscany, Rome, Naples, Sicily, and Genoa, +of one hundred sail which embarked fourteen thousand troops, he was +relieved by Piali, the Admiral of Soliman the Magnificent, who came to his +assistance with eighty-six galleys, each of which had on board one hundred +Janissaries, and who gained so striking a victory over the Christians that +the Turkish Admiral returned to Constantinople with no less than four +thousand prisoners. But in this case, as in so many others, the actual +hostilities took place on shore, where the troops had the opportunity of +displaying their sterling qualities. + +There is very little doubt that critics will point out that the corsairs +were by no means universally successful; that, as in the case of the attack +by Hassem, the ruler of Algiers in 1563, on Oran and Marzaquivir (a small +port in the immediate vicinity of Oran), in the end the Moslems were badly +beaten. This undoubtedly was the case, and there is no desire to magnify +the deeds of the Sea-wolves or to minimise the heroic defence of +Marzaquivir by the Count of Alcaudete, or that of Oran by his brother, Don +Martin de Cordoba, At the last moment of their wonderful defence they were +relieved by a fleet sent by the King of Spain, and Hassem had to abandon +his artillery, ammunition, and stores and beat a hasty retreat to the place +from whence he had come. + +There was nothing remarkable in the fact that the corsairs were frequently +defeated; what is really strange is that they should have achieved so great +a success--success vouched for by the concrete instance that they +established those sinister dynasties on the coast of Northern Africa which +were the outcome of their piratical activities. + +In speaking of them, historians of later date than that at which they +flourished are apt to hold them somewhat cheaply, to dismiss them as mere +barbarians of no particular importance in the scheme of mundane affairs; as +men who caused a certain amount of trouble to civilisation by their inroads +and their plunderings. That which is certain is that they were for +centuries a standing shame and disgrace to the whole of Christendom. + +To those who may perhaps be called the pioneers--that is to say, the men +treated of in this book--a certain amount of sympathy and understanding may +be conceded; for they had been driven from the land which had been theirs, +it was their countrymen and their co-religionists who were being ground to +powder beneath the fanatical cruelty of the Spanish Inquisition. That which +they did was doubtless abominable, but it cannot be contended that they had +not received the strongest provocation both from the material and the +religious points of view. + +Once the "Grand Period" was passed, that period in which such men as the +Barbarossas, Dragut, and Ali flourished, the chronicle of the Moslem States +founded by them sinks to the degraded level of sheer robbery and murder; of +a history of a tyranny established within one hundred miles of the shores +of Europe, and of great kings and princes bargaining with piratical +ruffians who held in thrall thousands upon thousands of their subjects. How +it came about that the Christian States tolerated such an abuse is one of +those mysteries which can never be explained; and if subsequent centuries +displayed a greater refinement of manners, a more apt appreciation of all +that is softer and kindlier in the human relationships of nation towards +nation and of people towards people, they have not perhaps so much to plume +themselves upon as had their rude forefathers of the sixteenth century, +who, seeing the evil and feeling the effects thereof, did their best to +extirpate those by whom this evil was caused. + +The question may be asked, how can it be that the lives and actions of such +men as these are worth chronicling? It is because, not only that they +modified profoundly the course of history in the age in which they lived, +but also because that, hidden deep down, somewhere, in these men stained by +a thousand crimes, ruthless, lustful, bloodthirsty, cruel as the grave, was +the germ of true greatness, some dim spark of the divine fire of genius. +Contending against principalities and powers, they held their own; in the +welter of anarchy in which they lived they proved that there existed no +finer fighting men, which alone give them some claim to consideration; but +that which is most interesting to watch is the absolute domination obtained +by the leaders over their followers. There is no other record of pirates +who commanded on so large a scale; there is none which shows men such as +these bargaining on equal terms with the great ones of the earth. + + + + +CHAPTER I + + +THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS + +There is, in the deeds of men of action, an interest which is never aroused +by those persons of brains and capacity by whom the world is really ruled. +The statesman in his cabinet is the god within the machine; it is he who +directs the acts of nations, it is he who moves the fleets and armies as if +they were pieces on the chess-board; to him, as a rule, is the man of +action subordinate, obeying his behests. Rule and governance are his, power +both in the abstract and the concrete. Seldom in the history of the world +do we come across the men who are at one and the same time statesmen and +soldiers, who, taking their destiny in their own hands, work it out to the +appointed end thereof. But, as we stray in the by-paths of history, we meet +with some who, in their day, have influenced not only the age in which they +lived themselves, but also the destinies of generations yet unborn. It +would seem incredible that mere pirates, such as the Moslem corsairs of the +Mediterranean, could be included in this category, and yet, as their story +is unfolded, we shall see how the Sea-wolves rose from the humblest +beginnings to trouble the peace of Europe, to found for themselves +dynasties which endured. + +Uruj Barbarossa, Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, Dragut Reis, and Occhiali, or All +Basha, were men who, in the sixteenth century, did much to change the +conditions of the times in which they lived: it was the time of the +Renaissance in Europe, a period of splendour in all the arts and sciences. +These men added nothing to the knowledge of the civilised world as it then +existed, save and except in one particular, which was, as Kheyr-ed-Din +explained to Soliman the Magnificent on a certain memorable occasion, that +he who rules on the sea will rule on the land also. In the present day, +when all the nations and languages sit at the feet of Captain (now +Rear-Admiral) Mahan, and acclaim his "Sea Power" series of books, it is +interesting to find that he was anticipated in the most practical fashion +possible by a corsair of the sixteenth century. + +This period was one in which great men abounded. The Emperor Charles V., +Francis I. of France, and Henry VIII. of England, were on the thrones of +their respective countries; in Hungary was John Hunyadi, at Constantinople +Soliman the Magnificent held rule, while in Rome the "fatal house of +Medici" were the successors of Saint Peter. War was a commonplace state of +the times, but until the Crescent began to sweep the seas it had its +manifestation in the perpetual quarrels of the nations of Christendom, +which represented, as a rule, the insatiable ambitions of its rulers. But +now new men forced themselves to the front, a new power arose which was +very imperfectly understood, and which practically held the sea at its +mercy. Gone were the halcyon days of peaceful trade which had been pursued +for generations by Venetian and Genoese, by Spaniard and Frenchman; gone +also, apparently never to return, was all sense of security for the +wretched dwellers on the littoral of the Mediterranean, who lived in daily, +and particularly in nightly, dread of the falcon swoop of the pirate +galleys. + +It is amusing to read the old chroniclers, sticklers as they were for "the +dignity of history," continually having to turn aside from the main stream +of their narrative of emperors, popes, and kings to descend to the level of +the Sea-wolves, and to be constrained to set down the nefarious doings of +these rovers of the sea. Bell, book, and candle were invoked against them +in vain, and mighty monarchs had to meet them in the stricken field not +merely once or twice--to their utter undoing and discomfiture--but many +times, while victory inclined first to one side and then to the other. + +The Osmanli had ever been warriors since the times of the Prophet, of +Abu-Bekr, of Othman, and of Ali; but so far their warlike achievements had +been always on land, their only sea experience being confined to the +crossing of the Straits of Gibraltar, when in the eighth century, under +Tarik, they had swarmed into Andalusia, conquered Roderick the Goth, and +set up that Moslem domination in Southern Spain which lasted until 1492, +just before the events set forth in this book took place. Piracy in all +ages is a thing in which a curious shuddering interest has been taken, and +the deeds of the outlaws of the sea have never lacked chroniclers. There is +for this a reason apart from the record of robbery and murder, which is the +commonplace of piratical deeds: it resides in the perennial interest which +men take in individual achievement, in the spectacle of absolute and +complete domination by one man over the lives and the fortunes of others. +This intense form of individualism is nowhere so well exhibited as in the +story of piratical enterprise, where a band of men, outside of the law and +divorced from all human kind by the atrocity of their deeds, has had to be +welded into one homogeneous mass for the purpose of preying upon the world +at large. Therefore he who would hold rule among such outlaws must himself +be a man of no common description, for in him must be that quality which +calls for instantaneous obedience among those with whom he is associated; +behind him is no constituted authority, discipline is personal, enforced by +the leader, and by him alone. Beneath him are men of the rudest and +roughest description, slaves to their lusts and their passions, prone to +mutiny, suspicious, and--worst of all--stupid. + +It is with these constituent elements that the piratical leader had to +deal, trusting to the strength of his own arm, the subtlety of his own +unassisted brain. Some among these leaders have risen to eminence in their +evil lives, most of them have been the captains of single ships preying on +commerce in an indiscriminate manner; but this was not the case with the +Sea-wolves of the Mediterranean, Primarily sea-robbers they were of course, +but as time and opportunity developed their characters they rose to meet +occasion, to take fortune at the flood, in a manner that, had they been +pursuing any other career, would most certainly have caused them to rise to +eminence. Into the fierce and blood-stained turmoil of their lives there +entered something unknown to any other pirates: this was religious +fanaticism--a fanaticism so engrained in character, a belief held to with +such passionate tenacity, that men stained with every conceivable crime +held that their passage to Paradise was absolutely secure because of the +faith which they professed. Tradition, sentiment, discipline, were summed +up in one trite formula; but though we, at this distance of time, may hold +it somewhat in derision, it was a vital force in the days of Soliman the +Magnificent; and there was an added zest to robbery and murder in the fact +that the pirates, as good Mohammedans, were obeying the behests of the +Prophet every time that they cut a Christian throat, plundered a Christian +argosy, or carried off shrieking women into a captivity far worse than +death. + +That a pirate should be a warrior goes without saying, that a pirate should +be a statesman is a thing almost incredible; but those who will read the +story of the life of Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa will be forced to admit that +here, at least, was a pirate who achieved the apparently impossible. +Admiral Jurien de la Graviere has remarked that the Moslem corsairs of the +sixteenth century were great men, even when measured by the standard of +Henry VIII., of Charles V., of Soliman the Magnificent, of Ibrahim, his +Grand Vizier, or of Andrea Doria, greatest among contemporary Christian +mariners. To the seaman, of course, there is much that is fascinating in +the deeds of his forerunners, and the ships of the corsairs had in them +something distinctive in that they were propelled by oars, and were in +consequence, to a certain extent, independent of the weather. Like the +sailors of all ages, to the Sea-wolves gales and storms of all sorts and +descriptions were abhorrent; and in consequence they had a well-marked +piracy season, which, as we shall see, covered the spring and summer, while +they carefully avoided the inclement months of autumn and winter. + +In a later chapter an attempt has been made to place before the reader +pictures of the galley, the galeasse, and the nef, which were the names +attached to the ships then in use; the name brigantine, far from having the +significance attached to it by the sailor of the present day, seems to have +been a generic term to denote any craft not included in the names already +given. + +Although the sixteenth century had outgrown the principle of the general +massacre of the enemy by the victors, still chivalry to the fallen foe was +far to seek, as all persons captured at sea were, no matter what their rank +and status, immediately stripped and chained to the rowers' bench, where +they remained until ransom, good fortune, or a kindly death, for which +these unfortunates were wont to pray, should come to their release. To a +large extent this savagery may be traced to the religious rancour which +animated the combatants on both sides, as the fanaticism of the Moslem, of +which we have already spoken, was fully matched on the side of the +Christians by the bigotry of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, +otherwise known as the Knights of Malta, who were vowed to the +extermination of what they, on their side, called "the infidel." It was an +age of iron, when men neither gave nor expected grace for the misfortunes +which might befall them in the warrior life which they led. It was +distinguished by many gallant feats of arms on both sides, but pity formed +no part of the equipment of the fighting man bent on the death or capture +of his enemy. Honestly and sincerely each side believed that they were +doing the service of the Almighty in destroying the other party root and +branch. The amount of human misery and suffering caused by the rise and +progress of the Moslem corsairs was absolutely incalculable; the slavery of +the rower in the galley in the time of which we speak was an agony so +dreadful that in these days it is a thing which seems altogether +incredible, a nightmare of horror almost impossible even to imagine. + +The life of the "gallerian" was so hard that his sufferings in many cases +were mercifully ended in death in a very short time, as none save those of +iron constitution could stand the strain imposed by the desperate toil and +wretched food. Yet there are cases on record of men who had worked at the +oar for actual decades, so unconquerable in their strength that even such a +life as this had not the power to break them down. + +To the peaceful mariner who wished merely to trade, to the individual whose +business called him overseas, this epoch must have been one of terror +unspeakable. The ordinary perils of the deep were quite enough to keep +timid folk at home in those days of clumsy, ill-found sailing ships, which +could by no means work to windward, and did not sail remarkably well even +with the most favouring breezes; when to this we add that every ship which +started on a voyage in the Mediterranean had before her the chance of being +captured by the corsairs, it was no wonder that he whose business led him +oversea should make his last will and testament and bid a fond farewell to +all his relatives. + +There is a record in the Memoires of the Rev. Frere Pierre d'An, Bachelier +en Theologie de la Faculte de Paris, etc., who wrote in a most heartfelt +manner concerning the danger of the sea and the perils to be expected from +the Barbary corsairs. He says, date 1637: + + "An ancient writer, considering how little assurance can ordinarily be + placed in the sea, and how hazardous it is to expose oneself and one's + goods to its mercy, has remarked, with much reason, that it is + infinitely preferable to be poor on shore than to be rich at sea. In + which saying he mocks indeed at those ambitious, avaricious, and + mercenary men who, in order to gain false glory and the things of this + world, expose themselves rashly to the manifest perils which are most of + the time the inevitable lot of the seaman. This same consideration + causes him also to utter these remarkable words: that he repents himself + of but one thing, and that is ever to have travelled by sea when it was + possible to have done so by land. And, to say truth, he has good reason + to speak as he does, because it is impossible for the most hardy + navigators not to tremble with fear when it is represented before their + eyes that they must combat with the winds, the waves, and the foam every + time that they adventure upon the deep. + + "Because it is indisputable that this is the very Theatre of the storms, + and the place in the world most capable of all sorts of violence and + tragic adventure. This, however, does not prevent those who covet the + perishable goods of this world from straying upon the sea, even in + unknown and untraversed regions, without ceasing and without rest. + + "If, however, they abandon the ocean for a time, it is but to return to + it again to seek once more war with their ships, in order unjustly to + make themselves masters of the bodies and of the riches of others. + + "Of such it may be remarked to-day are, in all the maritime coasts, the + implacable Corsairs of Barbary. For, however great may be the dangers of + which we have just spoken, and no matter now many examples they may see + of the fury and inconstancy of Neptune, they cease not their irritating + performances, kindling warfare in all the coasts of the Christian + nations. It is there that they exercise their infamous piracies, and + there also that they glory in the most shameful of all commerce--the + trade of the brigand. + + "Which in all towns that are well policed have always met with a swift + and just retribution, because the law is ordained against those who + maintain such practices. + + "But such does not happen among these pirates. + + "On the contrary, it may truthfully be said that, while in towns in + which good persons dwell good actions receive the palms and the crown, + it is among the Corsairs but to the wicked to whom are given recompense + and praise. + + "In effect the most determined among them--I mean the most unworthy + robbers who are best versed in all the infamies of their trade and most + accustomed to the practice of violence--are those who are covered with + honours, and who pass in the estimation of their fellows for men of + heart and courage. + + "Indeed experience has taught all Christian merchants that the infidels + of the coast of Barbary are all brigands. + + "Among these those of Algiers carry off the prize for riches, for ships, + for strength, and for villainy." + +The bachelor in theology is somewhat sweeping in his criticisms, and his +meaning is, perhaps, somewhat clearer than his grammar. One thing, however, +is perfectly plain, that, in the opinion of the reverend brother, those who +go to sea are to be divided into two categories, rogues and fools, with a +strong preponderance of the worse Element of the two. + +Of the corsairs dealt with in this record of their deeds the two +Barbarossas were the sons of a Mohammedan father and a Christian mother. +Dragut Reis was a pure Mohammedan, and Ali Basha was a pure-blooded +Italian. All these men, as will be seen, raised themselves to eminence in +the profession of piracy; in each and every separate case starting at the +very bottom rung of the ladder and rising, by sheer stress of valour and +character, to the very top. Each in turn became Admiralissimo to the Grand +Turk at Constantinople. Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa commanded the Ottoman fleet +at the great battle of Prevesa, at which he met with his life-long +competitor at sea, the famous Genoese Admiral, Andrea Doria. Dragut Reis +was killed at the siege of Malta in 1565, and Ali Basha was the only Moslem +commander who increased his reputation at the battle of Lepanto in 1571, +when Don John of Austria shattered the power of the Moslem at sea for the +time being. + +Although the "renegado" was very much in evidence in the vessels of the +Moslem corsairs, still of course the bulk of the fighting men, by which the +galleys were manned, were Mohammedans, the descendants of the warriors who +had swept through Northern Africa like a living flame in the early days of +the Mohammedan conquest. + +Cut adrift from the homes which had been theirs for over seven +centuries--as we shall see in the next chapter--there was nothing left for +the erstwhile dwellers in Andalusia but to gain their living by the strong +hand. The harvest of the sea was the one which they garnered--a harvest of +the goods of their mortal enemies strung out in lines of hapless +merchant-vessels throughout the length and breadth of the tideless sea. + +It booted not that the great Powers of Europe sent expedition after +expedition against them; these they fought to the death with varying +fortune, ready, when the storm had passed over their heads, to start once +more on the only career which promised them the chance of acquiring riches. +Their whole history is a study of warfare, waged as a rule on the petty +scale, but rising at times, as in the cases already mentioned, into events +of first-class historical importance. + +The deeds of the buccaneers of the next century in the Spanish Main sink +into comparative insignificance when compared with what was accomplished by +such a man as Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, who was known, and rightly known, by +his contemporaries, and for many generations of Moslem seamen yet to come, +as "the King of the Sea." The capture of Panama by Sir Henry Morgan in +January 1671 was possibly as remarkable a feat of arms as was ever +accomplished, but it cannot rank in its importance to civilised mankind on +the same plane as those memorable battles in the Mediterranean of which +mention has been made as having been fought by the Moslem corsairs. + +Fighting for their own hand, the booty reaped by these men was incredible +in its richness. Sea-power was theirs, and they took the fullest advantage +of this fact, fearing none save the great community of the Knights of Saint +John of Jerusalem, which, vowed to the destruction of the infidel, neither +gave nor accepted quarter. + +We have said that the real interest in the lives of the corsairs arose from +the fact that it was personal ascendancy, and that alone, which counted in +the piratical hierarchy. Against Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa plots arose again +and again, only to be defeated by the address of the man against whom they +were directed. + +It was one of the cruellest of ages, and rough cruelty was the principal +means adopted to ensure success; sheer terror was the weapon of the leader. +Thus when one Hassan, a subordinate of Kheyr-ed-Din, failed to take a +Spanish ship because she made too stout a resistance, his chief caused him +to be soundly flogged and then thrown into prison. Such methods naturally +raised up hosts of enemies in the wake of the piratical commanders, ready +at any time to do them a mortal injury, and it is little short of +miraculous that they should throughout a long period of years have been +able not only to maintain, but to increase, their supremacy over the wild +spirits of which their following was composed. It was, however, the golden +age of autocracy, when men surrendered their judgment to some great leader, +content to follow where he led, to endorse his policy at the cost of their +lives. + +It is the autocrat who is made by the circumstances of his life who +ultimately becomes supreme. The leaders among the corsairs were tried by +every test of prosperity and of adverse fortune; they emerged from the ruck +in the first instance because it was in them to display a more desperate +valour than did their contemporaries, and it was only when they emerged +triumphant from this, the first test, that they could begin to impose their +will upon others. It was then that their real trials began, as the +undisciplined are ever prone to suspicion, much given to murmuring against +a leader who is not perpetually successful. + +As a rule, however, there were but few to criticise, as the office of +critic was one fraught with far too much danger to be alluring. In +maintaining their authority the leaders stopped at nothing, and the heads +of the recalcitrant were apt to part with amazing suddenness from their +bodies if they repined overmuch. The Moslem leader was, it is true, merely +_primus inter pares_, and was distinguished by no outward symbol of the +power which he possessed; but life and death lay in his hands, and life was +cheap indeed. + +We have spoken hitherto of the leaders, but what of the men of which their +following was composed? Rough, rude, and reckless, these latter lived but +to fight and to plunder; to them any other life would have seemed +impossible, and indeed this was practically the fact. In the communities in +which they lived the adult male had no other means of gaining a livelihood. +Since their expulsion from their ancient homes no ordered and peaceful +method of existence had been possible for them. In the surroundings in +which their forefathers had lived the arts of peace had been carried on in +a civilisation to which there had been none comparable in the world as it +then existed; on all this the Moslem had now to turn his back, and to earn +a precarious living by the strong hand. War, sanguinary and incessant, was +henceforward to be his lot, and it must be said that he turned to this +ancient avocation with a zest which left but little to be desired from the +point of view of those by whom he was led. In the new life of bloodshed and +adventure he seemed to delight. Like the free-lance in all ages, he seems +to have squandered his booty as soon as it was acquired, and then to sea +once more, to face the desperate hazard of an encounter with the knights, +to raid defenceless villages, to lie _perdu_ behind some convenient cape, +dashing out from thence to plunder the argosy of the merchantman. +Intolerable conditions of heat and cold he endured, he suffered from +wounds, from fever, from hunger and thirst, from hope deferred, from +voyages when no plunder came his way. + +His reward was the joy of the fight, the delight of the ambush skilfully +laid, to see the decks of the enemy a dreadful shambles, with the Crescent +of the Prophet above the detested emblem of the Cross. Then the return to +Algiers laden with spoil: to tow behind him some luckless Christian ship, +while aboard his own war-worn galley the drums beat and the trumpets +sounded, and the banners floated free to the stainless Mediterranean sky. +Then the procession of the captives through the crowded streets laden with +what a short time before had been their own property--a mournful _cortege_ +of men doomed to an everlasting slavery and of women destined for the +harems of the Bashas. + +Thus was his life lived, and when death came it came as a rule from the +slash of a sabre or the ball from an arquebus or a bombard; and then what +matter, for had not Hassan Ali or Selim fallen in strife against the +enemies of his faith, and did not the portals of heaven open wide to +receive the man who had lost his life testifying to the fact that there was +but one God, and that Mahomet was the Prophet of God? + +True in substance and in fact is that which was said by the Frere Pierre +d'An that "it is indisputable that the sea is the Theatre of the storms and +the place in the world most capable of all sorts of violence and tragic +adventure." Those who "coveted the goods of others straying on the sea," +called by the reverend brother "the implacable, corsairs of Barbary," were +to make life intolerable on that element for centuries to come, and if the +Crescent did not supersede the banner of the Cross in the blue waters of +the Mediterranean Sea, it remained as a portent and a dread symbol of human +misery and unutterable suffering. + + + + +CHAPTER II + + +THE COMING OF THE CORSAIRS + +The rise and progress of the Moslem corsairs of the Mediterranean is a most +curious and interesting historical fact. The causes which led to results so +deplorable to commerce, civilisation, and Christianity are set forth in +this chapter in order that some idea may be formed of the state of affairs +in that region at the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the +sixteenth centuries, and also that the reflex action of the great triumph +of the Christian armies in Spain may be more fully understood. + +The maritime Christian States of the Mediterranean at this epoch were at +the height of their power and prosperity, but were faced by the might of +the Ottoman Empire, against which they waged perpetual warfare. Bitter and +unceasing was the strife prosecuted by the Cross against the Crescent, and +by the Crescent against the Cross; and riding, like eagles on the storm +came the corsairs in their swift galleys ready to strike down the luckless +argosy of the merchantman wheresoever she was to be met. But this was not +all, as the shore as well as the sea yielded up to them its tribute in the +shape of slaves and booty, and Christian mothers trembling in the +insecurity of their homes would hush their wailing children with the terror +of the names of Barbarossa, of Dragut, or of Ali Basha. + +Popes and emperors, kings and princes, found themselves compelled to form +leagues against these Sea-wolves who devoured the substance of their +subjects, and great expeditions were fitted out to fight with and destroy +the corsairs. Had Christendom been united no doubt the object would have +been attained; but, as will be seen at the end of this chapter, an +"Alliance of Christian Princes against the Turks"--which generic term +included the corsairs--was not always used in the manner best calculated to +injure those common enemies. + +When in 1492 Granada was yielded up to "Los Reyes Catolicos," Ferdinand of +Aragon, and Isabella of Castile, by that luckless monarch known as Boabdil +el Chico (or "the little"), the last remnant of the power of the Moors in +Spain had gone never to return. On that small hill on the way to the coast +still known as "el ultimo suspiro del Moro" (the last sigh of the Moor), +Boabdil, as he looked for the last time on his lost capital of Granada, is +said to have burst into tears. His fierce mother Ayesha had, however, no +sympathy for her fallen son: "Thou doest well to weep like a woman for that +which thou daredst not defend as a man," was her biting--and totally +unjust--comment, and the cavalcade pursued its miserable journey to the +coast, from whence it embarked for the kingdom of Fez. + +Great was the jubilation in Christendom; for more than seven centuries the +followers of the Prophet had dwelt in the land from which Tarik had +expelled Roderick the Goth in the eighth century. There they had dwelt and +held up a lamp of learning and comparative civilisation which shone +brightly through the miasmatic mists of cruelty and bloodshed in the Middle +Ages, and none can question that, under Moorish rule in Spain in those +centuries, the arts of peace had flourished, and that science, agriculture, +art, and learning had found generous and discriminating patronage in the +courts of Cordoba and Granada. + +And now all was over the iron chivalry of the North had broken in pieces +the Paynim hosts. They were expelled for ever from Christian soil, or else +were forced to live in a state of degrading servitude, sore oppressed by an +alien rule, in the land which their forbears had won and kept by the sword. + +There was jubilation, as has been said, in Christendom, but the knights and +nobles who flocked from all parts of Europe to join the standard of the +Catholic monarchs had no prevision of the consequences, no idea of the +legacy that they were leaving to their descendants. + +It is of this legacy that we have to speak, and there has been none more +terrible, none fraught with more awful suffering for the human race. The +broken hosts of the Moslem chivalry became the corsairs of the +Mediterranean: ruthless pirates freed from all restraint of human pity, +living only to inflict the maximum of suffering upon their Christian foes, +who, having sown the wind at the taking of Granada, reaped in the coming +centuries a whirlwind of blood and agony which continued down to the +bombardment of Algiers by Lord Exmouth in 1816, and even later than that +date. + +Warriors to a man, the hosts of Boabdil crossed the Straits of Gibraltar +into Africa; warriors but now broken men, from whom had been reft not only +their lands and houses but even the chance of remaining in their native +country. Religious toleration had been the rule of the Moslem States in +Spain. In the name of religion they had been expropriated; therefore +toleration was slain, and to exalt the Crescent above the Cross became the +duty of every fighting Mohammedan. Into all the ports and harbours of the +North African littoral the Moslems intruded themselves, their one +preoccupation to revenge themselves upon the Christians, of no matter what +race or nationality. There was at this date but small opposition from the +rulers of the Pagan States who held in their weak and inefficient hands +such strong places of arms as Algiers and Tunis. + +Very soon the Moslems acquired the habit of the sea, and very soon the +Christian States discovered how different was the Mohammedan dwelling at +peace in Andalusia, or at worst fighting with his co-religionists, to the +desperate corsairs created by their own act who now ravaged the shores of +the tideless sea. + +In the years succeeding to the conquest of Granada the corsairs became the +scourge of the Mediterranean. France, Spain, Genoa, Venice, were all at +odds with them; as the trading vessels, which had hitherto passed to and +fro unmolested, were now captured, haled into North African ports, their +cargoes sold, and their hapless crews forced to labour, naked and chained +to the benches of the pirate galleys, until death came and mercifully put +an end to their sufferings. + +From Reggio to Genoa, from Venice to Taranto, the cry of rage and fear went +up; it was re-echoed from the coasts of France and of the Balearic Islands, +while Southern Spain seethed with disaffection, and the Moriscoes, as those +Moors who remained in the country were known, were ever on the lookout to +assist their bold brethren, the rovers of the sea. Christendom was +completely bewildered: hitherto the relations between the nations and the +Kings of Tunis, Tlemcen, Fez, and others of the North African potentates, +had been of the most agreeable description. Both parties had denounced +piracy, and had as far as in them lay done all in their power to discourage +this form of robbery. But now all was changed, and, as has been said in the +previous chapter, a situation arose analogous to that of the Spaniards in +the West Indies a century and a half later when Morgan and the buccaneers +were at the height of their maleficent prowess. The situation was +analogous, but whereas Morgan, Scott, L'Ollonais, and others terrorised +only such forces as Spain possessed in far-distant colonies, the corsairs +were a terror to all the great nations of the world. + +Granada fell, as has been said, in 1492 amid the rejoicings of the +Christian States; but it had been well for Christendom as a whole if the +Caliphs of Cordova and Granada had never been defeated, and they and their +subjects driven from their homes: to form the nucleus of those piratical +States which existed from this date until well into the nineteenth century, +as the scourge and the terror of all those who, during those ages, desired +to "pass upon the seas on their lawful occasions." The capture of Granada +was separated from the fall of the Byzantine Empire by a period of +thirty-nine years, as it was in the year 1453 that Constantinople was +captured by the Caliph Mahomet II. Byzantium fell, and perhaps nothing in +the records of that Empire became it so well as that last tremendous +struggle; and when on May 29th, 1453, the Ottoman legions were victorious, +the body of the last Emperor of Byzantium was found beneath a mountain of +the slain only recognisable by his purple mantle sewn with golden bees. The +Cross which Constantine the Great had planted on the walls 1125 years +before was replaced by the Crescent, and the Christian Cathedral became +that Mosque of St. Sophia which still endures. + +From the earliest days of the Moslem corsairs of the Mediterranean they +were in close communication with their co-religionists of the Ottoman +Empire; and this for a very good reason, which was that the Turk had not +the habit of the sea, but was essentially a land warrior, and, as the story +of the Sea-wolves progresses, we shall see how in a sense the Grand Turk +and the pirates became interdependent in the ceaseless wars which were +waged in the epoch of which we treat. + +The fall of Constantinople resounded throughout Christendom as though it +had been the crack of doom, and all men held their breath wondering what +next might portend. So stunned were the maritime States that they took no +action, letting "I dare not wait upon I would." Their indecision was fatal. +Had the Venetians, the Genoese, and the Catalans at this juncture formed an +alliance, they might have chased the Turks from off the face of the waters; +but to mutual jealousy and indecision was added fear--fear of this new and +mighty power which had arisen and had swept away one of the landmarks of +Europe. So it fell out that Genoa entered into an arrangement with the +Grand Turk, and Venice concluded a treaty of commerce on April 18th, 1454. +It was the Caliph Mahomet who first fortified the Dardanelles, where he +mounted thirty heavy guns before which Jacques Loredano, the Venetian +admiral, recoiled, reporting to the Republic that henceforward none could +pass the Straits. We have, however, nothing to do with the Grand Turk in +these pages, save, and except in so far, as he had an effect on the lives +of the corsairs. This effect will develop itself as we proceed. + +There is one body of men, however, concerning whom it may be as well to +treat of briefly in this place, as the lives which they led and the deeds +which they performed were inextricably entangled with those of the +corsairs. These men were the members of that association first known as the +Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, later as the Knights of Malta. Between +them and the corsairs it was war to the death; and not only with these +robbers, but also with any ship which sailed beneath the insignia of the +Crescent. + +In 1291 the Soldan of Egypt chased the Knights Hospitallers, as they were +also known, from the soil of the Holy Land; Philip IV. of France welcomed +them in the island of Cyprus, and gave them the town of Limasol as an +asylum. This for the time the knights were bound to accept, but they were +impatient of charity, resentful of tutelage, proud and independent. +Considering their own order as the greatest and most stable bulwark of the +Christian faith, they bowed before neither King nor Kaiser; and the only +boon they asked of great potentates, when allied temporarily with them in +their eternal warfare, was that on all occasions theirs should be the post +of the greatest danger. + +This, indeed, they did not ask as a favour, but claimed as a right. It is +easily understood that such desperate warriors, who fought only to conquer +or die, were allies sought for eagerly by all professing the same faith. + +Fulke de Villaret, Grand Master of the order in 1310, seized upon Rhodes, +which, though nominally belonging to Greece, was at this time a refuge for +bad characters of all nationalities. This island was in the most +advantageous position, as it commanded the sea-route from Constantinople to +Egypt and the ports of Asia Minor, and was also in close proximity to the +coast of Caramania, from whence the order could draw the necessary timber +for the building of their galleys and incidentally their motive power--in +the shape of slaves--for the oars by which they were propelled. + +The knights fortified the island until it was practically unassailable in +that age. In the meanwhile their navy grew so rapidly that, in 1436, they +were actually in a position to fight the Turks in line of battle. To Rhodes +came the younger sons of noble families from every nation in Europe, all +aflame with ardour to fight for "the religion"; and the great nobles +themselves did not disdain to take service in so chivalrous an order. + +Their former enemy, the Soldan of Egypt, made a descent on the island in +1440, and in 1444 besieged the place in form; but he was beaten off, after +forty-two days' ceaseless fighting, with great slaughter. + +"Soldier and sailor too" were the bold Knights of Saint John; for them no +toil was too arduous, no danger too great. In heat and cold, in storm and +tempest, they plied their trade of war, their holy crusade to extirpate the +infidel from off the face of the waters. They looked for no material +reward, and riches and honours they contemptuously rejected. Strong in +their marvellous faith that on their shoulders rested the propagation of +Christianity in these latter days, they swept the seas with a calm +assumption of victory which caused it to be half assured before the fight +began. And when the battle was joined, where could be found such paladins +as these men who claimed it as an inalienable right to head the hurricane +rush of the boarders from the decks of their galleys, to be ever the +leaders when the forlorn hope should mount the breach? Life for the +knights of this order was looked at literally with a single purpose--the +advancement of Christianity and the downfall of that pestilent heresy which +proclaimed that Mahomet was the prophet of God. Against all who bowed the +knee in the mosques of the false prophet their lives were vowed, and it is +but the barest justice to them to record that on the altar of this their +faith these were ungrudgingly poured forth. + +Naturally reprisals were the order of the day. Equally fanatical was he who +held to the Moslem faith; in consequence many were the attempts to stamp +out, once and for all, the prime enemies of the Ottoman Empire. In 1480 a +Turkish fleet of one hundred and forty ships issued from the Dardanelles, +an army awaited it on the coast of Caramania which was rapidly embarked, +and on May 23rd the fleet anchored a few miles from the town of Rhodes. +Here, then, was a trial of strength in which the Hospitallers delighted. +After repeated attacks in detail, on July 28th a grand assault was made +which the Turks considered would be absolutely decisive: it was decisive, +but not in the fashion which they anticipated. + +The standard of the Janissaries already floated on the first curtain of the +rampart when Pierre D'Aubusson rallied the knights for one last desperate +effort. "Shall it be said in days to come that 'the Religion' recoiled +before a horde of Moslem savages; that the banner of Saint John was soiled +by their infamous touch? But this is no time for talk. Ye have swords, +Messires; use them!" + +Thus the Grand Master; and then the knights, in their battered armour and +with their hacked and dinted swords, flung themselves once more upon the +foe. The Janissaries closed in around them; but these fine troops were not +what they had been two months before, and the close contact with the +Hospitallers, which had endured sixty-five days, had been to them a lesson +fraught with disaster: they had already lost six thousand men, and their +adversaries were still absolutely undismayed. His helmet gone, his banner +held aloft over his head, Pierre D'Aubusson was ever in the thickest of the +fray unconquered, unconquerable; and pressing close behind him came the +knights, each jealous for the glory of his "Auberge." French, Venetian, +Catalan, Genoese German, none can tell who fought best that day; but the +Janissaries were beaten, and three thousand of their corpses cumbered the +ditch into which they were hurled by their foes; there were besides fifteen +thousand wounded in the Turkish camp. + +The heart was out of that great army which had embarked to the sound of +trumpets and the blessings of the Mullahs but ten weeks before, and they +sailed away a beaten force. Mahomet II. swore to avenge his defeat, but his +days were numbered, and he died at Scutari on May 3rd, 1481, at the age of +fifty-two, and in the thirteenth year of his reign. + +In the year 1499 Daoud Pasha, Admiralissimo to Bajazet, the successor to +Mahomet II., defeated Antonio Grimani the Venetian admiral in that combat +known to the Republic as "La deplorabile battaglia del Zonchio." The +populace of Venice demanded that Grimani should be instantly beheaded, but +he not only escaped their vengeance but lived to be nominated as Doge +on June 6th, 1521, at the age of eighty-seven: certainly a curious record +for an unsuccessful admiral of that date. + +In 1500 was formed the "Alliance of Christian Princes" at the initiative of +the Borgia Pope Alexander VII. Louis XII., King of France, and Ferdinand V. +of Spain announced their adherence to this effort against the Turk, and +Pierre D'Aubusson, the veteran Grand Master of the Knights of Saint John, +was nominated as Captain-General of the Christian armies. For the purposes +of this war the admiral of the Papal galleys in the Mediterranean, Lodovico +del Mosca, purchased from Ferdinand, King of Naples, all his artillery, of +which a description is given by the Padre Alberto Guglielmotti, a Dominican +friar, author of a work entitled, "La Guerra dei Pirati e la Marina +Pontifica dal 1500 al 1560 A.D." "There were thirty-six great bombards, +with eighty carts pertaining to them; some drawn by horses, some drawn by +buffaloes harnessed singly, or two, four, or even six together; two waggons +laden with arquebuses for ships' boats; nine with about forty smaller +bombards (_bombardelles_) placed three, four, or even six on each waggon; +twelve with ordinary pieces of artillery; as many more for the service of +twelve big guns; thirty-seven carts of iron balls; three with gunpowder; +and finally five laden with nitre, darts, and bullets. Splendid artillery +of most excellent workmanship and great power escorted by two thousand men +under arms, without mentioning the companies who marched before and after +each waggon." + +The French king had prepared a fleet and army under Count Philip of +Ravenstein; the Spaniards were under the command of Gonsalvo de Cordoba, +the "Great Captain." The history of the "Alliance of Christian Princes" is +illustrative of the methods of those potentates at that time. After one or +two unimportant skirmishes with the Turks, in which no great harm was done +on either side, the French and Spaniards joined together, and seized the +Kingdom of Naples: the prudent king of this territory, having sold his +artillery to Lodovico del Mosca, did not await the coming of his Christian +brethren. + +In the territory known to the Romans as Byzacena, which stretched from +Algiers to the confines of Tripoli, there was reigning at this period one +Abu-Abd-Allah-Mahomed, a Berber Moslem of the dynasty of Hafsit. Between +this dignitary and Genoa a treaty of commerce had been arranged and signed. +But treaties on the shores of the Mediterranean were capable of very +elastic interpretation; they never reckoned with the corsairs, and these +latter were in the habit of intruding themselves everywhere, and upsetting +the most carefully laid plans. Curtogali, a corsair who had collected a +great following, was now a power with which to reckon, and high in the +favour of the Grand Turk at Constantinople. This robber presented himself +at Bizerta--one of the ports of Abd-Allah-Mahomed--with a squadron of +thirty ships, and demanded hospitality. As Curtogali disposed of thirty +ships and some six thousand fighting men it would probably have been +impossible for Abd-Allah to have refused his request in any case; but he +was far from wishing to do so, as, by a convenient interpretation of the +Koran, the pirate had to deliver up one-fifth part of all the booty which +he reft from the Christians to the ruler of the country in whose harbours +he sheltered. There was no place so convenient for the purposes of the +pirate as Bizerta: from here he could strike at Sicily, at the Balearic +Islands, at Rome, Naples, Tuscany, and Liguria, while at the same time he +held the trade slowly sailing along the North African littoral at his +mercy. Great were the depredations of Curtogali, and even Pope Leo X. +trembled on his throne, while Genoa, Venice, and Sicily seethed with +impotent fury. + +In the meanwhile who so happy as Abu-Abd-Allah-Mahomed? We cannot do better +than to take the description of his position from the pages of the good +Padre Alberto Guglielmotti. The Franciscan says: "He [that is, Abd-Allah] +desired peace with all and prosperity for his own interests. Friendly to +the merchants in their commerce; friendly to the corsairs in their spoils. +Let all hold by the law: the former contentedly paying customs dues, the +latter cheerfully handing over a fifth part of their robberies, and +Abd-Allah--their common friend--would ever continue at peace with them all. +Outside his ports the merchants and the pirates might fall by the ears if +they would: that was no reason for him to trouble his head. On the +contrary, he would joyfully await them on their return either with customs +dues or tribute of the fifth as the case might be." + +However well this state of affairs may have suited Abd-Allah, the Genoese +held that the situation was far from satisfactory. In consequence they sent +an army against Curtogali, and on August 4th, 1516, they captured Bizerta, +set free a number of Christian captives, and plundered the town. But they +did not capture Curtogali, who, only five weeks after, made a daring +attempt to carry off the Pope in person from the sea-shore in the +neighbourhood of Rome. Curtogali ended his days as the Governor of Rhodes, +from which the Knights of Saint John were finally expelled by Soliman the +Magnificent on December 22nd, 1522. This was the greatest blow which the +fraternity ever received. On December 24th the Turks made a triumphal entry +into the town, and it was said that "Sultan Soliman was not insensible to +the sorrowful position of his vanquished enemies, and when he saw the +Christian Commander, Prince Philippe Villiers L'Isle Adam, he remarked: 'It +weighs upon me somewhat that I should be coming hither to chase this aged +Christian warrior from his house.'" At the beginning of the following year +the knights left the island, never to return. On the day of this desolate +embarcation the herald blew upon his trumpet the "Salute and Farewell" and +the identical instrument upon which this call was sounded is still +preserved in the armoury at Malta, to which barren island the knights were +forced to retreat. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + +URUJ BARBAROSSA + +In the year 1457 an obscure Roumelian or Albanian renegado named Mahomedi +was banished from Constantinople by the Grand Turk; he established himself +in the island of Mitylene and there married a Christian widow named +Catalina, by whom he had two sons, Uruj and Khizr. The father had been a +sailor and both sons adopted the same profession. It is from the pages of +El Maestro Don Fray Prudencio de Sandoval that we glean these bare facts +concerning the birth and parentage of these men who, in after-years, became +known to all the dwellers on the shores of the Mediterranean as the +"Barbarossas," from their red beards. Sandoval, Bishop of Pampluna, +published in the year 1614 his monumental history of the Emperor Charles +V., and through his splendid volumes the deeds of the Moslem corsairs run +like the scarlet thread which is twisted through a Government rope. It is +evident that the fact of having to deal with such rascals annoys the good +Bishop not a little, as his severe and caustic comments frequently display. +There was incident and accident enough in the life of the famous "Carlos +Quinto" without the historian having to turn aside to chronicle the deeds +of the pirates; but their exploits were so daring, the consequences thereof +were so far-reaching, that the ominous crimson thread had to be woven into +any narrative of the times in despite of the annoyance of the man by whom +the rope was twisted. + +Of Mahomedi we possess no record save the remark concerning him to the +effect that "el qual fue gran marinero": in what way he displayed his gifts +as a seaman we are not told. We have remarked before on the curious fact of +how the "renegado," or Christian turned Mohammedan, became the most +implacable foe of his former co-religionists. We see in the case of the two +Barbarossas that they had no drop of Moslem blood in them, as both parents +came from Christian stock: and yet no greater scourges ever afflicted the +people from whom both their father and mother originally sprang than did +Uruj and Khizr Barbarossa. + +[Illustration: URUJ AND KHEYR-ED-DIN BARBAROSSA.] + +The characters of the two brothers were widely different. The elder was no +doubt a "first-class fighting man," a fine seaman, a born partisan leader; +but here his qualities came to an end. Rough, cruel, imperious, brutal, he +imposed himself upon those who became his followers; but in him were to be +found none of the statesmanlike qualities which distinguished his far +greater younger brother. His was the absolutely finite intellect of the +tactician as opposed to the strategist, who, seeing his objective, was +capable of dealing with circumstances as they immediately arose; but, +partly no doubt from defective education, but principally from the lack of +intellectual appreciation of the problems of the time in which he lived, +could never rise to the heights which were scaled by Khizr, better known by +the title conferred upon him later on by the Grand Turk as "Kheyr-ed-Din," +or "The Protector of Religion." + +The sons of Mahomed, that "gran marinero," naturally took to the sea, and +as a young man Uruj became possessed of a ship--how we do not know, and it +were better perhaps not to inquire. In this small craft he repaired to the +coast of Caramania to make war upon the Christians; or, in other words, to +begin an independent piratical career. Uruj in these days was young and +inexperienced, or he would not have chosen this locality for his first +venture, as this coast was in close proximity to the island of Rhodes, from +whence the great galleys of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem set +forth to exterminate the enemies of their faith. + +So it came about that Uruj, sailing out in his little ship from under the +shadow of a wooded point, came in full sight of _Our Lady of the +Conception_. There was nothing for it but immediate flight, and Uruj put +his helm up and scudded before the breeze; but the great galley +"goose-winged" her two mighty lateen sails, and turned in pursuit. The ship +which carried Uruj and his fortunes was both fast and handy, and for a time +she held her own; but it was only for a time, as those on board _Our Lady +of the Conception_, finding that they were not gaining on the chase, put +forth their oars and soon changed the aspect of affairs. The galley of the +knights carried twenty-seven oars a-side, and each of these oars was manned +by nine Moslem slaves. The sea was smooth and favourable for rowing, and +soon the ravening pursuit closed in on the doomed corsair. As the interval +between chaser and chased became less and less, those on board the pirate +ship could see for themselves the fate which was awaiting them, as on the +central gang-plank, which separated the rowers' benches, the boatswain and +his mates were unmercifully flogging the bare backs of the straining +oarsmen to urge them to greater exertions. He who was captured at sea in +those days was set to row until he died, and the calculating mercy which +causes a man to feed and treat his beast well in order that it may do the +better work was not to be relied upon here, as life was cheap and slaves +were plentiful. Very soon the beak of the galley overhung the stern of the +little ship. Escape was impossible, to fight would have meant the massacre +of all on board; the choice was instant submission or a watery grave. Uruj +lowered his sail, and he and his little company were ironed and flung into +the depths of the galley until such time as they should be wanted to take +their turn at the oars. In this ignominious fashion ended his first attempt +at independent piracy. + +But a storm was brewing, and a heavy sea got up. The sails of the galley +were lowered, her beak was put head-on to the wind, and she made for the +shore. In this noisome confinement Uruj could hear above the crash of the +seas and the whistling of the wind the shrieks of the hapless slaves as the +whips of their taskmasters bit through skin and flesh: the galley-slave +rowed stark naked chained to his bench. This was to be his fate, and he was +well aware of the fact. + +At last, after nightfall, the galley anchored under the Isle of Castel +Rosso, at the entrance of the Gulf of Satalie. It still blew hard, but, in +the comparative peace of the anchorage, sounds hitherto hidden by the war +of the elements now made themselves manifest. There were the snores of the +sleepers, the clank of the leg-chains as the wretched slaves shifted their +positions in the attempt to gain an easier place on the bench, there was +also the sound of men carousing with loud laughter in the stern of the +vessel; but above them all rose the hollow groaning as of one in mortal +agony. This proceeded from a slave who was quite close to Uruj. There came +a spell in the laughter and loud voices in the stern, and presently an +imperious voice spoke: "That noise disturbs me; see that it ceases at +once." An obsequious answer came from out of the prevailing darkness: "It +shall cease at once, Excellency." Then came men with lanterns, who +unshackled the wretch who groaned and--flung him overboard. + +The night grew worse, the wind backed, and the galley began to drag her +anchors. The slaves were roused, and the oars got ready to shift her from +her dangerous position on what had now become a lee-shore. Uruj had managed +to slip his shackles, a defective bolt having given him his liberty; for +him it was now or never, and he was a bold swimmer. He had seen enough and +heard enough of _Our Lady of the Conception_, and, as the great oars +plunged once more into the sea, the corsair, preferring the mercy of the +elements to that of the knights, slipped over the side unobserved and swam +for the shore. He reached dry land by a miracle, and from Satalie he found +his way to Egypt, where he took service as a mariner in a ship of the +Soldan of Egypt which was bound for the coast of Caramania, from which +province the Egyptians, as well as the knights, drew the timber which they +required for shipbuilding. But again this neighbourhood proved disastrous +to Uruj, as the ship in which he sailed was attacked by a Christian galley, +and he once more had to save himself by swimming on shore. There was no +lack of incident in the life of a corsair of the sixteenth century. + +This time he presented himself to Khorkud, the Governor of Caramania, +brother to Sultan Selim, the Grand Turk. The Governor, recognising him as +an intrepid mariner, ordered the Basha of Smyrna to furnish him with a ship +fitted for that _guerre de course,_ which he desired to pursue against the +Christians. The value of the corsair as an auxiliary was beginning to be +recognised among the high Turkish officials. For the complaisance of +Khorkud there were two reasons: in the first place, he was acting in the +interests of his brother in sending to sea any really capable man to make +head against his enemies, and the fact that Uruj was a pirate pure and +simple did not weigh for a feather in the balance; in the second place, it +was a decidedly good mercantile speculation as he ordered his inferior, the +Basha of Egypt, to bear the expense of fitting out the necessary +ship--which came to some 5,000 ducats--and doubtless received a handsome +percentage on all captures from his grateful protege. + +This latter, as may easily be imagined, had had quite enough of the +Caramanian coast, which had turned out a veritable nest of hornets; also, +he had no desire at present to cultivate the further acquaintance of the +knights, and therefore put the whole width of the Ionian Sea between +himself and them, and succeeded in taking several rich prizes. He avoided +Mitylene and returned to Egypt, wintering at Alexandria. It may here be +remarked that the corsairs, as a rule, regarded the winter as a close +season, as in those early days the mariner did not, if he could avoid it, +risk his ship by sailing her at this period of storm and tempest. In +consequence there was nothing to tempt the pirates to range the seas during +these months, and if they had had a successful summer and autumn, as they +generally did, they could well afford to lay up and await the coming of +spring. + +But when storm and rain gave way to the smooth waters and balmy breezes, +the Sea-wolves were certain of their prey, as the whole length and breadth +of the tideless sea was sure to be filled with the ships of the detested +Christians trafficking in every direction. In the ethics of the Moslem all +ships which sailed under the banner of the Cross, no matter to what nation +they belonged, were fair game, even supposing that her insignia were the +Crescent--well, supposing the spot to be sufficiently remote, dead men tell +no tales, and the pirates were to be trusted to see to it that none +escaped. + +But, however this might have been, it is quite certain that no qualms of +conscience troubled Uruj concerning those others: Genoese, Neapolitans, +Catalans, Andalusians, French, or the dwellers of the Balearic Islands, +were all fish sent by a bountiful Providence to be enclosed in his net, and +he seized upon them without distinction. When in the full tide of his +success there was but one thing which preoccupied the mind of the corsair, +which was to find a ready market for his spoils and a convenient place in +which to rid himself of an embarrassing number of captives. This, however, +did not present an insuperable difficulty, as we have already seen in the +case of Curtogali, and a similar arrangement was carried out by Uruj +Barbarossa and his brother. + +Uruj now established himself at the island of Jerba, on the east coast of +Tunis, which formed an admirable base from which to "work" the +Mediterranean from the piratical point of view. Jerba had originally been +conquered and occupied by the Spaniards in 1431, but the occupation had +been allowed to lapse, and the island was lying derelict when the +Barbarossas made it their headquarters. Here Uruj was joined by his younger +brother Khizr, destined to become so much the more famous of the two; he +had already made himself some reputation in piratical circles, and now +brought his cool judgment and wise counsel to the assistance of that fiery +fighting man his elder brother. The first question to be decided was that +which we have already mentioned, namely, the disposal of spoil from +prospective captures, and with this end in view the corsairs approached the +Sultan of Tunis. This potentate made a gracious response to their +overtures, and wished them all success in their enterprises. He promised +them succour and support on the same terms which Curtogali had obtained, +namely, one-fifth of all the spoil landed in his dominions. + +The price to be paid was a stiff one, and was so regarded by the active +partners in this arrangement; they were, however, young and unknown, and +had not the least intention of holding to their bargain when more +favourable circumstances presented themselves. Now they held fair speech +with the puppet princes of North Africa; the day was to come when they +should chase them from their insecure thrones. It was at this time, shortly +after the treaty with the Sultan of Tunis was concluded, that the younger +Barbarossa received from the Grand Turk the glorious name of Kheyr-ed-Din, +or "The Protector of Religion." It was a somewhat remarkable title for a +pirate, but perhaps its bestower was slightly deficient in a sense of +humour. + +Sailing from Tunis in the spring of the year 1512, the brothers, with three +galleys, fell in with _The Galley of Naples_, an enormous nef with a crew +of three hundred. They instantly attacked, but were repulsed, night falling +without either side having gained an advantage. This audacious proceeding +illustrates the hardihood of the Moslem corsairs at this time. They were +amply strong enough to range the Mediterranean and to capture, with no risk +to themselves, the weak and unprotected argosies plying their trade in this +sea; but this was not the method of the Barbarossas. Villains they may have +been according to modern standards, pirates they were unquestionably; but +they were grim, hard-bitten, fighting men, who shrank from no dangers in +the pursuit of their prey, who reckoned that the humiliation and defeat of +their Christian antagonists was as sweet a morsel as the booty reft from +their hands. All night the three Moslem galleys and the great nef lay +becalmed awaiting the conflict which was to come with the break of day; and +it is easy to imagine that there was not much quiet sleep on board of +either the Moslem or the Christian ships, for both on the one side and the +other the issues loomed large. The corsairs had, so far, made no such +important capture as this, which, could it be accomplished, would add +enormously to their prestige, in addition to such spoils as they might +acquire; but the combatants were fairly evenly matched in the matter of +numbers, and the fight was one to a finish. The advantage on the side of +the corsairs lay in the fact of their being three to one, and their being +thus enabled to attack in three separate places at the same time. Terrible +must have been that night of waiting for the unfortunates on board _The +Galley of Naples_; there was no escape, and on board of her among her +passengers were many women, whose fate was too terrible to contemplate +should the day go against them. The first assault had been beaten off, it +is true, but the struggle had been hard and bitter; would they be equally +successful when the assault was renewed? + +Even such a night as this, however, comes at last to an end, and the +prospect of action must have been welcomed by the men on both sides; of the +women with so horrible a fate impending one can hardly bear to think. The +ghostly fingers of the dawn touched the grey sea with a wan yellow light, +outlining the nef and the slender, wicked-looking galleys with their banks +of oars; over the surface of the deep a slight mist hovered, as though some +kindly spirit of the sea would hide, if such a thing were possible, the +deeds which were to come. The three galleys lay close together, and Uruj +and his brother held a few last words of counsel. + +"It is agreed, then," said the elder; "you, my brother, attack the +starboard side and I on the port side, while Hassan Ali [indicating the +captain of the third galley] will await the time when we are fully engaged, +and will then board over the stern." + +"It is agreed," answered Kheyr-ed-Din, and Hassan Ali. + +As the strong sun of a perfect May morning in the Mediterranean leapt above +the horizon, Uruj loosed his hounds upon their prey; the oars of the +galleys churned the clear blue waters into foam, and the air was filled +with the yells of the corsairs. "Allah! Allah!" and "Barbarossa! +Barbarossa!" they cried. It was a war-cry that was destined to re-echo over +many a conflict, both by land and sea, in the years that were to come. + +In a simultaneous, and as we have seen a concerted attack, the beaks of the +galleys crushed into the broadsides of _The Galley of Naples_, and, ever +foremost in the fray, Uruj and Kheyr-ed-Din were the first two men to +board. Then, when men were hand to hand and foot to foot, when Moslem +scimitar rang on Christian sabre, and the air was filled with the oaths and +shouts of the combatants, the third remaining pirate craft grappled _The +Galley of Naples_ by the stern, and a tide of fresh, unwounded men burst +into the fray. This was the end; the Christians were both outnumbered and +outfought, for among them were many who were not by profession warriors, +whereas no man found a footing among the Sea-wolves, or was taken to sea as +a fighting man, unless he had approved himself to the satisfaction of his +captain that he was a valiant man of his hands. We have no record or list +of the dead and wounded in this battle, but among the latter was Uruj, who +was severely hurt. Not so Kheyr-ed-Din, who escaped scatheless and took +command now that his brother was incapacitated. The dead were flung +overboard with scant ceremony, and the wounded patched up as best might be, +and then _The Galley of Naples_ was taken in tow, and the corsairs returned +in triumph to Tunis. Faithful to their treaty, so far, they laid one-fifth +of their spoils at the feet of the Sultan. + +A great procession was formed of Christian captives marching two and two. +Four young Christian girls were mounted on mules, and two ladies of noble +birth followed on Arab horses sumptuously caparisoned. These unfortunates +were destined for the harems of their captors. The Sultan was greatly +pleased at the spectacle, and as the mournful procession defiled before him +cried out, "See how heaven recompenses the brave!" Jurien de la Graviere +remarks: "Such was the fortune of war in the sixteenth century. A man +leaving Naples to go to Spain might end his days in a Moorish bagnio and +see his wife and daughters fall a prey to miscreants of the worse +description." + +It was not till the following spring that Uruj was fit once more to pursue +his chosen calling, so severe had been his wounds; but once he was whole +and sound again he put to sea accompanied by Kheyr-ed-Din, and this time he +had conceived a singularly bold and desperate enterprise. Two years before +the famous Spanish captain, Pedro de Navarro, had seized upon the coast +town of Bougie, and had unfortunately left it in the hands of a totally +insufficient garrison. This departure from the sound rules of warfare had +already been punished as it deserved, as the garrison was perpetually +harassed and annoyed by the surrounding Arab tribes. The idea of Uruj was +to seize upon Bougie by a _coup de main_. The corsair, however, was a far +finer fighter than he was a strategist, and was possessed of a most +impatient temper. All went well to begin with, as he managed to intercept +and to capture a convoy of Spanish ships sent to revictual the place, and +had he been content to wait he might have counted with certainty on +reducing the garrison by starvation, as it depended on this very convoy for +its supplies. In vain the wary and cool-headed Kheyr-ed-Din counselled +prudence and delay, but these words were not to be found in the vocabulary +of his elder brother. "What had to be done," he replied, "had better be +done at once," and at the head of only fifty men landed and assaulted the +still uncompleted ramparts of Bougie. + +But if Uruj were rash and headstrong, so was not the commander of the +Spanish garrison, who, massing his men for the repulse of the assault, +waited till the last moment, and then received them with a volley of +arquebuses, which laid many of them low, and so badly wounded their leader +that he had to have his arm amputated on the spot: it says much for his +constitution that he survived the operation. + +For the time being the brothers had had enough of shore enterprises, and +confined themselves strictly to their piratical business at sea, which +prospered so exceedingly that they became exceedingly rich and their fame +and power increased day by day. As time went on and the wealth of the +brothers and partners increased, there entered into the calculating brain +of Kheyr-ed-Din the idea that the payment of one-fifth share to the Sultan +of Tunis was but money thrown away. Twenty per cent, was eating into the +profits of the firm in an unwarrantable manner, he considered, and now that +the active partners therein had established so good a business connection, +they were quite strong enough to dispense with a sleeping partner. Times +had changed for the better, and Kheyr-ed-Din was anxious to take full +advantage of the fact; if possible he determined to seize upon and hold +some port, in which, not only would they be exempt from tribute, but also +in which he and his brother Uruj should be the supreme arbiters of the fate +of all by whom it might be frequented. + +Of Bougie and its stout Spanish garrison the brothers had had quite enough +for the present: they sought, in consequence, for some harbour which +presented equal advantages of situation, and their choice fell upon +Jigelli, then belonging to the Genoese, who occupied a strong castle in +this place. + +Jigelli lies well outside the confines of the kingdom of Tunis, about +equi-distant from Bougie and Cape Bougaroni, some forty miles from each. It +would appear that on this occasion it was the younger of the two brothers +who took charge of the enterprise, and there were no slap--dash, +unconsidered methods employed. By this time the fame of the Barbarossas had +gone abroad from Valencia to Constantinople, from Rome to the foot--hills +of the Atlas Mountains, and, to circumvent the Genoese garrison of Jigelli, +Kheyr-ed-Din called to his aid the savage Berber tribes of the hinterland +of this part of Northern Africa. + +Turbulent, rash, unstable as water, were these primitive dwellers of the +desert; but they were fighters and raiders to a man, and ready for any +desperate encounter if only it held out the promise of loot: they were as +veritably the pirates of the land as were the Barbarossas pirates of the +sea. + +Small chance, indeed, had the five hundred Genoese soldiers by which +Jigelli was garrisoned when attacked from the sea by the Barbarossas and by +land by an innumerable horde of Berbers who were reckoned to be as many as +20,000. Invested by land and sea, the garrison did all that it was possible +for men to do. Provisions and water ran short, ammunition was failing, the +ring of their enemies was encircling them day by day closer and ever +closer. From the land nothing could be expected but an augmentation of +their foes, and day by day the commander of the garrison strained his eyes +seaward to watch if haply the proud Republic, to which he and his men +belonged, would send succour, or the redoubtable Knights of Saint John +would come to his aid. + +But the days lengthened into weeks, and the soldiers were gradually +becoming worn out by the perpetual strain imposed upon them. There was one +chance left, and one alone, which was to cut their way out through the +besieging lines. Massacre to a man was their fate in any case, and thus it +was that the commander, whose name has not come down to us, mustered his +men for the last supreme effort. At dead of night the garrison, having +destroyed as far as possible all that might be of use to the enemy, sallied +out to their doom. They fought as men fight who know that the end has come; +but valour could not avail against the numbers arrayed on the side of the +enemy, and they were wiped off the face of the earth. The tribes looted the +castle of everything portable, and then retired from whence they had come. +For this Kheyr-ed-Din cared nothing; they were welcome to the poor +possessions of some hundreds of half-starved Italian soldiers--let them +take the shell, for him remained the kernel in the shape of a strong place +of arms. + +Hardly, however, had the brothers succeeded in this enterprise when that +tireless fighter Uruj again attempted the capture of Bougie; but his second +attempt was even more disastrous than his first, and he lost half his +flotilla. Then he asked for succour from Tunis; but the Sultan, much +offended at the idea of the brothers setting up in a piratical business in +which he was no longer a sleeping partner, angrily refused. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + +THE DEATH OF URUJ BARBAROSSA + +The events recorded in the last chapter bring us down to the end of the +year 1515, and while every endeavour has been made to present affairs in +chronological sequence, it must be remembered that the dates of piratical +expeditions are often impossible to obtain: the wrath of the chroniclers at +the nefarious deeds of the corsairs greatly exceeding their desire for a +meticulous accuracy in the matter of the exact time of their occurrence. +Uruj, as has been seen, had by his headstrong folly once again placed his +brother and himself in a decidedly awkward situation. By the losses which +he had incurred in his second ill-advised attempt on Bougie he had so +weakened the piratical confederation that the countenance of some potentate +had again become necessary for their continued existence, and the Sultan of +Tunis had now repudiated all connection with these ingrates. + +But, if craft and subtlety were not to be found in Uruj there was one who +never failed to exhibit these qualities when they became necessary, and +Kheyr-ed-Din once more came to the front. The Russian peasantry have a +saying that "God is high and the Czar is far away." In the sixteenth +century the Grand Turk was in every sense "far away" from the struggling +corsairs on the littoral of Northern Africa, and was a sovereign of such +great and mysterious might that any man with a less fine instinct into the +psychology of the times in which he lived than Kheyr-ed-Din would have +hesitated long and anxiously before addressing him directly; would probably +in the end not have done so at all. But desperate diseases require +desperate remedies, and the politic corsair well knew that even the moral +support of such an one as the Sultan of Constantinople was worth more than +even material aid from a Sultan of Tunis. + +Consequently, greatly daring, he sent an embassy to the Sublime Porte with +one of his most trusted captains at its head to lay the homage of the +corsairs at the feet of Selim I. Very naturally these ambassadors did not +go empty-handed, but took with them rich presents and numerous slaves. +Selim was much pleased at the attention, coming as it did from such a +distance--we have to remember that the coast of North Africa was an immense +journey from Constantinople in those days--and the insight of Kheyr-ed-Din +was triumphantly vindicated. Not only did the Sultan send a gracious reply +in return, but--what was far more to the purpose--he sent a reinforcement +of fourteen vessels to the corsairs bidding them to go on and prosper in +their efforts to spread the true faith among the Christian heretics. + +There is nothing more curious in the history of the corsairs than the +perpetual ups and downs of their lives. Thus in the present instance the +ill-advised attack of Uruj on Bougie had reduced them to terrible straits; +immediately afterwards the action of the Grand Turk once more set them upon +their feet and enabled them to pursue an unchecked career of devastation. +Aided by the reinforcements sent by Selim, their depredations assumed ever +larger proportions, and, had they continued to receive this assistance, the +course of history itself might have been changed. Ground to powder beneath +the iron heel of their ruthless conquerors, the Moriscoes of Southern Spain +were ever waiting the chance to rise and shake off the yoke by which they +were so sore oppressed; from far and near reports were coming to hand of +the continued successes of the corsairs, and all Andalusia seethed with +passionate hope that the day of deliverance was at hand. + +But, alas for the vanity of human wishes! in the opening months of the year +1516 Selim recalled his ships and the chance was gone, never again to +arise. + +It may have been that "the sorrowful sighing of the captives" never reached +the ears of the successor of Othman in his palace on the shores of the +Golden Horn; in any case, the Sultan was preparing for the conquest of +Egypt, and in consequence recalled the ships which he had lent to assist +the corsairs. The Moriscoes were thus left without hope, but so far as the +corsairs were concerned they were enabled to strike another bargain with +the Sultan of Tunis. This monarch had now got over his fit of the sulks, +and discovered that customs dues from the peaceful trading mariners, +although desirable enough, were not by any means so lucrative a form of +revenue as was the one-fifth share of the booty of the pirates. Uruj and +Kheyr-ed-Din for their part, although they had captured Jigelli, were +totally unable to hold it: the capture had indeed been principally due to +the assistance which they had received from the Berber tribesmen, but these +nomads had disappeared into the deserts from whence they came, once the +looting of the town and fortress had been completed. + +The corsair had to be armed at all points, in the moral as well as the +material sense, as he was the enemy of all men, and all were vowed to his +destruction. Every cruise which he took raised up against him fresh hatred +and a more bitter animus, and we must remember that it was not only men +individually, but Principalities and Powers that were arrayed in line of +battle for his destruction. At the present juncture Spain was specially +hostile, for not only had her possession of Bougie been twice attacked by +the Sea-wolves, but a valuable convoy had been captured. An expedition, in +consequence, was sent by the Spaniards against the Barbarossas, but this +effort did not result in much damage being done to the offenders. The +Spaniards destroyed four piratical vessels which had been abandoned by +their crews at Bizerta, and pushed a strong reconnaissance into the Bay of +Tunis itself. Here shots were exchanged between the Spanish fleet and the +forts--under which Kheyr-ed-Din had drawn up his ships--and the Spaniards +then abandoned the enterprise and returned from whence they had come. + +In the year 1510 the Spaniard, Count Pedro Navarre, had seized upon +Algiers, which town was at this time one of the principal refuges of the +Moorish fugitives, who had been driven from Granada, from Cordoba, and from +Southern Spain generally by Ferdinand and Isabella eighteen years +previously. To say that the condition of these people was desperate is to +speak but the bare truth, for what could exceed the misery of the situation +in which they were left after the successful incursion of their Christian +foes? What we are apt to lose sight of in the light of present-day +circumstances is the fact that these Spanish Moors were a most highly +civilised people, far more so indeed than their Christian contemporaries; +that they had been driven with fire and sword from the land in which they +and their forefathers had dwelt for over seven centuries, and that they now +had been cast out literally to starve on the inhospitable shores of +Northern Africa. So it came about that the common people exchanged the life +of the peaceful and prosperous artisan or husbandman for that of the +hand-to-mouth pirate, and the case of knight and noble among them was no +better--perhaps rather worse--than the meanest among those who had been +expropriated. + +Those who know the region in which these unhappy folk lived are aware of +the material monuments which still exist and testify to the glorious past; +and, seeing what they have seen, it is no great stretch of the imagination +to picture to themselves the comfort, the elegance, and the luxury with +which the inhabitants of Granada and Cordoba lived surrounded. Over there, +away across some few leagues of shining blue water, were the ruined homes +of which many of the banished people still possessed the keys, awaiting the +day when Allah and the Prophet should vouchsafe to them that return which +they so naturally and ardently desired. To this day the key of the great +Mosque at Cordoba is preserved at Rabat as a sacred relic of former dignity +and power--a symbol to the Moslem of his perpetual banishment. If Cordoba +with its mosque--still one of the wonders of the world, with its eleven +hundred marble columns--were the principal shrine and holy of holies to +these people, there were in addition hundreds of other temples of their +faith now for ever desecrated in their eyes by the misfortune which had +placed them in Christian hands. In Andalusia were the dishonoured graves of +their kinsfolk, and, last and worst of all, in this land still dwelt +thousands upon thousands of their co-religionists held in a degrading +bondage by their implacable enemies. + +The capture of Algiers by Count Pedro Navarro was a crowning misfortune for +the exiles, and when this commander seized upon the place he extracted from +the inhabitants an oath of fidelity to the Spanish crown; he further +erected a strong tower to overawe the town, and to keep its turbulent +inhabitants in order. But such an oath as this, extracted at the point of +the sword, was writ in water; it meant, of course, the suppression of +piracy, and it also meant the starvation of most of those persons who dwelt +in the vicinity. How the Moslem population existed for the six years after +the incursion of Navarro is a mystery; but they probably moved their +galleys, of which they possessed some twenty, further along the coast out +of the range of the guns from Navarro's Tower, and secure from the +observation of those who held it for the Spanish king. + +In the year in which Selim descended upon Egypt the King of Spain, +Ferdinand V., died, and grave troubles immediately broke out in Spain. This +was an opportunity too good to be missed, as no reinforcements could +possibly be expected for the garrison in Algiers as long as these +disturbances lasted, and the Algerines took counsel together as to the best +means of driving out their enemies. It is a commentary on the detestation +in which they held the Spaniards that they should have allied themselves +for this purpose with the savages of the hinterland. This, however, was +what they did. As in the case of Jigelli, these people could always be +relied upon to go anywhere in search of booty, and one Selim Eutemi entered +the town at the head of his tribe. But sheer, stark, savage valour could +make no impression on Navarro's Tower and the ordnance that was mounted on +its walls. The result was a stalemate, as the Spaniards could by no manner +of means get out, and neither could their enemies, who swarmed innumerable +in the town and the surrounding country, get in. In time, of course, they +might hope to bring the garrison to surrender by starvation; but time +pressed, and no man knew when the troubles in Spain might be adjusted and +help come to the beleaguered. In the meanwhile Selim Eutemi and his men, +who had been taught some rude lessons in the power of firearms, kept out of +range of the cannon, while the Algerines held yet another council of war, +the result of which was that they decided to ask help from Uruj and +Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, and to them they appealed. By this time their fame +was known to all men, and they could supply that which was lacking--namely +ships, artillery, a first-class fighting force, and last, and best of all, +the moral support which would stiffen and put heart into the motley horde +which at present surged around the gates of the fortress of Navarro. + +The Algerines did not appeal in vain, and an instant promise of succour was +forthcoming. Kheyr--ed--Din was away at sea, but Uruj, that indomitable +fighter, started at once. From whence we are not told, but he must have +been somewhere in the neighbourhood, as he and his men marched along the +shore; while, keeping pace with them, came a fleet of eighteen galleys and +three barques laden with stores. + +But before proceeding to the assistance of the Algerines Uruj had a +personal matter to which to attend, and he wished to combine pleasure with +serious business. One of his old companions had seceded from his command +and had established himself at Shershell, where he lived the life of an +independent corsair within easy striking distance of the Balearic Islands +and the coast of Spain, his following composed of a horde of those broken +men of whom mention has been made. Shershell was an unfortified town, and +surrendered unconditionally upon the arrival of Uruj and his army. +Kara-Hassan, for such was the name of this independent corsair, came out to +greet his old-time chief; he was met with violent reproaches, and the +altercation ended by Uruj having him beheaded on the spot. It was ill to +quarrel with the Barbarossas. + +Freed from this rival, the Mitylene corsair had now uncontested supremacy +on the coast, a supremacy none was likely to contest in the future, as he +brooked no opposition, and had come to consider that independent piracy in +the Mediterranean was in some sort an infringement of the rights of himself +and his brother. One of the most salient peculiarities of the corsairs at +this time was the apparent recklessness with which they assailed others who +were participants in their nefarious business. Self-interest and policy +would seem, to the observer in the present day, to have dictated quite a +different course of action; but we shall see, when we come to deal with the +life-history of Kheyr-ed-Din, that this infinitely wiser and more +intellectual man apparently allowed himself to be swayed by gusts of +passion, in which he savagely maltreated those with whom he was associated, +and from whom dangerous hostility was certainly to be feared if they +escaped with their lives. At this distance of time it is impossible to +gauge the motives by which men such as these were actuated, more +particularly in the case of Kheyr-ed-Din, whose character was a blend of +the deepest subtlety and calculated ferocity. + +Having settled with Kara-Hassan, Uruj continued his march along the coast. +Arrived at Algiers, he opened in form a siege of Navarro's Tower; but, +being unable to make any impression on its defences, he abandoned the siege +after twenty days' fruitless fighting, during which he lost a number of men +in his assaults. Baffled and furious, he turned on the Berber chieftain, +the luckless Selim Eutemi, and caused him to be assassinated, regarding him +as being responsible for the failure. The Spanish chroniclers relate, with +some wealth of detail, how Uruj personally fell upon Selim Eutemi, when +that chieftain was in his bath, and strangled him with his own hands. +However this may have been, the Spanish records of the deeds of the +corsairs cannot well be taken _au pied de la lettre_; there is no doubt +that Selim was murdered, and from that time the Berbers recognised that he +who had come to help was now remaining to plunder. Uruj now established +himself in the town, and set to work making raids into the adjoining +country, carrying off sheep, cattle, and slaves. For the Berbers this was a +true awakening. He who now oppressed them had come in the guise of a +champion to assist them in the sack and plunder of Navarro's Tower; they +had exchanged King Log, who dwelt securely locked up, for a King Stork of +the most active description. Although we cannot sympathise with such +people, it is quite possible to understand their very natural annoyance at +the turn which things had taken, and it does not surprise us (in this age +of "punic faith") that a conspiracy was set on foot between the dwellers of +the hinterland and the Spaniards of the fortress. + +Uruj was informed of all that was going on through his own spies, and, +although he kept his finger on the pulse of the conspiracy, he acted as +though the tribesmen were still his very faithful friends and allies. The +corsair was more patient than his wont. In this affair he wished for ample +proof of delinquency, and also for a vengeance adequate to the occasion +when he should discover all the guilty parties; and so some weeks went by +while the plot was maturing, apparently, from the point of view of the +conspirators, to a successful conclusion. But Uruj had bided his time with +a subtlety and _finesse_ which would have done credit to Kheyr-ed-Din +himself, + +It was the custom of the corsair and his chief adherents to attend the +principal mosque on Fridays; and therefore, when the conspirators were +cordially invited to attend on the following Friday, and, after the service +was over, to attend Uruj to his dwelling and there confer with him, they +went, nothing doubting, to their deaths. As the discourse of the Mullah +came to an end a crash resounded throughout the building: six stalwart +swordsmen had flung the great gates of the mosque together, and barred all +exit. Excepting the conspirators, twenty-two in number, the remainder of +the edifice was filled with the galley's crews of the corsair, men who, had +he given the order, would have cheerfully set alight to the sacred building +itself and roasted the Mullahs themselves in the flames. + +To the corsairs, after they were seated in the mosque, the word had been +passed that the Berber tribesmen had meditated this treachery against them, +which, had it succeeded, would have meant the death or enslavement of them +all. It was therefore a trap of a singularly deadly description into which +the countrymen of Selim Eutemi walked on this Friday morning. + +The doors being closed, the conspirators were one by one dragged before +Uruj, who, bitterly reproaching them, gave order for their instant death. +They were haled out through rows of jeering pirates, and beheaded in the +street immediately in front of the principal entrance of the mosque. When +the slaughter of the twenty--two was accomplished Uruj strode from the +mosque over the weltering corpses of the traitors amid the plaudits of his +own men, ever ready to acclaim deeds of blood and cruelty. After this there +were no more plots against the corsair in Algiers. News of all these +desperate doings in Algiers had by this time filtered across into Spain, +and El Maestro Don Fray Prudencio de Sandoval recounts how, when the +tidings came to Fray Francisco Ximenes, the Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo, +that that prelate, much scandalised that the might of Imperial Spain should +be flouted by a mere pirate, sent Don Diego de Vera with some fifteen +thousand men to recapture the town, and relieve the beleaguered garrison in +the tower. This was in the month of September 1516. + +Don Diego landed "en el dia de San Hieronymo," and threw up entrenchments +within gunshot of the town. Great things were expected of this expedition, +as Sandoval notes that in 1513 Don Diego de Vera, in the war against the +French, had gained the approval of Count Pedro Navarro ("avia bien aprovado +con el Conde Pedro Navarro"), and it was not expected that a mere pirate +rabble would ever make head against the Spanish troops. De Vera opened fire +on the walls of the town from his entrenchments, but hardly had he done so +when Uruj, leading his corsairs, which formed the spearhead to an +innumerable army of Berbers and Arabs, made a sortie. + + "Upon them one day did Barbarossa make an onslaught, and when he saw + that the Spanish soldiers were ill commanded, he flung his forces upon + them with loud cries. And so great was the fear inspired by Barbarossa + that they were routed almost without loss to the Moors; and with much + ease did these latter slay three thousand men and capture four hundred + on the day of San Hieronymo in this year." + + ("Salio un dia a el Barbarossa y como vio los soldados Espanoles + desmandados dio en ellos con gran gritos. Y fue tan grande el miedo que + vieron que Barbarossa los desbarato casi sin dano y con mucho facilidad + mato tres mil hombres y cautivo quatro cientos dia de San Hieronymo + deste ano.") + +This quotation is given in full to set out the amazing fact that in this +battle over three thousand were killed while only four hundred were +captured, which shows that it must have been in the nature of an +indiscriminate massacre; the only captive of any note was the captain, Juan +del Rio. Diego de Vera had had enough of the corsairs, and sailed away with +the remainder of his force. Of what became of him or of them there is no +record, but he must have been a singularly incompetent commander when he +could not make head against a rabble of pirates and Moors with the army at +his disposition. Sandoval does not attempt to minimise the defeat, which, +of course, would have been impossible; he contents himself with the +following delightfully quaint reflection: "But many, many times Homer nods; +this disaster must have come upon us for our sins, upon which it is most +important that we should always think and meditate." + +Who so triumphant now as Uruj Barbarossa? It is true that the fortress of +Pedro Navarro still remained in the hands of its splendid and undaunted +garrison, and was destined so to remain for some years to come; but they +were impotent for harm, and the conqueror of Don Diego now turned his arms +in another direction. Kheyr-ed-Din was at Jigelli when he heard of the +victory gained by his brother, and sailed at once with six ships to his +support. The town of Tenes fell into the hands of the brothers, with an +immense booty, and then Uruj marched on Tlemcen. The Sultan of Tlemcen, the +last of the royal race of the Beni-Zian, did not await the coming of the +corsair. All through the northern coasts of Africa the name of Barbarossa +was a synonym of terror; the sad fate of Selim Eutemi, of Kara-Hassan, of +the twenty-two conspirators of the mosque, had been noised abroad, and the +superstitious tribesmen firmly believed that these red-bearded corsairs +were the accomplices of Shaitan, even if they did not represent him +themselves in their own persons. Who were these men, they asked one another +tremblingly, who feared neither God nor devil, and who caused even the +redoubtable Spaniards to fly before them like the leaves in front of an +autumn gale? + +When men begin to talk and to think like this there is not much fight left +in them, and so it came about that, after the most feeble of resistances, +the Sultan of Tlemcen fled to Fez. Thus, almost without striking a blow, +Uruj found himself master of a province from which the Spaniards were +accustomed to draw the necessary provisions for the upkeep of the garrison +of Oran. But Tlemcen is but some seventy miles from Oran, and Oran is so +close to Spain as to be easily reinforced; in consequence Uruj was soon +blockaded by the Spaniards, and remained so for seven months. But no +blockade could keep Uruj Barbarossa for long within stone walls; sortie +after sortie did the gallant corsair lead against the foe, and it was in +one of these that he characteristically came by his death. Ever rash and +impetuous, he allowed himself to be drawn too far away from possible +shelter or support; and, as there was something dramatic in the whole life +of this man, so also was there in the manner of his death. They had him +trapped at last, this grim Sea-wolf, and he stood at bay in a stone corral +used for the herding of goats. + + As the wolves in winter circle round the leaguer on the heath, + So the greedy foe glared upward panting still for blood and death. + +By his side was his faithful lieutenant Venalcadi. In a breathless melee +Christian sword and Moslem sabre clashed and rang. His turban gone, his +great curved scimitar red to the hilt, the undaunted corsair fought his +last fight as became the terror of his name. Almost had he succeeded in +breaking through the ring of his foes when Garzia de Tineo, _alferez_ (or +lieutenant) to Captain Diego de Andrade, wounded him severely with a pike. +Uruj stumbled, was struck on the head with another weapon; he reeled and +fell. The fight was over, and one of the Barbarossas bit the dust. Garzia +de Tineo leaped upon the fallen man and cut off his head. It is recorded +that Garzia de Tineo was wounded in the finger by Uruj in the course of the +combat, and that for the rest of his life he proudly exhibited the scar as +a sign that it was none other than he who had killed the famous corsair. + +Uruj Barbarossa was undoubtedly a remarkable man. At a time when the +Mediterranean swarmed with warriors none was more feared, none was more +redoubtable than he. By sheer valour and tenacity he had fought his way to +the front, and the son of the obscure renegado of Mitylene died a king. It +is true that his sovereignty was precarious, that it was maintained at the +edge of the sword; none the less, in that welter of anarchy in which he +lived he had forced himself to the summit, and, pirate, sea-wolf, and +robber as he was, we cannot withhold from him a meed of the most hearty +admiration. + + + + +CHAPTER V + + +KHEYR-ED-DIN BARBAROSSA + +Uruj had arrogated to himself the title of King of Tlemcen, but with his +death this shadowy sovereignty came to an end, and the Spaniards seized +upon the province. This, however, did not avail them much, as the Sultan of +Fez sent against them an innumerable army, and they in their turn were +dispossessed. It was in the year 1518 that Uruj fell beneath the pike of +Garzia de Tineo, and now the first place in the piratical hierarchy was +taken by Kheyr-ed-Din. In this man the genius of the statesman lay hidden +beneath the outward semblance of the bold and ruthless pirate; ever +foremost in the fight, strong to endure, swift to smite, he had by now long +passed his novitiate, had established an empire over the minds of men which +was to endure until the end of his unusually prolonged life. With a brain +of ice and a heart of fire, he looked out, serene and calm, upon the +turbulent times in which he lived, a monstrous egotist desiring nothing but +his own advancement, all his faculties bent upon securing more wealth and +yet more power. + +He played a lone hand, for he brooked even less than did his truculent +brother any approach to an equality with himself among the men who followed +in his train. Absolute supremacy was his in the life which he lived, but +none knew better than he upon what an unstable basis his power rested. He +now called himself the King of Algiers, but still that lean, sun-dried +garrison held with desperate tenacity to the tower of the redoubtable +Navarro, and any moment a fresh Spanish relieving force might be upon him +and chase him forth even as Uruj had been chased from Tlemcen. He saw that +he must consolidate his power, must for the present, at any rate, have some +force at his back which would provide that material and moral backing which +was essential to his schemes. Once before he had successfully approached +the Grand Turk, the Padishah, the head of the Mohammedan religion, and from +him he had received that which he had asked; on this former occasion, +however, he had not been in the same position as he now occupied. + +The corsair must have meditated long and anxiously on the best way in which +to approach the autocrat of Constantinople; in the end he probably hit upon +the best solution of the problem by again sending an ambassador with +precise instructions as to the manner in which he was to act. For this +important service his choice fell upon one of his captains, Hadj-Hossein by +name, and to him he imparted all that he was to say, and--what was almost +as important--what he was not to say. + +The duty of the ambassador was to magnify the importance of his master, but +to do so in such a manner that the Padishah was not to imagine that a rival +to his own greatness had arisen at Algiers. Selim was at this time in +Egypt, where he had just completed the conquest of the Mamelukes, and +thither did Hadj-Hossein repair. He laid at the feet of the conqueror the +respectful homage of the King of Algiers, who, he assured Selim, desired +nothing better than to become the vassal of the Commander of the Faithful. +Also, he informed him, that in the name of Selim public prayer was offered +in the mosques on Fridays, that his image and superscription were struck on +the coins, that in every manner possible recognition was made of the fact +that he, and he alone, was the chosen of God upon earth. This manner of +stating the situation was both delicate and politic. A less wise man than +Kheyr-ed-Din might have assumed a note of equality from one Moslem +potentate to another, but the corsair was perfectly conscious of his +limitations--he knew exactly how the Grand Turk could be useful to him, and +he was not going to mar his chance by the display of an untimely arrogance. + +Hadj-Hossein proved himself to be a tactful and successful ambassador. The +Sultan accepted the homage offered, and made many inquiries concerning the +war prosecuted by Hossein's master against the enemies of the true faith in +the distant region of Algiers. His queries were all answered with deep +submission and the most subtle of flattery, much of which latter was no +doubt a perfectly honest expression of opinion. As to the average +Mohammedan of this period the Padishah was a being set apart by Heaven to +fulfil the decrees of the Prophet. + +The ambassador, when he rejoined his master, must have been a proud man, as +so well had he fulfilled his mission that he carried back with him to +Algiers not only a gracious message, but the insignia of the Sanjak, +Scimitar Horse and Tambour, conferred upon that loyal Moslem Kheyred-Din +Barbarossa, who, in the words of the Padishah, "abandoning a sterile +independence, sought in all the bloody hazards of his life nought but the +glory of God and His Prophet" To us this hyperbole, addressed to a pirate, +seems merely ridiculous, but in those days of fanaticism the beliefs of +men, both Christians and Moslems, are something which it is impossible for +us to realise. On either side the way of salvation was the path of +conquest, and the man who was heretic to the faith which you professed was +rightly served if you could cut him and his off from among the +congregation. + +It was well for the corsair to make as many friends as possible, as among +his enemies he counted all the kings of Christendom; and, looking back on +his career, it seems but little short of a miracle that he was not crushed +out of existence, not once but a hundred times. But, as has been said +already, the root of true statesmanship was in Kheyr-ed-Din. He watched +with eager eye the quarrels of the great kings on the continent of Europe; +he saw his life-long rival at sea, the greatest of all Christian mariners, +Andrea Doria, the Genoese admiral, transfer his allegiance from the French +King Francis I. to the Emperor Charles V. He noted and took full advantage +of the perpetual squabbles between the Genoese and Venetian Republics, and +all the time was in touch with the Sea-wolves, who swarmed on the coasts of +Africa, and lurked in every creek and harbour of the Ionian Sea. "In all +the bloody hazards of his life," to quote once again the words of the Grand +Turk, "he could, in the end, depend more or less on the corsairs, whether +they ostensibly sailed beneath his banner or whether they did not, as when +danger threatened what name was so potent as that of Barbarossa, which his +followers asserted to be worth ten thousand men, when shouted on the day of +battle!" + +That which is most extraordinary in the life of Kheyr-ed-Din is the +perpetual danger and stress in which it was lived. Time and again the heavy +menacing clouds gathered around his head; strenuous and unceasing were the +efforts made by his enemies to destroy his power, to capture the person of +this militant robber who flung an insolent defiance to the whole of +Christendom. The storms gathered and broke with various effects, which +sometimes sent the corsair flying for his life a hunted fugitive, as others +saw him once more victorious. But no reverses had the power to damp his +ardour, or to render him less eager to arise, like some ill-omened phoenix, +from the ashes of defeat: to vex the souls of those who held themselves to +be the greatest men on earth. + +It was shortly after the death of his brother Uruj that the storm arose +which bade fair to sweep, not only Kheyr-ed-Din but all the corsairs of the +North African coast, clean out of their strongholds, for the Emperor +Charles V., at this time young, eager, and enthusiastic, gave orders for +their destruction. These robbers troubled the peace of Europe; they did +more than this, they insulted the Majesty of the Emperor, and Charles +regarded their perpetual incursions in the light of an affront to his +personal dignity. The divinity which hedged such a monarch as the grandson +of "Los Reyes Catholicos," Ferdinand and Isabella, was a very real thing, +and, if offended, was likely to find concrete expression in the most +vigorous form. Charles, much annoyed at the necessity for chastising a band +of robbers, determined that he would make an end of them once and for all. +To Don Hugo de Moncada, the Viceroy of Sicily, to Don Perisan de Ribera at +Bougie, to the Marquis de Comares at Oran, orders were sent to prepare +their forces for an attack on Algiers. + +There was no lack of good-will on the part of the Christian princes, +nobles, and governors. The Spanish veterans in Sicily were rusting for want +of employment, the levies on the African littoral welcomed anything in the +way of war as a distraction from the deadly monotony of their lives. The +soldier in these days who rested too long upon his arms became in time +practically useless for the purpose for which he existed; but such rulers +as Charles V. gave their fighting men but small cause of complaint in the +matter of want of employment. The Pope sent his blessing and a contingent, +and, to show how serious was the purpose of the Emperor, who took the +command in person, let us set forth the total of the expedition which was +to utterly destroy and root out the corsairs and their leader: + +FLEET. + + Galleys of the Pope 4 + " of Malta 4 + " of Sicily 4 + " of Antony Doria 6 + " of Naples 5 + " of Monaco 2 + " of Marquis of Terra Nova 2 + " of Vicome de Cigala 2 + " of Fernando de Gonzaga 7 + " of Spain 15 + " of Andrea Doria 14 + + Total Galleys 65 + Add Transports 451 + --- + Total Fleet 516 + +SAILING-SHIP TRANSPORT. + + The Frigate of Malta 1 + Division of Spezzia 100 + " of Fernando Gonzaga 150 + " of Spain 200 + + Total Transports 451 + + +We now come to the military side of the expedition, which consisted of: + + The Household of the Emperor 200 + Noblesse 150 + Knights of Malta 150 + Servants 400 + German Corps 6,000 + Italians 5,000 + Spanish from Naples and Sicily 6,000 + Soldiers from Spain 400 + Adventurers 3,000 + Italian Cavalry 1,000 + Spanish Cavalry from Sicily 400 + Light Cavalry 700 + ------ + Total Army 23,900 + ====== + +We next come to the Armament of the Fleet: + + Soldiers of the Galleys (50 in each) 3,250 + Galley Slaves (average 70 in each) 4,500 + " " The Frigate of Malta 80 + 540 sailing ships of all sorts, mostly + small (at an average of 10 each) 4,500 + ----- + Total _Personnel_ of the Fleet 12,330 + Add Army 28,900 + ------ + Total _Personnel_ of the Expedition. 36,230 men. + ====== + +It was late autumn when the expedition at last set sail, and the imperious +temper of Charles was such that he refused to be governed by the advice of +the seasoned mariners, such as Andrea and Antony Doria, and others who +dreaded the effect of the gales which the armada was likely to encounter on +the coast of Africa. The Emperor was not to be gainsaid, and the fleet set +sail. They arrived, says Sandoval, "en el dia de San Hieronymo," Saint +Bartholomew's day; and there then arose such a storm as the Mediterranean +seldom sees. Some of the army had landed, some were still afloat, the +corsairs accounted for the luckless soldiers ashore, the elements destroyed +many left in the ships: 26 ships and 4,000 men were lost. + +Bitterly mortified, Charles, who had personally displayed valour and +conduct of unusual distinction in this disastrous expedition, returned to +Europe to turn his attention to his everlasting quarrels with the King of +France. Meanwhile Don Hugo de Moncada had escaped with a remnant of his +forces to Iviza, in the Balearics, where he wintered, and where his men +mutinied because he was unable to pay them. + +As there was depression almost amounting to despair in the camps of +Christendom, so was there concurrently the widest rejoicing in the tents +and on board of the galleys which flew the Moslem flag. What mattered it +that it was the elements which had saved Kheyr-ed-Din from annihilation? +was it not a cause the more for jubilation, as had not the Prophet of God +himself come to the assistance of those who were upholding his holy +standard? Were not his favours made manifest in that he had sent, to lead +his votaries to victory, such an one as Kbeyr-ed-Din Barbarossa? + +Pope and Emperor, King, Duke, and Viceroy had tried conclusions with the +pirates, and their fleet and army had melted away as the mists melt in the +hot sunshine on the Mediterranean; truly were the descendants of the +dispossessed Moors of Codoba and Granada taking a terrible revenge on +those by whom they had been expropriated. + +Barbarossa was never one to let the grass grow under his feet; he had the +Christians on the run, and he intended to take full advantage of this +pleasing circumstance. Accordingly he despatched a trusted lieutenant, one +Hassan, with instructions to harass the coast of Valentia, to ravage with +fire and sword all those unfortunate towns and villages which he could +reach. This corsair entered the Rio de Ampasta and destroyed all before +him, the inhabitants fleeing as the news was carried by escaped fugitives +and by the red glare of the villages flaming to heaven in the night. +Satiated with blood, laden with spoil, and burdened with many wretched +captives, Hassan put to sea once more in triumph. + +It may here be mentioned how terrible was the damage wrought by the +piratical fraternity in the Mediterranean, and the manner in which it has +been brought to light in somewhat remarkable fashion quite recently. Since +the French occupation of Tunis it was charged against them that they had +taken away from the natives of the country those fertile lands which lay +upon the shores of the sea, and had given them to French subjects. The +facts of the case were that for centuries these lands had been entirely out +of cultivation, the reason being that, until the complete suppression of +piracy in the Mediterranean took place, none dared to dwell within raiding +distance of the sea for fear of being carried off into slavery. + +But to return to Hassan. That warrior, having cleared the Spanish coast, +got separated from three of his consorts during the night. The next day, at +dawn, he sighted a Spanish sailing-vessel, which he thought to make an easy +prize. The wind was light, and the galleys--that is to say, the one on +which Hassan was aboard and his remaining consort--were soon churning up +the waters in pursuit as fast as their oars could carry them. Hassan +reckoned on an easy capture, as he made certain she was but a peaceful +trader with some score or so of throats to cut. He was, however, badly out +of his reckoning, as on board of her was a veteran company of Spanish +infantry, stark fighters to a man, who feared no odds, and who were +skilfully commanded by Captain Robeira, grown grey in the Moorish wars. +With bloodcurdling yells the galleys swept alongside with the fighting men +massed on the high poops and forecastles of their vessels. Behind the high +bulwarks of the "round ship" (as the sailing craft of the day were +denominated to distinguish them from the long ships, or galleys) crouched +the Spaniards, their muskets in their hands. Captain Robeira had them +perfectly in hand, and not a piece was discharged until the beaks of the +galleys crashed into her sides. + +Robeira then gave the order to fire, and at the short range into packed +masses of men the volley did terrible execution. Completely surprised, the +corsairs attempted to board, but were repulsed and driven back with more +slaughter. His men becoming demoralised, Hassan withdrew amidst the +ferocious taunts of the Spaniards, who had escaped almost unscathed. Sore +and angry, the corsairs continued their voyage for another three days, at +the expiration of which they arrived at Algiers. Hassan, who had acquired +quite a considerable booty, expected a warm reception; this he received, +but hardly in the way that he expected. He told his tale to Kheyr-ed-Din, +which that commander received in frowning silence; when he had finished the +storm burst. + +"O miserable coward! dost thou dare to stand in my presence and to confess +that thou hast been whipped like a dog by those sons of burnt fathers, the +Spaniards?" + +The miserable Hassan attempted to justify himself by reference to the booty +which he had obtained and the number of captives with which he had +returned; but this, far from assuaging the wrath of Barbarossa, only made +it worse. + +"Dastard and slave! thou boastest that, thou hast destroyed defenceless +villages and brought back many captives, but that shall avail thee nothing. +No profit shalt thou derive from that. Let the captives be brought before +me." + +This was done, and to the horror even of those hardened men of blood who +followed in the train of Barbarossa, they were all executed. Even this +wholesale massacre did not assuage the wrath of the corsair. Standing and +surveying the weltering shambles which tainted the air, he pulled +ferociously at his red beard, and commanded that they should whip Hassan +till the blood ran; when this was done thoroughly and to the satisfaction +of the despot, he gave orders that he should be chained and thrust into the +prison of the fortress. + +Terror stalked abroad in Algiers. No man knew when his turn might come +after this awful example of what it meant to incur the wrath of Barbarossa. +The corsair gave orders for the execution of Venalcadi, who, it will be +remembered, was with Uruj when that warrior came by his death; but +Venalcadi was popular among the pirates, and they connived at his escape. + +For so cool and politic a man as Kheyr-ed-Din this outburst is wholly +inexplicable. Judged by our standards, the flogging of Hassan was not only +brutal but silly, as raising up to himself enemies of the most bitter +description in the midst of his own followers; and yet cruelty was so +engrained in this man that he never forewent his revenge. It is a standing +miracle that he escaped assassination in the age in which he lived, and the +only explanation would appear to be that men were too much afraid of him to +make the attempt. + +The immediate result of the flogging of Hassan and the attempted murder of +Venalcadi was that the latter collected a following and made war upon +Kheyr-ed-Din, who, with incredible folly, then released Hassan, and sent +him with five hundred men to fight against Venalcadi. The result was what +might have been anticipated: Hassan joined forces with Venalcadi, and +together they attacked the tyrant and drove him out of his stronghold. + +Kheyr-ed-Din had the one supreme merit of never knowing when he was beaten. +Driven from the shore, there was for him always the sea to which to retire; +so on this occasion he embarked his family and such of his riches as were +portable, and took to the sea once more. "Yendo a buscar nuevos asientos y +nuevos amigos" (seeking a new home and new friends), says Sandoval. + +It was well for the corsairs that the Christians had selected the previous +year for their attack, as, had they fallen upon them when Barbarossa was no +longer in power at Algiers and the pirates were fighting among themselves, +the latter would have been wiped out of existence. It was ill fighting with +Kheyr-ed-Din, whether you professed the religion of Christ or that of +Mahomet, and this the revolting corsairs were very soon to discover. +Barbarossa sailed away from Algiers a hunted fugitive, only to return again +as a conqueror. + +Eastward the dispossessed ruler of Algiers took his course, and very soon +discovered that which he sought--allies to assist him against the revolted +Venalcadi and the recalcitrant Hassan. Lurking in the neighbourhood of +Bizerta, he discovered El Judeo (the Jew), Cachidiablo (Hunt the Devil), +Salaerrez, Tabas, and other corsairs, who collectively composed a +formidable force. These were all old acquaintances and some old followers +of Kheyr-ed-Din, and to them did he relate the piteous tale of the +cowardice of Venalcadi, whom he accused of having deserted his brother Uruj +in his direst necessity, thereby causing his death; the abominable conduct +of Hassan, who had turned and bitten the hand that fed him. With tears in +his eyes did this accomplished actor reluctantly reveal the base +ingratitude of which he had been the recipient; so much did he contrive to +work upon the feelings of his auditors that they one and all vowed to stand +by him, and to replace him as ruler of Algiers, from which he had been +thrust by men whose shameful treachery was only equalled by their +ingratitude. + +Forty sail in strength, they set out to avenge the wrongs of the gentle and +long-suffering Kheyr-ed-Din, that master of craft in every sense of the +word. Reaching Algiers, they disembarked artillery and stores and began an +attack in form; but Venalcadi, whose forces were equal, in fact slightly +superior, to those of his antagonists, made a sally, and battle was joined +in the open. A most sanguinary combat ensued, in which the forces of +Kheyr-ed-Din were decidedly worsted. For a considerable period his fate +hung in the balance. Then occurred one of those singular and remarkable +things only possible in such an age of anarchy and bloodshed. Barbarossa +had in his train sixty Spanish soldiers captured by him from the force of +Don Hugo de Moncada. Well did the corsair know their value: there were no +finer fighting men in all the Christian armies. Hastily summoning them, he +promised them their freedom if they would now throw in their lot with him +and assist in the downfall of Venalcadi. + +The offer was no sooner made than accepted, and the Spanish veterans, fresh +and unwearied, threw themselves into the heart of the fray. Shoulder to +shoulder and blade to blade in their disciplined valour, they broke through +all opposition; they fought for liberty as well as life, to exchange the +noisome confinement of the piratical galley for the free air of their homes +and their country. Soon the soldiers of Venalcadi turned and fled back to +the city; the day was once again with Kheyr-ed-Din. For four days longer +did Algiers hold out, and then a traitor betrayed Venalcadi into the hands +of his enemies. Instantly his head was struck off, placed on a pole, and +paraded in full sight of the garrison, who were promised their lives on +condition of surrender. + +The city opened its gates once more, and Barbarossa entered in triumph. The +corsair was as good as his word to his Spanish captives, and restored to +them their liberty. He went even further, and was liberal in his _largesse_ +to those who had fought so well for him. If he can be credited with such an +emotion as gratitude, he must have felt it for Moncada's stout infantrymen, +as, had it not been for them, it would have been his head and not that of +Venalcadi which would have decorated the pole. The Spaniards departed to +their own country--that is to say, such of them as desired to do so; but +one Hamet, a Biscayan, declared that life was so intolerable for a common +man such as he in his own country that he desired to throw in his lot with +Barbarossa. Thirty-nine others followed his example, abjuring the Christian +faith and becoming renegadoes. + +Those of the garrison left alive were glad enough to return once more to +their allegiance to their former master. The episode of the mutiny of +Venalcadi and Hassan was a lesson not only to them: the fame of it spread +far and wide throughout the Mediterranean. Who now could be found to combat +Barbarossa? and all along the coasts of the tideless sea echo shudderingly +answered--Who? + +With the new accession to his strength Kheyred-Din had no difficulty in +making himself master of Tunis, and he sent Cachidiablo with seventeen +galleys to harry once more the coast of Spain. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +THE TAKING OF THE PENON D'ALGER; ANDREA DORIA + +Although Kheyr-ed-Din had made himself master of Algiers, there still +remained the fortress of Pedro Navarro in the hands of the Spaniards. This +strong place of arms had now been in their practically undisputed +occupation for twenty years; from out of its loopholed walls and +castellated battlements the undaunted garrison had looked forth while the +tide of war both by land and sea had swept by. They had been unmolested so +far, but now their day was to come. + +In command of the Penon d'Alger, as it was called by the Spaniards, was a +valiant and veteran cavalier, by name Martin de Vargas. For twenty years, +as we have said, the gold-and-crimson banner of Spain had floated from its +crenulated bastions; since the days of Pedro Navarro it had held its own +against all comers. It must have been with a sinking heart that Martin de +Vargas and his brave garrison beheld the town fall once again into the +hands of Kheyr-ed-Din; they knew, as by this time did all the Mediterranean +and the dwellers on the coasts thereof, the implacable enmity of the +corsair to the Christians, and how short a shrift would be theirs should +they fall into his hands. + +On his side Kheyr-ed-Din looked with longing eyes on this remnant of the +power of Spain in Africa. Could he but dislodge Martin de Vargas, he had +the whole of Northern Africa practically at his disposal; Algiers would +then be really his, to fortify for all time against the inroads of his +foes. He was master by land and sea, the time was propitious; the corsair +decided that the hour had come. He had seen the repulse of his brother +Uruj, none knew better than did he the temper of the men by whom the Penon +was held, or the valiance and the unswerving fidelity of that caballero of +Spain, Martin de Vargas. He tried to induce that officer to surrender to +him, offering every inducement to the Spanish commander to come to terms. +He was met with a haughty refusal, couched in the most contemptuous +language. He tried the most blood-curdling threats, which were no empty +menaces, as his adversary well knew: these were received in silence. + +One more embassy he tried, and to this he received the following answer: + + "I spring from the race of the De Vargas, but my house has never made it + a practice to boast of the glory of their long descent: they professed + merely to imitate the heroism of their ancestors. Spurred forward by + this worthy desire, I await with calmness all your efforts, and will + prove to you, with arms in my hands, that I am faithful to my God, my + country, and my king." + +[Illustration: ANDREA DORIA, PRINCE OF ONEGLEA, ADMIRAL TO CHARLES V.] + +Barbarossa summoned to his palace his kinsman and trusted adherent Celebi +Rabadan, and they mutually decided that there was nothing they could do +save take up arms against this most insolent and uncompromising warrior. In +the meanwhile they would try what craft would do; and accordingly two young +Moors were introduced into the Penon, under the pretext that they had seen +the error of their ways and were anxious to embrace the Christian religion. +Martin de Vargas, like all Spanish caballeros, was an ardent proselytiser, +and he ordered the two young men to be taken into his own house and +instructed by the chaplain of the garrison. The next day was Easter Day, +and the two young Moors, while the entire garrison were at Mass, signalled +to their co-religionists a prearranged sign indicating that now was the +time to attack. Unfortunately for them, a woman in the employment of De +Vargas saw them, and they were immediately hanged from the battlements in +full view of Barbarossa. That potentate was filled with fury at what he +considered an insult to the Mohammedan religion, and again consulted with +Celebi as to the feasibility of another assault. It was true, he said, that +his messengers had been hanged, but they had made the prearranged signal. +Still, the walls were hardly sufficiently breached, he thought, and his own +men were singularly disheartened by the ill success of their previous +efforts. Did Celebi Rabadan think another attempt desirable? + +That person was in a quandary, because he could not gather what it was that +Barbarossa wished him to say. He knew that if he recommended an assault, +and that it proved once again unsuccessful, that the full fury of the +tyrant would fall upon his head; at the same time he was almost equally +afraid to broach the idea which had been prevalent in Algiers for some time +that Martin de Vargas must assuredly be in league with Shaitan, or he could +never have held out in the way that he had done. In consequence he +temporised and hesitated, while Barbarossa pulled at his famous red beard +and regarded him with scowling brows. + +The situation was saved for Celebi Rabadan by an accident. There swam off +to the ship a traitor from the Spanish garrison, and this man informed them +that his whilom comrades were positively at their last gasp, ammunition all +but exhausted, and the food-supply barely sufficient to last another two +days. + +"To such an end come those who deny the Prophet of God," exclaimed +Barbarossa, and gave orders that this news be communicated to all his men, +who were to prepare for the final assault on the morrow. He further offered +a reward for the capture of Martin de Vargas alive. + +On May 16th, 1530, the corsairs once again advanced to the assault. By this +time the walls had been battered until a practicable breach had been +formed, and over this swarmed thirteen hundred of the starkest fighters of +the Mediterranean, In the breach, bareheaded, his armour hacked and dinted, +stood the undaunted chieftain of the Spaniards: over his head floated that +proud banner which had never cast its shadow on a worthier knight of Spain. +The garrison, worn to a shadow by their hardships and their hunger, most of +them wounded, and all of them sore spent, were in no case to resist this, +the most formidable attack to which they had been subjected. It was all +over in a very short time, and a dreadful massacre ensued. + +Martin de Vargas, though sorely wounded, was taken alive and conducted to +the presence of Barbarossa. Wounded, shaken, bruised, his fortress in the +hands of his enemy, the dying shrieks of his murdered garrison still +ringing in his ears, the amazing spirit of the man was still utterly +unsubdued. "It is to the treason of a ruffian that you owe your triumph," +he said to his captor, "and not to your valour: had I received the smallest +relief I could still have repulsed and kept you at bay. You have my maimed +and mutilated body in your possession, and I hope that you are satisfied. +But my body is accustomed to pain, and I therefore defy you and your +dastardly cruelty." + +To do Barbarossa justice he admired the undaunted spirit of his prisoner, +and he replied: + +"Fear nothing, De Vargas, I will do all in my power to ease your hurts if +you will do that which I ask of you." + +De Vargas replied: + +"As an earnest of your faith, I demand the punishment of the traitor +through whose information you were enabled to take the citadel." + +Barbarossa ordered the soldier to be brought before them, and, having +nearly flogged him to death, had him beheaded. He then presented the head +to De Vargas, saying: + +"You observe my complaisance. I now ask you to embrace the Mohammedan +faith; then I will overwhelm you with benefits and honours, and make you +the Captain-General of my guards." + +De Vargas looked at him in indignation and replied: + +"Dost thou believe that I, who but now demanded the just punishment of a +man who had forsworn himself, could stoop to such an act of baseness as +this? Keep your ill-gotten riches; confer your dignities on others; insult +not thus a caballero of Spain." + +There was a breathless pause. None had ever used such language to +Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa and lived to tell the tale. Nor was it to be so in +this case. + +"You and yours have caused me too much trouble," he answered indifferently. +He made a sign to the executioner who had beheaded the soldier, and the +next moment the head of De Vargas was swept from his body. + +The gallant Spaniard, it is to be hoped, came by his end in the way just +narrated; but the chroniclers disagree among themselves, and "El Senor Don +Diego de Haedo, Arcobispo de Palermo y Capitan General del Reyno de Sicilia +por El Rey Felipe nuestro senor," states that Barbarossa kept De Vargas in +confinement for three months and then had him beaten to death. One can only +sincerely hope that the first account is the true one; but Haedo was nearer +to the time of the occurrence, and, as he wrote in the reign of Philip II., +is more likely to have known the facts. But however this may have been, +there was an end for all time of Spanish domination on the north coast of +Africa, and from this we may date the permanent establishment of those +piratical States in that part of the world. + +The star of Kheyr-ed-Din was once more in the ascendant. Not only had he +crushed out the incipient mutiny of Venalcadi and taken his life, but he +had consolidated his power by the taking of the Penon d'Alger. He +celebrated this occasion in the most practical manner possible: a stop was +put to the indiscriminate massacre of the garrison, and five hundred of the +Spaniards were captured alive; it was their dreary fate to pull down +entirely the tower of Pedro Navarro, which they had defended so gallantly +and to utilise the material in making a causeway from the Penon to the +shore. Barbarossa was determined that on no future occasion should his +enemies have the chance of dominating his town of Algiers. He was now a +sovereign in fact and in deed, regarding even so mighty a monarch as +Charles V. with comparative equanimity. Terrible was the wrath of the +latter when the news of the fall of the Penon, the massacre of the +garrison, and the death of his trusty servant De Vargas, was brought to +him. The Sea-wolves seemed to exist but to exasperate him, and this latest +news came just at one of the most prosperous epochs of his career. + +The titles of "Carlos Quinto," as recorded by Sandoval, read like the roll +of some mighty drum. Nor were these titles mere vain and empty boastings, +as was so often the case at that time among the minor rulers of the earth. +On February 22nd, 1580, just before the fall of the Penon, he had placed on +his own head the iron crown of Lombardy; his viceroys ruled in Naples and +Sicily, his dukes and feudatories in Florence and Ferrara, in Mantua and in +Milan; there was no more Italy. All these recent acquisitions had been +rendered possible by the defection of Andrea Doria, the Genoese seaman, +from Francis I. of France to the side of the Emperor. From henceforward it +was against this modern Caesar that Barbarossa had to contend; the monarch +under whose banner swarmed the terrible Schwartz-Reiters of Germany, for +whose honour marched the incomparable infantry of Spain, for whom the +fleets of the gallant Genoese sailed in battle-array under the orders of +the greatest admiral of the day, Andrea Doria. All these disciplined +legions of Christendom were arrayed against the corsair king; banded +together for the destruction of that daring pirate whose flag floated in +insolent triumph above the white walls of Algiers. + +As from this time onwards we shall hear much concerning Andrea Doria, it is +fitting that some account should here be given of this great patriot, great +soldier, and still greater seaman. Andrea Doria, of the family of the +Princes of Oneglia, of Genoa, was born at Oneglia on November 30th, 1468, +and was the son of Andrea Coeva and Marie Caracosa, both of the family of +Doria. At the death of his mother the young Andrea, then nineteen years of +age, was sent to Rome, where his kinsman Dominique Doria, of the elder +branch of the family, was captain of the Papal Guard of Pope Innocent VIII. +Here he rose rapidly: owing to his extraordinary address in all military +exercises, he was marked out for preferment, and would probably have +succeeded his kinsman as grand officer, had it not been for the death of +Innocent VIII. The successor to Innocent, Alexander VI., was not favourable +to the claims of the Dorias; so young Andrea, acting on the advice of +Dominique, repaired to the court of Duke Urbino, then regarded as the best +school for young nobles desirous of following a military career. After some +time spent at the court of Urbino, Dominique counselled that Andrea should +enter some other service, as there was no glory to be obtained under a +prince who was never at war. Accordingly Andrea passed into the service of +the King of Aragon, who, having invaded Naples, was giving plenty of +employment to all would-be warriors. + +In the record of his early days we find that in the year 1495 he made a +journey to Jerusalem to visit the holy places, and that he then returned to +Italy, where Ferdinand of Aragon was attempting to recover the kingdom of +Naples. "The Great Captain," Gonsalvo de Cordoba, was warring against +Doria's kinsman, Juan Roverejo; this commander had rendered a great service +to the Dorias by rescuing David Doria from imprisonment at Ancona, and +Andrea decided to throw in his lot with him. He accordingly armed +twenty-five cavaliers at his own expense, and joined Roverejo, who put him +in charge of the fortress of Rocca Guillelma. In this place Andrea was +besieged by Gonsalvo de Cordoba, the first warrior of the age; here he +displayed such extraordinary ability in defence that, on the occasion of a +truce, Gonsalvo urged upon Andrea to join the Spaniards. Andrea made answer +that honour bound him to Roverejo, but, could he be released from his +arrangement with him, he might then consider the proposition of "The Great +Captain." Roverejo refused, but, as Charles VIII. immediately afterwards +evacuated Italy, Andrea was free to follow his own inclinations, and took +service with Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. + +From this time onward until 1503 Andrea was constantly employed in war, and +made for himself such a reputation that in this year the Republic of Genoa +requested him to take command of their navy. This offer he refused, as he +said that he knew nothing about the sea. They pressed him, saying that to a +man of his genius nothing was impossible, and in the end he gave a somewhat +reluctant consent. He soon proved his competence in his new sphere of +activity, as his first act was to capture the Fort of the Lantern, in the +neighbourhood of Genoa, which was then held by the French for Louis XII. +The Republic confirmed his appointment as General of the Galleys with many +compliments, and he put to sea and captured three of the war-galleys of the +corsairs, also two Turkish ships laden with valuable merchandise. He fitted +out the galleys for his own service, sold the merchantmen, and made an +immense sum of money. + +His next act was to defeat the corsair, Cadolin, who had eight galleys to +Doria's six; these he added to his own fleet, which now consisted of +fourteen vessels, he having begun with three. As Cadolin was one of the +most famous corsairs of the day, this capture made an immense sensation, +and all men, Moslems as well as Christians, were asking one another, "Who +was this Doria?" + +They had their answer, as time passed, in the career of this astonishing +warrior, who in his time played so many parts, who served under so many +flags, and yet who remained consistently a patriot all the time. As this is +not a history of Doria, we have no space to trace out his life step by step +as it was lived; suffice it to say that, disapproving of the government of +his native Republic under the family of the Adorno, Andrea offered his +sword and his fleet to the King of France, Francis I. His offer was +received with joy, and he was made Captain-General of the Galleys of +France. In his new capacity he sailed for the coast of Provence, which was +being devastated by the fleet of Charles V. He sank several of the Spanish +vessels, captured others, and secured sufficient booty to pay his soldiers +and sailors--a fact most welcome to Francis, who was in desperate straits +for money. + +Eventually, however, a dispute arose between Francis and Doria, which was +to have disastrous effects for the King. At this time Charles V. was +suzerain of Genoa, which was held for him by the Adorno. Philippin Doria, +nephew of the admiral, met at sea with Hugo de Moncada outside the Gulf of +Salerno; a battle ensued, in which Philippin was victorious and Moncada was +slain. Amongst others who were captured was the Marquis de Guasto and +Camille Colonna; these high officers, together with three of the captured +galleys, were sent by Philippin to his uncle at Genoa. + +In the meantime some malcontents reached the Court of France and complained +to the King that Andrea Doria had not captured Sicily, which they averred +he could easily have done. These men were backed up by a certain number of +the courtiers, who were bitterly jealous of the fame of Doria and the +esteem in which he had been held by Francis. The monarch, easily swayed by +any determined and persistent attack, decided to levy a fine on the +inhabitants of Genoa as a punishment for the supineness of their +countryman, who was his Captain-General of the Galleys; his argument being +that they must pay him for the plunder Doria had missed by not taking +Sicily when he should have done so. + +This was worse than a crime--it was blunder of the very first magnitude, +and such a blunder as could only have been made by a very stupid as well as +a very arrogant man. Doria by this time was a warrior of European +celebrity, and one to whom even kings used the language of persuasion; to +attempt to browbeat him was to court disaster. + +Francis sent the Vicomte de Tours to Genoa to levy the fine, but the +Vicomte did not prosper on his mission. Outside of Genoa he was met by the +outraged admiral on horseback at the head of some fifty Genoese nobles and +a numerous company of foot-soldiers. De Tours reported that the name and +authority of the King of France was held in derision by the fierce old +admiral, who so alarmed the envoy himself that he thought it prudent to +retire to Florence, from whence he wrote a long letter to his master +complaining of his reception by Doria. + +This attempt to levy a fine on Genoa was not, however, the only deadly blow +which the King of France was aiming at her. The children of Francis were at +this time in Madrid, as hostages for the good behaviour of their father, +and that monarch was in treaty secretly with Charles to restore Italy to +the _status quo ante bellum_, which would have had the effect of handing +over Genoa to Antony Adorno. He also began the fortification of Savona, in +order that from there he might be in a position to strike at the +Genoese--from a military point of view, if necessary--but in any event to +cripple the trade of that city. Andrea Doria, as soon as he became aware of +this latter action on the part of Francis, was thoroughly roused, and wrote +him the letter quoted below, which illustrates the fact that he was quite +aware of his own great importance in Europe. It was not a time in which men +held such language as did Doria on this occasion unless they were very sure +of themselves and their followers. + + "GREAT PRINCE, + + "It is an ill use of power to reverse order in human affairs. Genoa has + always been the capital of Liguria, and posterity will see with + astonishment that your Majesty has deprived it of this advantage with no + plausible pretext. The Genoese are well aware how inimical to their + interests are your projects with regard to Savona. They beg of you that + these may be abandoned, and that you will not sacrifice the general good + to the views of a few courtiers. I take the liberty to add my prayers to + theirs, and to ask of you this grace as the price of the services I have + rendered to France. Should your Majesty have been put to + expense, I shall join to my request the sum of forty thousand gold + crowns. + + "With the humble duty of Andrea Doria, + Captain-General of the Galleys of France." + +Theodore Trivulce, who held Savona for the King of France, was roundly told +by Doria that "the people of Genoa would never suffer the taking of Savona +by the King of France, as it had from time immemorial belonged to them," +and added, "for myself I will sacrifice the friendship of the King in the +interests of my fatherland." + +The last straw came, however, when the Marshal de Lautrec demanded from +Andrea the prisoners taken by Philippin Doria at Salerno. To this Doria +returned a curt negative, whereupon Francis sent one Barbezieux to +supersede Doria and to seize upon the person of the veteran admiral. But +that seaman, now sixty years of age, was not to be taken by any king or +soldier. He moved his twelve galleys from Genoa to Lerici, on the east +coast of the Gulf of Spezzia, and when Barbezieux arrived he sarcastically +told him to take the galleys. Barbezieux had no better fortune than his +predecessor, the Vicomte de Tours, and retired discomfited and boiling over +with rage to report matters to the King. + +It has been said that among the prisoners of Philippin Doria was the +Marquis de Guasto. This nobleman had been an interested spectator of the +quarrel, and now approached Doria suggesting that he should throw in his +lot with Charles. The admiral, who all through had been acting in the +interests of his native country, seeing its ruin approaching from the +ambitions of Francis, consented, and wrote to his nephew Philippin telling +him of his decision, and his reasons for that which he proposed to do. +Philippin therefore rejoined his uncle at Lerici with his eight galleys. +The negotiations were short, sharp, and decisive, and were conducted +through the medium of De Guasto. Charles offered the admiral sixty thousand +ducats a year; this was accepted. The only other stipulation made by the +Emperor was natural enough, which was that all the Spanish galley-slaves in +the fleet of Andrea should be released and their places taken by men of +other nationalities. This was of course conceded, and the transaction was +complete. Henceforward the most formidable force at sea on the Christian +side was at the disposal of the Spanish King. + +This transference took place in the year 1528, and it was in the same year +that the citizens of Genoa, in recognition of the unexampled services of +the admiral to the State, elected him perpetual Doge. + +This honour Doria declined, declaring that it was more glorious to have +deserved than to possess the honour, and that he considered he could be of +more use to his fellow citizens by gaining for them the protection of great +princes than by remaining as chief judge in his own country. + +The Senate of Genoa, astonished by his noble modesty, hailed him as the +father and liberator of his country, ordered that a statue of him should be +erected in the public square, that in the same place a palace should be +built for him at the public expense, and that it should be called Plaza +Doria; further, that he and his posterity should be for ever exempted from +taxation, and that a device should be engraved on a plate of copper and +attached to the walls of the palace, where it could be seen of all men, +announcing to posterity the services that this great man had rendered to +his fellow citizens, to be for ever a memorial of their gratitude. + +The chronicler of these events draws a parallel between Doria and +Themistocles, who, when discontented with the Athenians, passed into Persia +and offered his services to Xerxes, to the great joy of that monarch, who +cried aloud, "I have Themistocles, I have Themistocles." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + +THE APOTHEOSIS OF THE CORSAIR KING + +If Charles V. made no such outward manifestation of his joy as did the +Persian monarch, he possibly was no less pleased than Xerxes; this he +showed by his acts, and the value that he attached to the services of Doria +was instanced in the directions which he gave. He ordered the Governors of +all his possessions in Italy to do nothing without first consulting the +admiral; to lend him prompt aid, whether he demanded it in his own name or +in that of the Republic of Genoa. He made him Admiralissimo of his navy, +with power to act as he liked without even consulting him, as his Emperor. +It will be seen that Charles had in him sufficient greatness to trust +whole-heartedly when he trusted at all; the faith which he reposed in the +Genoese seaman was amply justified by events, and no action of his during +the whole of his singularly dramatic reign was ever to result so entirely +to his profit. When in after-life Charles had received from the Pope the +Imperial Crown, and when, on his return, he put into Aigues-Mortes in +Doria's galley, he there met with Francis, who, in a burst to confidence, +advised the Caesar never to part with his admiral. + +On that stage, which was the blue waters of the tideless sea, we shall, +from this time forward, watch the fortunes of those two great sea-captains, +Andrea Doria and Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa. With them the ebb and flow of +conquest and defeat alternated. Great as was the one, it cannot be said +that he was greater than the other; but when the supreme arbitrament was +within the grasp of both, as it was at the naval battle of Prevesa, neither +the Christian admiral nor the Moslem corsair would reach out his hand and +grasp the nettle of his fate. Hesitation at this moment, when, in the +fulness of time, the rivals stood face to face with arms in their hands, +was the last thing that would have been expected of such dauntless +warriors, such born leaders of men! and the battle of Prevesa presents a +psychological problem of the most baffling and perplexing description. We +are, however, anticipating events which will fall into their proper +sequence as we proceed. + +Kheyr-ed-Din, now firmly established in Algiers, devoted his energies to +the undoing of his Christian foes by the systematic plunder of their +merchant-vessels. At this period he, personally, seems to have remained +ashore, and sent his young and aspiring captains to sea to increase his +wealth by plunder, his consequence by the hordes of slaves which they swept +into the awful bagnios of Algiers; and Sandoval, that quaint and delightful +historian, is moved to indignation and complains with much acrimony of "las +malas obras que este corsario hizo a la Christiandad" (the evil deeds done +to Christianity by this corsair). These were on so considerable a scale at +this time that he had to devote to them far more space than he considered +consonant with the dignity of history. + +But if all were going on well on the coast of Africa for the Crescent, such +was far from being the case in the northern waters of the Mediterranean; +for Andrea Doria, serving His Most Catholic Majesty at sea, had defeated +the Turks at Patras and again in the Dardanelles, which unpleasant fact +caused no little annoyance to Soliman the Magnificent. On land the Sultan +was sweeping all before him; at sea this pestilent Genoese was dragging +into servitude all the best mariners who sailed beneath the banner of the +Prophet. There was wrath and there was fear at Constantinople, and the +captains of the galleys which sailed from the Golden Horn felt that their +heads and their bodies might at any moment part company--the Grand Turk was +in an ill humour, which might at any moment call for the appeasement of +sacrifice; so it was that men trembled. + +It was at this time, in 1533, that Soliman bethought himself of +Kheyr-ed-Din. There was no better seaman, there was no fiercer fighter, +there was no man whose name was so renowned throughout the length and +breadth of the Mediterranean, than was that of the corsair king who was +vassal to the Sublime Porte. Soliman was confronted with a new, and, to +him, an almost mysterious thing, for the onward conquering step of the +Moslem hosts was being checked by that sea-power so little understanded of +the Turk, and the imperious will of the Sultan seemed powerless to prevent +the disasters conjured from the deep. + +[Illustration: SOLIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT.] + +Soliman the Magnificent, who was not inaptly described by this title, for +he was successful as both warrior and statesman, meditated both long and +anxiously on the new development of affairs before he made up his mind to +the step of calling to his assistance the corsair king. But he possessed +that truest attribute of greatness in a ruler, the faculty of discerning +the right man for any particular post. Brave and reckless fighters he +possessed in super-abundance, but somehow--somehow--none of these fiery +warriors had that habit of the sea which enabled them to make head against +such a past-master in the craft of the seaman as Andrea Doria. The Genoese +was chasing the Turkish galleys from off the face of the waters. +Constantinople itself was a sea-surrounded city; it was necessary that a +check should be administered to the arms of the Christians on this element. +It is easy to imagine the preoccupations of the Turkish monarch. The despot +rules by force, but he also holds his power by the address with which it is +wielded, and he can by no means afford to disregard his personal popularity +if he is to make the best use of his fighting men in such a turbulent epoch +as was the first half of the sixteenth century. Soliman had the wit to know +that he had no mariner who was in any way comparable to Doria; he was also +aware that Kheyr-ed-Din had risen from nothing to his present position by +his sheer ability as a seaman. It would appear, therefore, a very natural +thing that he should invite the co-operation of the King of Algiers, but +that with which he had to reckon was the furious jealousy that such an +appointment must inevitably arouse among his own subjects. + +It says much for the steadfast moral courage of the man that he eventually +decided to take the risk; it says even more for the absolute correctness of +his judgment that he never afterwards repented of the step which he then +took. + +Once the mind of the Grand Turk was made up he hesitated no longer. The +Capitan de Rodas, one of his personal guard, was sent to Barbarossa to +request him to come to Constantinople and take command of the Ottoman +fleet. There were no conditions attached; the honour was supreme. +Barbarossa loaded the messenger with rich gifts, and overwhelmed him with +honours. For Kheyr-ed-Din this was in a sense the apotheosis of his career. +The Grand Turk, the head of the Mohammedan religion, had not only +recognised his kingship, but had conferred on him an honour unprecedented, +unlooked for, and one of the highest value to a man of such an insatiable +ambition. Into the cool and crafty brain of this prince among schemers +instantly sprang the thought that now at last his kingdom was secure, that +in future the whole of the Barbary coast would own no other lord than he. + +Preparations for the voyage were immediately begun, and, as an earnest of +the new importance which he derived from the advances of Soliman, the +corsair actually sent presents to the King of France and proffered him his +aid against his enemies. To such a pass as this had one of the most +powerful monarchs in Christendom been reduced by the defection of Andrea +Doria. Algiers he left in the keeping of his son Hassan, and in charge of +Hassan his kinsman Celebi Rabadan and a captain of the name of Agi. In the +middle of August, 1533, Barbarossa left Algiers, his fleet consisting of +seven galleys and eleven fustas. Sailing northward, he fell in with a fleet +which he at first feared was that of Doria, but which, fortunately for him, +was that of a corsair named Delizuff from Los Gelues. Courtesies were +interchanged between the two leaders, and Barbarossa succeeded in +persuading Delizuff to accompany him to Sicily, where it was possible they +might fall in with Doria, and with their combined forces inflict defeat +upon the Christian admiral. Delizuff was nothing loath to join forces with +so noted a commander as Kheyr-ed-Din, as he had no desire to tackle Doria +single-handed, and at the same time wished to extend the sphere of his +plunderings, which had been cruelly restricted recently by the wholesome +fear instilled into the Sea-wolves by the new admiral of Charles V. + +Accordingly, reinforced by the fifteen fustas and one galley of Delizuff, +the Algerian fleet once more proceeded on its voyage. Although bound for +Constantinople at the request of Soliman, at a time when it would have been +thought that delay was not only dangerous but impolitic, and although the +corsair was endeavouring to merge the pirate in the king who dealt on terms +of equality with those whom he now regarded as his brother monarchs, still +the old instinct of robbery was too strong to be resisted; the lust of gain +and the call of adventure were still inherent in the man whose famous beard +was now far more white than red. Advancing age had not tamed the spirit nor +weakened the frame of this leader among the Moslems. + +Sailing through the Straits of Bonifacio, they touched Monte Cristo, a +small island where they found a slave who had formerly belonged to +Delizuff. This man was base enough to betray his own native island of Biba +into the hands of the corsairs, who sacked it thoroughly and carried off +its inhabitants; they also captured thirteen large ships going to Sicily +for wheat, and burnt them, making slaves of their crews. In the fight with +these vessels Delizuff was killed. Shortly after this, some disagreement +arising between the crews of the ships of Barbarossa and the men in +Delizuff's fleet, the Algerian commander seized a man out of one of +Delizuff's galleys and had him summarily shot. The death of Delizuff +naturally caused some confusion in his command, and the high-handed +proceeding of Kheyr-ed-Din caused great resentment, not unmixed with fear, +as the terror inspired by the Barbarossas was a very real sentiment. Under +their command no man knew when or at how short notice his life might not be +required of him; but the glamour of success was ever around them, and they +never, in consequence, lacked for followers. But the taking out and +shooting of one of their comrades was too much for the pirates from the +islands of Los Gelues, from whence Delizuff was in the habit of +"operating." In the words of Sandoval, "they were not used to such tyranny +and cruel usage." In consequence they concerted among themselves and one +dark night sailed off, leaving Kheyr-ed-Din to continue his voyage with his +original following. + +That warrior, nothing disconcerted, pursued his way to the island of Zante, +where he fell in with a Turkish "flota," under the command of the Bashas +Zay and Himeral. To these officers of the Grand Turk Barbarossa used most +injurious language, bitterly reproaching them with not having sought out +and destroyed Andrea Doria, which he declared they ought to and should have +done. This is yet another instance of the extraordinary character of the +man. These persons were the highest officers in the fleet of the Ottoman +Empire; it was more than possible that they would be placed under the +command of Barbarossa as soon as his new position as Admiralissimo was +adjusted at Constantinople; and yet, in spite of these facts, the corsair +had taken the very first opportunity which presented itself grossly to +insult these men. It is true, as we shall see, that his injurious words +came home to roost in the future; but arrogant, conquering, contemptuous, +Barbarossa seems to have shouldered his way through life, fearing none and +feared by all. + +The fact of his known cruelty accounts for much of the dread which he +inspired, but it was something far more than this which caused the son of +the Albanian renegado to ride roughshod as he did over all with whom he was +brought into contact. Men felt, in dealing with Barbarossa, that here was a +rock against which they might dash themselves in vain. In all his +enterprises he spared not himself. He asked no man to do that which he was +not prepared to do, but if any failed him there was no mercy for that man; +and, although in deference to modern susceptibility no mention is made of +the tortures he so frequently caused to be inflicted on his victims, they +were none the less a daily spectacle to those who lived under his rule. He +possessed, it is true, the rough geniality of the fighting man, a certain +"Hail fellow, well met!" manner in greeting old comrades, and yet none of +these men there were who did not tremble in an agony of fear when the bushy +brows were bent, when the famous red beard bristled in one of his +uncontrollable furies. The real secret of his success must have been that, +no matter how uncontrollable did his passions appear to be, the man was +always really master of himself. Further, he possessed a marvellous insight +as to where his own interests lay. He used as his tools the bodies and the +minds of the men who were subject to him, and he carried his designs to an +assured success by the aid of that penetrating, far-seeing mental power +with which, above all else, he must have been gifted. He could drive men, +he could lead them, he could invariably persuade when all else failed him. +In this we have had an instance when he was chased from Algiers by the +combined efforts of Venalcadi and Hassan, whom he had flogged; for no +sooner did he meet with other corsairs than he persuaded them to take up +his quarrel--which, it must be understood, was none of theirs--and to +replace him on that precarious throne from which he had been so rudely +thrust. We have already said that he was a man who never knew when he was +beaten, and in the years which we have yet to chronicle this characteristic +appears again and again; for age had no effect apparently, either mentally +or physically, on this man of iron who had by this time reached the age of +seventy-seven. + +Leaving the high officers of his future master, the Grand Turk, smarting +under the opprobrium which he had heaped upon their heads, Barbarossa fared +onward with his fleet to Salonica, capturing a Venetian galley on the +voyage: from thence he made his way to the Dardanelles, where he anchored +and remained several days, to make ready his fleet for the spectacular +entry which he intended to make into Constantinople. + +The city on the Golden Horn was all agog for the arrival of Barbarossa; no +matter what private opinions the inhabitants might have had concerning him, +of which we shall hear more presently, they were none the less all curious +to a degree to catch sight of this man, so famous in his evil supremacy on +that distant shore of Northern Africa. + +Kheyr-ed-Din, among his other qualities, possessed in the highest degree +that of a successful stage-manager; no pageant which he undertook was ever +likely to fail from the want of the striking and the dramatic. It was now +his business to impress the citizens of Constantinople with an idea of his +greatness, and none knew better than he that it is the outward and visible +sign which counts among the orientals, more perhaps than the inward and +spiritual grace: he may also possibly have felt that he did not possess the +latter to any overwhelming extent. + +Even before he left Algiers this entry to the chief city of the Ottoman +Empire had been in the mind of Barbarossa, who had caused to be embarked a +quantity of flags and pennons for the decoration of his grim war-galleys +when they should stream into the Golden Horn. There were also bands of +music, which, it is to be presumed, utilised the delay in the Dardanelles +to attain to something like "a concord of sweet sounds," as the incidents +of the voyage from Algiers, so far, had hardly been conducive to much time +to spare for band-practice. The galleys were scrubbed and gaily painted; +round the ship of Kheyr-ed-Din ran a broad streak of gold on the outer +planking to denote the presence of a King of Algiers, and at last all was +ready. The fleet weighed anchor, and, with banners flying and bands +playing, entered the harbour. The shores were black with spectators; even +the Sultan himself deigned to look forth on the coming of the man from whom +he expected such great things. + +Ceremonial was the order of the day. Soliman the Magnificent was too wise a +man not to know what was being said in his capital that day; it was his +part to accustom the minds of men to the fact that he, Soliman, had chosen +Barbarossa to command his fleet, and that there could be no looking back. +The decree had been signed, the invitation had been sent, the man had +arrived, there could be no possible retreat from the situation. The anchors +splashed into the placid waters close to the shore, and the ships were soon +so surrounded by boats as to be almost unapproachable; then came official +persons from the Sultan with greetings to the famous seaman; also came +Bashas and officers ("con carga de guerra," says Sandoval), to offer a +welcome and to stare in undisguised curiosity at the man chosen by their +sovereign to make head against the famous Andrea Doria. This preliminary +courtesy completed, there came the next act in the drama, which consisted +in the immemorial custom of the East in the offering of gifts from +Barbarossa to the Sultan, from the vassal to his suzerain. The Janissaries, +splendid in scarlet and gold, tall above the ordinary stature of man, +bristling with weapons inlaid in gold and silver, cleared the common vulgar +from the streets approaching the palace of the Sultan; they formed the +spearhead of the procession clearing a way for the King of Algiers, who, +mounted on a splendid bay stallion, the gift of the Sultan on his arrival, +headed the captives who bore the gifts. Of these the exact number is not +stated, but the procession was headed by two hundred women and girls, each +of whom carried in her hand a gift of gold or silver; one hundred camels +were loaded with silks and golden ornaments, and other "curious riches" +("con otras mil cosas de que hizo ostentacion"), says Sandoval. There were +also lions and other animals, brocades and rich garments. + +All of this reads no doubt somewhat too like the tales in the "Arabian +Nights"; but we have to remember that, if you have led a long and eminently +successful life as a robber, you have necessarily accumulated a store of +riches. In the case of Barbarossa he had begun in extreme youth, and was +now an old man; he had been quite in the wholesale way as a thief, and now +desired to pay a good price for that which he coveted, namely, the post of +Admiralissimo to the Grand Turk. It may be objected that he had already +been offered and had already accepted the post; this is quite true, but +there were certain conventions to be fulfilled on the side of the recipient +of the bounty of the Sultan quite understood on both sides, although no +word had passed on the subject. In those days the man who desired the +favour of an Eastern potentate never dreamed of approaching him +empty-handed, and the more liberal that he was in the matter of gifts the +greater was the favour with which he was regarded. Therefore the principle +acted upon by Kheyr-ed-Din on this occasion was both wise and politic; that +is to say, he placed certain of his riches in a perfectly sound investment, +certain to yield him an admirable percentage, not only in added personal +prestige, but also in the placing under his command of such a force as he +had never before commanded, with unlimited opportunities of preying on the +detested Christian on a far larger scale than it had ever been his good +fortune to do before. + +The Sultan Soliman was not called "the Magnificent" without just cause; his +life was splendid in its social prodigality, as it was in war and in +statesmanship; yet even he was somewhat astonished at the amazing richness +of the gifts which were laid at his feet by a man whom he knew to be, in +spite of the kingly title which he had assumed, merely a rover of the sea. +Therefore, in spite of himself, he was impressed. To him, it is true, in +his splendour and magnificence, the intrinsic value of that which was +brought to him by Barbarossa mattered but little; but the fact that the +corsair was in a position to do so opened the eyes of the Sultan to the +manner of man with whom he had to deal. Hitherto he had but known of him by +hearsay, as the one Moslem seaman who was likely to be capable of making a +stand against the terrible Doria, who had now become the plague of the +Sultan's existence. He now knew that the man who disposed of such +incredible riches must be, no matter what his moral character, a man who +stood a head and shoulders over any commander in the Ottoman fleet sailing +out of the Golden Horn. + +Both materially and psychologically this man somewhat bewildered the +despot: and his _alter ego_, the Grand Vizier, happening to be away on a +mission to Aleppo, Soliman had no one with whom to confer in a strictly +confidential manner; for, after the manner of autocrats, he had but few +familiars, in fact it may be said none at all save the statesman mentioned. +His reception of the corsair lacked, however, nothing in cordiality. He +inquired after the incidents of the voyage, interested himself graciously +in all that he was told concerning Africa and the conflicting claims of +Christian and Moslem in that region, and was generally courteous to his +distinguished visitor. He placed at his disposal a palace and attendants on +a scale commensurate with the state of a reigning sovereign, and sent his +most distinguished generals to confer with Kheyr-ed-Din. The latter, for +the first time in his life, was thoroughly out of his element. His had been +the life of the seaman and the soldier to begin with, and of later years +that of a rude and unquestioned despot on a savage coast, surrounded by +myrmidons to whom his voice had been as the voice of a god. Never had it +been his lot before to dwell within the limits of such a comparative +civilisation as that which obtained in Constantinople at this date; never +before had it been necessary for him to restrain that naturally fiery and +impetuous temper of his and to speak all men fairly. + +The strain must have been great, the effort enormous, and he knew, as he +was bound to know, that his coming had unloosed jealousies and +heart-searchings innumerable, with which he could not deal in the usual +drastic fashion common to him. The winter was coming on, which was, as we +have before remarked, very much of a close season both for the pirate and +the honest merchant seaman. In consequence there was not very much chance +against the foes of Soliman for the present. When that opportunity offered +he promised himself that the courtiers and the soldiers of the Grand Turk +would very soon discover that the fame of Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa was no +empty matter, and that there existed no seaman in all the Ottoman dominions +with whom they could compare the "African pirate," as he had reason to +believe that he was scornfully called behind his back. + +A weaker man would have been daunted by his surroundings, by the manifestly +unfriendly atmosphere in which he lived, and by the dread that perhaps, +after all, Soliman might go back upon his word. There were no lack of +counsellors, he knew very well, who would advise the Sultan to his undoing, +if that monarch gave them the opportunity; and, as time passed, so his +anxiety grew. Soliman also could not have felt particularly comfortable at +this juncture, with a sullen spirit possessing his men "con carga de +guerra," bitterly resenting the step which he had taken, and the +appointment which he had made. For the present, however, he made no sign, +treating Kheyr-ed-Din with distinguished courtesy, but making no reference +to the future. Soliman was revolving the problem in his acute mind, +doubtless weighing the unpopularity of the step which he had taken against +the services likely to be rendered to him by his strange guest. And thus +several weeks passed at Constantinople, probably amongst the most trying of +all those in the unusually prolonged life of Kheyr-ed-Din. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + +THE RAID ON THE COAST OF ITALY; JULIA GONZAGA + +The Grand Turk had spoken, the appointment had been made, Barbarossa had +arrived; but though autocrats can cause their mandate to be obeyed, they +cannot constrain the inward workings of the minds of men. In spite of the +awe in which Soliman the Magnificent was held, there were murmurs of +discontent in the capital of Islam. The Sultan had been advised to make +Barbarossa his Admiralissimo by his Grand Vizier Ibrahim, who was, as we +have said, his _alter ego_. This great man had risen from the humblest of +all positions, that of a slave, to the giddy eminence to which he had now +attained by the sheer strength of his intellect and personality. The Grand +Vizier it was who had pointed out to his master that which was lacking in +the Ottoman navy: brave men and desperate fighters he had in plenty, but +the seaman who cleared the Golden Horn and made his way through the +archipelago into the open sea beyond had forces with which to contend +against which mere valour was but of small avail. Out there, somewhere +behind the blue line of the horizon, did Andrea Doria lie in wait; and if +the Moslem seaman should escape the clutches of the admiral of the +Christian Emperor, were there not those others, the Knights of Malta, who, +under the leadership of Villiers de L'lsle Adam, swept the tideless sea in +an unceasing and relentless hostility to every nef, fusta, and galley which +flew the flag of the Prophet? + +It had come to a pass when the Ottoman fighting man was by no means anxious +to go to sea. He was still as brave as those marvellous fanatics of seven +centuries before, who, in the name of God and of His Prophet Mahomet, had +swept all opposition aside from the path of Islam, had conquered and +proselytised in a manner never paralleled in the world before. At the call +of the Padishah, for the honour of the Prophet, the sons of Islam were as +ready to march and to fight as had ever been the warriors of the earlier +Caliphs. But they had ever been soldiers; the habit of the sea was not +theirs, and they found that, time after time, such sea-enterprises as they +did undertake were shattered by the genius of Doria, or broken into +fragments by the reckless, calculating assaults of the knights. And so it +came about that there was but little heart in the navy of the Padishah, and +those who served therein had but slight confidence in those by whom they +were led. To use a metaphor from the cricket-field, it was time "to stop +the rot" by sending in a really strong player. He was not to be found +within the confines of orthodox Islam, and must be imported from outside. + +The man had been found; could he be forced on an unwilling and discontented +populace? Who, it was asked in Constantinople, was this man who had been +called in to command the ships of the Ottomans at sea? They answered their +own question, and said that he was a lawless man, a corsair: were there not +good seamen and valiant men-at-arms like the Bashas Zay and Himeral, who +should be preferred before him; this man who had come from the ends of the +earth, and of whom nobody knew anything good? Again, could he be trusted? +Something of the history of the Barbarossas had penetrated to the capital +of Turkey, and it was known that scrupulous adherence to their engagements +had not always characterised the brothers: who should say that he might not +carry off the galleys of the Grand Turk on some marauding expedition +designed for his own aggrandisement? There was yet more to be urged against +him: not only was he infamous in character, but he was no true Mussulman, +for had not his father been a mere renegado, and--worst of all--had not his +mother been a Christian woman? + +It was thus that the talk ran in that blazing autumn in Constantinople. +Naturally there were plenty of persons who carried reports to Kheyr-ed-Din, +and that astute individual soon made up his mind as to the most +advantageous course for him to pursue. With the full concurrence of the +Sultan, he left Constantinople and journeyed to Aleppo to see Ibrahim. The +latter was both cunning and tenacious. Removed from the capital, the tide +of gossip and discontent only reached him at second-hand; but he was not to +be deterred by popular clamour even had he been in the midst of it. None +knew better than he who and what was Barbarossa; in fact, it may be +confidently asserted that none in Constantinople had anything like the same +knowledge of this man and all that concerned him. Ibrahim had not named +Barbarossa to his sovereign without weighing all the pros and cons of the +matter, and that which was now happening in the capital had been fully +anticipated by him. It pleased the Grand Vizier very much that Kheyr-ed-Din +should take this long journey to see him; not from any ridiculous idea that +this was an act of homage due to the dignity of his position--Ibrahim was +far too great a man for such pettiness--but because it enabled him to see +for himself what manner of man was this redoubtable pirate on whom he was +relying to defeat the enemies of the Sublime Porte at sea. The corsair must +have made the most favourable impression possible on the Grand Vizier, as +that statesman wrote to Soliman: + + We have put our hands on a veritable man of the sea. Name him without + hesitation Basha, Member of the Divan, Captain-General of the Fleet. + +The Grand Turk had no intention of going back upon the appointment already +made, but he was none the less pleased to receive from his Vizier so strong +an endorsement of his policy; and now the time had come to stop the mouths +of the murmurers and scandal-mongers of Constantinople. Accordingly he +formally recalled Barbarossa from Aleppo, gave him, with his own hand, a +sword and a royal banner, and invested him with plenary power over all the +ports of his kingdoms, over all the islands owning his jurisdiction, +command of all ships, vessels, and galleys, and of all soldiers, sailors, +and slaves therein. The die was cast, the erstwhile corsair, the son of the +renegado of Mitylene and his Christian wife was henceforward the supreme +head of the Ottoman fleet. + +The following description of the famous corsair may be found interesting at +this juncture. + +Barbarossa was at this time seventy-seven years of age. Courageous and +prudent, he was as far-seeing in war as he was subtle in peace. A tireless +worker, he was, above all things, constant in reverse of fortune, for no +difficulties dismayed him, no dangers had power to daunt his spirit. His +ruddy skin, his bushy eyebrows, his famous red beard, now plentifully +streaked with white, his square, powerful frame, somewhat inclined to +stoutness, above all, his penetrating and piercing eyes, gave to his aspect +a certain terror before which men trembled and women shrank appalled. + +All this harmonised well with his reputation as a chief so resolute, so +pitiless, that it was the boast of his followers that his very name shouted +in battle put to flight the Christian vessels. His smile was fine and +malicious, his speech facile, revealing beneath the rude exterior of the +corsair the subtle man of affairs, who, from nothing, had made himself King +of Algiers, and was now, by the invitation of Soliman the Magnificent, +Admiralissimo of the Ottoman navy. + +Well may Jurien de la Graviere say that "in the sixteenth century even the +pirates were great men." + +It has been stated that in speech Barbarossa was facile. He was not only +so, but he possessed a power of addressing such a man as Soliman in terms +which, while delicately flattering that mighty monarch, gave him also a +lead which he might follow in the future disposition of such power as he +possessed at sea. + +On his return from Aleppo Kheyr-ed-Din was received in audience by the +Sultan. We must be pardoned if we give the long speech which he addressed +to his new master in its entirety; and we have to remember that the man who +made it was now an old man who, all his life, had been absolutely free and +untrammelled, owing allegiance to no one, following out his own caprices, +and sweeping out of his path any whom he found sufficiently daring as to +disagree with him. That this ruthless despot should have been able so to +change the whole style and manner of his address so late in life is only +one proof the more of the marvellous gifts which he possessed. + +It was in the following words that the corsair addressed the Sultan: + + Dread Sovereign, fortune itself has made it a law to second you in all + your enterprises because that you are always ready to declare war upon + the enemies of Mahomet the Prophet of God, on whom be peace. You have + extended the limits of your vast possessions, you have vanquished and + slain the King of Hungary, you have humiliated Charles V., this Emperor + with whom the Christians dare hold you in comparison. These have been + the recompenses received by you for the pure flame with which + your zeal for the religion of Mahomet has ever burned. + + "But these successes and these triumphs are not capable of contenting + that thirst for glory with which your being is animated, and I am humbly + desirous of indicating to you the means of culling fresh laurels. + Experience has taught me the way, and I can assert, without fear of + being accused of vanity, that in this matter I can be of great + assistance to your Majesty. + + "That which fortune has done for me in the past that will it continue to + do for me in the future. Age has not enfeebled me, continual exercise + has but rendered me stronger; I can therefore promise to you the most + ready service both by land and sea. The desire which has always been + mine to persecute the Christians caused me to conceive the idea of + serving in your sea-army. + + "If Heaven is favourable to my vows, the Spaniards will soon be chased + from Africa; the Carthaginians, the Moors, will soon be your very + submissive subjects; Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, will obey your will. As + for Italy, it will soon be desolated by famine when I attack it in + formidable force, without fearing that the Christian Princes will come + to its aid. + + "Mahomet II., your illustrious grandfather, formed the project of + conquering this country; he would have succeeded had he not been carried + off by death. If I counsel you, dread Sovereign, that you should carry + war into Europe and Africa, it is not that I desire your arms should be + turned back in Asia from against the Persians, the ancient enemies of + the Ottomans. I require but your sea-army, which is no use against the + Persians. While you shall be conquering Asia I shall be + subduing Africa. The first enterprise which I shall undertake will be + against Muley Hassan, the King of Tunis; he has all the vices and + possesses not one single virtue. He is a man of sordid avarice, of + unexampled cruelty; he has rendered himself odious to the entire human + race. + + "He had twenty-two brothers, all of whom he has caused to be murdered. + That which is a common failing among tyrants is his: he dare not place + himself at the head of his troops. He prefers to endure the outrages + which he suffers at the hands of the Moors to taking up arms and + inflicting upon them a salutary vengeance. He had the baseness to enter + into an alliance with the Spaniards, and to favour their conquests in + Africa. It will be all the easier for me to exterminate this wild beast + because I have with me his brother, who prayed me to save him from the + cruelty of Muley Hassan. + + "When I besiege Tunis I shall present him to the inhabitants, who love + him as much as they hate Muley Hassan. They will open their gates to me, + and I shall gain the town without the loss of a single man: it will be + then you who will be master. On my way thither I will do what harm I can + to the Christians; I will endeavour to defeat Andrea Doria, who is my + personal enemy and my rival in glory: should I succeed in defeating him + your Majesty will possess the empire of the sea. Be then persuaded, + great Prince, by me, and believe that he who is master of the sea will + very shortly become master on land." + +It is somewhat difficult to fathom the reasons which induced Barbarossa to +treat Soliman to his sanctimonious diatribe concerning the King of Tunis; +coming, as it did, from a pirate, it was merely ludicrous, and could not +for one instant have deceived the remarkably shrewd person to whom it was +addressed. The corsair stated the facts correctly, but the reasons which +led to an Eastern autocrat disposing of his family in this manner were so +obvious at the time that, if Soliman felt any emotion at all concerning the +event, it was probably one of admiration! Regarded from the practical, +apart from the sentimental side, what the proposition amounted to was that +Barbarossa should attack a king with whom the Grand Turk had no sort of +quarrel, and that, once his territory had been reft from him, that it +should be handed over to the ruler of Constantinople for the greater glory +of the Sublime Porte. What mental reservations there were on the part of +the corsair we are not told, but had Soliman known him better he would have +been aware that never had Barbarossa pulled any chestnuts from the fire of +life which were not intended for his own eating; and that it was extremely +unlikely, at his time of life, that he was now going to alter the habits of +his long and strenuous career. + +There was one thing, however, that Kheyr-ed-Din was not; he was no bragger +or boaster, and, whatever may have been his mental reservations in his +interview with the Sultan, that which he stated he would do, that he did. +And now the time had come when the grim old Sea-wolf had done with intrigue +and the unaccustomed atmosphere of a Court and went back to his native +element, the sea. + +Soliman, it must be said to his credit, was no man to deal in +half-measures, and when once he had given his trust he gave it +whole-heartedly, generously. In consequence he gave Barbarossa eighty +galleys, eight hundred Janissaries, eight thousand Turkish soldiers, and +eight hundred thousand ducats for expenses (some three hundred thousand +pounds sterling of our money). All the necessary preparations were carried +out under the orders of Barbarossa, who was given a roving commission to do +what seemed best to him for the advancement of the glory of his master and +the discomfiture of his Christian foes. The commission which he now +received was practically that which had been given by Charles V. to Doria, +the most flattering with which any man can be entrusted, as in his hands +were left issues of peace and war usually only vested in the sovereign. + +All through the early summer of 1534 the dockyards and the arsenals of +Constantinople hummed with the note of preparation; Ibrahim had returned +from Aleppo and threw himself, heart and soul, into these activities, which +meant the sailing of the Ottoman fleet under the command of "that veritable +man of the sea," Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa. Stilled were the murmurs of the +year before; the corsair, invested with plenary powers by the Sultan +himself, was now in a position to make his authority felt; added to this, +the more sensible of the malcontents had been won round by the Grand Vizier +to the view that as, so far, the Ottoman navy had been conspicuously +unsuccessful at sea, it was just as well to make use of the most capable +Moslem seaman upon whom they could lay their hands. As to his moral +character, that they could afford to discount, and as to the question of +his faithfulness or the reverse, it was pointed out with irresistible logic +by Ibrahim, that never before had the Sea-wolf had such glorious +opportunities of plunder as now, when he could count ten ships for every +one that had followed in his wake before. + +It was in July 1534 that the Ottoman fleet left Constantinople, and +Kheyr-ed-Din began operations by a descent upon Reggio, which he sacked. On +August 1st he arrived at the Pharos of Messina, where he burnt some +Christian ships and captured their crews; then he worked north from Reggio +to Naples, ravaging the coast and depopulating the whole littoral, burning +villages, destroying ships, enslaving people. In this expedition he is said +to have captured eleven thousand Christian slaves. There is perhaps nothing +more amazing in the whole history of this epoch than the number of the +slaves captured by the corsairs, and the damnable cruelties exercised upon +them; these were, of course returned by the Christians with interest +whenever possible. As an instance of the treatment to which the slaves were +subjected it is only necessary to mention the course taken by Barbarossa +when he left Algiers in the previous year. There were at that time seven +thousand Christian captives in his power; immediately before starting he +had the entire number paraded before him, and, under the pretext of having +discovered a plot, which in no circumstances could possibly have existed, +owing to the supervision of the slaves, he caused twenty of them to be +beheaded on the spot in order to strike terror into the remainder during +his absence. + +Back to the Golden Horn streamed ship after ship laden with plunder and +with slaves. "The veritable man of the sea" was proving the correctness of +the choice of the Sultan, the acumen of the Grand Vizier who had +recommended his appointment. Barbarossa was determined to leave nothing +undone to prove to Soliman that his choice had indeed been a worthy one +when he had selected him as admiral of his fleet: also he had in his mind +those others who spoke slightingly of him as "the African pirate"; they +should know as well as their master of what this pirate was capable. +Northward the devastating host of Barbarossa took its way; the fair shores +of Italy smoked to heaven as the torches of the corsairs fired the +villages. Blood and agony, torture and despair, followed ever on the heels +of the Sea-wolves of the Mediterranean. And now a fresh pack had been +loosed, as it was, of course, in enormously increased strength that +Barbarossa returned to the scene of so many of his former triumphs. + +Plunder and slaves were all very well in their way, and acceptable enough +on the shores of the Golden Horn; but Kheyr-ed-Din had a pet project in +view on this particular cruise, which was to capture Julia Gonzaga and to +present her to Soliman for his harem. The lady destined by him for this +pleasant fate was reported to be the loveliest woman in Europe, a fitting +gift for such an one as the Grand Turk. The fame of her surpassing +loveliness had reached even the corsairs. She was the widow of Vespasian +Colonna, Duchess of Trajetto, and Countess of Fundi; she had now been a +widow since 1528, and lived at Fundi, some ninety miles north-east of +Naples. Barbarossa laid his plans with his accustomed acuteness, and it was +only through an accident that they miscarried. + +There was one undeniable advantage in the system which swept off into +slavery the whole of the inhabitants of a country-side, and that was, if at +any time you required a guide at any particular point on the coast, he was +sure to be forthcoming from one of the vessels in the fleet. Now Barbarossa +did not exactly know where Julia Gonzaga was to be found, so he set his +captains to work to discover the necessary slave. This was soon +accomplished, and there was really no occasion for a slave on this +occasion, as a renegado of Naples knew the castle in which Julia Gonzaga +was residing at the time, and readily agreed to act as guide to the +expedition sent to accomplish her capture. Kheyr-ed-Din had made a sudden +dash along the coast with some of the swiftest of his galleys for the +purposes of this capture. In consequence the people in Naples and the +neighbourhood were not even aware that the piratical squadron was on the +coast before they anchored, as near as it was practicable to do, to the +residence of the Duchess of Trajetto. The fleet actually arrived after +dark, having kept out to sea and out of sight during the day. + +As soon as the anchors were down a party of two thousand picked men were +landed and marched silently and with all expedition to the castle of Fundi. +The escape of the Duchess was really providential. She had already gone to +bed, and the fierce marauders were actually within the grounds of the +castle before her distracted people became aware of their presence. But +fortunately some among them kept their heads, and it also so happened that +her bed-chamber was the opposite side of the castle to that by which the +pirates approached. A horse was brought round under the window of the room, +and, in her night-dress with nothing but a shawl wrapped around her, was +Julia Gonzaga lowered out of her window on to the back of her horse. As she +galloped for dear life down the avenue of her home she heard the shrieks of +her miserable household murdered in cold blood by the furious pirates who +had thus been balked of their prey. + +Dire was the vengeance taken by the corsairs. They sacked Fundi and burned +the town; they killed every man on whom they could lay their hands, and +carried off the women and girls to the fleet. + +Kheyr-ed-Din was furious with anger and disappointment. "What is the value +of all this trash?" he demanded, with a thundering oath, of the commander +of the unsuccessful raiders, surveying as he spoke the miserable, shivering +women and girls. "I sent you out to bring back a pearl without price, and +you return with these cattle." + +Thus balked of his prey, Barbarossa swung his fleet round to the southward +and westward and sailed for Sardinia, where, from the Straits of Bonifacio +to Cape Spartivento, he left no house standing that would burn, or man +alive who was not swept in as a captive. The descent of the corsairs in +force, such as Kheyr-ed-Din now had at his disposal, was one of the most +awful calamities for a country that it is possible to imagine. When +Sardinia had ceased to yield up either booty or slaves the fleet sailed for +Tunis, where it arrived before Bizerta on August 15th. The arrival of the +corsairs was totally unexpected, and caused the greatest consternation. The +story which Barbarossa had told to Sultan Soliman concerning the reigning +King Muley Hassan was correct in every detail, and there is no doubt that +he was a bloody and cruel tyrant of the worst description. + +Therefore when the wily Barbarossa sent on shore and informed the sheiks +and ulemas of the place that he had come in the name of the head of the +Mohammedan religion to free them from this monster by whom they were +oppressed, and that he intended to place on the throne the brother of Muley +Hassan, Raschid, who had miraculously escaped from the fate which had +overtaken all the other members of his house, the townspeople were inclined +to listen to his advances and to admire the picture which he drew of the +peace and prosperity which would accrue to them should Raschid, and not +Muley Hassan, be on the throne of their country. That which he inferred in +all his dealings with these people was that he had Raschid with him ready +to step into the shoes of his unpopular brother as soon as the latter +should be deposed by a justly indignant populace. The fact of the matter +was that Kheyr-ed-Din had taken the fugitive prince with him to +Constantinople, thinking to make use of him, and that, when he was sailing, +Soliman had absolutely forbidden him to remove Raschid from his capital. + +Completely deceived, the townspeople allowed the landing of eight hundred +Janissaries. The tyrant, who was, as Barbarossa had told the Sultan, a +craven coward, waited for no further demonstration of force, but +incontinently fled into the interior with such valuables as he could carry. +As soon as this was reported to Barbarossa he landed in force and entered +the town, and then the townspeople noticed that the soldiers were all +shouting for Soliman and for Barbarossa. They then demanded that Raschid +should be produced according to promise, but naturally he was not +forthcoming. Those who had acclaimed the soldiers of Soliman as liberators +now began to arm against them, and they very shortly discovered, from some +Tunisians who had come in the fleet from Constantinople, that Raschid had +been left behind in that city. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +BARCELONA, MAY 1535; THE GATHERING OF THE CHRISTIAN HOSTS + +Some idea of the terror inspired by the actions of the Sea-wolves at this +date is contained in the following extract from "The Golden Age of the +Renaissance," by Lanciani: + + "The Bastione del Belvedere, which towers in frowning greatness at the + north-east end of the Vatican Garden and commands the approach to the + Borgo from the upper-end valley of the Tiber, was begun by Antonio de + Sangullo the younger, and finished by Michel Angelo after the death of + Antonio, which took place on September 30th, 1546. This great piece of + military engineering must not be considered by itself, but as a part of + a great scheme of defence conceived by Paul III, to protect the city + against a hostile invasion from the sea. The Pope could not forget that, + in August 1534, the fleet of infidels commanded by Barbarossa had cast + anchor at the mouth of the Tiber to renew its supply of water, and that + if its leader had thought fit they could have stormed, sacked, and + plundered the city, and carried off the Pope himself into slavery + without any possibility of defence on the Christian side. This point has + not been taken into due consideration by modern writers; the + fortifications of Rome, designed or begun or finished at the time of + Paul III., have nothing to do with the sack of 1527, with the Connetable + de Bourbon, or with the Emperor Charles V. All the bastions, that of the + Belvedere excepted, point towards the sea-coast, which was perpetually + harried and terrified by Turkish or Barbary pirates. These would appear + with lightning-like rapidity in more than one place at a time, and carry + off as many unfortunate men, women, and children as they could + collect.... To prevent the recurrence of such disasters the sea-coast + was lined with watch-towers, the guns of which could warn the peasants + of the approach of suspicious vessels." + +That Paul III. had good warrant for the precautions which he designed to +take is not only instanced by the fact of Barbarossa anchoring in the mouth +of the Tiber on the occasion of the raid with which we are at present +concerned, but from what had occurred to his predecessor on the Papal +throne in 1516. Pope Leo, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was accustomed to +leave Rome in the autumn for hunting, and fishing in the sea, of which +latter pastime he was particularly fond. One of his favourite resorts was +the castle of Magliana, five miles from Rome, on the banks of the Tiber. On +September 18th, 1516, he left Rome and proceeded to Civita Lavinia, on the +Laurentian coast. Here he was waited for by the corsair Curtogali, who, +with fifteen ships off the coast and an ambush on shore, was ready to carry +him off. Curtogali is supposed to have derived his information as to the +movements of the Pope from some traitor about the Papal Court who desired +the downfall of "the fatal House of Medici." + +Some one, however, warned the Pope, who fled, accompanied by his retinue, +at a headlong gallop to Rome, never drawing bridle until he reached the +safe seclusion of the Vatican. + +We must now return, however, to that eagle who fluttered so sorely the +dovecotes, both Christian and Moslem, and whose loudly proclaimed faith in +the Prophet never permitted his religion to stand inconveniently in the way +of his material advancement in the world. The soldiers and sailors of the +corsair entered Bizerta shouting for Soliman and Barbarossa. There was no +mention of Raschid, that Prince of the Hafsit dynasty, whom Kheyr-ed-Din +had declared to the townspeople he had come to restore to the throne of his +ancestors. Too late the town sprang to arms, under a chief named Abdahar, +and in the first instance accomplished a considerable success. Barbarossa's +men were unprepared, and a number of them were slain. Driven into a bastion +of the walls, a party of the corsairs were desperately defending +themselves, when one Baetio, a Spanish renegado, discovered that a cannon +behind them pointing seawards was loaded. He succeeded, with the assistance +of others, in slewing it round and discharged it at close quarters into the +packed masses of the enemy. This caused a frightful demoralisation to set +in; the corsairs rallied and soon swept all before them. The massacre +turned from the one side to the other, and it is said that no less than +three thousand of the unfortunate townspeople were slain. Barbarossa only +called off his men when they were wearied out by the slaughter. + +Kheyr-ed-Din now graciously accepted the submission of the townsfolk; that +is to say, such of them as were left, and took charge of the entire kingdom +as governor for the Sultan of Turkey. He sent out ambassadors to the +neighbouring Arab and Berber chieftains of the hinterland, repaired +fortifications, appointed magistrates--all ostensibly in the name of that +phantom prince whom the Tunisians were destined never to see, and who never +returned to his native country. + +King of Algiers, _de facto_ King of Tunis, Admiralissimo to Soliman the +Magnificent, his name a portent in Christendom, his fame reaching from +Spartel to Tunis, and from the shores of France to the foothills of the +Atlas, Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa was at the height of his power. Never before +had a corsair risen to such eminence, never again was there destined to be +so magnificent a sea-robber. Thus it was that the year 1535 opened gloomily +for all those Powers whose coasts were washed by the tideless sea. Italy, +torn and bleeding, her strong men slain, her fairest matrons and maids +carried off into the most odious captivity, was lamenting the terrible fate +to which she had been exposed by the raids of the pirate admiral. In +Catalonia, in Genoa, in Venice, along what is now known as the Riviera, men +trembled and women wept; for who could say that it might not be upon them +that the next thunderbolt might fall? In Venice taxation was raised to the +breaking strain to provide galleys wherewith to combat the foe, while the +Genoese fortified their coasts and poured out money like water upon arms, +armaments, and ammunition. Says Sandoval: + + "Desde el Estrecho de Mecina hasta el de Gibraltar ninguno de la parte + de Europa pudiera tomer comida ni sueno seguro de lo que viviera en las + riberas del mar." (From the Straits of Messina to those of Gibraltar + none living in Europe on the shores of the sea were able to eat in peace + or to sleep with any sense of security.) + +The Emperor Charles V. was roused to action, stung by the intolerable +humiliation of the position into which he had been placed by a mere +corsair. + +King of Sicily, Naples, and Spain, as well as Emperor of Germany, in any +direction he might turn he would find a trail of blood and fire over the +fair face of his dominions in the Mediterranean. Although it might gall his +pride to admit that his enemy was formidable, Charles was too wise a man, +too experienced a warrior to underrate his foe. He repaired the +fortifications of Naples and Sicily at great cost: he wrote letters to the +Pope, to Andrea Doria, to the Viceroys of Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia, to +the Marquis de Vasto, and Antonio de Leyva to collect all the arms and +munitions necessary for the attack on Barbarossa. He sent orders to Don +Luis Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis de Mondejar, Captain-General of the +Kingdom of Granada, to collect money and to have men ready in the ports of +Andalusia. He gave orders for eight thousand German soldiers to hold +themselves in readiness; these were to be joined by the veterans of Coron +and Naples, which body counted four thousand more; in Italy he also raised +another eight thousand men. All this was done under the seal of secrecy, +which the Emperor most peremptorily ordered was to be observed. + +But news travelled in the first half of the sixteenth century, although +newspapers, war correspondents, and telegraphs were not; when all the +feudatories of the greatest king in Christendom were busy it was impossible +for the matter to remain hidden. Even had it been within the range of +possibility to conceal what was going on there was one circumstance which +would have rendered all effort to this end nugatory. Charles had invited +Francis of France to join in this holy war against the scourge of +Christendom: not only did Francis refuse to join, but he had the incredible +baseness to betray the scheme to Barbarossa. It would be pleasanter to +think that some mistake had been made in this matter, but unfortunately it +is beyond dispute, as the facts have been placed on record by Sandoval, +whose history, it must be remembered, was published in 1614. In this matter +he is quite precise, as he states that a "Clerigo Francese," one Monsieur +de Floreta, was sent with despatches from Francis to Barbarossa at Tunis, +and that this treacherous envoy from Christendom gave the corsair king all +the available information that he had been able to collect before starting. + +This was typical of that "Golden Age of the Renaissance" in which it took +place; when real devotion to all arts, sciences, and amenities of a higher +civilisation went hand in hand with crime of the vilest and treachery of +the basest description. Well might Barbarossa, and such as he, laugh to +scorn the pretension that his Christian enemies were one whit better than +were they, when they could point to the fact that, to serve a private +revenge, a great Christian king could betray his co-religionists to their +Moslem foes. Shamelessly did the Sea-wolves seek their prey wherever it was +to be found; their methods were villanous and seemingly without excuse, +but, after all, there was some colour, some shadow of right in what they +did, for their argument was that they were merely getting back from +Christendom that which had been reft from them in the near past in the +kingdoms of Cordova and Granada. But who shall find excuse for the +Christian kings, governors, and princes at this epoch? They sought their +prey no less ravenously than did the pirates, and with just about the same +amount of justification: witness the sacking of Rome by Charles V. in 1527, +and the unexampled act of treachery just recorded of Francis of France. + +Kheyr-ed-Din had lived all his turbulent life among wars and rumours of +wars: the head of the tiller, the hilt of the scimitar, the butt of the +arquebus, had been in his hand since early youth; bloodshed and strife were +the atmosphere in which he lived and breathed. Desperate adventures by land +and sea had been his ever since he could remember; there was no hazard that +he had not run, no peril which he had not dared. But now even he, the +veteran of far more than one hundred fights, was grave and preoccupied when +he considered the greatness, the imminence of his peril. The "Clerigo +Francese" had put him in possession of the fact that Carlos Quinto was +exerting all his strength for the combat which was to come; and Barbarossa +was far too old a fighter, far too wise a warrior, to underrate by one +soldier or by one galley the forces that the Emperor could put into line +against him; from far and near his foes were gathering for his destruction, +and he did not deceive himself in the least as to what the fate of his +followers and himself would be should the Christian hosts be victorious. + +But, nevertheless, such an emergency as this found the man at his best: +ready to take fortune at the flood when she smiled upon him, he was perhaps +at his very greatest in adversity; and when all around him trembled and +paid one of their infrequent visits to the Mosque to implore the aid of the +Prophet, the veteran corsair was coolly reviewing the situation, seeking a +way to weather the tempest before which lesser men shrank appalled, +declaring that the end had come. The storm was coming in a squall of such +violence as even he had never before experienced, but, thanks to his friend +the King of France, he had been forewarned. He sent at once to his master, +Soliman the Magnificent, at Constantinople, to impart to him the direful +intelligence; then the bagnios were thrown open, and, under pitiless lash +and scourge, the Christian captives toiled from dawn till dark to repair +the fortifications of Tunis. Silent and unapproachable, conferring with +none, the grim old Sea-wolf sat in his palace overlooking the bay and +considered the question of whether he should give battle by land or sea +when the time came. If it were possible, he came to the conclusion that it +should be the latter; he had been evicted from his kingdom on land once +before, but he knew that in the open ocean few cared to face Barbarossa, +and he might fall on Doria first and the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem +second if matters turned out favourably for him. In any case, he must +summon all the aid that was possible. + +East and west flew the galleys of Kheyr-ed-Din, scudding before the wind if +that were favourable, or churning the surface of the sea with straining, +strenuous oars should the wind be foul or a calm prevail. + +It was an appeal for aid to the Moslem corsairs from Algiers, from Tlemcen, +from Oran, from Los Gelues (or Jerbah), and from all the countless islands +of the Archipelago, where they lurked to seize their prey--Tunis, which +flew the Crescent flag of the Prophet, was in danger--let them rally +against the grandson of the man who expelled the Moors from Spain. + +Grim and sinister, the corsairs came flocking to the standard of +Barbarossa. Well they knew that, should he fall, it was but a matter of +time for them all to be chased from off the face of the waters. Of cohesion +there was but little among them, and, in spite of the bond of a common +religion and a common hatred of the Christian, they were swayed far more by +a lust for plunder than by such considerations as these. In times of +imminent danger, however, men naturally crave for a leader, and in +piratical circles all was now subordinated to the instinct of +self-preservation. + +Meanwhile, in Christendom their great enemy was maturing his plans. To the +Marquis de Canete, Viceroy and Captain-General of the Kingdom of Navarre, +Charles wrote, confiding to his care the charge of the Empress, with +instructions that her orders were to be implicitly obeyed during his +absence. Having done this he journeyed to Barcelona, at which city he +arrived on April 8th, 1535. Here he was immediately joined by the armada of +Portugal--twenty caravelas raised, armed, and paid for by the King, Don +Juan of Portugal. This fleet was commanded by the Infante Don Luis, brother +to the Empress, and carried on board the vessels of which it was composed a +whole host of nobles and gentlemen of quality, who had come to fight under +the approving eyes of the Caesar of the modern world. + +On May 1st came Andrea Doria with twenty-two galleys, and those already in +the harbour crowded the sides of their vessels to watch the arrival of the +famous Genoese seaman. + +Four abreast in stately procession the great galleys swept into the +harbour. With that love of "spectacle" so inherent in the southern nature, +everything was done to ensure the military pomp and circumstance of the +coming of the first sea-commander of the Emperor. At first with furious +haste, and then slowing down to make the approach more stately, the fleet +of Andrea moved on. From mast and yard and jackstaff of the galleys of the +admiral floated twenty-four great banners of silk and gold embroidered with +the arms of the Emperor, with those of Spain, of Genoa, and of the Dorias, +Princes of Oneglia. The principal standard bore upon it a crucifix, +broidered at the sides with pictures of Saint John and the Virgin Mary; +another represented the Virgin with her Son in her arms. With the sound of +trumpets, clarions, chirimias, and atambours the fleet moved to within a +short distance of the Portuguese and saluted them; then, as the thunder of +the guns ceased and the light wind blew away the smoke, they circled round +and stopped abreast of the royal vessel on which Charles had embarked. Once +again the guns barked a royal salute, while knights and nobles, seamen and +soldiers hailed their Emperor with frenzied shouts of "Imperio! Imperio!" + +Then Andrea Doria stepped into his boat and was rowed across the shining +water to visit the Emperor, who received him, we are told, "with great +honour and many tokens of love." + +On May 12th arrived Don Alvaro de Bazan, General of the Galleys of Spain. +This magnificent caballero made an entrance in much the same state and +circumstance as did Doria, and during the remainder of the stay of the +armada in Barcelona there was much banqueting and feasting and drinking of +healths to the Emperor and confusion to the Moslem foe. It was once again +as it had been in those days in which Ferdinand and Isabella had descended +upon the doomed city of Granada, and had built, in full sight of its +defenders, the town which they called Santa Fe (or the Holy Faith) as an +earnest that they would never leave until that symbol of their faith had +triumphed. To witness this victory the best blood of Europe had flocked, +and now, forty-three years later, when the audacious Moslem had raised his +head once more, the descendant of the warriors who had followed "Los Reyes +Catolicos" rallied to that standard which Carlos Quinto, their grandson, +had set up on the shores of Catalonia. Sandoval devotes pages of his work +to the names, styles, and titles of the noble caballeros who joined the +army for the destruction of Barbarossa. + +On May 16th Charles embarked in the _Galera Capitana_ of Andrea Doria, +accompanied by many grandees and caballeros of the Court, as well as +illustrious foreigners like Prince Luis of Portugal, and held a review of +the armada. There was much expenditure of powder in salutes to the Emperor, +and all vied with one another in shouting themselves hoarse in honour of +the great monarch who deigned to lead in person the hosts of Christendom +against the infidel, who had defied his might and dared to offer him +battle. On May 28th the Emperor travelled some leagues inland, starting +before dawn, to visit the Monastery of Nuestra Senora de Monferrato, in +which was kept a singularly holy image of the Virgin. Here he confessed and +received the sacrament, and then returned to Barcelona. + +[Illustration: THE EMPEROR CHARLES V.] + +On May 30th he embarked in the Royal Galley, the _Galera Bastarda_, which +had been prepared for him by Andrea Doria, his Captain-General of the +Galleys. This vessel seems to have somewhat resembled the barge of +Cleopatra in the magnificence of its appointments, as its interior was +gilded, and it was fitted up with all the luxury that could be devised at +this period. Silken carpets and golden drinking-vessels, stores of the most +delicate food and of the rarest wines, were embarked to mitigate, as far as +possible, the inevitable hardships of a sea-passage, and there were not +lacking instruments of music wherewith to beguile the Caeesar with concord +of sweet sounds. Perhaps that which strikes the modern seaman most in this +recital of all the useless matters with which the vessels of the great were +burdened at this period is the extraordinary number of flags and banners +with which they went to sea. + +The catalogue of those in the _Galera Bastarda_ makes one rather wonder how +there was room for anything else of more practical usefulness when it came +to fighting. There were in this galley twenty-four yellow damask banners, +inscribed with the imperial arms; a pennon at the main of crimson taffeta +of immense length and breadth, with a golden crucifix embroidered thereon. +Two similar ones bore shields with the arms of the Emperor, and there was a +huge flag of white damask sewn with representations of keys, communion +chalices, and the cross of Saint Andrew, in crimson, with a Latin +inscription. There were yet two others of scarlet damask "of the same +grandeur," embroidered round the edge with "Plus Ultra," the device of +Spain. Among a further varied assortment was one which bore the +inscription: "Send, O God, thine angel to guard him in all his goings." + +The fleet under the command of Andrea Doria numbered sixty-two galleys and +one hundred and fifty nefs. There were also a miscellaneous assortment of +small craft, known in those days as "brigantines," employed in the carriage +of stores and ammunition. We have seen, on a former occasion, what terrible +losses attended one of these armadas when really bad weather was +encountered, and therefore it is not surprising that, on his second +venture, Charles should have selected the finest season of the year for his +descent upon the coast of Africa. They were brave men, these Mediterranean +seamen, and the risks which they ran in their strangely formed, unseaworthy +craft were of course much enhanced when they were loaded to the gunwale +with stores, provisions, horses, banners, and last, but by no means least, +a mob of seasick soldiery. + +Into this armada were crowded twenty-five thousand infantry and six hundred +lancers with their horses. + +Cagliari, in Sardinia, was the last rendezvous of the expedition, and here +it arrived in the early part of June, where a week was spent in making the +final preparations; and at last, on June 10th, a start was made for the +coast of Africa. + +Meanwhile in Tunis Kheyr-ed-Din was working double tides. He was kept well +informed by his spies of all that was going on, and his preparations for +defence were as adequate as they could be made; the corsairs, as we have +said, had come flocking in at his call. He had withdrawn as many of his +fighting men from Algiers as he deemed prudent. Knowing that the attack was +directed against him personally, he had not much fear that it would be +diverted at the last moment. It would have been true strategy on the part +of Charles to have done this, but the Emperor considered that his honour +required that the attack should be an absolutely direct one, and so Algiers +was left on one side, to the ultimate upsetting of his plans. We say this +because, although in this case he was to take Tunis and to restore to the +throne of that country the puppet King Muley Hassan, and although he was to +rescue some twenty thousand Christian captives, he did not capture +Barbarossa, who was to live for many years to continue and to carry on his +unceasing war against the Christians. + +There was no artifice left untried by the despot of Tunis. To the African +princes, Moors as well as Arabs and Berbers, did Kheyr-ed-Din send +embassies. For these he chose cunning men well versed in the means of +exciting the furious passions of these primitive and ferocious peoples, and +it was their mission to represent Muley Hassan as an infamous apostate who +was prompted by ambition and revenge, not only to become the vassal of a +Christian king, but to conspire with him to extirpate the Mohammedan faith. +The subtle policy inflamed these ignorant and bigoted Mohammedans to the +point of madness, and from far and near they threw in their lot with the +man who represented himself to be the rallying-point for all those in +Africa who desired not only to preserve their holy religion but also their +personal liberty. From Tripoli and Jerba, from Bougie and Bona, from the +shores of Shott-el-Jerid, through all the dim hinterland that stretches +from thence north-westwards to Algiers, the tribesmen came flocking in. The +wild riders of the desert had been rounded up, and it is said that no less +than twenty thousand horsemen, in addition to an innumerable crowd of +infantry, responded to the call of the master schemer who was but using +these guileless savages to further his own personal ends. The land-pirates +of the desert, those stormy petrels whose lives only differed from those of +the followers of Kheyr-ed-Din in that they carried on their depredations on +the land instead of on the sea, camped in their thousands in the environs +of Tunis and boasted of the deeds which they were about to perform. +Kheyr-ed-Din stimulated their enthusiasm with presents of the most costly +description. Ever wise and politic, he knew when it was necessary to pay +royally, and on this occasion surpassed himself in prodigality. For all +this he himself cherished no illusions; he had the measure of the fighting +men of his foes at his fingers' ends, and the most that he expected from +these wild irregulars was that they might, perchance, stay an onset and +worry the imperial army with dashing cavalry raids. But that they should +hold their own with the incomparable infantry of Spain, or make head +against the stolid valour of the German men-at-arms, was not contemplated +by Barbarossa. In his Janissaries, in his hard-bitten fighting men from the +galleys, he could expect much; but there were but some few thousands of +these, while the disciplined host against which he was called upon to +combat was at the least twenty-five thousand--the flower of the imperial +forces. The situation was unique, one on which the world had never looked +before--all the might of Christendom going up against one who, no matter by +what titles he might choose to describe himself, was no more than a vulgar +robber. He was, however, a robber on such a scale as had never before been +equalled--a force which remained unsubdued during the whole of his +extraordinary and unusually protracted career. + + + + +CHAPTER X + + +THE FALL OF TUNIS AND THE FLIGHT OF BARBAROSSA + +Autocracy in the sixteenth century was a very real and concrete fact. The +orders of great kings were, as a rule, implicitly obeyed, and, when they +were not, there was likely to be trouble of the worst description for those +by whom they had been contravened. It is this that causes us to regard as +most extraordinary one of the happenings in the armada which sailed from +Barcelona for the coast of Africa. A most peremptory order was issued that +no women, no boys, no one, in fact, save fighting men of approved worth, +should find a place in the ships. Says Sandoval, "No se consintiesen en la +armada mugeres ni muchachos ni otra gente inutil, mas de aquellos solos que +eran para pelear." (There were not allowed in the armada women, boys, or +useless persons, but only those who were capable of fighting.) It appears, +however, that the women paid no sort of attention to this ordinance, and +the historian gravely relates that "it was no use turning them out of the +ships as, as soon as you sent them down one side they returned and climbed +up the other," It seems almost incredible, but is none the less a fact, +that four thousand women accompanied the expedition and landed at Tunis. +The autocracy of the Emperor apparently stopped short where women were +concerned, or else he was indifferent whether they came or not. + +On June 16th the armada arrived before Tunis, and the army disembarked to +attack the fortress known as La Goletta. Into this strong place of arms +Barbarossa had sent some six thousand of his best men, mostly Turkish +soldiers, under the command of Sinan-Reis, a renegado Jew, and one of the +fiercest and most faithful of his followers. To the camp of the Emperor +came the fugitive King, Muley Hassan, in whose cause the armada had +nominally been assembled--how nominal this was we shall see later by the +light of the treaty concluded between him and the Emperor. Charles had +complete command of the sea for the time being, and, in consequence, the +ex-Sultan was amazed at the profusion and luxury which reigned in the camp +of the Christians; and he concluded that these indeed must be the lords of +the earth, as luxury and profusion was hardly the note of such courts as +then existed in the northern portion of the African continent. + +Although the army was landed, and with it artillery for the bombardment of +the Goletta, there remained, of course, "the army of the sea," under the +orders of the redoubtable Doria; and while the Marquis del Guasto, who was +in supreme command on shore, prepared to batter down the defences of the +fortress on the land side, the attack was carried on simultaneously from +the sea by the galleys. The actual presence of the Emperor stimulated the +various nationalities under his eyes to vie with one another in deeds of +daring, and they contended among themselves for the posts of the most +honour and danger. The attacks of the African horsemen were brushed on one +side by the disciplined valour of the Andalusian cavalry, while the great +guns thundered from land and sea against the walls of the doomed Goletta. +Sinan and his Ottoman soldiers performed prodigies in the way of repairing +breaches in the walls as soon as they were made; but Kheyr-ed-Din from the +city watched the progress of the bombardment gloomily, as he saw and knew +that the fall of the Goletta was but a matter of days. All this time he was +far from idle; sortie after sortie did the dauntless old warrior lead in +person against those engaged in the task of bombardment. Time and again he +heartened the Arab and Berber levies to attack, but the sallies were +repulsed, and the lightly armed Africans were driven like chaff before the +wind when they swooped down on the lines of investment. + +But the time came at last when Sinan and his gallant Turks could hold the +place no longer; the walls were breached in six or seven places, and +Spaniards, Germans, and Italians made a simultaneous attack. Sinan fighting +to the last, evacuated the fortress, and retired actually through the water +across a shallow part of the bay to the city, with the remnant of his once +magnificent force; and now Barbarossa knew that the end was come, and that +Tunis must pass from his hands to those of the Christian Emperor. It was +not only the fall of the Goletta that troubled him, but the equally +important fact that by this the fleet of the enemy was enabled to lay hands +upon his own fleet, consisting of eighty-seven galleys and galliots, +together with his arsenal, and no less than three hundred cannon, mostly +brass guns of excellent construction, mounted on the walls and planted on +the ramparts. The surprising amount of this artillery gives a measure of +the strength of the fortress and the efforts it must have cost the +besiegers with such a man as Sinan in command. + +That the end was near was known to all, and not the least of their +embarrassments was the presence within the city walls of some twenty +thousand Christian captives. The city was large, the defences were spread +out over a great area, it was abundantly evident that it could not be held, +and, in consequence, Barbarossa summoned his principal officers and +communicated to them his decision. + + "We will not remain here to be slain like rats in a trap by the accursed + of God by whom we are attacked. No, rather will we perish, sword in + hand, as our fathers have done before us; but first there is a danger + against which we have to guard. Within these walls are twenty thousand + prisoners who will rise against us at the first opportunity; let us, + then, first put them to death, and then we will leave this place and + show our enemies how the true Moslems can die." + +Even those hardened men of blood shrank before the horror which was +proposed to them by their chief, and Sinan-Reis took up his parable and +spoke the minds of all when he said that follow him to the death they would +cheerfully do, but stain themselves with so awful a massacre was to place +themselves outside the pale of humanity for ever. It was seldom that they +crossed his mood, and Barbarossa listened in frowning silence, accepting as +a partial excuse that time pressed, and to put to death twenty thousand +persons would occupy longer time than they could spare. On the morrow a +battle was fought which, as Kheyr-ed-Din anticipated, ended in the complete +rout of the Moslems. Everywhere the Corsair King was in the forefront of +the battle, and it is said that he disposed of fifty thousand men on this +occasion; but this is probably an exaggeration, and in any case the bulk of +his forces consisted of those African levies which, in a pitched battle +against European troops, were practically useless owing to their want of +discipline and cohesion. Very soon the hosts of the Emperor had prevailed, +and the Arabs and Berbers had fled back into the wilderness from whence +they had come and whither it was useless to pursue. Barbarossa, at the head +of such of his corsairs and Turks as were left--a number estimated at some +three to four thousand--burst through all opposition and also escaped, +travelling so rapidly that pursuit was abandoned almost at once. And then +the event happened which the Moslem leader had foreseen: some of the +Christian captives managed to get free from their shackles within the city +and released others; they overpowered those left to guard them, and threw +open the gates to the soldiery of the Emperor. + +Then occurred one of those awful horrors of which this time was so +prolific: before Charles or his generals could prevent them the soldiery +had swept into the town and commenced to slay, to plunder, and to ravish, +without distinction of age, sex, or nationality. Ostensibly these Christian +warriors had come to rescue the inhabitants of Tunis from the oppression of +Barbarossa, but while that chieftain was in full flight across the +mountains to Bona, those by whom he had been defeated entered the town, +which they had come to save, and perpetrated a massacre so awful that it is +said that no less than thirty thousand people perished. It is a terrible +blot on the escutcheon of the Emperor; as, although he and his generals +deprecated the massacre--and indeed to do them justice tried to prevent +it--this is no excuse for allowing their men to get out of hand, when they +must have been aware of the inevitable result: as the Moslem corsairs at +their worst were equalled in their iniquities by the European soldiery, +once the strong hand of discipline had relaxed its grip. + +It may have been that the Emperor was displeased with this excess of zeal +on the part of his army; but, if it were so, the chroniclers are silent +concerning the matter, being far too busy singing the praises of the Caesar +to think of such a trifle as the massacre of most of the persons whom he +had come to deliver. The wretched inhabitants of Tunis must have found it +somewhat difficult to distinguish between the corsair, who killed three +thousand of their fellow townsmen, and the Christian Emperor, who had +massacred ten times that number. Charles, however, reaped great glory from +an expedition which had but one good result, which was, that he succeeded +in rescuing twenty thousand captives; these men, very naturally, on their +return to their homes in every corner of Europe, magnified the wonderful +deeds of that prince who had been instrumental in securing their release, +and the massacre of the Tunisians was conveniently ignored. Charles had +defeated Barbarossa and expelled him from Tunis; he had now displayed his +magnanimity and altruism by the terms which he imposed on the miserable +Muley Hassan. As far as that individual was concerned, he certainly +deserved nothing better; but, as a _finale_ to an expedition blessed by the +Pope, and looked upon almost in the light of a modern crusade, it certainly +displays a remarkably keen eye for the main chance. + +The preamble of the treaty runs as follows: + + That the King of Tunis, recognising that he had been expelled from his + kingdom by Barbarossa, and that the Emperor in person, with a powerful + armada, had come and expelled this tyrant, taking from him the fortress + and town of Tunis and restoring them to the King Muley Hassan: that this + monarch is most grateful for so magnificent a service, and in + recognition thereof contracts to liberate all Christian captives who may + be in his realm, to give them a free passage to their homes, and from + this time forward binds himself to extend to all Christians kind and + generous treatment. + +There can be no exception taken to this, which was the least which the +Emperor had the right to expect; but this was only, as we have said, the +preamble. + +Muley Hassan was further made to contract to hold his kingdom in fee to the +Spanish Crown, to covenant that no corsair should use his ports for any +purpose whatsoever, that the Emperor should not only retain the Goletta but +that all other fortified seaports should be put into his hands, that the +King of Tunis should in future pay twelve thousand crowns per annum 'for +the subsistence of the Spanish garrison of the Goletta, that he should +enter into no alliance with the enemies of the Emperor, and should annually +present, as an acknowledgment of his vassalage, six Moorish horses and six +hawks. + +Muley Hassan had exchanged the comparatively dignified position of a prince +in exile, who has been expropriated by the strong hand, for that of the +puppet of one of the greatest enemies of his religion. Neither he nor his +people were one whit the better for the change, and, as far as vassalage +was concerned, they would in all probability, in the state of religious +feeling at the time, have sooner been subordinate to the Moslem corsair +than to the Christian King. + +[Illustration: MULEY HASSAN, KING OF TUNIS.] + +Barbarossa, as we have seen, frankly acknowledged that he sought his own +advantage, and, when he possessed himself of Tunis, made no pretence of any +altruistic motive. The Emperor, on the other hand, having come in the guise +of a Christian reformer, simply stole the kingdom from Barbarossa and kept +it for himself. Incidentally he released the captives, which enabled him to +pose once more as the great champion of the oppressed. But, however this +may have been, there is no doubt that he had performed a notable feat of +arms, and even the most mighty monarch then in Europe felt uplifted by the +fact that he had defeated the greatest of the corsairs: accordingly, on +July 25th Charles wrote to England, France, Portugal, Milan, Florence, +Venice, Genoa, Siena, Mantua, and Naples: "De manera que en pocas dias se +supo in toda Europa su buena fortuna." (So it was in a few days the whole +of Europe was acquainted with his good fortune.) + +Martin Nunez, "Caballero de Toledo," was sent on a special embassy to the +Pope to acquaint the Pontiff at first hand of all that happened, and the +success which had attended the arms of the Emperor, and also to thank his +Holiness for the assistance which he had rendered by sending the Papal +galleys. Jorge de Melo, a Portuguese caballero, was sent to his own country +with despatches, and other nobles and high officials were despatched to the +Emperor's Viceroys in the various parts of his dominions. In the long +circular letter which Charles addressed to all these potentates--and which +is reproduced in its entirety by Sandoval--he says "that the Christian +captives found in Tunis amounted to something like eighteen to twenty +thousand, that Barbarossa had escaped with some five thousand Turks, +corsairs, and renegadoes, of which three thousand were on horseback and two +thousand afoot; that, as they suffered from great scarcity of provisions, +and the almost total lack of water, many were falling by the way, and many +others were being murdered by their quondam allies for such goods as they +possessed, or for the value of their arms and clothing." + +We must now return to Kheyr-ed-Din. What the sufferings of that chieftain +and the remnant of his gallant army must have been in their flight to Bona +they alone knew. It was the height of summer, and burning tracks of desert +and rugged mountain passes had to be surmounted; naturally they could have +carried but very little food, and water they had to find on the way. In +addition to this, as we have seen in the despatch of Charles, the tribesmen +turned against them, cutting off stragglers and murdering and plundering as +opportunity offered. Barbarossa himself was an old man, so old that it +seems nothing short of a miracle that he should have survived the hardships +of this awful march. Not only did he do this, but apparently arrived at +Bona in condition to continue his journey by sea at once, had he cared to +do so. He had lost his newly acquired kingdom, he had lost nearly his +entire fleet, his arsenal and stores were in the hands of his enemies; if +ever a man was completely crushed it was he on this memorable occasion. As +we have said before, however, it was in times of the greatest stress when +the indomitable character of this man rose to meet the occasion, and, while +his foes were congratulating one another that at last there was an end of +the scourge of the Mediterranean and the bugbear of Christendom, the hunted +fugitive was merely preparing himself for fresh acts of aggression. + +The real fact of the matter was that he was above all and before all a +seaman. The defeat of Kheyr-ed-Din meant merely the transference of his +malign activities from one sphere to another--from the sea to the land, or +from the land to the sea. King he called himself, and king _de facto_ he +was both in Algiers and Tunis, reigning with unexampled cruelty, a +prototype of those other corsair kings by whom he was succeeded. But the +real source of his power lay, not in stone walls and fortifications, nor in +ill-trained levies of African tribes, but in his own genius for command at +sea, and the manner in which he was able to inspire with his own dauntless +and desperate spirit those hardy mariners who followed in his train, the +descendants of the "Moriscoes" who hailed from the ancient Moorish kingdoms +of Cordoba and Granada. + +Thus it was in the present instance. He had been unable to withstand the +might of Caesar and his legions, but Tunis was not the whole of Northern +Africa, nor had quite all his eggs been kept in that one basket. He had +kept fifteen galleys in reserve at Bona, and, in consequence, on his +arrival there, was able to embark at once. This he did, and hardly had he +done so when there appeared upon the scene fifteen galleys commanded by +Adan Centurion and John Doria. Kheyr-ed-Din had had enough of fighting just +for the present; his men and he were wearied out by the hardships of their +flight, and accordingly he drew up his galleys under the fort at Bona and +awaited an attack, should the enemy care to deliver one. But Adan +Centurion's heart failed him; to cut out the old Sea-wolf from under one of +his own batteries was more than he had the stomach for, and he accordingly +sailed away. "Fue sin duda la perdida grande" (this no doubt was a great +pity), is the comment of Sandoval, who goes on to say that, had the Genoese +been the men that they had been aforetime, this would never have been, and +that they would have gone in and burnt or disabled the galleys of the +corsair, slain their leader, or driven him ashore. Hot on the tracks of +Adan Centurion and his nephew John came the veteran Andrea Doria with forty +galleys, but he was too late, and the bird had flown; had it been he who +had arrived in the first instance, then it is more than probable that +matters would have turned out differently, and Kheyr-ed-Din had then and +there terminated his career. It is true that Andrea possessed himself of +Bona, and the Corsair King was shorn of yet another of his land-stations, +but for the time he had cut himself adrift from the land, and had gone back +to that element in which he was particularly at home. + +Doria left Bona in the charge of Alvar Gomez and a company of Spanish +troops and then sailed away, if possible to find and capture Barbarossa, +thus to set the seal of completeness on the victory which had been won by +his master the Emperor. Another stronghold of the corsairs was now in most +competent hands, as Alvar Gomez Zagal was one of the most renowned +caballeros of Spain, son of that Pero Lopez de Horusco on whom the Moors +themselves had bestowed the title of "Al Zagal," or "The Valiant," on +account of his extraordinary bravery. + +On August 17th Charles re-embarked his army and evacuated the country, +leaving, however, one thousand Spanish veterans, under the command of +Bernard de Mendoza, in charge of the Goletta, as a permanent memorial of +the expedition, and as a guarantee that the wretched Muley Hassan should +fully comply with the treaty obligations which had been imposed upon him. +It is true that Barbarossa had not been captured, but his city had been +taken, his fleet had been destroyed, and he himself was now a fugitive, +unable any further to trouble the peace of Christendom or the dignity of +the Emperor by whom he had been so soundly chastised. In consequence the +Caesar departed well pleased with himself and with those who had been acting +under his orders, to whom he distributed orders and titles, as a memento of +the occasion upon which they had finally broken up the power of those by +whom his peace had so long been troubled. + +One of the difficulties in dealing with the career of Kheyr-ed-Din +Barbarossa is that, in times when he was unsuccessful, or when, as on the +present occasion, he had received a severe setback, it is next to +impossible to find out what he was doing or where exactly he was preparing +for his next coup. In this case, in particular, the old-time historians +were thanking God that the Emperor had rid the world of a particularly +pestilent knave, and ceased to trouble themselves much about him until he +forced himself once more upon their notice. Had Charles at this time +recognised the greatness of the man whom he had just so signally defeated +he might have changed the course of history. Had he, instead of sailing +back to Europe, content with that which he had accomplished in Tunis, +pushed his attack home on Algiers, he might have made himself master of the +whole of Northern Africa, as, in the disorganised state in which the +corsairs now found themselves, they could certainly have offered no +effective resistance. But to the Emperor these rovers of the sea presented +themselves merely in the light of robbers. Robbers, it is true, on a +somewhat large scale, but still not persons of sufficient importance to +detain him from the infinitely more pressing affairs which awaited him on +the opposite shores of the Mediterranean Sea. + +In addition to the fifteen galleys which Kheyr-ed-Din picked up at Bona he +had in reserve at Algiers some fifty others. Escaping the attention of Adan +Centurion and John Doria, and the infinitely more formidable squadron of +Andrea, he headed once more for Algiers, and for a time seems to have +remained quiet, no doubt recuperating from the fatigues, disappointments, +and physical hardships which he had so recently undergone. He was +apparently undisturbed during the winter by his Christian enemies, and was +in consequence able to think out his future plans of campaign and to +collect and put heart into his scattered followers, who, in ones and twos, +were gradually, such of them as were left, finding their way back to the +headquarters of piracy and its indomitable chieftain. + +That cool calculator of the chances of life knew that this must be so; the +power of the corsairs generally had received the worst blow it had ever +encountered since the dispossessed Moriscoes had taken to the sea for a +living; those of them who remained alive were without ships--that is to +say, without their only means of making a livelihood--and that they should +gravitate towards Algiers and its master was as nearly a certainty as +anything human could be. And, as was anticipated by the chief, so it came +to pass. Into the city straggled broken, starving, sullen men who had lost +their all, for whom the future held nothing but misery and despair unless +they could get to sea once more. + +It was on occasions such as this that the intellectual eminence of +Barbarossa was so marked. Rough and cruel as he was, he possessed +nevertheless a magnetic power over the minds of men, on which, when it so +pleased him, he could play with the most extraordinary effect. And now, +when the rank and file of the corsairs were ragged, hungry, and smarting +under defeat, he dealt with them tenderly and graciously; and the sum of +his teaching was to the effect that they had but to follow him once more +and all the evils from which they were suffering would be presently +remedied. So it came about that men who, before the defeat, had commanded +ships of their own, were glad enough to become units on board the galleys +of Kheyr-ed-Din, animated by the pleasing hope that soon again, under the +leadership of this man, they might regain all, nay more, than they had +lost. It must be remembered that Barbarossa argued from sound premises when +he held out such hopes as these to the desperate remnant of the corsairs in +Algiers in that sad winter of 1535. He was the greatest of them all, and +they, as well as he, knew this to be a fact: if they had lost their all in +the past battles, they had been fighting in a common cause to preserve +their own lives and their liberty to plunder the Christian at sea. And now +there was work and there was bread to eat for those who once again would +throw in their lot with their old leader; and, although it may be said that +these men had no alternative, still they threw themselves with heartiness +into that which the master mind decreed should be their work, and this was +none other than the preparation of the galleys for another campaign against +the Christian. + +"What matter, comrades?" said the veteran on one occasion when he was +superintending the fitting out of the galleys. "These dogs have gone back +from whence they came, and they have left that creature, Muley Hassan, to +do their will in Tunis. It is true that there is Mendoza and his thousand +Spaniards in the Goletta, but did not Martin de Vargas hold the Penon here? +And where is De Vargas, and in whose hands is the Penon now? We know from +whence the garrisons of Spain draw their supplies, and believe me that +there will be hungry men in the Goletta in this coming year. Once we get to +sea again, there will be more than enough for every good man who believes +in the Prophet, and who has the sense to follow Barbarossa. For every ducat +that you have lost see, in the coming year, if you do not gain ten; the +Christians are off their guard now, and they think that they have done with +me because they have captured Tunis." He laughed his great, jovial laugh. +"By the beard of the Prophet--upon whom be peace!--they have yet to find +out the man with whom they have to deal." + +It took a master mind to instil heart of grace into men who so recently had +had so bad a beating as these; but in the end they began to cheer up, and +to recollect how Barbarossa had sooner or later always risen from defeat as +strong or stronger than before; also they recalled the fact that he was the +chosen of the Padishah, and that that potentate, the representative of the +Prophet on earth, would assuredly come to his assistance now that Tunis, +which had been taken in his name, had been reft from Barbarossa by the +Christians. Gradually hope took the place of despair, and when the corsairs +took to the sea in the early part of the following year it was with renewed +confidence in both themselves and their leader. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + +ROXALANA AND THE MURDER OF IBRAHIM + +At the coming of spring Barbarossa was at sea again with thirty-two ships +ready for any eventuality, his crews aflame with ardour for revenge against +those by whom they had been so roughly handled. He chose for the scene of +operations a place on the coast of Majorca some fifteen miles from Palma; +from here he commanded the route of the Spaniards from their country to the +African coast, and it was against this nation that he felt a great +bitterness owing to recent events. Eagerly did the corsair and his men +watch for the Spanish ships, the heavier vessels lying at anchor, but the +light, swift galleys ranging and questing afar so that none might be +missed. Very soon the vigilance of the Moslems was rewarded by the capture +of a number of vessels, sent by Bernard de Mendoza laden with Turkish and +Moorish slaves, destined to be utilised as rowers in the Spanish galleys. +These men were hailed as a welcome reinforcement, and joyfully joined the +forces of Kheyr-ed-Din when he moved on Minorca, captured the castle by a +surprise assault, raided the surrounding country, and captured five +thousand seven hundred Christians, amongst whom were eight hundred men who +had been wounded in the attack on Tunis--all these unfortunates were sent +to refill the bagnio of Algiers. + +This private war of revenge was, however, destined soon to come to an end, +as Soliman the Magnificent in this year became involved in disputes with +the Venetian Republic, and recalled "that veritable man of the sea," as +Barbarossa had been described by Ibrahim, to Constantinople. + +In this city by the sea there had taken place a tragedy which, although it +only involved the death of a single man, was nevertheless far-reaching in +its consequences; for the man was none other than that great statesman +Ibrahim, Grand Vizier, and the only trusted counsellor of the Padishah. He +who had been originally a slave had risen step by step in the favour of his +master until he arrived at the giddy eminence which he occupied at the time +of his death. It is a somewhat curious commentary on the essentially +democratic status of an autocracy that a man could thus rise to a position +second only to that of the autocrat himself; and, in all probability, +wielding quite as much power. + +Ibrahim had for years been treated by Soliman more as a brother than as a +dependent, which, in spite of his Grand Viziership, he was in fact. They +lived in the very closest communion, taking their meals together, and even +sleeping in the same room, Soliman, a man of high intelligence himself, and +a ruler who kept in touch with all the happenings which arose in his +immense dominions, desiring always to have at hand the man whom he loved; +from whom, with his amazing grip of political problems and endless +fertility of resource, he was certain of sympathy and sound advice. But in +an oriental despotism there are other forces at work besides those of _la +haute politique_, and Ibrahim had one deadly enemy who was sworn to compass +his destruction. The Sultana Roxalana was the light of the harem of the +Grand Turk. This supremely beautiful woman, originally a Russian slave, was +the object of the most passionate devotion on the part of Soliman; but she +was as ambitious as she was lovely, and brooked no rival in the affections +of Soliman, be that person man, woman, or child. In her hands the master of +millions, the despot whose nod was death, became a submissive slave; the +undisciplined passions of this headstrong woman swept aside from her path +all those whom she suspected of sharing her influence, in no matter how +remote a fashion. At her dictation had Soliman caused to be murdered his +son Mustafa, a youth of the brightest promise, because, in his intelligence +and his winning ways he threatened to eclipse Selim, the son of Roxalana +herself. + +This woman possessed a strong natural intelligence, albeit she was totally +uneducated; she saw and knew that Ibrahim was all-powerful with her lover, +and this roused her jealousy to fever-heat. She was not possessed of a cool +judgment, which would have told her that Ibrahim was a statesman dealing +with the external affairs of the Sublime Porte, and that with her and with +her affairs he neither desired, nor had he the power, to interfere. What, +however, the Sultana did know was that in these same affairs of State her +opinion was dust in the balance when weighed against that of the Grand +Vizier. + +Soliman had that true attribute of supreme greatness, the unerring aptitude +for the choice of the right man. He had picked out Ibrahim from among his +immense entourage, and never once had he regretted his choice. As time went +on and the intellect and power of the man became more and more revealed to +his master, that sovereign left in his hands even such matters as despots +are apt to guard most jealously. We have seen how, in spite of the +murmurings of the whole of his capital, and the almost insubordinate +attitude of his navy, he had persevered in the appointment of Kheyr-ed-Din +Barbarossa, because the judgment of Ibrahim was in favour of its being +carried out. This, to Roxalana, was gall and wormwood; well she knew that, +as long as the Grand Vizier lived, her sovereignty was at best but a +divided one. There was a point at which her blandishments stopped short; +this was when she found that her opinion did not coincide with that of the +minister. She was, as we have seen in the instance of her son, not a woman +to stick at trifles, and she decided that Ibrahim must die. + +There could be no hole-and-corner business about this; he must die, and +when his murder had been accomplished she would boldly avow to her lover +what she had done and take the consequences, believing in her power over +him to come scatheless out of the adventure. In those days, when human life +was so cheap, she might have asked for the death of almost any one, and her +whim would have been gratified by a lover who had not hesitated to put to +death his own son at her dictation. But with Ibrahim it was another matter; +he was the familiar of the Sultan, his _alter ego_ in fact, It says much +for the nerve of the Sultana that she dared so greatly on this memorable +and lamentable occasion. + +On March 5th, 1536, Ibrahim, went to the royal seraglio, and, following his +ancient custom, was admitted to the table of his master, sleeping after the +meal at his side. At least so it was supposed, but none knew save those +engaged in the murder what passed on that fatal night; the next day his +dead body lay in the house of the Sultan. + +Across the floor of jasper, in that palace which was a fitting residence +for one rightly known as "The Magnificent," the blood of Ibrahim flowed to +the feet of Roxalana. The disordered clothing, the terrible expression of +the face of the dead man, the gaping wounds which he had received, bore +witness that there had taken place a grim struggle before that iron frame +and splendid intellect had been levelled with the dust. This much leaked +out afterwards, as such things will leak out, and then the Sultana took +Soliman into her chamber and gazed up into his eyes. The man was stunned by +the immensity of the calamity which had befallen him and his kingdom, but +his manhood availed him not against the wiles of this Circe. Ibrahim had +been foully done to death in his own palace, and this woman clinging so +lovingly around his neck now was the murderess. The heart's blood of his +best friend was coagulating on the threshold of his own apartment when he +forgave her by whom his murder had been accomplished. This was the +vengeance of Roxalana, and who shall say that it was not complete? + +The Ottoman Empire was the poorer by the loss of its greatest man, the +jealousy of the Sultana was assuaged, the despot who had permitted this +unavenged murder was still on the throne, thrall to the woman who had first +murdered his son and then his friend and minister. But the deed carried +with it the evil consequences which were only too likely to occur when so +capable a head of the State was removed at so critical a time. Renewed +strife was in the air, and endless squabbles between Venice and the Porte +were taking place. With these we have no concern, but, in addition to other +complaints, there were loud and continuous ones concerning the corsairs. +Venice, "The Bride of the Sea," had neither rest nor peace; the pirates +swarmed in Corfu, in Zante, in Candia, in Cephalonia, and the plunder and +murder of the subjects of the Republic was the theme of perpetual +representations to the Sultan. The balance of advantage in this guerilla +warfare was with the corsairs until Girolame Canale, a Venetian captain, +seized one of the Moslem leaders known as "The Young Moor of Alexandria," +The victory of Canale was somewhat an important one as he captured the +galley of "The Young Moor" and four others; two more were sunk, and three +hundred Janissaries and one thousand slaves fell into the hands of the +Venetian commander. There being an absence of nice feeling on the part of +the Venetians, the Janissaries were at once beheaded to a man. + +The whole story is an illustration of the extraordinary relations existing +among the Mediterranean States at this time. Soliman the Magnificent, +Sultan of Turkey, had lent three hundred of his Janissaries, his own picked +troops, to assist the corsairs in their depredations on Venetian commerce. +Having done this, and the Janissaries having been caught and summarily and +rightly put to death as pirates, the Sultan, as soon as he heard of what +had occurred, sent an ambassador, one Yonis Bey, to Venice to demand +satisfaction for the insult passed upon him by the beheading of his own +soldiers turned pirates. The conclusion of the affair was that the +Venetians released "The Young Moor of Alexandria" as soon as he was cured +of the eight wounds which he had received in the conflict, and sent him +back to Africa with such of his galleys as were left. There was one rather +comical incident in connection with this affair, which was that when Yonis +Bey was on his way from Constantinople to Venice he was chased by a +Venetian fleet, under the command of the Count Grandenico, and driven +ashore. The Count was profuse in his apologies when he discovered that he +had been chasing a live ambassador; but the occurrence so exasperated +Soliman that he increased his demands in consequence. + +Barbarossa, who had spent his time harrying the Spaniards at sea ever since +the fall of Tunis, was shortly to appear on the scene again. He received +orders from the Sultan, and came as fast as a favouring wind would bring +him. Kheyr-ed-Din had been doing well in the matter of slaves and plunder, +but he knew that, with the backing of the Grand Turk, he would once again +be in command of a fleet in which he might repeat his triumph of past +years, and prove himself once more the indispensable "man of the sea." + +Soon after his arrival his ambitions were gratified, and he found himself +with a fleet of one hundred ships. Since the death of Ibrahim, and the +incident which terminated with the despatch of Yonis Bey to Venice, the +relations between the Grand Turk and the Venetian Republic had become +steadily worse, and at last the Sultan declared war. On May 17th, 1537, +Soliman, accompanied by his two sons, Selim and Mohammed, left +Constantinople. With the campaign conducted by the Sultan we are not +concerned here; it was directed against the Ionian Islands, which had been +in the possession of Venice since 1401. On August 18th Soliman laid siege +to Corfu, and was disastrously beaten, re-embarking his men on September +7th, after losing thousands in a fruitless attack on the fortress. He +returned to Constantinople utterly discomfited. It was the seventh campaign +which the Sultan had conducted in person, but the first in which the +ever-faithful Ibrahim had not been by his side. + +This defeat at the hands of the Venetians was not, however, the only +humiliation which he was destined to experience in this disastrous year; +for once again Doria, that scourge of the Moslem, was loose upon the seas, +and was making his presence felt in the immediate neighbourhood of Corfu, +where the Turks had been defeated. On July 17th Andrea had left the port of +Messina with twenty-five galleys, had captured ten richly laden Turkish +ships, gutted and burned them. Kheyr-ed-Din was at sea at the time, but the +great rivals were not destined to meet on this occasion. Instead of +Barbarossa, Andrea fell in with Ali-Chabelli, the lieutenant of Sandjak Bey +of Gallipoli. On July 22nd the Genoese admiral and the Turkish commander +from the Dardanelles met to the southward of Corfu, off the small island of +Paxo, and a smart action ensued. It ended in the defeat of Ali-Chabelli, +whose galleys were captured and towed by Doria into Paxo. That veteran +fighter was himself in the thickest of the fray, and, conspicuous in his +crimson doublet, had been an object of attention to the marksmen of +Chabelli during the entire action. In spite of the receipt of a severe +wound in the knee, the admiral refused to go below until victory was +assured. He was surrounded at this time by a devoted band of nobles sworn +to defend the person of their admiral or to die in his defence. His +portrait has been sketched for us at this time by the Dominican Friar, +Padre Alberto Gugliel-motto, author of "La guerra dei Pirati e la marina +Pontifica dal 1500 al 1560." The description runs thus: "Andrea Doria was +of lofty stature, his face oval in shape, forehead broad and commanding, +his neck was powerful, his hair short, his beard long and fan-shaped, his +lips were thin, his eyes bright and piercing." + +Once again had he defeated an officer of the Grand Turk; and it may be +remarked that Ibrahim was probably quite right in the estimation, or rather +in the lack of estimation, in which he held the sea-officers of his master, +as they seem to have been deficient in every quality save that of personal +valour, and in their encounters with Doria and the knights were almost +invariably worsted. For the sake of Islam, for the prestige of the Moslem +arms at sea, it was time that Barbarossa should take matters in hand once +more. + +The autumn of this year 1537 proved that the old Sea-wolf had lost none of +his cunning, that his followers were as terrible as ever. What did it seem +to matter that Venetian and Catalan, Genoese and Frenchman, Andalusian and +the dwellers in the Archipelago, were all banded together in league against +this common foe? Did not the redoubtable Andrea range the seas in vain, and +were not all the efforts of the Knights of Saint John futile, when the son +of the renegado from Mitylene and his Christian wife put forth from the +Golden Horn? What was the magic of this man, it was asked despairingly, +that none seemed able to prevail against him? Had it not been currently +reported that Carlos Quinto, the great Emperor, had driven him forth from +Tunis a hunted fugitive, broken and penniless, with never a galley left, +without one ducat in his pocket? Was he so different, then, from all the +rest of mankind that his followers would stick to him in evil report as +well as in the height of his prosperity? Men swore and women crossed +themselves at the mention of his name. + +"Terrible as an army with banners," indeed, was Kheyr-ed-Din in this +eventful summer: things had gone badly with the crescent flag, the Padishah +was unapproachable in his palace, brooding perchance on that "might have +been" had he not sold his honour and the life of his only friend to gratify +the malice of a she-devil; those in attendance on the Sultan trembled, for +the humour of the despot was black indeed. + +But "the veritable man of the sea" was in some sort to console him for that +which he had lost; as never in his own history--and there was none else +with which it could be compared--had the Corsair King made so fruitful a +raid. He ravaged the coasts of the Adriatic and the islands of the +Archipelago, sweeping in slaves by the thousand, and by the end of the year +he had collected eighteen thousand in the arsenal at Stamboul. Great was +the jubilation in Constantinople when the Admiralissimo himself returned +from his last expedition against the infidel; stilled were the voices which +hinted disaffection--who among them all could bring back four hundred +thousand pieces of gold? What mariner could offer to the Grand Turk such +varied and magnificent presents? + +Upon his arrival Barbarossa asked permission to kiss the threshold of the +palace of the Sultan, which boon being graciously accorded to him, he made +his triumphal entry. Two hundred captives clad in scarlet robes carried +cups of gold and flasks of silver behind them came thirty others, each +staggering under an enormous purse of sequins; yet another two hundred +brought collars of precious stones or bales of the choicest goods; and a +further two hundred were laden with sacks of small coin. Certainly if +Soliman the Magnificent had lost a Grand Vizier he had succeeded in finding +an admiral! + +All through the earlier months of 1538 the dockyards of Constantinople +hummed with a furious activity, for Soliman had decreed that the maritime +campaign of this year was to begin with no less than one hundred and fifty +ships. His admiral, however, did not agree with this decision; to the +Viziers he raged and stormed. "Listen," he said, "O men of the land who +understand naught of the happenings of the sea. By this time Saleh-Reis +must have quitted Alexandria convoying to the Bosphorus twenty sail filled +with the richest merchandise; should he fall in with the accursed Genoese, +Doria, where then will be Saleh-Reis and his galleys and his convoy? I will +tell you: the ships in Genoa, the galleys burned, Saleh-Reis and all his +mariners chained to the rowers' bench." + +The Viziers trembled, as men did when Barbarossa stormed and turned upon +them those terrible eyes which knew neither fear nor pity. "We be but men," +they answered, "and our lord the Sultan has so ordained it." + +"I have forty galleys," replied the corsair; "you have forty more. With +these I will take the sea; but, mark you," he continued, softening +somewhat, "you do right to fear the displeasure of the Sultan, and I also +have no wish to encounter it; but vessels raised and equipped in a hurry +will be of small use to me. In the name of Allah the compassionate and his +holy Prophet give me my eighty galleys and let me go." + +In Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa sound strategical instinct went hand in hand +with the desperate valour of the corsair. To dally in the Golden Horn while +so rich a prey was at sea to be picked up by his Christian foes was +altogether opposed to his instincts: never to throw away a chance in the +game of life had ever been his guiding principle. + +Soliman, great man as he undoubtedly was, had not the adamantine hardness +of character which enabled his admiral to risk all on the hazards of the +moment; or possibly the Grand Turk was deficient in that clearness of +strategical instinct which never in any circumstances forgoes a present +advantage for something which may turn out well in a problematical future. +Soliman, sore, sullen, and unapproachable, dwelt in his palace brooding +over the misfortunes which had been his lot since the death of Ibrahim. +Barbarossa, who so recently had lost practically all that he possessed, and +who had reached an age at which most men have no hopes for the future, was +as clear in intellect, as undaunted in spirit, as if he had been half a +century younger: to be even once more with those by whom he had been +defeated and dispossessed was the only thing now in his mind. The capture +of Saleh-Reis and his convoy would be a triumph of which he could not bear +to think. Further, it would add to the demoralisation of the sea forces of +the Sultan, which were sadly in need of some striking success after the +defeats which had so recently been their portion. The Sultan had decided +that one hundred and fifty ships were necessary; his admiral thought +otherwise. There was too much at stake for him to dally at Constantinople; +his fiery energy swept all before it, and in the end he had his way. On +June 7th, 1538, he finally triumphed over the hesitations of the Viziers +and put to sea with eighty sail. + +The Sultan, from his kiosk, the windows of which opened on the Bosphorus, +counted the ships. + +"Only eighty sail; is that all?" he asked. + +The trembling Viziers prostrated themselves before him. + +"O our Lord, the Padishah," they cried, "Saleh-Reis comes from Alexandria +with a rich convoy; somewhere lurking is Andrea Doria, the accursed; it was +necessary, O Magnificent, to send succour." + +There was a pause, in which the hearts of men beat as do those who know not +but that the next moment may be their last on earth. + +The Sultan stared from his window at the retreating ships in a silence like +the silence of the grave. At last he turned: + +"So be it," he answered briefly; "but see to it that reinforcements do not +lag upon the road." + +If there had been activity in the dockyards before it was as nothing to the +strenuous work that was to be done henceforward. + +Before starting on this expedition Kheyr-ed-Din had made an innovation in +the manning of some of the most powerful of his galleys, which was of the +utmost importance, and which was to add enormously to the success of his +future maritime enterprises. The custom had always been that the Ottoman +galleys had been rowed by Christians, captured and enslaved; of course the +converse was true in the galleys of their foes. There were, for the size of +the vessels, an enormous number of men carried in the galleys of the +sixteenth century, and an average craft of this description would have on +board some four hundred men; of these, however, the proportion would be two +hundred and fifty slaves to one hundred and fifty fighting men. That which +Kheyr-ed-Din now insisted upon was that a certain proportion of his most +powerful units should be rowed by Moslem fighting men, so that on the day +of battle the oarsmen could join in the fray instead of remaining chained +to their benches, as was the custom with the slaves. It is, however, an +extraordinary testimony to the influence which the corsair had attained in +Constantinople that he had been able to effect this change in the +composition of some of his crews; it must have been done with the active +co-operation of the Sultan, as no authority less potent than that of the +sovereign himself could have induced free men to undertake the terrible +toil of rower in a galley. This was reserved for the unfortunate slave on +either side owing to the intolerable hardship of the life, and results, in +the pace at which a galley proceeded through the water, were usually +obtained by an unsparing use of the lash on the naked bodies of the rowers. + +This human material was used up in the most prodigal manner possible, as +those in command had not the inducement of treating the rowers well, from +that economic standpoint which causes a man to so use his beast of burden +as to get the best work from him. In the galley, when a slave could row no +more he was flung overboard and another was put in his place. + +The admiral, however, even when backed by the Padishah, could not man a +large fleet of galleys with Moslem rowers, and, as there was a shortage in +the matter of propelling power, his first business was to collect slaves, +and for this purpose he visited the islands of the Archipelago. The lot of +the unhappy inhabitants of these was indeed a hard one. They were nearer to +the seat of the Moslem power than any other Christians; they were in those +days totally unable to resist an attack in force, and in consequence were +swept off in their thousands. + +Seven islands cover the entrance to the Gulf of Volo. The nearest to the +coast is Skiathos, which is also the most important; it was defended by a +castle built upon a rock. This castle was attacked by Barbarossa, who +bombarded it for six days, carried it by assault, and massacred the +garrison. He spared the lives of the inhabitants of the island, and by this +means secured three thousand four hundred rowers for his galleys. He had to +provide motor-power for the reinforcements which he expected. In July he +was reinforced from Constantinople by ninety galleys, while from Egypt came +Saleh-Reis, who had succeeded in avoiding the terrible Doria, with twenty +more; the fleet was thus complete. + +Barbarossa ravaged Skios, Andros, and other islands, putting them under +contribution, and in this manner raised some eight thousand ducats; from a +pen of guinea-fowl to a king's ransom, nothing escaped the maw of this most +rapacious of corsairs. Candia and some other islands yielded up some small +spoil, but the sufferings of such insignificant folk as the wretched +islanders were soon lost to the sight of the Christian world in the +magnitude of the events which were now impending. + +Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, Corsair, Admiral, and King, the scourge of the +Mediterranean, and Andrea Doria, Prince of Oneglia, Admiral of the modern +Caesar, Charles V., Emperor and King, were at last to meet face to face. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + +THE PREVESA CAMPAIGN; THE GATHERING OF THE FLEETS + +Some thirty-five miles to the south-eastward of Cape Bianco (the +southernmost point of the island of Corfu) lies Prevesa, at the entrance of +the Gulf of Arta, or, as it was known in classic times, the Ambracian Gulf. +In these seas, in the year 31 B.C., was fought one of the most memorable +battles of antiquity, for it was here that Octavius, afterward Augustus +Caesar, defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra. There have been many +controversies of late years as to whom the original idea of breaking the +line in naval combats is due: anyhow, it can claim a respectable antiquity, +as it was practised at the battle of Actium by Octavius, who by a skilful +manoeuvre caused Antony to lengthen his line, which he then cut through and +attacked the ships of Cleopatra, which were in support: this was too much +for the lady, who fled with her sixty ships, followed by Antony, to his +eternal disgrace. The remainder of his fleet fought bravely for a time, but +was eventually defeated, the land army also surrendering to Octavius. The +date of the actual battle of Actium was September 2nd, 31 B.C.: it was in +September 1538 that the battle of Prevesa between Andrea Doria and +Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa took place, and the conditions of the battle were +almost exactly similar. + +To this very place came, 1569 years later, the Christian and the Moslem, +the Crescent and the Cross, each under its most renowned leader, each side +burning with an inextinguishable hate. It was one of the peculiarities of +this warfare that into it entered so much actual personal feeling, each +side hating the other for the love of God in the most poisonous fashion. +Save and except the battle of Lepanto in 1571 (with which we shall deal +later in the story of Ali Basha, or Occhiali as he was called by his +Christian opponents) the contest at Prevesa was far the most important ever +fought by those strange oar-propelled vessels known as galleys. It was +memorable in many ways, but particularly so for the ages of the men in +chief command. Andrea Doria was at this time seventy years of age; in fact, +Guglielmotti gives the date of his birth as 1466, thus making him two years +older. That amazing veteran Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, who died in his bed at +Constantinople on July 4th, 1546, at the age of ninety, must have been +eighty-two. Vicenzo Capello was sixty-eight, as the epitaph on his tomb at +Venice in the church of Santa Maria Formosa says that he was seventy-two in +the year of his death, 1542. + +Once again Christendom was nerving itself for a supreme effort against the +corsairs, and, during the time that Barbarossa was raiding and ravaging +among the islands of the Archipelago, the Christian fleet was gradually +assembling. At first it numbered some 150 galleys, 81 Venetian, 36 +Pontifical, and 30 Spanish; Charles V. sent, at the last moment, 50 ships +on which were embarked 10,000 troops. The force totalled altogether 59,000 +to 60,000 men, 195 ships, and 2,594 cannons. This was no doubt a most +formidable armada, but the policy of those by whom it was composed was not +all directed to the same end. While Charles desired, above all things, to +exterminate the corsairs for good and all, which was, in the circumstances, +the only sound view of the matter, the Venetians were for fighting +defensive actions to maintain their supremacy in the Ionian Islands, and +were disposed to let the future take care of itself. There was not, in +consequence, that absolute unanimity among the various commanders of the +expedition as was necessary for its complete success. + +The concentration of the Christian fleet took place at Corfu. The Venetians +arrived first, with Vincenzo Capello in command; Marco Grimani brought +thither the Papal contingent; they anchored and waited, but Andrea Doria +did not appear. Days lengthened into weeks, and Grimani and Capelli chafed +and fumed; provisions were running low and the dignity of Venice and of the +Pope were flouted by this strange remissness on the part of the Admiral of +the Emperor. At last, furious with impatience, Grimani made a raid into the +Gulf of Arta, which was defended at the entrance by the fortress of +Prevesa. The only result of this ill-timed attack was that two Papal +captains and a number of soldiers were killed. Grimani then returned to +Corfu, to find Capello irritated to the last extent by the non-appearance +of Doria. + +At last, on September 5th, the Imperial fleet hove in sight. It was +composed of forty-nine galleys, but these were supplemented by a great +number of sailing ships; the sailing craft, however, did not arrive till +September 22nd. These vessels were gradually making way among the Spaniards +since the discovery of the new world. + +At this time the Venetians possessed fourteen nefs. Doria had augmented +these by twenty-two of his own, and the total number of thirty-six was +commanded by Franco Doria, a nephew of the admiral. The Venetian nefs were +commanded by Alessandro Condalmiero, captain of the _Galleon of Venice_. +This was the most formidable fighting vessel in the Mediterranean; she was +reckoned an excellent sailor, she was by far the most heavily armed sailing +ship then afloat; in fact, in the opinion of contemporary seamen, she was +"an invincible fortress." + +Doria, Grimani, and Capello had now nearly 200 ships carrying nearly 60,000 +men. Such a force, in all ages, has been considered great. William the +Conqueror conquered Britain with a less number; it is almost half the total +of the personnel of the British fleet in the present day which has to +defend a country with 40,000,000 inhabitants, and all this force had been +raised, armed, and equipped to combat with a Moslem corsair. + +Barbarossa had succeeded in assembling 122 ships. He was accompanied by all +the most famous corsairs of the day, among whom was Dragut, who fell at the +siege of Malta, and of whom we shall have more to say in due time. Far and +wide ranged the swift galleys of the Ottoman fleet, for the plan of the +commander of the Moslems was to locate and destroy his enemies in detail if +possible. At last news came to him that Grimani's ships had been sighted in +the Gulf of Arta. Not one moment did he lose; he would fall upon the Papal +contingent with his whole force and destroy it utterly. Such, at least, was +his plan when he sailed for Prevesa; but, notwithstanding his haste, he was +too late. Happily for himself, Grimani had returned to Corfu before the +arrival of his enemy. + +At this juncture Barbarossa hesitated; had he not done so, and had he +followed Grimani to Corfu, he might have destroyed both him and Vincenzo +Capello in detail before the arrival of Doria. The Prevesa campaign is a +curious study of hesitation on both sides, and the idea naturally occurs +were not the corsair and the Christian commanders-in-chief too old for the +work on which they were engaged? Men of over seventy are not impetuous, but +grave and deliberate as a rule; but there is no rule without its +exceptions, and Doria and Barbarossa were not as other leaders. Up to the +present their dash and initiative had been unimpaired. There was no +question that Barbarossa not only made a mistake in hesitating, but that by +it he lost the game. Instead of striking at once he did what he had never +done before in the whole of his career, which was to send to Constantinople +for instructions. Some of his galleys had captured a fishing-boat off +Corfu, the crew of which had seen Doria's fleet. The Moslem leader sent the +fishermen themselves to report to Soliman exactly what they had seen, and +to ask for and bring back instructions from that potentate. What Barbarossa +had discovered was that the odds were very much against him; so much, in +fact, that he would have to act on the defensive. In consequence, he +steered for Prevesa and entered the Gulf of Arta, which is approached by a +long narrow strait, dominated by the castle of Prevesa. Once inside he +anchored his galleys in such a position that they could fire direct out to +sea, thus overwhelming with their fire any vessel attempting to enter. + +Barbarossa now occupied the same position as did Octavius in his combat +with Antony. The role of the latter general was now taken by Doria. Antony, +like Doria, had heavy ships which could not advance to the attack owing to +their too great draught. Octavius, with his light-draught ships, could both +attack and retreat into safety if overmatched. + +On September 22nd Doria, having collected all his ships, gave orders to +fill up with wood, water, and fresh provisions. On the 25th, to the sound +of the trumpet, the Commander-in-Chief, with his fleet of two hundred sail, +weighed anchor and sped before the wind rapidly southwards. Grimani +commanded the advance-guard, Doria was in the centre, Vincenzo Capello, +with his Venetians, brought up the rear. Formed in two columns, the nefs +followed the galleys; the _Galleon of Venice_, commanded by Condalmiero, a +squadron in herself, preceded them. + +[Illustration: GALEASSE UNDER SAIL.] + +From the anchorage at Corfu to the entrance of the Gulf of Arta is about +fifty-eight miles, and, traversing this distance during the hours of +daylight, the fleet anchored, as night fell, under Cape Prevesa. The +Galleon which acted as what we should now call the guide of the fleet, +anchored in sixteen feet of water, which was barely sufficient to keep her +afloat. + +The Gulf of Arta, in which, as we have said, the fleet of the Moslems were +now anchored, presents very curious physical peculiarities: it is +twenty-two miles in length from east to west, and fifteen miles in breadth +from north to south. This sheet of water is formed into an immense bay by +the configuration of the land, and its depth, in places, is from one +hundred and thirty to two hundred feet. Inside it all the navies in the +world might ride at anchor, were it not for the fact that the entrance is +closed by a bar upon which the depth varies from six and a half to thirteen +feet. With his light-draught ships Barbarossa occupied the interior +position, while the heavy ships of Doria must in any event remain outside. +A strong sea-breeze was blowing on shore; all night the nefs and the +galleys were nearly rolling their gunwales under. In these packed and +crowded vessels the misery and discomfort of their crews may be imagined. +On the morning of the 26th, however, the west wind dropped, and a light +wind sprang up from the northward. + +The position at this time was one of surpassing interest. Here at long last +the two most renowned sea-captains of the time were face to face. Each was +aware that his antagonist was worthy of his steel, also that great issues, +political and national, hung upon this conflict; which was no mere affair +of outposts, but a struggle to the death as to whether the Crescent or the +Cross was in time to come to be supreme in the tideless sea. And yet--such +is the irony of fate--this battle proved indecisive, and it was not until +thirty years later, at the battle of Lepanto, that this momentous question +was set at rest for a time. + +Would Doria, greatly daring, go in and risk all in attacking a fortified +position; or would Barbarossa make a sally and fight it out to the death on +the element on which he was so supremely at home? + +But Doria had no mind to attack a fleet anchored under the guns of a +fortress; Barbarossa would not risk all in an encounter with a foe +possessed of great numerical superiority without orders from +Constantinople. On Doria's side nothing but a disembarkation and a +land-attack would offer a fair security for success, Kheyr-ed-Din, who +held, as we have said, the interior position, was well aware of this fact, +and in this supreme moment of his career was not disposed to give away any +advantage. The situation occupied by Kheyr-ed-Din at the battle of Prevesa +was, in a sense, different from any which he had held before, as he was in +this case hampered by his sense of responsibility as Admiralissimo to the +Grand Turk. What happened on the distant shores of Africa mattered but +little to that monarch, and he had been content to allow his admiral an +entirely free hand; here in Europe, on the shores of Greece, so close +relatively to his own capital city, it was a very different matter, and +Soliman was kept in touch with the happenings of his fleet as far as was +possible in those days. But if the great corsair did not add to his +reputation in this eventful campaign he still displayed an aptitude in +realising the situation which, it is safe to say, was shown by none of +those under his command. + +Prevesa illustrates for us more than any other action the difficulties with +which the path of the partisan leader in these days must always have been +filled; and how it was that personal ascendancy was the only force to which +such a leader had to trust Sheer dominance of the minds, the wills, and the +bodies of others had placed Kheyr-ed-Din where he was; all his life he had +commanded undisciplined pirates, and yet now, when he was the properly +accredited officer of a mighty monarch, when he might have expected far +more discipline and subordination than had ever been his lot in the past, +he was met with a contumaciousness which he was unable to quell, and was +forced into taking steps which, in his own unequalled knowledge of war, he +knew to be doomed to disaster. + +Around him the Reis, or captains of the Moslem galleys, clamorously +demanded that he should take precautions against a land-attack. It was true +that the raid which had been made by Grimani had been easily repulsed, but +in present circumstances there was no question of a mere raid, as, should +the Christian admiral so decide, he could land twenty thousand men. Sinan +Reis, an old Osmanli warrior, furious with jealousy that the chief command +should be in the hands of a corsair, sustained his opinion in a manner +which augured ill for the hearty co-operation of all the Turkish forces. +Sinan was just one of those blindly valiant fighters from whom the politic +Ibrahim had desired to deliver his master when he had urged the appointment +of Kheyr-ed-Din: brave as a lion, keen as the edge of his own good +scimitar, fanatical, as became a Hodja who had visited the Holy Places, +Sinan was a type of the Turkish sea-officer: devoid of strategical instinct +and tactical training, his one idea was a headlong attack, then victory or +the houris of Paradise. It will be seen that Barbarossa had not only Doria +and the Christian fleet and army against which to contend on this occasion. + +The peril conjured up by Sinan Reis on this occasion was not altogether an +imaginary one: the idea of a disembarkation had, in point of fact, been +seriously discussed that very morning by Andrea Doria and his council of +war, at which Hernando de Gonzaga, Generalissimo of the troops embarked, +had advised a landing. His argument, embodied in a long and technical +harangue, may be reduced to the following: + + If we cannot go straight at the enemy and force our way through the + entrance under his cannon why should we not reduce the fortress of + Prevesa by a siege? Once masters of this height, we could close the + strait by sinking in it vessels laden with stones, and we then have the + Ottoman fleet at our mercy. + +But Doria the sailor was not to be led by Gonzaga the soldier. He said: + + The advice seems sound, but in reality it would prove most dangerous if + followed. Barbarossa must have landed some of his men, the cavalry which + defeated Grimani's raid will no doubt come again from the interior, if + necessary. If we deprive our ships of their soldiers we expose ourselves + to a sea-fight under most disadvantageous conditions. But most, + important of all is the fact that time presses; the season is far + advanced; at any time the fleet may be driven off these shores by a + storm, in which case what would become of the troops left on shore? + Again, if it comes on to blow a tempest from the westward we may lose + not only our troops, but our ships, in fact the whole expedition. + +At the battle of Actium, Octavius occupied the shore upon which Hernando +Gonzaga wished to land and assault; but notwithstanding this fact Octavius +did not attempt the passage of the gulf but waited for his enemy outside. +Doria was therefore all the more justified in not sacrificing ships and men +in attempting to force an entrance now that this same shore was in the +hands of the enemy. He was asked, he said, to thrust his head into the +mouth of the wolf, and this he was determined not to do. + +In the meanwhile Barbarossa was using much the same language to his +captains as was Doria. + +"My brothers," said he, "you wish to transport cannon and raise redoubts on +this uncovered shore because you think that the Christians will disembark +and seize it: if you attempt this I tell you that the guns of the enemy +will annoy you terribly., Not only this, supposing that Doria, profiting by +the moment that our vessels are empty of troops, should attack in force, we +cannot with five thousand men repulse twenty thousand. The fort of Prevesa +will defend itself quite sufficiently well with its own garrison; our +business is to think of the fleet and not to weaken in any way our means of +attack and defence, If the infidels force, or attempt to force, an entry +into the port, they will be most likely merely losing time and ammunition +in cannonading us. You know that it is principally in this that these +accursed dogs do trust, whereas we, O men of Islam, will place our +confidence in God, in Mahomet his Prophet, in the strength of our right +arms, in the keenness of our scimitars; we will carry them by boarding, +therefore we must keep our crews on board," + +But Barbarossa had not that absolute domination of the forces under his +command which should be the prescriptive right of any leader. Sinan-Reis, +the implacable be-turbaned old Osmanli, held him in bitter scorn. "Your +advice may be good," he retorted, "but we think our plan the better." + +The admiral suggested a reconnaissance of the site, which was merely a ruse +to gain time. This was carried out under his own supervision, and confirmed +him in the idea that disembarkation was folly; but Sinan-Reis and the +Janissaries held obstinately to their opinion, while the "Joldaks," or +Turkish soldiers in the galleys, grumbled among themselves that +Kheyr-ed-Din must indeed be full of vanity to reject the counsels of one +like Sinan-Reis. + +Both commanders-in-chief, Christian and Moslem, seem on this occasion to +have taken an absolutely correct view of the problem as it was presented; +but whereas Andrea Doria was a real commander-in-chief, Barbarossa was +forced to consider and to defer to the opinions of men whom he knew to be +in the wrong. + +It was against his better judgment that Kheyr-ed-Din at last yielded; the +men were backing up their officers, a spirit of disaffection was abroad in +the armada: such a thing as this a wise chief must gauge at its true value, +and stop before it goes too far. The Osmanli were murmuring against "the +corsair"; it was time to let them see whether they or their war-worn leader +possessed the greater wisdom. + +According to Moslem chroniclers the valour of Kheyr-ed-Din was only +equalled by his piety; consequently he murmured a prayer into that famous +beard of his, which was now so much nearer to white than red, and gave +orders that the cannon shall be immediately disembarked. "Let the will of +God and of His Prophet be accomplished; that which is written is that which +will take place," exclaimed this pious man as he watched the preparations +being carried out under the supervision of Mourad-Reis. + +That which "took place" was precisely and exactly what the Commander-in- +Chief had predicted from the first: no sooner had Mourad-Reis landed upon +the exposed beach, and attempted to open a trench, than he was met by a +furious and concentrated fire from the galleys and nefs of the Christian +fleet. To entrench themselves was impossible in the circumstances, as they +had been told by the Admiral before they started on this harebrained +adventure. There could be only one result, which was that, after a cruel +and perfectly useless slaughter, the soldiers of Mourad-Reis had to retreat +before the hail of shot poured upon them, and to return ignominiously to +their vessels. + +It is not on record what Kheyr-ed-Din said to Sinan, Mourad, and those +other tacticians who had recommended the landing; which perhaps is a pity. + +Doria then made a tentative movement against the strait by a detachment of +galleys; Barbarossa told off an equal number to oppose them, and they +mutually cannonaded and skirmished during the day. There was much noise and +excitement, but practically no advantage was gained by either side, as +Doria's men could not risk passing the guns of the fort, nor could those of +Barbarossa the chance of being cannonaded by the heavy vessels lying in +wait-for them outside. And so the day closed down with no success on either +side, but with a decisive demonstration to the Moslems that, if they +desired victory, to their admiral had better be left the organisation by +which it was to be obtained. + +Whether Doria really desired a pitched battle can never be known; that +which is certain is that, during the whole time the fleets were in touch, +all his dispositions make it appear there was nothing of which he was so +much afraid. And yet it was the opportunity of his life; he had superiority +in numbers, he had valiant and experienced leaders, and sixty thousand men +thirsting for battle, under his command. Also he had his opportunity, +which, had he seized upon, must have ended in victory, did those who were +under his orders only fight as he had every reason to believe that they +would. As it was, he threw away the gift of fortune, and left to the +Osmanli the practical dominance of the Mediterranean Sea until that great +day in 1571 when Don John of Austria, the natural son of Charles V., proved +to the world at Lepanto that the Turk was not invincible upon the waters. + +It is true that Doria was awkwardly situated; Kheyr-ed-Din held the +interior position, and that leader was a great believer in the adage that +"if Brag is a good dog, Holdfast is a better." He was well aware of his +numerical inferiority, and in consequence refused to listen to the frenzied +appeals of the excited Moslems to be led against the Christian dogs. It may +seem a contradiction in terms to speak of the moral courage of a pirate; +but if ever that quality were displayed to its fullest extent it was +exhibited by Barbarossa in the Prevesa campaign. In his intellectual +outlook on all that was passing, both inside and outside of the Gulf of +Arta, in this September of 1538, we see Kheyr-ed-Din at his best. Ever a +fighter, he knew when to give battle and when to refrain, when to sweep +headlong upon the foe, but also when to hold back and to baffle by waiting +till the psychological moment should arrive. Around him Sinan-Reis, +Mourad-Reis, and half a hundred others of their kidney were clamouring; +they hurled insults at his head, they heaped opprobrium on "the corsair," +they practically incited their troops to mutiny in their mad appeals to be +led against the foe. + +But "the corsair" kept his head, and kept his temper, and saved the Ottoman +fleet for his master from his great rival, Doria. That noble Genoese seaman +was for once in his life "letting I dare not wait upon I would"; he would +not order the attack for which his men were waiting, and no provocation, +apparently, could tempt Barbarossa to play Antony to the Octavius of Doria; +the Christian admiral was tempting Providence at that advanced season of +the year in keeping the sea on an hostile coast on which at any time he +might be driven by a tempest. His old and experienced antagonist was well +aware that the winds and the waves might save him the trouble of destroying +the fleet of the enemy; an equinoctial gale would do that far more +effectually than could he. If Doria had an uneasy consciousness that he +might at any time see the shore littered with oarless galleys and dismasted +nefs, while the sea was filled with drowning men, the same vision had been +vouchsafed to his imperturbable adversary. Had it been left to the entire +initiative of Barbarossa, his Fabian tactics would assuredly have prevailed +in the end; but as it was he was surrounded by a clamouring host of men, +soldiers by trade, who, understanding nothing of the happenings of the sea, +merely derided as cowardice any postponement of what they regarded as the +inevitable battle. The admiral of the Sultan held out as long as it was +possible, but at last, owing to a new factor in the case, was forced, +against his better judgment, to offer the battle which it was in his power +to have withheld. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +THE BATTLE OF PREVESA + + How Alessandro Condalmiero fought the _Galleon of Venice_--"The + King of the Sea is dead." + +There is something almost pathetic in the spectacle of a really great +leader badgered and importuned by lesser men to adopt a course which he, +with a superior insight, knows to be unsound. In the matter of the landing +Barbarossa had demonstrated that it was he whose knowledge of war was +superior to those who were so ready to thrust upon him their opinions; +this, however, did not content them, and they now desired to close with the +foe waiting for them outside. If ever a commander was justified in waiting +on events it was Barbarossa at this juncture; the business of a +commander-in-chief is to ensure victory, and if he sees, as did the Moslem +admiral on this occasion, that more is to be gained by delay than by +fighting, then he is justified in refusing battle: particularly is this the +case when the enemy is in greatly superior force blockading on an open and +dangerous coast at an inclement season of the year. Every day that Doria +was kept at sea added to his difficulties, as fresh water and provisions +would be running short, and the energies of the human engines by which his +galleys were propelled would be weakened; naked men chained to a bench were +suffering from the blazing heat of the days, the cold and drenching dews of +the nights. All these things had the veteran seaman weighed in his mind, +they all inclined him to wait still longer in that secure anchorage where +he could not be touched by his foe. + +There was one counsellor, however, whom even Kheyr-ed-Din could not resist, +and who had hitherto kept silence; this was the eunuch Monuc, legal +counsellor to Soliman, who had accompanied the armada. He now brought the +weight of his influence to bear upon the side of Sinan-Reis and his +colleagues. + +"Are you going," he asked the admiral, "to allow the infidels to escape +without a battle? Soliman can find plenty of wood to build new fleets, +plenty of captains to command them; he will pardon you if this fleet is +destroyed: that which he will never pardon is that you should allow Doria +to escape without fighting. You have brave men in plenty; why not lead them +to the attack?" + +The patience of the veteran gave way at last; none who knew Barbarossa had +ever seen him shrink from fighting--to this his whole career bore witness. +He had delayed the issue from the soundest of strategical reasons, which +those under his command were too stupid and too prejudiced to understand: +what cared they for reason in their blind valour?--they wished only to do +or die heedless of the fact that their lives might be spent in vain. Truly +it was no thanks to the subordinates of Kheyr-ed-Din that this campaign did +not end in disaster to the arms of the Ottoman Porte. Such backing as the +admiral had came from among his own men, the corsairs whose lives had been +spent at sea, but their opinions were but dust in the balance once the +all-powerful Monuc ranged himself on the side of the malcontents. + +"Let us then fight," said the admiral to Saleh-Reis, "or this fine talker +who is neither man nor woman will accuse us before the Grand Turk and we +shall all probably be hanged." + +The Christian fleet during the night of September 26-7th had made some +thirty miles to the southward; just before daybreak the wind freshened and +drew right ahead; Doria approached the island of Santa Maura and anchored +under the small islet of Sessola. + +Barbarossa had now decided to leave his anchorage, but the veteran seaman +did not disguise from himself the risks which he ran: a greater sea captain +than he once said "only numbers can annihilate," and it was at annihilation +that both the Moslem and the Christian aimed: in this case, however, he +knew that he could but hope for a hard-won victory, and only that if Allah +and his Prophet were unusually favourable to his cause. He assembled his +captains, many of whom had served with him during long periods of his +career, and directed them to form line: he said, "I have but one order to +give, follow my movements attentively and regulate your own accordingly." + +With fustas, brigantines, galleots, and galleys, the Ottoman fleet amounted +in all to one hundred and forty sail. With shouts of joy the soldiers +hailed the command to weigh the anchors, and in a very short time all were +slowly moving seaward. + +The die was cast: Doria from his anchorage at Sessola saw the sea white +with the sails of the enemy, the blue water churning to foam beneath the +strokes of his oars; the Ottoman fleet was issuing from the Gulf of Arta +manoeuvring with precision and deploying into a single line abreast; which +line being slightly concave, either from accident or design, resembled the +form of a crescent. In advance came six great fustas commanded by Dragut; +the left wing hugged the shore as closely as possible; the Ottoman +commander-in-chief intended to commence operations on the first principles +of strategy by flinging his whole force on a portion of that of the enemy. + +Andrea Doria remained undecided: he was on a lee shore, and that shore was +the coast of the enemy; although his foes were advancing to the attack it +seemed as if he had no mind to fight: whether he had or had not he +displayed a most remarkable sluggishness, hesitating for three hours before +getting up his anchors; these he only weighed at last under pressure from +the bellicose Patriarch of Aquilea, Vincenzo Capello, and the Papal +captain, Antonio Grimani. Doria had counted on the support of the _Galleon +of Venice_ and the nefs; but the galleon was becalmed four miles from the +land and ten miles from Sessola, where Doria was at the beginning of the +action. + +Condalmiero sent a light skiff from the _Galleon of Venice_ to the +commander-in-chief demanding orders and help from the galleys. + +"Begin the fight," answered the admiral, "you will be succoured." + +The position of Condalmiero was that of a modern battleship which is +disabled and surrounded by foes in full possession of their motive power; +the great galleon floated inert upon the waters while the galleys could +fight or fly as they wished. The captain of the galleon, however, had no +alternative save to surrender or fight; but there was no hesitation on his +part, for a more gallant officer never trod the decks of a warship of the +proud Republic to which he belonged. + +The Moslem galleys were now close upon him, although as yet out of +gun-shot; around him they wheeled and circled like a flight of great +sea-birds, their ferocious crews shouting their war-cries calling upon +Allah and the Prophet to give them the victory for which they craved; many +a brave Venetian who heard for the first time the name of Barbarossa +shouted in battle must have braced himself for the coming conflict, knowing +all that was imported by that terrible name. The sun shone in a cloudless +sky, the galleon lay becalmed in the middle of furious and ravening foes, +the succour promised by Doria was ten miles away; they saw no movement +which indicated help, and the odds against them were heavy indeed. But all +the nervousness was not on one side, for the _Galleon of Venice_ was +something new in the naval warfare of the time; she carried engines of +destruction in the shape of great guns which the corsairs could by no means +equal. Of this they were well aware, and the attack was delayed while the +oarsmen in the galleys rested on their oars out of range to allow them +breathing time before the supreme moment arrived. But the hounds were only +held in leash; there came a signal which was answered by a concentrated +yell of fury and of hate; then from right ahead, right astern, on the port +side and the starboard, the galleys were launched to the attack. But all on +board the great Venetian vessel was as still as that death which awaited so +many of the combatants in this supreme struggle. + +Condalmiero had caused the crew of the galleon to lie down upon her decks, +and stood himself, a gallant solitary figure in his shining armour, a mark +for the hail of shot so soon to be discharged. It came, and with it the +mast of the galleon bearing the Lion Standard of St. Mark crashed over the +side into the water; renewed yells of triumph came from the Moslems, but +still that ominous silence reigned on board the galleon. Untouched, +unharmed, the Osmanlis came on firing as rapidly as possible until they +were absolutely within arquebuss range. Closer they came and closer; then +the sides of the galleon burst into sheeted flame, and the guns levelled at +point-blank range tore through the attacking host. Condalmiero was throwing +away no chances; he had directed his gunners to allow their balls to +ricochet before striking rather than to throw them away by allowing them to +fly over the heads of the enemy. + +The first broadside did terrible execution; a ball one hundred and twenty +pounds in weight, fired by the chief bombardier, Francisco d'Arba in +person, burst in the prow of a galley so effectually that all her people +flew aft to the poop to prevent the water rushing in; but the vessel was +practically split in twain, and sank in a few moments. All around were dead +and dying men, disabled galleys, floating wreckage; the _Galleon of Venice_ +had taken a terrible toll of the Osmanli; the order to retreat out of range +was given, and never was order obeyed with greater alacrity. + +With accuracy and precision the galleon played upon such vessels as +remained within range, doing great execution. But she was now to be +subjected to an even severer test than the first headlong attack. She had +demonstrated to the Moslem leaders that here was no vessel to be carried by +mere reckless valour; a disciplined and ordered offensive was the only plan +which promised success; the Osmanli must use their brain as well as their +courage if that tattered flag, rescued from the water, and nailed to the +stump of the mast of the galleon, was ever to be torn down. There was +something daunting in the very aspect of the solid bulk of the huge +Venetian, something weird in the manner in which her crew never showed, +save only the steadfast figure of her captain immovable as a statue of +bronze, where he stood on her shot-torn poop. + +This Homeric conflict was a triumph of discipline and gunnery on the part +of the Venetians; alert, accurate, and cool, the gunners of the galleon +threw away none of their ammunition: inspired by the heroic spirit of their +captain, great was the honour which they did on this stricken field to the +noble traditions of their forbears and the service to which they belonged. + +The first attack had been most brilliantly repulsed, but this was only +preliminary to a conflict which was to last all through the day; the Moslem +galleys withdrew out of gunshot and re-formed; then a squadron of twenty +advanced, delivered their fire, and retired; their place was then taken by +a second squadron, which went through the same performance, and then came +on a third. In this manner the attack, which began one hour after noon, and +which was continued until sunset, was conducted. The galleon had thirteen +men killed, and forty wounded; no doubt the slaughter would have been much +greater had it not been for the enormous thickness of her sides and for the +fact that the guns carried by the galleys were necessarily light. +Notwithstanding, the galleon suffered terribly, she was a mass of wreckage; +twice fire had broken out on board of her, she was cumbered by fallen +masts, battered almost out of recognition, but still Condalmiero and her +gallant crew fought on imperturbably with no thought of surrender. Covered +with blood, wounded in the face and the right leg by flying splinters, her +captain preserved his magnificent coolness, and his decimated crew +responded nobly to his call. At eventide the fire from the galleon was +almost as deadly as it had been at the first onslaught, and many galleys of +the Turks were only saved from sinking by the activity and bravery of their +carpenters, who, slung over their sides in "boatswains' chairs," drove home +huge plugs of wood with their mallets into the shot-holes made by the +Venetian guns. + +At the hour when the sun dipped below the horizon all the Turkish fleet +seemed assembled to assault the colossus which so long had resisted their +attack; there was a pause in the combat, and the firing died down. +Condalmiero and his men braced themselves for the assault which they felt +to be inevitable: for now the darkness was swiftly coming, in which they +could no longer see to shoot, and under cover of which their numerous foes +could assail them by boarding in comparative safety. Now the moment had +come for the last act in this terrible drama of the sea. They had held +their own at long odds throughout the whole of a hot September day, and as +the level beams of the setting sun shone on their shattered ship they were +prepared to die, fighting to the last man for the honour of Venice and the +glory of St. Mark. + +Stiff and worn, wearied almost to the breaking strain, there was no man on +board who even dreamt of surrender; all the guns were charged to the muzzle +with bullets and broken stone, the artillerists match in hand stood grimly +awaiting the order to fire, straining their eyes and their ears in the +gathering darkness; in a few minutes at most they knew that the fate of the +_Galleon of Venice_ must be decided. + +On board his galley, decorated for this occasion with scarlet banners, +Barbarossa himself directed the assaulting line. Never before when the +battle was joined had the gallant corsair been known to draw back; and yet +on this occasion he not only hesitated but actually hauled off. The +Venetians saw to their amazement that the expected attack was not to be +pushed home; for Barbarossa and his captains fell upon some lesser vessels: +the _Galleon of Venice_ was victorious. + +Meanwhile Doria was displaying his mastery of tactics when it was hard +fighting that was wanted; he pretended that he wished to draw the Ottoman +fleet into the high seas in order that he might destroy their galleys by +means of the broadsides of his nefs; consequently he executed useless +parade movements when he should by all the rules of warfare have closed +with his enemy who was in distinctly inferior force; as he had a fair wind +there is only one conclusion to be drawn, and that is that he did not want +to fight. + +His manoeuvres certainly mystified the Turks, who viewed his tactics with +mistrust, thinking them the outset of some deeply laid scheme; it never +entered into their calculations for one moment that the great Andrea Doria, +the terror of the Mediterranean sea, and the victor in scores of desperate +engagements, was anxious to avoid a fight. + +Grimani and Capello, docile to the orders of their admiral, followed him +full of uneasiness and distrust; they were fighting men of the most fiery +description; to them the issue seemed of the simplest: there was the enemy +in inferior force to themselves, they had the weather gauge, why delay the +attack? + +"For much less than this," says Admiral Jurien de la Graviere, "the English +shot Admiral Byng in 1756." The conduct of Doria on this occasion has +certainly never been explained; the two other leaders went on board and +remonstrated with their commander-in-chief; they were neither of them men +who could be treated as negligible quantities on the field of battle; both +belonged to that brilliant Venetian nobility so renowned in commerce and in +war. Marco Grimani was in command of the Papal galleys, in itself a mark of +the highest esteem and confidence from a potentate second to none in his +influence in the civilised world. To Vincenzo Capello, Henry the Seventh of +England confided his royal person and the command of his fleet when he +crossed the Channel to encounter Richard the Second at Bosworth field. Five +times had he filled the office of Providiteur in Venice, twice had he been +commander-in-chief of her fleet, he was in perpetuity Procureur of St. +Mark, to him Venice owed her naval discipline. He wore on this day the +mantle of crimson silk with which the Republic invested her generals. +Bitter was the rage in his heart, and bitterly must he have spoken to +Doria, who, in spite of all remonstrances, continued his futile +manoeuvrings. + +There was glory won on this day, but it was gained neither by Andrea Doria +nor Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa. The _Galleon of Venice_ with Alessandro +Condalmiero and his gallant crew had shown to all a splendid example of +disciplined valour unexcelled in sixteenth-century annals. + +Barbarossa had captured a Venetian galley, a Papal galley, and five Spanish +nefs, but he had recoiled from the assault on Condalmiero when the prize +was actually within his grasp. For the rest it was a day of manoeuvring and +tactics; tactics when sixty thousand men had been embarked on board two +hundred ships for a specific and definite object on the side of the +Christians and under the command of their most celebrated admiral; and yet +the balance of advantage was actually gained by the inferior force. No +subsequent glories can ever wipe this stain from the scutcheon of Doria, or +can excuse the fact that at the most supreme moment of his career he failed +to fight the battle that he was in honour, in conscience, and in duty bound +to deliver. Next day the wind came fair for Corfu, and Doria, his ships +untouched, unscathed, unharmed, put his helm up and sailed away followed by +his fleet. + +Sandoval records the fact that Barbarossa, roaring with laughter the while, +was accustomed to say that Doria had even put out his lanterns in order +that no one might see whither he had fled. This was an allusion to the +fact--or supposition--that Doria extinguished on that night the great poop +lantern carried by him as admiral. + +When Soliman the Magnificent heard of the result of this battle he caused +the town of Yamboli, where he was at the time, to be illuminated, and in +the excess of his joy he added one hundred thousand aspres to the revenues +of the conqueror; there were processions to the Grand Mosque, and all Islam +rejoiced and sang the praises of the invincible admiral who had humbled to +the dust the pride of the Christian and caused the dreaded Doria to fly +from before the fleet of the Sultan. + +This, the most historical, if not the greatest feat in the life of +Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, was for him a triumph indeed; with a vastly +inferior force he had driven from the field of battle his "rival in glory," +as he himself had denominated Andrea Doria, and he had accomplished this +feat notwithstanding the almost mutinous condition of his own forces. In +spite of this it is with Condalmiero and with him alone that the glory of +this day must rest; alone, absolutely unsupported as we have seen, he +fought one of those fights which bring the heart into the mouth when we +read of them; the stern pride of the Venetian noble, who despised as +canaille the pirate hosts by whom he was assailed, had its counterpart in +the sturdy valour of Chief Bombardier Francisco d'Arba and the other +nameless heroes of which that good company was composed; to them we render +that homage which so justly is their due. + +The whole campaign of Prevesa, as we have said, is a curious study in +hesitation, in dilatoriness, in absolute lack of initiative and virility on +the part of the two chief actors in the drama: that Doria should fly from +the field of battle in an untouched ship is only one degree less incredible +than that Barbarossa should have relinquished his attack on the _Galleon of +Venice_. It would almost seem as if on this occasion each of the great +rivals was hypnotised by the presence of the other; all their lives they +had been seeking honour and riches on the sea, they knew, of course, that +all men in both the world of Islam and that of Christendom looked upon them +in the light of the special champions of the opposing sects, that the eyes +of the entire world were fastened on this meeting of theirs in the classic +waters of the Ambracian Gulf. In consequence neither man was at his best; +indeed, we might go further than this, and say that on this occasion both +lamentably failed. There is no fault to be found with the strategic +preliminaries to the final conflict, each admiral acting with prudence and +wisdom in the situation in which he found himself placed. That the +perfectly correct idea of not giving battle to a superior force when he +held so strong an interior position was given up by Barbarossa, was, as we +have seen, not his fault; and when he issued from his anchorage, in +deference to a sentiment among those under his command which he could no +longer resist, his dispositions seem to have been made with his usual +skill. Where he failed, however, was where, from all his previous history, +we should least have expected failure, in his abandonment of the attack on +the _Galleon of Venice_; this, of course, was inexcusable, and can only be +set down to failure of nerve at the supreme moment. The ship had been +battered by artillery all day long, a huge percentage of her company were +dead and wounded, and the remainder worn out with fatigue. On the Moslem +side we have seen that there were squadrons of galleys able to relieve one +another with no interference from Doria, who was persisting in his futile +manoeuvring miles away. Had the galleon been boarded, as she might and +should have been, at nightfall, nothing could have saved Condalmiero and +his crew: so strenuous, however, had been their resistance, that the +Turkish seamen feared the issue; in consequence the battle between them and +the Venetians was a drawn one, with all the honours on the Christian side. + +It is here that we shall take leave of Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, as although +he was yet to live another eight years before he died in his bed at +Constantinople in July, 1548, there are no further happenings of any great +importance in his career. + +"Valorous, yet prudent, furious in attack, far-seeing in preparation, he +ranks as the first sea-captain of his time;"[1] as the story of his life +has unfolded itself in these pages we have seen what manner of man it was +who terrified Europe, who made for himself a reputation which stands out +clear and distinct among all the great men of which this century was so +prolific. One of the surest methods of estimating a strenuous man of action +is to seek for the names of those by whom he was surrounded: the men +selected by him to assist in the carrying out of the work of his life; thus +in reading of Napoleon Bonaparte we interest ourselves in his marshals, in +reading of Nelson we note the captains by whom he was supported. In the +case of Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, a great man of action if one ever lived, +we find no trace of devoted adherents on that high plane of command we have +indicated in the cases cited above. That he had devoted followers enough is +absolutely certain, but of high officers we very seldom find a trace, and +these he treated with contumely and offence on many occasions; witness the +treatment meted out to Hassan and to Venalcadi. There is practically no +trace of his domestic life to be found, we cannot discover that he +possessed any intimate friend. There is none other in all history to whom +he can be satisfactorily compared; there are few who in their generation +have wielded such enormous powers, who have climbed so high from the sheer +unassisted force of their own intellect and their own character. + +[Footnote 1: Stanley Lane Poole.] + +Physical strength such as is vouchsafed to one man in a million, a +constitution nothing could impair, endurance incomparable, were his bodily +attributes: an intellect cold, clear, and penetrating was his, joined to an +imperturbability of temperament which enabled him to accept with a cheerful +philosophy blows by which weaker men were absolutely prostrated; his +outlook on life was not dimmed by any affections, and pity was a sensation +which to him was entirely alien. In this record of his deeds the reader has +been spared all mention of the atrocious tortures he was in the habit of +inflicting on his victims for any or no provocation, and many of them are +as incomprehensible as they are sickening. That in which he was supreme was +his craft as a seaman in an age when real seamen were rare; on land he was +frequently defeated, at sea there seems to be no record of such an +occurrence. To sum up, he appears to us in the light of history as a body, +a brain, and an intellect, without any trace of a heart. His path through +life was one unending trail of blood and fire, moistened by the tears of +his countless victims, followed by the curses of those whom he despoiled. +Yet, in spite of this, it is impossible not to admire the man who, by his +own superhuman energy, ever swept all obstacles from his path, and caused +the whole of the civilised world to quail at the name of Barbarossa. + +He died peacefully in his bed at Constantinople in July, 1546, to the grief +of the world of Islam and the inexpressible joy of Christendom. "The king +of the sea is dead," expressed in three Arabic words, gives the numerical +value 953, the year of the Hegira in which he died. + +For many years after his death no Turkish ship ever left the Golden Horn +without her crew repeating a prayer and firing a salute over the tomb of +Beshiktsah, where lie the bones of the first and greatest of Turkish +admirals, the corsair who was at one and the same time admiral, pirate, and +king. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + + +THE NAVY OF OARS. THE GALLEY, THE GALEASSE, AND THE NEF + +In the sixteenth century the vessel of war in the Mediterranean was +essentially that oar-propelled craft known to us as the galley. As time +went on she was gradually superseded by the sailing man-of-war which was +able to carry that heavy ordnance which the light scantling of the galley +did not permit of her mounting; but for the use of the corsairs who lived +by means of raids and surprise attacks, whose business it was to lie perdu +on the trade routes, the mobility of the galley was of prime importance, +and they could not afford to trust to the wind alone as a motive power. The +galley was analogous to the steam vessel in that it was independent of the +wind to a large extent: human bone and muscle supplied the part of engines, +and those who fought upon the sea caused themselves to be moved over the +face of the waters by the exertions of their enemies. It is true that upon +one occasion, as we have seen, Kheyred-Din Barbarossa did possess a fleet +of galleys the rowers of which were all Moslems, which crew upon battle +being joined dropped their oars, seized their weapons and assisted in the +conquest of the foe. But this was an isolated instance, as it was almost +impossible at any time and in any circumstances to procure free men ready +to undertake a life of such intolerable suffering as that of a rower on +board a galley; in consequence these men were almost invariably slaves, or +else in later times condemned felons whose judges had sent them to work out +their sentences upon the rowers' bench. The great characteristic of the +galley was her mobility, and in a comparative degree her speed, as for a +short burst, when her crew of rowers were fresh, their trained muscles were +capable of tremendous exertion; for any length of time, however, it is +obvious that her speed must have declined as the rowers became exhausted. +She was long, narrow, of extremely low freeboard, and slight depth of hold; +a galley of 125 feet between perpendiculars would perhaps be 180 feet over +all taking in the poop and the prow. A galley of this length would only +have a beam of 19 feet and a depth of hold of 7 feet 6 inches. The sailing +ship of contemporary times would for the same length have had a beam of +about 40 feet and an extremely high freeboard; she was in consequence +necessarily slow and incapable of sailing on a wind. + +So distinct at this time was the line drawn between the sailing vessel and +the galley that the actual terminology used was entirely different; that is +to say, the names of such things as masts, sails, rudder, tiller, stern, +stempost, cutwater, etc., were not the same words; the sailor who used +sails could not understand his brother mariner who used oars, and _vice +versa_. + +[Illustration: GALLEY UNDER OARS.] + +What was necessary of course in the galley was many oars and many hands to +use them; the vessel was most skilfully constructed for this purpose so as +to get the fullest power from her human engines; the result was that men +were crowded on board of her to such an extent that there was scarcely room +to breathe, such a craft as the one of which the dimensions have been given +having on board some four hundred men. + +Barras de la Penne, a French officer who in 1713 first went on board a +galley, thus describes what he saw: + + "Those who see a galley for the first time are astonished to see so many + persons; there are an infinite number of villages in Europe which do not + contain an equal number of inhabitants; however, this is not the + principal cause of one's surprise, but that so many men can be assembled + in so small a space. It is truth that many of them have not room to + sleep at full length, for they put seven men on one bench; that is to + say, on a space about ten feet long and four broad; at the bows one sees + some thirty sailors who have for their lodging the floor space of the + rambades (this is the platform at the prow of the galley) which consists + of a rectangular space ten feet long by eight in width. The captain and + officers who live on the poop are scarcely better lodged, and one is + tempted to compare their grandeur with that of Diogenes in his tub. + + "When the unpitying Libyan Sea surprises these galleys upon the Roman + coasts, when the Norther lashes to foam the Gulf of Lyons, when the + humid east wind of Syria is driving them off shore, everything combines + to make life on board a modern galley a hell of misery and discomfort. + The creaking of the blocks and cordage, the loud cries of the + sailors, the horrible maledictions of the galley slaves, the groaning of + the timbers, mingled with the clank of chains and the bellowings of the + tempest, produce sentiments of affright in the most intrepid breasts. + The rain, the hail, the lightning, habitual accompaniments of these + terrific storms, the waves which dash over the vessel, all add to the + horror of the situation, and although devotion is not as a rule very + strongly marked on board a galley, you will hear these folk praying to + God, and others making vows to the Saints; these would do much better + not to forget God and his Saints when the danger is past. + + "Calm itself has also its inconveniences, as the evil smells which arise + from the galley are then so strong that one cannot get away from them in + spite of the tobacco with which one is obliged to plug one's nostrils + from morning till night." + +The gallant officer here goes into further details concerning the vermin on +board which it will be as well to spare the reader. + +Jean Marteille de Bergeraq, who died at Culenbourg in 1777, was condemned +to serve on board the galleys in 1707 "in his quality of Protestant"; he +must indeed have been a man of iron constitution as he lived to the age of +ninety-five. This is his description of the life of a _forcat_: + + "They are chained six to a bench; the benches are four feet wide covered + with sacking stuffed with wool over which are thrown sheepskins which + reach to the floor. The officer who is master of the galley slaves + remains aft with the captain to receive his orders; there are two under + officers, one amidships and one at the prow; all of these are armed with + whips, with which they flog the absolutely naked bodies of the + slaves. When the captain gives the order to row, the officer gives the + signal with a silver whistle which hangs on a cord round his neck; the + signal is repeated by the under officers and very soon all the fifty + oars strike the water as one. Imagine six men chained to a bench as + naked as they were born, one foot on the stretcher the other raised and + placed on the bench in front of them, holding in their hands an oar of + enormous weight, stretching their bodies towards the after part of the + galley with arms extended to push the loom of the oar clear of the backs + of those in front of them who are in the same attitude. They plunge the + blades of the oars into the water and throw themselves back, falling on + to the seat which bends beneath their weight. Sometimes the galley + slaves row thus ten, twelve, even twenty hours at a stretch, without the + slightest relapse or rest, and on these occasions the officer will go + round putting into the mouths of the wretched rowers pieces of bread + soaked in wine to prevent them from fainting. Then the captain will call + upon the officers to redouble their blows, and if one of the slaves + falls fainting upon his oar, which is a common occurrence, he is flogged + until he appears to be dead and is then flung overboard without + ceremony." + +The Italian captain, Pantero Pantera, of the _Santa Lucia_ galley, in his +work on "L'Armata Navale" published in 1614, gives it as his opinion that +although soldiers and sailors could be obtained for service in the galleys +if good pay were given, still no money could tempt any free man to +adventure himself as a rower for any length of time owing to the +intolerable sufferings which the "gallerian" was called upon to endure. As, +however, in the opinion of the captain it was most necessary that the +galleys should be manned, he thought that all judges should in future send +criminals aboard; those who had committed murder as "lifers," those who had +committed lesser crimes _pro rata_. Those who by the nobility of their +birth or their physical incompetence were unable to handle the oar should +be called upon to pay for substitutes to act for them; these were called +"Buone-Voglie." + +There was not much difference after all between the methods used by the +seventeenth-century Italian to those actually in force in England at a much +later date when the Press Gang swept the honest and the dishonest into its +net in its midnight raids. + +"The galley slaves," observes Pantera, "cherish repose and sincerely wish +to avoid fatigue; in order to incite them to do their duty it is necessary +to use the whip as well as the whistle; by using it with severity the +officers will find that they are better obeyed, and it will in consequence +be good for the service, for fear of the whip is the principal cause of +good behaviour among the gallerians." Further on he observes that it is +well not to flog them too severely and without reason, "for this irritates +the gallerians, as I have frequently observed: this may cause them to +despair and to wish for death as the only sure way out of their troubles." +The excellent Pantera a little later on even says that he cannot agree that +the attempt to cure a sick gallerian "is all nonsense, as is maintained by +some persons," as sick men are a source of danger on board. He apparently +was not prepared to throw them overboard alive, but urges that the best way +to avoid such pestilences among them as killed forty thousand Venetians at +the port of Zara in 1570 is to embark sound and good victuals. + +It is interesting to have a contemporary view of the correct treatment of +the galley slave from those who had to do with him. In the case of the +corsairs and their adversaries the gallerians were as a rule prisoners of +war, but as time went on and wars became less frequent than they were +throughout the sixteenth century, another source of supply was tapped by +sending to the galleys the criminals of any country which desired to fill +up the rowers' benches. In consequence there was always one thing which was +feared above all others on board a galley, and that was a rising of the +slaves. + +If they were not your enemies officially, they were a set of desperate +criminals ripe for any mischief should they get loose, and chained, +starved, beaten, frozen with the cold, baked by the summer heats, tortured, +murdered, they had nothing earthly for which to hope except escape. If in +the heat of battle there should occur a rising of the slaves, then their +masters knew that victory would declare itself surely on the side of the +enemy. Therefore that they should be securely chained was the first and +most important thing to which the boatswain of a galley and his mates had +to see. If by a bold stroke they once freed themselves from their shackles +it was a fight to the death for those who erstwhile had been in command, as +the gallerians, outnumbering them and caring nought for their lives in +comparison to their liberties, were far the most formidable foes that they +could be called upon to encounter. When men are so treated that their daily +life is one long martyrdom they become the most dangerous force in +existence, and on the occasions which sometimes happened that the slaves +got the upper hand, there were none left of the fighting men of the galley +to tell the tale of their discomfiture. + +In time of battle the gallerians were of course equally exposed to death +and wounds from the projectiles of the enemy as were the orthodox fighting +men; but to them came no rejoicing at the sound of victory; rather they +prayed for the defeat of their masters, as it frequently happened that +those against whom they were arrayed were their own countrymen and friends +by whom they hoped for release. Thus at Lepanto, the Christian slaves, +seeing the right wing of the Turkish fleet thrown into disorder by the +galleys of the Allies, broke out into furious mutiny, succeeded in +shattering their fetters and chains, attacked their masters the Turks in +the rear with incredible energy with any weapons upon which they could lay +their hands, and thus contributed in no small measure to the ultimate +triumph of the Christian arms. + +The Captain Pantero Pantera and Barras de la Peine have written +exhaustively on the galley, her crew, her armament, her manner of +provisioning, her masts, sails, rigging, etc., and Admiral Jurien de la +Graviere has given a most painstaking exposition concerning the +technicalities of these craft. But to enter into too much detail would be +to weary the reader unnecessarily, who, it is apprehended, merely desires +that a general idea should be given of the way in which these vessels were +handled and fought. + +It would appear that during the whole time that oar-propelled vessels were +used as warships their form did not differ to any material extent, as +certain limitations of size were obviously imposed on them by the mere fact +that they had to be moved by so finite and feeble a force as human muscles, +hearts, and lungs. No cruelty, however ghastly, could extract from the +gallerians more than a certain amount of work, and the Captain Pantero +Pantera, as we have seen, even advocates that a certain minimum of +consideration should be shown to them in order that better work might be +obtained. It was probable, however, that in the case of the Christian +slaves captured by the corsairs even this minimum was to seek, as the +numbers swept off by them were so enormous that they could be used up and +replaced without inconveniencing these rovers of the sea, to whom +compassion for suffering was absolutely unknown. + +The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, or the Knights of Malta as they were +also called, used the galley in their unceasing warfare with the Moslem. +The General of the Galleys was a Grand Cross of the Order; the captains +were knights, and the second officer, or first lieutenant, was known as the +Patron. The crew of a galley of the knights had twenty-six rowing benches +and carried two hundred and eighty rowers and two hundred and eighty +combatants; the armament consisted of one bow cannon which discharged a +forty-eight pound ball, four other small guns, eight pounders, and fourteen +others which discharged stones. + +"The Religion," as the Knights were in the habit of describing themselves, +had certain definite stations assigned to each knight, seaman, or officer +during action. It is to be imagined, however, that these were merely for +the preliminary stages of the fight, as it was seldom that time allowed for +more than one discharge, or at the most two, of the artillery, before the +opposing galleys met in a hand-to-hand conflict which must have immediately +become an indiscriminate melee. + +The manner in which the galley should engage is thus contained in an answer +to a question of Don John of Austria, the victor of Lepanto. He wrote to +Garcia de Toledo, fourth Marquis of Villafranca, and General of the Galleys +of Sicily, to ask his opinion as to what distance it was most efficacious +to open fire in a naval action. Toledo replied that "one cannot fire more +than twice before the galleys close. I should therefore recommend that the +arquebussiers should hold their fire until they are so close to the enemy +that his blood will leap into the face of him who discharges his piece. +have always heard it said, and this by captains who are well skilled in the +art of war, that the last discharge of the cannon should be coincident with +the noise made by the breaking of the spurs carried in the prows of the +galleys; in fact that the two noises should be as one; some propose to fire +before the enemy does: this is by no means my advice." + +Artillery, it will be seen from this, played a comparatively unimportant +part in the combats between galley and galley; that in these craft men +still relied on the strength of their right arm and the edge of their +swords; there was still a certain contempt for villainous saltpetre, which +was looked upon as a somewhat cowardly substance, preventing the warrior +from settling his disputes in the good old fashion of his forbears. In any +case, when you practically had to push the muzzle of your gun against your +enemy's body in order to hit him, it was not a weapon upon which much +reliance was to be placed. + +There were, in addition to the galley, the nef and the galeasse; the former +of these was a sailing vessel pure and simple like those remarkable +caravels in which Columbus discovered America. + +What these caravels were exactly like it was the good fortune of the writer +to see in the year 1893. This was the date of the great exhibition of +Chicago, and the American Government were most anxious to have, and to +exhibit if possible, an exact replica of these historic craft. They +accordingly communicated with the Spanish Government and inquired if by any +chance they possessed the plans and specifications of the caravels of +Columbus? Search was made in the archives of Cadiz Dockyard and these +priceless documents were discovered. From them the ships were built in +every respect the same as the wonderful originals and then towed across the +Atlantic by the United States cruiser _Lancaster_. On their way they were +brought to Gibraltar, where the writer's ship was then stationed, and were +anchored inside the New Mole. The _Santa Maria_, the flagship of Columbus, +was a three-masted vessel with a very high "forecastle" and "sterncastle" +and very deep in the waist; she had three masts, the foremast carrying one +square sail, the mainmast having both mainsail and main-topsail, the mizzen +was rigged with a lateen sail, on the mainsail was painted the Maltese and +on the foresail the Papal cross, and on deck she carried a brick-built +cooking galley. A most beautiful model of this vessel is to be seen in the +Science and Art Department of the South Kensington Museum. + +The nef in its later manifestations became a much more seaworthy vessel +than this, with four masts, the two foremost ones square-rigged and +carrying courses and topsails, the two after ones carrying lateen sails; +the latter from their small size and their proximity to one another could +not have had much effect on the sailing qualities of the ship. The nefs in +the fleet of Don John of Austria in 1571 were rigged in this fashion and +comprised vessels of eight hundred, nine hundred, and even one thousand +tons, while a contemporary English vessel, the _Great Harry_ or _Henri +Grace a Dieu_, was as much as fifteen hundred tons, and carried no less +than one hundred and eighty-four pieces of ordnance. It was from the nef +and the galeasse that the sailing man-of-war arrived by the process of +evolution. The galley in the first instance was the vessel of men who +fought hand to hand, the men in whom personal strength and desperate valour +were blended, who desired nothing so much as to come to close grips with +their enemy. Such rude engines of war as the pierriers, or short cannons +which discharged some forty or fifty pounds of broken stone upon the enemy, +were first mounted in the galley; these were followed by improved artillery +as time went on. But although the galleys eventually carried quite big +guns, as instanced by the forty-eight pounder in the galleys of the Knights +of St. John, still it soon became apparent that the limit was reached by +guns of this weight; the galley was essentially a light vessel and was not +built to withstand those rude shocks caused by firing heavy charges of +powder. + +The galeasse was the connecting link between the navy of oars and the navy +of sails. The navy of oars was in its generation apt for warlike purposes; +but it was in its essence a force analogous to the light cavalry of the +land; useful for a raid, a sudden dash, but without that great strength and +solidity which came in later years to the building of the sailing line of +battleship. + +The galeasse was really a magnified galley, one which used both sails and +oars, on board of which the rowers were under cover; she was built with a +forecastle and a sterncastle which were elevated some six feet above the +benches of the rowers, and her very long and immensely heavy oars were of +course proportionate to the size of the vessel. The description of a +galeasse of nearly one thousand tons burden is set forth as follows by +Jurien de la Graviere: + + "Her draught of water was about 18 feet 6 inches, she was propelled by + 52 oars, 48 feet in length, each oar being worked by 9 men. Her crew + consisted of 452 rowers, 350 soldiers, 60 marines, 12 steersmen, 40 + ordinary seamen, 86 cannoneers, 12 petty officers, 4 boatswains' mates, + 3 pilots, 2 sub-pilots, 4 counsellors, 2 surgeons, 4 writers, 2 + sergeants, 2 carpenters, 2 caulkers, 2 coopers, 2 bakers, 10 servants, a + captain, a lieutenant, a purser. In all some thousand men, or about the + same number as the crew of a three-decker of a later date." + +The fleet of the "Holy League" at the battle of Lepanto had in it six +galeasses from the arsenal of Venice; and whereas an average galley carried +110 soldiers and 222 galley slaves, the crews of these galeasses comprised +270 soldiers, 130 sailors, and 300 galley slaves. + +The speed of the galley was calculated by the French engineer Forfait to be +in the most favourable circumstances, that is to say in a flat calm, but +four and a half knots for the first hour, and two and a quarter to one and +a half miles per hour for subsequent hours; the exhaustion of the rowers +consequent on their arduous toil would not admit of a greater speed than +this. The studies of Forfait were made when the invasion of England by +rowing boats was a topic of burning interest. It is evident from this that +long voyages, trusting to the oar alone, could not be undertaken; but as we +have seen, the galley was also provided with motive power in the shape of +two masts carrying the lateen sail, which may be still seen in so many +Mediterranean craft. + +That the galley was no vessel in which to embark in bad weather is +instanced for us by the disasters which befell a Spanish fleet of these +craft in 1567 under the Grand Commander of Castile, Don Luiz de Requesens. +A revolt of the Moors in Granada had caused Philip the Second to wish to +withdraw a certain number of Spanish troops from Italy. Requesens was sent +to Genoa with twenty-four galleys to embark a detachment of an army corps +then stationed in Piedmont. Each galley embarked one hundred and fifty +soldiers; they then got under way and reached the island of Hyeres, where +they anchored, the weather being too bad to proceed. At the end of their +eighth day in port a number of vessels were seen flying to the eastward +before the wind; it was a squadron of Genoese. + +Requesens, who was no seaman, was furious. Here were the Genoese at sea, +and he wasting his time in harbour; if they could keep the sea why could +not he, he demanded? He instantly ordered the anchors to be weighed. The +commander of the Tuscan galleys, of which there were ten in the fleet, +immediately went on board the galley in which Requesens was embarked and +represented that the wind was foul and that should they leave their +anchorage they could make no headway once they got clear of the land. But +Requesens was obstinate: "if others can go on their way it is shameful that +I should not proceed on mine," he protested. Alfonso d'Aragona argued with +him in vain, representing that his master, the Duke of Tuscany, would hold +the Grand Commander responsible for damage to his galleys. It was all in +vain, as the Grand Commander was too arrogant and stupid to listen to +advice from anybody. The fleet put to sea and struggled out a mile from the +land; when they got thus far Requesens discovered his mistake and regretted +that he had not taken the advice of the mariners; but it was now too late, +they had drifted to leeward of their anchorage and could not get back +again. + +One galley, a new vessel, ran into another which was an old one, and sank +her on the spot, carrying all her luckless crew to the bottom. The +remaining vessels scattered far and wide; Alfonso d'Aragona found refuge in +the Bay of Alghieri, two more of his galleys reached an anchorage in the +Isle of St. Pierre, another sheltered in the Gulf of Oristano; three +galleys were shipwrecked on the coast in this neighbourhood and lost many +of their men; yet another, called the _Florence_, was twice nearly wrecked +on the coast of Barbary, and eventually reached the Bay of Cagliari. A +Genoese captain found himself as far afield as the Island of Pantellaria, +two galleys were never heard of again, and the Grand Commander himself +anchored eventually in the Bay of Palamos on the Spanish coast. Of the +twenty-four galleys which left their anchorage twelve were lost and the +twelve which remained were practically valueless until large sums had been +spent in repairs. + +It is small wonder in the light of these events that the seamen who ranged +the Mediterranean in vessels propelled by oars regarded the winter as a +close season and laid up their galleys in harbour. They were seaworthy +enough for ordinary weather, but could not withstand such a tempest as the +one in which Requesens put to sea. The whole story is only a further proof +of the folly of putting supreme command of a sea-going venture in the hands +of a man totally ignorant of the hazards he was called upon to encounter. +In the sixteenth and even in the seventeenth centuries this was done +perpetually, and if no disaster occurred it was because no bad weather was +encountered. + +[Illustration: Brigantin donnant chasse a une Felouque, et prest a la + border. BRIGANTINE CHASING FELUCCA.] + +As time went on the sailing ship became larger and larger and was able to +mount more and more powerful ordnance; this had the effect of discounting +the value of the galley as a fighting ship; in consequence she became +practically obsolete, for the line of battle, after the combat at Lepanto. +In spite of this she was to linger on for many long years to come as the +weapon of the corsairs who had established themselves on the coast of +Africa. The "long ship" was still to be the cause of many an awful sea +tragedy, whether the actors therein were the pirates who hailed from the +Barbary coast or their most capable imitators the notorious rovers of +Sallee. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + + +DRAGUT-REIS + + How he became Lieutenant to Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa--His capture by + Jannetin Doria--His four years as a galley slave--His ransom by his old + chief. + +In character, in capability, in strategic insight, in tactical ability, not +one of the predecessors or the successors of Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa can be +compared to him; he was the greatest and most outstanding figure of all +those corsairs of whose deeds we hear so much during the sixteenth century, +the man above all others who was feared and hated by his contemporaries in +Christendom. He lived, as we have said, for another eight years after the +battle of Prevesa, but his great age prevented him from pursuing a very +active career. There were, however, other and younger men, trained in the +terrible school of hardship in which his life had been passed, who proved +themselves to be his very worthy successors, even if they did not display +the same genius in war and statecraft. The conditions of this period are +somewhat remarkable when we come to consider them; Europe, which had been +sunk in a rude and uncultured barbarism during the middle ages, was +emerging under the influence of the Renaissance into a somewhat higher and +nobler conception of life. It is true that the awakening was slow, that +morally the plane on which the peoples stood was far from being an elevated +one, that altruism was far from being the note of the lives lived by the +rulers of the so-called civilised nations. For all this they had emerged +from that cimmerian darkness in which they had lived so long, and the dawn +of better things, of more stable government, of some elementary recognition +of the rights of those governed, was beginning to show above the murky +horizon. + +But if the sun of European progress was slowly and painfully struggling +through the clouds, the light which had shone brightly for over seven +centuries of Moslem advance was certainly and surely dying. Beneath the +mail-clad heel of the Christian warrior the torch of learning which had +burned so brightly in Cordova and Granada had been extinguished and ground +into the dust, and the descendants of the alumni of those universities were +seeking their bread in the Mediterranean Sea in the guise of bloodthirsty +and desperate pirates. + +There were no longer among the Moors of Andalusia learned philosophers, +expert mathematicians, wise astronomers, and practical agriculturists; +there was among them but one art, one science, one means of gaining a +livelihood--the practice of war--and their very existence depended on the +spoils which could be reft from the hereditary enemy. The corsair who grew +to man's estate, brought up in Algiers, Tunis, Tenes, Jerba, or any other +of the lurking places in which the sea-wolves congregated, had as a rule no +chance but to follow the sea, to exist as his father had existed before +him; he must fight or starve, and in a fighting age no youngster was likely +to be backward in taking to the life of wild excitement led by his elders. +Unless following in the train of one of the leaders, such as Barbarossa, +the Moslems were apt to take to the sea in a private capacity; a certain +number of them joining together to man a small craft which was known as a +brigantine. As has been said in a previous chapter, this word must not be +understood in the light of the terminology of the modern seaman: the +brigantines of the Moslem corsairs were really large rowing boats, carrying +fourteen to twenty-six oars, and made as seaworthy as the small size of +such craft would allow. Should the venture of the crew of a brigantine +prove successful, then the reis, or captain, might blossom out into the +command of a galley, in which his oars would be manned by his slaves; but, +in the first instance, he would man his brigantine with a crew of Moslem +desperadoes working on the share system and dividing anything that they +could pick up; in this manner most of those corsairs who became famous +commenced their careers, and rose as we have seen from the thwart of a +brigantine to the unstable eminence of a throne in Algiers, Tunis, or +Tlemcen. + +This life which they led made of them what they were, namely desperate +swordsmen, efficient men at arms, incomparably skilful in the management of +the craft in which they put to sea; but it did nothing else for them in the +way of education; in consequence he who would rise to the top, who aspired +to be a leader amongst them and not to remain a mere swash-buckling +swordsman all his life, was bound to acquire that dominance necessary for +control of the wild spirits of the age. Nor was this ascendancy by any +means easy to obtain, as the rank and file led lives of incredible +bitterness, almost inconceivable to modern ideas. What they suffered they +alone knew, but it was compounded of hunger, thirst, heat, cold, sickness +unrelieved by care or tending, wounds which festered for lack of +medicaments, death which ever stared them in the face, and last, and worst +of all, the risk of capture by some Christian foe, by whom they would be +chained to the rowers' bench and taste of a bitterness absolutely +unimaginable. As a set-off to this the man who aspired to lead must offer +to his followers at least a record of success in small things; also he had +to be something of an enthusiast, something of an orator, some one subtly +persuasive. Against all the disagreeables of the strenuous life of the +corsair he had to hold before the dazzled eyes of Selim, Ali, or Mahomet +the promise of fat captures of the merchant vessels of the foe; when they +had but to slit a few throats and to return with their brigantines laden to +the gunwale with desirable plunder. Again he had to hearten them for +possible encounters with Spaniards, with the terrible Doria, or worst of +all with the dreaded Knights of St. John themselves; to point out that to +die in conflict with the infidel was a sure passport to heaven and its +houris, and to invoke great names, such as that of Barbarossa to show to +what dizzy heights the fighting Moslem could climb. In such an age and +among such men as these it was no mean feat to become a leader by whom men +swore and to whom they yielded a ready obedience. + +Fashioned by the hammer of misfortune on the anvil of racial expropriation, +such leaders arose among the Moslems, men of iron, before whom all who +worshipped at the altars of Islam bowed the knee. These men, whose fame +extended throughout all the length and breadth of the Mediterranean, taught +to European rulers something of the value of that great force which is +known to us under the modern name of "Sea Power." + +Next in importance to Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa himself and in many ways his +very worthy successor, was Dragut Reis. We have it on the authority of +Messire Pierre de Bourdeille, the Seigneur de Brantome, that Dragut was +born at a small village in Asia Minor called Charabulac, opposite to the +island of Rhodes, and that his parents were Mahommedans. Being born within +sight and sound of the sea, the youthful Dragut naturally graduated in the +school of the brigantine and completed his education on board of a galley. +His training was that which makes the best of fighting seamen, as from +contemporary records he appears to have passed all his life actively +engaged on board ship. At a very early age he entered the service of a +master gunner who served on board the galleys of the Grand Turk. Under his +auspices the youngster became an expert pilot in his own home waters, and +likewise a most excellent gunner. Dragut was evidently a youth of ability +and determination, as almost before he reached man's estate he had +succeeded in buying a share in a cruising brigantine where his venture +prospered so exceedingly that he was soon able to become sole proprietor of +a galeasse. Here again fortune favoured the enterprising young man; his +name began to be known as a formidable corsair in the Levant, where he was +remarkable for his knowledge of that portion of the Mediterranean. + +To better his condition he offered his services to Barbarossa at Algiers, +who accepted this new subordinate with joy, delighted to have so valiant +and capable a man under his orders. + +"During some years," says J. Morgan in his _Compleat History of Algiers_, +1728, "he was by that basha intrusted in the direction of sundry momentous +expeditions; in which he acquitted himself much to the satisfaction of his +principal: as having never once been unsuccessful." When we remember the +treatment meted out by Barbarossa to some of his unsuccessful lieutenants, +Dragut must be esteemed a very fortunate man. His master, we are told, +advanced him to all the military offices of the State--it would be +interesting to know what these were in a purely piratical confederation +ruled by a pirate! In the end Dragut was appointed to be kayia, or +lieutenant, and given entire command of twelve galleys. + + "From thenceforward this redoubtable corsair passed not one summer + without ravaging the coasts of Naples and Sicily; nor durst any + Christian vessel attempt to pass between Spain and Italy; for if they + offered it he infallibly snapped them up, and when he missed his prey at + sea, he made himself amends by making descents along the coasts + plundering villages and towns and dragging away multitudes of + inhabitants into captivity." + +That "no vessel durst pass from Spain to Italy" is no doubt a picturesque +form of exaggeration on the part of the historian; at the same time, when +Dragut was at the height of his activities there is no doubt that any one +passing through those seas ran a great risk of capture; so much so in fact +that at this period, from 1538, the date of the battle of Prevesa, until +Lepanto in 1571, all maritime commerce in the Mediterranean was greatly +circumscribed. At the beginning of this epoch, which saw the rise of the +Moslem corsairs, these robbers perforce confined themselves more to the +North African coast than was the case later on. The pioneers of the +piratical movement, after the fatal date 1492, which saw the wholesale +expulsion of the Moors from Spain, were comparatively speaking inexpert +practitioners in the art and mystery of piracy; they had not the habit of +the sea, and in consequence confined their depredations to the +neighbourhood of their own selected ports in Africa, which dominated that +sea lane running east and west through the Mediterranean, which then, as +now, was one of the greatest highways of commerce of the world. Gradually, +as we have seen, under the able guidance of the two Barbarossas, but +particularly that of the second and greater of the two, piracy became a +commonplace in the north, as well as in the south, of the tideless sea; the +corsairs, as time went on, even devoting more time and attention to the +coast of Italy and the islands of the archipelago than they did to the +recognised trade routes. These latter had become by 1540 similar to an +estate which has been shot over too frequently; birds had become both wild +and scarce, it was hardly worth while to go over the ground, except now and +again on the chance of picking up a straggler. Towns and islands, on the +other hand, even if they did not yield much in the way of actual plunder, +were always good cover to beat for slaves, which had a certain value in the +markets of Algiers and Tunis. Another circumstance which had led to the now +frequent raids on the littoral of the European countries was the +countenance and support accorded to the corsairs by the Grand Turk: so +admirably did they fit into the scheme of his ambitions, that by the time +Dragut arrived at a commanding position they were, so to speak, officially +recognised as a fighting asset of the Sublime Porte; and, as we have seen, +the Sultan did not hesitate to lend his picked troops, the Janissaries, to +the corsairs when engaged in their ordinary piratical business. To the +Grand Turk the corsairs were Moslems who were prepared to fight on his +side, and who, taking it all in all, really cost him hardly anything; in +fact, at this date, owing to the magnificent gifts made to the Sultan by +Kheyr-ed-Din, the Padishah must have made something out of his association +with the sea-wolves. + +By the year 1540 Dragut had distinctly "arrived"; that is to say, he had +succeeded in making himself so dreaded that Charles V. ordered Andrea Doria +to seek him out and destroy him at any cost. The Christian admiral was "to +endeavour by all possible means to purge the sea of so insufferable a +nuisance." + +Andrea got ready a fleet, which he entrusted, together with the care and +management of this affair, to his nephew Jannetin Doria. This was the +nephew who, in the disastrous attack by Charles on Hassan Aga at Algiers in +the following year, was so nearly lost in the storm which destroyed the +fleet of the emperor; and of whom Andrea Doria is reported to have said, +"It was decreed that Jannetin should be reduced to such an extremity +purposely to convince the world that it was not impossible for Andrea Doria +to shed a tear." Certainly from what we know of the celebrated Genoese +admiral it is hard to imagine him in a tearful mood. Jannetin Doria put to +sea, and, after a long hunt, found the object of his quest at Andior on the +coast of Corsica; Dragut was at anchor in the road of Goialatta, under a +castle situated between Cabri and Liazzo. The corsair knew nothing of his +enemies being at sea, and was in consequence keeping no particular +look-out. Although we are not told the composition of the fleet of Jannetin +Doria, it must have been a large one, as Dragut had under his orders +thirteen galleys, and was unable to withstand the attack to which he was +subject. He was also assailed from the shore, as well as the sea, as the +castle under which he was at anchor opened fire upon him as soon as it was +discovered by its garrison that the new arrivals were Christians. The fire +was too hot for the corsair to withstand, and, to add to his +embarrassments, the beach soon became lined by hundreds of the fierce +Corsi, awaiting the inevitable end when they should be able to fall upon +the defeated Moslems and wipe them from off the face of the earth; it was a +warfare in which there was no mercy, and if the pirates were to fall into +the hands of the islanders they knew well that they would be exterminated. + +In all his venturesome life things had never gone so badly with Dragut as +upon this occasion. On the one side, should he and his men land they would +be massacred; on the other hand, his road to the open sea was barred by an +immensely superior force. Recognising the logic of circumstances, and +seeing no way of escape, the white flag was hung out by the Moslem leader. +The only terms, however, which he could obtain were immediate surrender or +instant death. It must have been a moment of anguish to the man who +hitherto had always ridden on the crest of the wave of success and +achievement to be thus trapped like a rat; and to have the added bitterness +of the thought that had he exercised seamanlike care and precaution in +keeping a good look-out he might have escaped. As it was, he was allowed no +time for reflection, but had to decide on the instant: he did the only +thing possible in the circumstances, which was to haul down his flag and to +become the thrall of his lifelong foes. + +The principal captives were made to pass before young Doria. When Dragut +beheld him he cried out in a fury: "What! Am I a slave to that effeminate +Caramite?" for Doria was but a beardless youth. These opprobrious epithets +being interpreted to the young nobleman, "highly incensed he flew at +Dragut, tore out his beard and moustaches, and buffeted him most +outrageously: nay his passion was so great it is said that had he not been +prevented, he certainly would have sheathed his sword in the bowels of that +assuming prisoner." + +For four long years Dragut rowed in Doria's galley. No distinctions were +made in those days, and knight or noble, companion or grand master, basha +or boy, was, if caught, condemned to the rowers' bench to slave at the oar +beneath the boatswain's lash, perchance alongside some degraded criminal, +filthy and swarming with vermin. While Dragut was employed as a galley +slave there came on board the craft in which he rowed Monsieur Parisot, +Grand Master of the Knights of Malta. This high officer, recognising his +old enemy, called out to him in Spanish: + +"Hola, Senor Dragut, usanza de guerra" ("The usage of war, Senor Dragut"). + +To which the undaunted corsair merely replied with a laugh: + +"Y mudanza de fortuna" ("And a change of luck"). + +The Grand Master, who had known the chain and lash himself, smiled and +passed on--there was no pity in those days. + +But Dragut was not destined to end his life as a galley slave, for, when +indeed hope must have died within him, after more than four years of this +veritable hell upon earth, there sailed one day into the harbour of Genoa +the great Kheyr-ed-Din himself. The Admiralissimo of the Grand Turk, full +of years, honours, and booty, was on his last cruise, and one of the last +acts of his active life was the rescue of Dragut, the man who had served +him so well, and for whom he had so high a regard as a resourceful mariner, +from the degrading servitude into which he had fallen. The Spanish +historian, Marmol, recounts that the sum of three thousand ducats was paid +by Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa for the redemption of Dragut. As this history +was published in 1573, we must conclude that the author who wrote of these +events so soon after they had happened is correct; at the same time, +Barbarossa was in command of one hundred galleys of the Grand Turk, and it +was never his custom to pay for anything which he could take by force. +However this may have been, and the point is not one of very great +importance, the Genoese Senate was terrified lest their territory should be +ravaged; they wrote accordingly to their Grand Admiral, requesting that +Dragut might be released and sent on board of the galley of the admiral +basha. This was immediately done, and the man who for four years had tugged +at the Christian oar was once again in a position to make war on those who +had been for that period his masters. + +Not only had he tugged at the Christian oar, but also he had tasted of the +Christian whip--and of very little else, as the food of the rower was as +scanty as it was disgusting; in consequence, if he had been an implacable +foe to Christendom before this event, he was not likely to have become less +so while toiling in the Genoese galley. + +The practical retirement of Barbarossa from that sphere of activity in +which his life had been passed now left Dragut-Reis the most feared and the +most formidable of all the Moslem corsairs in the Mediterranean. From the +time of his release by Barbarossa until the day of his death at the siege +of Malta in 1565, he followed the example shown him by that prince among +pirates with so much assiduity as to render him only second to Kheyr-ed-Din +in the detestation in which he was held. Says Morgan: "The ill-treatment he +had met with during his four years' captivity was no small addition to the +Innate Rapaciousness of his Disposition." + +In the year 1546, Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa died, and to replace him the +Sultan Soliman ordered all the mariners in his dominions to acknowledge +Dragut-Reis as their admiral, and to obey him in the same manner as they +had obeyed his predecessor. From this date he was the foremost corsair in +the Mediterranean, and the feats which were performed by him showed that +the Padishah had not erred in his selection. + +The ambition of Dragut increased with his power, and he determined, +following the example of the Barbarossas, to seize and hold some strong +place of arms possessed of a commodious port in which he might be the +supreme ruler. Accordingly, in the depth of winter in the year 1548, at a +time which was, as we have pointed out, a close season for piratical +enterprises, and during which attack from the sea was not expected, he +collected all the corsairs whom he could gather, and fell upon the +Spaniards on the coast of Tunis, at Susa, at Sfax, and at Monastir. These +places had been taken from the corsairs in the previous summer by Andrea +Doria; they formed a sort of regular battle-ground when the combatants were +in want of something to do, and were held alternately by the King of Tunis, +the Spaniards, and the corsairs. + +Dragut was well aware that as soon as the spring arrived he would be +attacked; he also knew that the attack would come in sufficient force to +drive him out, as none of these towns was really strong or easily defended; +in consequence he concentrated his attention on the town of "Africa," +otherwise known as Mehedia, and in the Roman histories as Adrumentum. + +This great city lay some leagues to the east of Tunis on a tongue of land +projecting into the sea; its fortifications were regular, its walls of +great thickness, height, and solidity, and were strengthened by many towers +and bulwarks; the guns were large, numerous, and in good condition. At the +back of the town, on an eminence, stood a large fortress, the citadel of +the place; the harbour was large and secure, with an inner basin forming a +port for galleys; the entrance to this was closed by a strong chain. The +sea washed the walls of the city; indeed, it was entirely surrounded, +except where by a narrow neck of land it joined the shore. + +The inhabitants, natives of the place, had shaken off the yoke of the King +of Tunis, and had formed themselves into a kind of independent republic. +They admitted neither Turk nor Christian within their walls, trusting +neither party, and fearing from them the fate which befell Susa, Sfax, and +Monastir. + +"Africa" was the goal of the desires of Dragut-Reis: once in possession of +this, by far the strongest city on the littoral of Northern Africa, he +thought that he might abide secure against the attacks of Charles and of +Andrea Doria. He had seen the enormous expedition of 1541 against Algiers +come to naught on account of the wholesale wrecking of the fleet in which +it had sailed by a tempest of unexampled violence. But he was too +level-headed a man to think that a miracle like this would be likely to +come to pass a second time for his own special behoof, and preferred to act +the part of the strong man armed who keepeth his goods in peace. He had, +however, first to gain over the inhabitants of "Africa" to his views, and +they proved anything but anxious to listen to his blandishments. The more +he tried to ingratiate himself the less inclined did these people seem to +listen. + +"My ambition," said the silver-tongued corsair, "is to become a citizen of +your great and beautiful city. If you will admit me to its privileges it +shall be my business to render you the richest people in the whole +Mediterranean, and your city the most dreaded place in the world." + +The "Africans," however, were obdurate; they knew a pirate when they saw +him quite as well as any one else, and they were quite aware that, should +they open their gates to Dragut, sooner or later they would have to stand a +siege from the Christian forces, which was a thing they by no means +desired. + +But Dragut was not yet at the end of his resources; he was rich, and he +spent money freely in order to gain over to his side those men of +importance by whom such a question as this was bound to be decided. By rich +presents and other blandishments he succeeded in securing the friendship of +one Ibrahim Amburac, who was not only a leader among the inhabitants, but +also governor of one of the towers by which the city was surrounded. +Through him he approached the Council by which the town was ruled, only to +receive a very decided negative: the Council observed the outward forms of +politeness to this formidable person who was speaking them so fair: in +reality, they hated and feared the corsairs only one degree less than they +did Andrea Doria and his Christians. To admit the one was to bring upon +themselves the vengeance of the other; therefore if they could keep them +both out they intended so to do. The ill-omened courtesy of the corsair +filled their hearts with apprehension, and they viewed his immediate +departure, after the refusal of the council had been conveyed to him, with +undisguised relief. Had they but known their man a little better, their +uneasiness would have been far greater than their joy at his temporary +absence. Those things desired by Dragut which he could not obtain by fair +means he usually seized by the strong hand; and when he left so hurriedly, +and at the same time so unostentatiously, he had already entered into a +plot with Ibrahim Amburac. This leader, furious at the rebuff which he had +received at the hands of his fellow councillors on the subject of the +admittance of Dragut to the citizenship of "Africa," was now ready to +deliver that city into the hands of the corsairs by treachery. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + + +DRAGUT-REIS + + How the corsairs captured the town of "Africa"; of its recapture by + Andrea Doria and its eventual total destruction by Charles V. + +Dragut had made it a practice never to appear in the harbour of "Africa" in +any great force, as he had no desire to frighten the birds whom he desired +to snare; on the occasion of which we are now speaking he had but two +galleys, and their departure from the outer harbour passed almost +unnoticed, as the ruck of the population were accustomed to visits from the +corsairs, who came to fill up with provisions and fresh water. Swiftly as +hawks his vessels swept along the coast collecting the garrisons of Susa, +Sfax, and Monastir to aid him in his latest design; they were all picked +men and singularly apt for the stern business which their leader destined +them to undertake. In this manner he soon collected five hundred of the +stoutest and most reckless fighters who sailed out of the ports of Northern +Africa, and, when it became noised abroad among them what the service was +for which they were required, there was universal joy and eagerness. True +the adventure was a formidable one: to capture "Africa" was no light task, +even for such men as these under so renowned a leader; there was further +the difficulty that the persons against whom they went up to fight were no +Christians but Moslems like themselves. But against this was the +declaration of Dragut, who represented to his following that there was +really no choice in the matter; that to these stiffnecked and singularly +ungrateful people he had offered the protection of the corsairs, that they +had refused in the most contumelious manner, and in consequence there was +nothing for it but the strong hand. They--that is to say the corsairs--knew +right well that some strong place of arms in which to shelter themselves +and their vessels was an absolute necessity for their continued existence, +as at any moment Doria or the Knights of Malta might be on their track in +superior force, and then what was their fate likely to be if they had no +harbour under their lee in which to shelter? Further it was hinted that +"Africa" would provide very nice pickings in the way of loot, and when this +came to be generally understood the promptings of the Mahommedan conscience +yielded easily to the sophistries with which it was lulled. + +The council of the town of "Africa" troubled themselves but little more +concerning Dragut, his ships, and his corsairs; he had departed, and as the +days wore on and no further tidings of him came to hand, these simple folk +thanked God that they were rid of a knave and went about their usual +avocations as unconcernedly as if no sea-wolves lurked under the shadowed +headlands of that continent in which their homes were situated. They were a +people essentially of the land; although they dwelt on the confines of the +ocean the ways and habits of those who earned a precarious living on the +waters were a sealed book to them, and with the "Africans" it was a case of +"out of sight out of mind" so far as the corsairs were concerned. But that +black-hearted traitor Ibrahim Amburac and the few others who had been +gained over by the gold of Dragut watched and waited for the attack which +they knew to be impending. + +The inhabitants of the doomed city never saw their assailants until they +were actually upon them, so well had the surprise attack been planned by +the leader of the corsairs. He had collected five hundred men, and this was +but a small number with which to assail so strong a place; but Dragut knew +exactly what he was doing and the effect likely to be produced by the +introduction of this number of highly trained men-at-arms among a +population which, although brave and warlike, lacked the elements of +organisation for the defence of their city. + +So it was that, all preparations being completed, he stood along the coast +anchoring out of sight of his objective, but close enough to reach it by +midnight after darkness had fallen. He had every confidence in himself, an +absolute trust in the hardbitten fighters whom he was about to lead; +success or failure now rested in the hands of traitors within the city. + +"Faith unfaithful kept them falsely true," for when Dragut and his +followers arrived at a certain rendezvous outside the walls which had been +agreed upon previously, there they found Ibrahim Amburac and his men ready +to assist them in scaling this obstacle. It will be remembered that Ibrahim +Amburac was personally in charge of one of the towers with which the walls +were guarded, and thus his task of aiding those who came from without was a +singularly easy one. But even at midnight the passage of five hundred men +could not remain long undiscovered as they clambered in over the walls. +Soon an alarm was raised and the "Africans" rushed to arms and hurried to +the quarter from which danger threatened. The townsmen were well armed and +brave, also they were numerous; but it was the old story of the break-up of +undisciplined valour by highly organised attack. + +In the choking heat of the African night townsmen and corsairs wrestled in +deadly conflict hand to hand and foot to foot; but these untrained landsmen +stood but a poor chance against the picked fighting men of the Moslem +galleys who had been inured to bloodshed from their earliest youth and +trained by such a master in the art of war as Dragut. That warrior, his +great curved scimitar red to the hilt, the blood dripping from a gash in +his cheek, his clothing torn and in disarray, followed by a gigantic negro +bearing a flaming torch, was ever in the thickest of the fray. Behind him +his lieutenants Othman and Selim strove to emulate his prowess, while all +around surged his devoted band of fanatics. + +"Allah! Allah!" and "Dragut! Dragut!" pealed the war-cry of the corsairs; +foot by foot and yard by yard that spearhead of dauntless dare-devils +pressed onwards into the packed masses of the "Africans," who, fighting +stubbornly, nevertheless were borne back by the fury of the terrible +onslaught. Torch-bearers among the pirates leaped into houses and set them +ablaze, the flames volleyed and crackled, the dense smoke rolled upwards to +the stainless sky, the night was a hell of blood and fire. + +There was a sharp order repeated and passed on, the corsairs drew back, and +the "Africans" shouted that the triumph was theirs; but they little knew +Dragut, the sea-hawk who poised to strike anew. A blazing beam dropped +across the street, the townsfolk shouted in insult and derision; but the +joy which they had experienced at seeing their adversaries recoil was but a +short and fleeting emotion. Giving himself and those who had hitherto been +engaged time to breathe and recover themselves, Dragut waited while the +noise of the strife died down, and nought was heard but the roar of the +flames and the crash of the burning buildings. + +The leader turned to his followers, among whom dwelt an ominous silence. +"Dost remember Prevesa," he cried, "when Andrea Doria and the best of the +Christian warriors fled before you like sheep before a dog: are these +miserable townsmen to stay your onward march?" + +There remained for an appreciable period after he had spoken a tense +silence; the red light from the burning houses shone on the lean faces +alight with the fierce fire of fanaticism, with an inextinguishable lust of +slaughter. There came an answering frenetic roar, "Lead! Lead! Dragut! +Dragut! Dragut!" It was enough: the corsair had tried the temper of the +steel, he had now but to use the edge. There was an ordered movement on the +part of the pirates: a fresh hundred men, who had hitherto taken no part in +the combat, now pressed to the front and formed the advance, those who had +been before engaged now forming the supports; that which had been the shaft +of the spear now forming its head. With Dragut leading, these fresh +unwounded men swept forward over the burning beam; irresistible as some +mighty river in spate, these disciplined ruffians, headed by this master +spirit, burst through the ill-organised resistance opposed to them, and +slew and slew and slew. + +Behind them, alert and wary, came the supports, asking no quarter and +giving none, cutting up the wounded, trampling under foot friend and foe +alike who fell in the weltering shambles which marked the onward path of +their leader and the advanced party. Very soon the broken hosts of the +"Africans" cried piteously for mercy; the fight was over, and Dragut-Reis, +wounded, breathless, but victorious, stood master of the strongest place of +arms in all the continent of Africa. It is true that treachery had given +him his opportunity, but once that was obtained the rest he had done for +himself: the stealthy advance by sea, the midnight march to the exact spot +on the walls where he was awaited by Ibrahim Amburac, the marshalling of +his five hundred for the conflict, and the actual conduct of the fight +itself, were all to the credit of this apt pupil of the great Kheyr-ed-Din +Barbarossa, As warriors his followers were worthy of their leader: defeated +the corsairs frequently were, but, in the combats in which they engaged, +they were frequently, as we have seen in the course of this story, largely +dependent upon auxiliaries in whom no trust could be placed; and at +Prevesa, at the siege of Malta, and later on at the battle of Lepanto, the +spot on which they fought, were it on the land or on the sea, was ever the +one which formed the nucleus of resistance. It was not only that fighting +was their particular trade; that, of course, might be said also of any man +who trailed a pike or carried an arquebus and marched in the ranks of +Spain, France, Genoa, or Venice. In the case of the sea-wolves it was the +perpetual practice in the art of war, as it was then understood, that +caused them to be the men that they were. Much of their fighting could +hardly be dignified by such a name, as in their everlasting raids on +villages and undefended places they seldom lost many of their number: when, +however, it came to the real thing, as it did on the occasion we have just +recounted, the long years of training told, and opposition had to be strong +indeed if it were not to be beaten down by such a leader as Dragut, by such +men as his picked five hundred. + +What passed between Dragut and the council of "Africa," who in so +unqualified a manner had refused that warrior as a citizen, is not on +record; all that we know is that the Moslem leader dispensed with their +services, and did not invite his new fellow-townsmen to share with him the +burden of government. There was hurry in the administration of the corsair +states, as the form of rule which they adopted was apt to irk the rulers in +Christendom. In this particular instance Dragut, having expelled the +Spaniards from the coast towns, knew that a reckoning with the Emperor and +his militant admiral, Andrea Doria, was but a matter of time, and, in all +probability, of a very short time. + +Promptly, hurriedly, but efficiently, the corsair organised his new +possession: such laws as he decreed did not err on the side of tenderness +towards a people so ungrateful as to have refused his protection in the +first instance, and who had only accepted the gift at the point of the +sword. His nephew Aisa, a man young in years but a past-graduate in the +school of his terrible uncle, was left in charge, while Dragut himself +sailed once more with his fleet, for, as it is put by the Spanish historian +Marmol, "truly the sea was his element." + +Once again had a Moslem corsair bid defiance to that ruler whom Sandoval +and Marmol in their histories greet by the name of the "Modern Caesar." It +was told to Charles that Susa, Sfax, and Monastir had fallen, that "Africa" +was in the hands of the corsairs; "was he never to be free from these +pestilent knaves," he demanded of his trembling courtiers? Hot-foot came +the couriers from Charles to Andrea Doria, with orders to take Dragut dead +or alive, but alive for choice; and up and down the tideless sea in the +summer of 1549 did the great Genoese seaman range in search of the bold +corsair. Doria was getting a very old man now, but his eye was undimmed, +his strength yet tireless, his vigilance and zeal in the service of his +master unabated. + +Dead or alive, great was the reward offered for the capture of Dragut, but +the veteran admiral required no stimulus of this sort to urge him to put +forth his utmost endeavours, to strain every nerve and sinew in the chase. +All his life he had been fighting the corsairs, mostly with conspicuous +success; but what Andrea could never forget--and what his enemies never +allowed him to forget even had he been so inclined--was the fact that, at +the supreme crisis of his valiant life, when he met with Kheyr-ed-Din +Barbarossa at the battle of Prevesa, he had come off so badly that his +under officers of the Papal and Venetian fleets had made representations, +on their return to their respective headquarters, which had detracted from +his fame, and lowered him in the estimation of Europe. Further than this, +he knew that Barbarossa had laughed at and made game of him among his wild +followers: this to the aristocrat, the Prince of Oneglia, the admiral who +treated on almost equal terms with such men as the Pope, Charles of Spain, +and Francis of France, was an insult hard to be borne; the next corsair +with whom he should meet should not escape so easily as had Kheyr-ed-Din, +that the admiral had sworn. + +Personal pique and vanity, racial detestation, and religious fanaticism +were in his case all allied together to spur him on in the chase of this +the last of the Emperor's foes; but, search as he might, during that summer +Doria could never get on to the track of Dragut. The corsairs, as we have +just remarked, were fine fighters on occasion when it was necessary for the +purposes of loot, or of escape from those who, like Doria, interfered with +their particular method of gaining a livelihood; but, on the other hand, +they were no fools, they did not covet hard knocks and the possibility of +defeat from such a one as the admiral of the Emperor, when by the exercise +of a little ingenuity they could keep out of his way. Dragut was not going +to fight a general action at sea merely to please Doria; in this summer his +luck stood to him, and he never came across this man, who, with a sombre +hatred in his heart, was seeking him high and low. If the corsair were bold +as a lion when occasion offered, he was no less as slippery as an eel when +he desired to escape; to face twenty-two royal galleys with Doria in +command was no part of his programme. An occasion might arise when he would +be forced to action; should this happen Dragut had not forgotten his four +years in the galley of Jannetin Doria, the nephew of the admiral, and next +time he intended to fight to win. Just at present the Christian admiral was +in too great strength for him to do aught but keep out of his way, and much +to Andrea's annoyance this was what he succeeded in doing. + +Doria got information that Dragut was at Monastir, information that was +perfectly correct; but by this time the corsair knew that not only had he +raised all Christendom, but that the admiral was on his track. In +consequence, he slipped out of Monastir, "for," as it is pithily put by +Marmol, "our corsair cared not to be shut up in so defenceless a port; he +had good heels and loved sea-room." + +Dragut did not fear for his new possession, "Africa," as he knew that Doria +had not sufficient force to attack so formidable a place; therefore, +leaving it to its destiny and the valour and conduct of his nephew Aisa, on +whom he knew that he could rely, "he went," according to the chronicler, +"on his old trade making Horrid Devastations on the coast of Spain and its +islands." + +While Dragut was pursuing his "Horrid Devastations," Doria was not idle, +but was ranging the northern coast of Africa in his fruitless search; in +the course of this he landed at Cape Bona, on which was the castle of +Calibia, held by the corsairs; these men, who were a portion of Dragut's +following, made a most valiant defence; they were, however, few in number, +and when their captain was killed by the ball from an arquebus they +surrendered. Encouraged by this success, the Christian fleet then stood +along the coast to inspect "Africa." Sailing quite close to the shore they +came within range of the guns of the garrison, who, under the direction of +Aisa, were very much on the alert. As the admiral's galley at the head of +the line passed the walls of the town, she was received with a hot fire, +and one large cannonball struck the stern of Doria's ship, doing +considerable structural damage, and killing five of his men. This +occurrence took place in broad daylight in full view of all the garrison, +who signalled their delight at the discomfiture of their foes by the noise +of cymbals and atambours, and by wild and ferocious yells. Doria, who was +in no position to land and make reprisals, fell into the greatest paroxysm +of fury, and we are told that "he swore the destruction of that detested +city." + +The season being now advanced, Doria returned home, where he found orders +awaiting him from Charles that preparation was to be made for the capture +of "Africa". While the admiral was in harbour, Dragut, finding the seas +open to him once more, returned from his "Horrid Devastations," and +employed his time profitably in throwing provisions and men into the city, +which he knew would be beleagured in the following year. + +During the ensuing winter Doria, in conjunction with the viceroys of Naples +and Sicily, prepared the expedition which was to accomplish not only the +capture of "Africa," but what was, in his opinion, equally important, the +destruction of Dragut-Reis, Early in the spring of 1550, all was in +readiness, and the armada of Charles sailed from Palermo to Trapani, where +it met with the forces of Don Juan de Vega, Viceroy of Sicily, those of Don +Garcia de Toledo, the son of the Viceroy of Naples, and likewise the +Maltese squadron. The galleys, accompanied by a fleet of transports, set +sail early in June, and on the 20th of that month landed an army a little +to the east of Mehedia or "Africa". + +It must be remembered that the inhabitants of Mehedia were by no means +enamoured of Dragut-Reis and his piratical followers: King Stork had +succeeded to King Log, the part of the former monarch being taken by that +singularly capable and ferocious person, Aisa, whose rule was far from +being to the liking of the richer and more respectable portion of the +townsfolk. + +When, therefore, Andrea Doria and his captains laid siege to the city, they +murmured against its defence, desiring ardently to enter into some sort of +treaty with the besiegers; they had had enough of war, they said, and +wished to end their days in peace if possible. + +Aisa Reis, however, would hear no word of surrender, telling those who +murmured against the defence that "if he heard a word more of these plots +he would infallibly sacrifice every mother's son amongst them, and then lay +the town in ashes." Having already had a taste of the quality of this +redoubtable corsair, and feeling perfectly certain that should the occasion +arise he would be as good as his word, there was no more disaffection among +the inhabitants, who had to put up with their native place being made a +cockpit for Doria and Dragut to fight out their quarrel. It is permissible +to sympathise very sincerely with these unfortunates, who, having been +betrayed in the first instance, were compelled to stand a siege in the +second. + +Aisa had a picked force of his uncle's men, some seventeen hundred foot and +six hundred horse, all seasoned and formidable veterans, inured to warfare +by land and sea. On these of course he could rely to the death. The common +folk of the town were inclined to make common cause with the corsairs in +resistance to their hereditary enemy the Christians; but the magistrates +and members of the council, the grave and reverend signiors, held so +conspicuously aloof that Aisa was constrained into forcing them to aid in +the defence when he had time to attend to the matter. As Dragut was not +actually present at the siege it falls outside the scope of this chronicle; +he was without the walls when the besiegers arrived, but all that he could +do, that he did. With a body of his own men reinforced by a rabble rout of +Berber tribesmen, he harassed the Christian army; they were, however, in +far too great numbers for him to make any impression, and after several +desperate skirmishes he recognised that the day was lost, and re-embarking +in his galleys sailed away. The town after a desperate and prolonged +resistance was at last taken by storm; and Doria captured Aisa, a Turkish +alcaid, and ten thousand prisoners of the baser sort. Of these, however, +there was scarce one who owed allegiance to Dragut; the warriors of this +chief neither gave nor accepted quarter, as they feared the wrath of the +terrible corsair even more than death itself. + +Don Juan de Vega put his son Don Alvaro in command of the city and set out +in search of Dragut with twenty galleys, but the sea leaves no traces by +which a fugitive can be tracked, and his search proved as fruitless as had +been that of Doria in the previous year. The rage and the disappointment of +the admiral were beyond all bounds; what to him was the value of the +capture of Aisa, of the Turkish alcaid, of the ten thousand of the baser +sort; nay, what to him was the value of "Africa" itself when once again +like a mocking spirit Dragut had glided beyond the sea horizon to +devastate, to plunder, and to slay once more, the scourge and the menace of +Christendom. + +It will be interesting to record briefly the fate of this city which we +have seen taken and retaken. Don Alvaro de Vega remained as governor till +the end of July, 1551, when his place was taken by Don Sancho de Leyva; at +which time there took place one of those curious military mutinies so +characteristic of the sixteenth century. The soldiers, unpaid for months, +possibly for years, mutinied, expelled the governor and other officers, +even the sergeants, from the city, and placed themselves under the +direction of a stout soldier called Antonio de Aponte, to whom they gave +the title of "Electo Mayor." + +Don Sancho repaired to Brussels to report matters to the Emperor, and +during his absence a circumstance which is also singularly characteristic +of this faithless epoch took place, for the Prior of Capua, then general of +the French galleys, entered into negotiations with the mutineers for the +surrender of the city to the French King. + +Bluff Antonio de Aponte would have none of this treachery; he held the city +for the Emperor Charles and only wanted his pay. Eventually a mutiny within +a mutiny was fomented from without, and with the mutineers divided the +Emperor regained possession of the city; some of the mutineers were hanged, +and Aponte, who had been captured by the Turks, died at Constantinople. + +The Emperor offered "Africa" to the Knights of Malta with a yearly +allowance of twenty-four thousand ducats; the Knights refused, much to the +chagrin of Charles, who gave orders for its complete destruction. This was +accomplished by blowing up with gunpowder the walls, towers, and +fortifications which Al-Mehedi, after whom the city had been named, "had +erected with such art and strength, and had his mind so fixed upon that +work that he used to say, 'If I thought building these fortifications with +iron and brass would render them more durable, I would certainly do it.'" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + + +DRAGUT-REIS + + How Dragut was blockaded in the Island of Jerbah--How he left Andrea + Dona "with the dog to hold"--His return to Constantinople, and how he + sailed from thence with a great expedition against the Knights of Malta. + +Charles V. had "smoked out the fox," but his admiral in so doing had not +succeeded in capturing that remarkably wily animal; for Dragut was not only +still at liberty, but was burning for revenge on those by whom he had been +dispossessed. He had lost "his city," as he called "Africa"; he had lost +two thousand five hundred men--among them some of the fiercest and most +experienced of his corsairs; he had lost ten thousand slaves, representing +a large sum of money, and much wealth besides. The corsair, however, was +not one of those who merely sit down and repine; for him strenuous and +continued action was the law of his being, and he at once repaired to +Constantinople. Here he was well known as an adroit and skilful seaman and +a most determined enemy of the Christians, and, in consequence, was not +only certain of a welcome, but of substantial help as well, if he could but +win over the Grand Turk to take the same view of his grievances as he did +himself. In reality, the corsairs, as we have seen, played the game of the +Padishah, as a rule, at no expense to that potentate; when they were in +trouble he was therefore by no means indisposed to render them assistance. + +Dragut, like all the sea-wolves, was fond of money, fonder still of what +money could buy; he now hankered after revenge as the sweetest morsel that +his hoarded ducats could procure for him. That the Sultan was well disposed +to him he had every reason to think; none the less did he spend royally +among the venal favourites of the Court in order that nothing might be left +undone to inflame the ardour of Soliman against those whom he considered to +be his hereditary foes. + +With such skill and address did the corsair manage his suit that he +prevailed upon the Sultan to address a letter to Charles demanding the +immediate return of the towns of Susa, Sfax, Monastir, and "Africa." This, +of course, meant war; as Charles immediately replied that these places were +dependencies of the King of Tunis, and that that ruler was under his +special protection; further that they were his by right of conquest; +finally that the matter was no concern whatever of the Sultan of +Constantinople. The stern and imperious Christian Emperor was in no mood to +brook interference, the more so that he discerned plainly that though the +demand was that of Soliman, the mover in the affair was none other than +Dragut. He therefore by way of a rider to his answer to the Sultan informed +that monarch that these places which he had taken on the coast of Africa +had been reft by him "from one Dragut, a corsair odious to both God and +man"; that without in any way departing from the treaty which he had made +with Soliman "he intended to pursue this pirate whithersoever he might go." + +Whether or no this denunciation of Dragut had any influence on the Sultan +it is impossible to say; he was in the habit of employing the corsairs, and +apparently cared nothing about their piratical reputation, so long as their +depredations were confined to Christian vessels. Shortly after the receipt +of the answer of Charles, however, the Sultan conferred upon Dragut the +title of Sandjak or governor of the island of Santa Maura, thus +constituting him a Turkish official. + +Once again was Andrea Doria ordered to put to sea to fight against neither +small nor great save Dragut alone; he was to take him dead or alive, but +alive for choice, in order that he might be made to answer at the bar of +Christian justice for all the atrocities committed by him both by land and +sea. The corsair had returned in the meanwhile to Jerbah, an island on the +east coast of Tunis much affected by the sea-wolves, and which in +contemporary histories is known as Jerbah, as Los Gelues (by the Spanish +writers), as Gelves, and various other names which greatly confuse its +identity. + +Doria put to sea with twenty-two royal galleys before Dragut was aware of +the fact. The Genoese admiral heard that his prey was at Jerbah; he +repaired thither without losing a moment, found that he had been correctly +informed, and anchored at the mouth of the harbour, at a place known as La +Bocca de Cantara. Dragut was completely hemmed in, Doria was in such +strength that he could not, reckless as he was, attempt to force the +passage. But as the hour came the spirit of the corsair rose to answer the +challenge: it was one thing to get Dragut-Reis into a trap, it was quite +another to keep him there. Accordingly, he assembled all his troops, +dragged cannon to the mouth of the harbour, and opened so brisk a foe on +the Christian ships as to compel them to haul out of range. These tactics +left Doria unaffected; there was but one way out of the harbour, and he +felt quite convinced that when Dragut had had enough of starvation he would +either surrender or else fight a hopeless action. The admiral surveyed his +anchored fleet with a contented mind; his enemy had been delivered into his +hand, he had nothing to do now but wait for that final triumph of appearing +before his master the Emperor with the famous corsair as his prisoner. He +saw a great fort rising before his very eyes at the mouth of the harbour, +and merely smiled serenely; he sent off to Sicily and Naples for +reinforcements in order that when the psychological moment should arise he +might crush the corsair stronghold so thoroughly that it should never rise +again. In the despatches which he sent he said "the fox is trapped"--"which +news rejoiced all parts of Christendom, and most powerful succours came +daily flocking to the seaports from every quarter; so eager were the +sufferers to revenge themselves on this so much dreaded corsair." + +The history of what now happened is given by Don Luys de Marmol Caravajal +in his "Descripcion general de Affrica," which was printed in Granada, "en +casa de Rene Rabat impresor de libros ano de 1573," or only some twenty +years or so after these occurrences; it is set forth in his chapter +entitled "Como Andrea Doria fue en buscar de these occurrences; it is set +forth in his chapter Dragut Arraez." We have also the authority of that +eminent historian, M. L'Abbe de Vertot. + +Captain Juan Vasquez Coronado journeyed to Naples carrying with him letters +from Andrea Doria to Don Pedro de Toledo, requesting that the Viceroy would +send him all the galleys in Naples, carrying as many soldiers as possible, +pointing out that he had Dragut in a trap, from which he could not possibly +escape, but that this time he wished to make security doubly secure. +Letters to the same purport were also sent to Don Juan de Vega, the Viceroy +of Sicily, and to Marco Centurion at the admiral's own city of Genoa. Doria +was leaving nothing to chance this time. Meanwhile, great earthworks had +been thrown up at the Bocca de Cantara at the entrance of the harbour by +Dragut, and any ship which approached within range was most furiously +bombarded. This served to amuse Andrea Doria, who, confident that the jaws +of the trap had closed, kept a sharp look-out for vessels issuing from the +harbour, but otherwise concerned himself not at all about the +entrenchments. Was not Naples humming with the note of preparation? Would +not the Genoese come in their thousands to the summons of their renowned +chieftain? Could not the Viceroy of Sicily be trusted to work his best to +gain the favour of his Imperial master? + +"Time and I are two" was the favourite expression of King Philip II. of +Spain; the same idea might have crossed the mind of Doria on this memorable +occasion. He had only to wait; the longer he waited the more secure he +would be of success, the more certain would he be of the complete undoing +of his enemy. But even yet the admiral did not know the man to whom he was +opposed; in all the years in which he had done battle against Dragut, he +had never gauged the limitless resource and calculated audacity of this +lineal successor of Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa. While the admiral had been +sending his despatches, and idly watching that which he considered to be +the futile construction of earthworks on the shore at the Bocca de Cantara, +his enemy was preparing for him that surprise which was shortly afterwards +to make of him the laughing-stock of the whole of Europe. Dragut was in a +trap, and he was quite aware of the fact; by way of the Bocca de Cantara +escape was impossible, and neither a tame surrender nor complete +annihilation was by any means to the taste of the pirate leader. Had Doria +gone in and attacked at once, the fate of the corsair had been sealed; the +policy of delay adopted by the Christian admiral was his salvation. + +A man less able, less determined, than Dragut, might well have despaired; +but he brought to bear on the problem with which he was confronted all the +subtlety of his nature, all the resourcefulness of the born seaman that he +was. His mind had been made up from the very beginning: the earthworks at +the Bocca de Cantara, the movements of troops, the furious cannonading, had +all been nothing but a blind to hide the real design which he had in view. +In addition to his fighting men he had at his command some two thousand +islanders, stout Mohammedans to a man, ready and willing to assist him in +his design of cheating the Christians of their prey. Day and night, with +ceaseless silent toil, had garrison and islanders been at work on the +scheme which the leader had devised. From the head of the harbour Dragut +had caused a road to be made right across the island to the sea on the +opposite side: on this road he caused planks to be laid, bolted to sleepers +and then thickly greased. The vessels of the day were of course +comparatively speaking light, and capable of being manhandled, supposing +that you had sufficient hands. At dead of night Dragut assembled his +forces, and before morning every galley, galeasse, and brigantine had been +dragged across the island and launched in the sea on the opposite side. +There was then nothing left to do but to embark stores, guns, and +ammunition and to sail quietly away, and this was what happened. Once again +Dragut faded away beyond the skyline, "leaving Andrea Doria with the dog to +hold," in the quaint language of the chronicler of these events, Don Luys +de Marmol Caravajal. + +Not only did the indefatigable corsair get clear away without any suspicion +on the part of the admiral, but his first act on gaining the open sea was +to capture the _Patrona_ galley sent from Sicily by Don Juan de Vega to say +that reinforcements were on the road. In this ill-fated craft was Buguer, +the son of Muley Hassan, King of Tunis, who was sent as prize to Soliman at +Constantinople, where the Sultan caused him to be shut up in the "Torre del +Mar Negro." Here he remained till he died, as a punishment for that he, a +Mussulman, had aided the Christians. + +Never again was Dragut to be in such sore straits as he was on this +occasion at the island of Jerbah, when, by sheer wit and cunning, he +escaped from the trap in which he had been held by Doria. What the emotions +of the admiral must have been when he found that once again he had been +fooled, it is not difficult to imagine, as by no possible means could the +story be hushed up; and, in spite of the annoyance of Christendom generally +at the escape of Dragut, no one could help admiring his extraordinary +cleverness, or roaring with laughter at the discomfiture of Doria and the +viceroys of Naples and Sicily. + +Dragut now returned to Constantinople to receive congratulations upon his +escape, and to take part in a fresh design of stirring up the Sultan +against the Christians. All who professed this faith were naturally +obnoxious to the corsair; but his private and personal hatred was entirely +directed against the Knights of Malta, with whom he had been at war all his +life. The present preoccupation of the Sultan was to regain the towns on +the coast of Africa which had been taken by the Spaniards; but it was +represented to him by Dragut that "until he had smoked out this nest of +vipers he could do no good anywhere." The Bashaws and the Divan, heavily +bribed by the corsair, held the same language, until Soliman heard of +nothing from morning till night but the ill deeds of the Knights of Malta. +They were represented to him as corsairs who ruined his commerce and +defeated his armadas, who let slip no opportunity of harrying the Moslem +wheresoever he was to be found. In this there was more than a grain of +truth, as we shall see when we come to the next chapter, which will be +devoted to a sketch of this militant order. Suffice it to say here that the +Knights fought for what they termed "the Religion" (it was in this manner +they designated their confederacy), and to harry and enslave the Mussulman, +to destroy him as a noxious animal wherever he was to be found, was the +reason for which they existed. It is true that they plundered not for +individual gain, but many was the rich prize towed into Malta past St. Elmo +and the ominously named "Punta delle Forche" (the "Point of the Gallows," +where all captured pirates were hanged), the proceeds of which went to the +enrichment of the Order; to buy themselves the wherewithal to fight with +the Mahommedan again. + +The abuse of the Knights fell upon sympathetic ears; in his early days +Soliman the Magnificent had expelled the Knights from Rhodes; since then +Charles V. had given them the islands of Malta and Gozo, and the town of +Tripoli in Barbary as their abiding place; from Malta they had never ceased +their warfare against the corsairs, and incidentally against the Sultan and +his subjects. Therefore, in this year 1551, Soliman ordained that an +expedition should be prepared with the object of crushing once and for all +these troublers of the peace of Islam. The preparations were on so large a +scale that very soon it became noised abroad in Europe that something +really serious was in the wind: in Constantinople, however, men kept their +own counsel; it was ill talking of the affairs of the Padishah, and, +further than that, beyond Dragut and the proposed leaders of the +expedition, the Sultan took no one into his confidence. Charles V., well +served as he was by his spies, was as much in the dark as to the +destination of this new armada as were humbler folk; in it he recognised +the hand of Dragut again, and Doria had standing orders to catch that +mischievous person if he could. At present, however, there was no chance of +so desirable a thing happening, as Dragut was superintending the fitting +out of the new expedition at Constantinople. + +Anxious and suspicious of the designs of the Turks, Charles ordered a +concentration of his fleet at Messina. + +The Grand Master of the Knights of Malta at this time was a Spaniard, one +Juan d'Omedes; he was, says de Vertot, "un Grand Maitre Espagnol," meaning +by this that he was completely under the domination of the Emperor and +ready at any time to place the galleys of "the Religion" under the orders +of that monarch. The Knights, like every one else, had watched with anxiety +the preparation of this great expedition in Constantinople, and when the +Grand Master proposed to send the galleys of the Order to join forces with +Doria at Messina, there was great dissatisfaction at the Council Board. +That which it behoved them to do, the members informed the Grand Master, +was not to help a great potentate like Charles, but to make provision for +their own security by attending to their fortifications, which were in +anything but a satisfactory condition. D'Omedes maintained that this +expedition was destined to serve with the King of France against the +Emperor, and that Malta was not the objective. He accordingly sent away the +galleys of "the Religion" under the Chevalier "Iron-Foot," the General of +the Galleys, to join the fleet which had its rendezvous at Messina. Hardly +had he done so when news came from the Levant that the fleet of the Grand +Turk was at sea heading for Sicily. The fleet was composed of one hundred +and twelve royal galleys, two great galeasses, and a host of brigantines +and transport vessels. Sinan-Reis was in command with twelve thousand +Janissaries, numerous pioneers and engineers, and all the necessary +appliances for a siege. + +The embarkation of so large a number of Janissaries was the measure of the +serious purpose of the expedition, as the Sultan did not readily part with +the men of this _corps d'elite_ unless he was in person taking the command. +It may be as well to explain here exactly what the Janissaries were, and it +cannot be better done than by an extract from the famous historian +Prescott: + + "The most remarkable of the Turkish institutions, the one which may be + said to have formed the keystone of the system, was that relating to the + Christian population of the Empire. Once in five years a general + conscription was made by means of which all the children of Christian + parents who had reached the age of seven and gave promise of excellence + in mind or body were taken from their homes and brought to the capital. + They were then removed to different quarters and placed in seminaries + where they might receive such instruction as would fit them for the + duties of life. Those giving greatest promise of strength and endurance + were sent to places prepared for them in Asia Minor. Here they were + subjected to a severe training, to abstinence, to privations of every + kind, and to the strict discipline which should fit them for the + profession of a soldier. From this body was formed the famous corps of + the Janissaries.... Their whole life may be said to have been passed in + war or in preparation for it. Forbidden to marry, they had no families + to engage their affections, which, as with the monks and friars of + Christian countries, were concentrated in their own order, whose + prosperity was inseparably connected with that of the State. Proud of + the privileges which distinguished them from the rest of the army, they + seemed desirous to prove their title to them by their thorough + discipline and by their promptness to execute the most dangerous and + difficult services. Clad in their flowing robes, so little suited to + war, armed with the arquebus and the scimitar--in their hands more than + a match for the pike or sword of the European--with the heron's plume + waving above their head, their dense array might ever be seen bearing + down in the thickest of the fight; and more than once when the fate of + the Empire trembled in the balance it was this invincible corps which + turned the scale, and by their intrepid conduct decided the fortune of + the day. Gathering fresh reputation with age, so long as their + discipline remained unimpaired they were a match for the best soldiers + in Europe. But in time this admirable organisation experienced a change. + One Sultan allowed them to marry; another to bring their sons into the + corps; a third opened the ranks to Turks as well as Christians; until, + forfeiting their peculiar character, the Janissaries became confounded + with the militia of the Empire. These changes occurred in the time of + Philip the Second." + +But to resume: just before the sailing of the galleys of "the Religion" +from Malta there had arrived in that island from France the famous +Chevalier, the Commandeur de Villegagnon. This great noble told the Grand +Master to his face that he was neglecting his duty, that the expedition of +the Grand Turk was bound for Malta and Tripoli: further, that he was +charged by Anne de Montmorency, Constable and First Minister of France, to +advise the Grand Master that this armament was directed against "the +Religion." The interview between the Grand Master and de Villegagnon took +place at a chapter of the Grand Crosses of the Order; when the Commandeur +had finished speaking, he was coldly thanked by D'Omedes, who then bowed +him out. Turning to the Knights Grand Cross he said with a sneer, "Either +this Frenchman is the dupe of the Constable or he wishes to make us his." +He then proceeded to give at length the reasons why Soliman would not +direct so huge an expedition against "the Religion." Many of the Knights +dissented vehemently from his conclusions, but D'Omedes refused to listen +to their arguments. Even advices which arrived on July 13th, representing +that the armada was moving southwards devastating the Italian ports, did +not move him from his obstinate pre-occupation; till on July 16th the +arrival of the Ottoman fleet put an end to all speculation. + +The armada which had sailed from Constantinople was under the command of +Sinan Basha: but he had explicit orders that he was to take no important +step without first consulting Dragut, who was nominally his lieutenant. It +was well for the Knights that on this occasion the corsair was not in +supreme command; had this been the case the islands must have been taken, +as no preparations had been made to repulse an attack in force, and Juan +D'Omedes was a Grand Master who excited little enthusiasm either among the +Knights or the inhabitants. The choice of Sinan was not one which did great +credit to the penetration of the Sultan. Let us explain. We are all of us +conscious at one time or another of a desire to express some fact in the +fewest possible words; to place the transaction or the circumstance which +we wish to describe in the searchlight of truth in so undeniable a fashion +that the illumination consequent upon this mental effort of our own shall +throw up our meaning in immediate relief on the intelligences of those whom +we address. This attribute is possessed by but few even among great +writers--indeed, some historic sayings which have come down to us have not +emanated from the writing fraternity at all, but from soldiers, sailors, +statesmen, and other busy men of affairs. The quality which distinguishes a +man of action above all others is fearlessness of responsibility; the +possession of sufficient greatness of soul and of moral fibre to seize upon +an opportunity and to make the most thereof when an occasion arises which +has not been foreseen by those in authority over him. But far more often in +the history of the world has it happened that brave and capable leaders +have failed for the lack of the indefinable quality that separated their +sterling merits from that absolute and real supremacy which marks the +first-class man. + +How then is it possible to differentiate, to describe where and in what +manner this luck occurs? + +Fortunately, this has been done for us in seven words by Seignelay, the +Minister of Marine to Louis Quatorze in 1692. Speaking of Admiral de +Tourville, who defeated the English and Dutch at the Battle of Beachy Head, +July 10th, 1690, Seignelay says of him that he was "poltron de tete mais +pas de coeur." The judgment was just: de Tourville, as recklessly gallant +as any French noble of them all, failed to live up to his responsibilities +two years later at the Battle of La Hogue. Mahan says: "The caution in his +pursuit of the Allies after Beachy Head, though so different in appearance, +came from the same trait which impelled him two years later to lead his +fleet to almost certain destruction at La Hogue because he had the King's +order in his pocket. He was brave enough to do anything, but not strong +enough to bear the heaviest burdens." + +We see the application of this truth in the period which we are +considering; particularly is it borne in upon us in the case of the leaders +of the Ottoman Turks. Serving as they did a despot of unlimited powers, +failure in the success of his arms was apt to lead to the immediate and +violent death of the man in command. If, therefore, precise instructions +were issued, they were, as a rule, carried out to the letter; as in case of +defeat an effort could be made to shift responsibility on to the shoulders +of the Padishah. Failure owing to initiative was certain of prompt +retribution; success complete and absolute would be the only justification +for a departure from orders. + +Far otherwise was it with the Sea-wolves, who were a law to themselves and +to themselves alone. Should they care "to place it on the hazard of a die +to win or lose it all," there was none to say them nay, there was no +punishment save that of defeat. This it was that so often conduced to their +success. Despots as were such men as Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa and Dragut, +they were none the less dependent on the goodwill of their followers. If, +therefore, they decided on a desperate enterprise, they appealed to the +fighting instincts, the cupidity, and the fanaticism of these men. Should +they succeed in gaining their good will for the attempt which they +meditated, then all was well with them, and behind them was no grim +sinister figure whose word was death and whose breath was destruction. + +Freed from all the trammels which bound the ordinary warrior of the day in +which they lived, they were able, as we have seen, to go far; for the man +in whom supreme ability is united to absolute unscrupulousness is the most +dangerous foe of the human race. The despotism of the leaders among the +sea-wolves was not theirs by right divine, as men considered it to be in +the case of the Padishah; none the less in its practical application it was +but little inferior to that wielded by the Sultan. For reasons of policy, +the Sea-wolves allied themselves to the Grand Turk; for reasons of policy +that monarch employed them and entrusted them with the conduct of important +affairs. The bargain was really a good one on both sides; as to the +sea-wolves was extended the aegis of one of the mightiest empires of the +earth; while to the Sultan came "veritable men of the sea," hardened in +conflict, as fearless of responsibility as of aught else; capable in a +sense that hardly any man could be capable who had grown up in the +atmosphere of the court at Constantinople. To Kheyr-ed-Din the Sultan had +extended his fullest confidence; he had been rewarded by seeing the +renowned Doria forsake the field of battle at Prevesa, and by the perpetual +slights and insults put upon his Christian foes by that great corsair. To +Dragut he had now turned, and, as we have said, when Sinan Basha sailed +from the Golden Horn he had orders to attempt nothing important without the +advice of the corsair. It is impossible to say why the command-in-chief had +not been entrusted to him, as the Sultan had the precedent of Kheyr-ed-Din +upon which to go. It can only be conjectured that Soliman, having +discovered how unpopular that appointment had been amongst his high +officers, did not care to risk the experiment the second time; and in +consequence employed Sinan. To this officer the aphorism of Seignelay +applies in its fullest force. He was as brave a man as ever drew a sword in +the service of his master; he was, however, a hesitating and incompetent +leader, with one eye ever fixed on that distant palace on the shores of the +Golden Horn in which dwelt the arbiter of his destiny and of all those who +sailed beneath the banner of the Crescent. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + + +THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN + + The Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, afterwards known as the Knights + of Rhodes, and eventually as the Knights of Malta--A brief sketch of the + Order, including the relation of how Gozon de Dieu-Donne, subsequently + Grand Master, slew the great Serpent of Rhodes; also some account of + Jean Parisot de la Valette, forty-eighth Grand Master, who commanded at + the Siege of Malta, in which the arms of Soliman the Magnificent were + defeated after a siege lasting one hundred and thirteen days. + +Amongst all those principalities and powers against which Dragut contended +during the whole of his strenuous existence, there was no one among them +which he held in so much detestation as the famous Knights of Saint John, +known in the sixteenth century as the Knights of Malta. This militant +religious organisation had its origin in Jerusalem in peculiar and +interesting circumstances. After the death of Mahomet, his followers, +burning with zeal, put forward the tenets of their religion by means of +fire and sword; during the years which followed the Hegira, 622 A.D., the +arms of the Moslems were everywhere successful, and amongst other places +conquered by them was Palestine. So great was the renown acquired by the +Emperor Charlemagne that his fame passed even into Asia, and Eginard states +that the Caliph Haroun Raschid permitted the French nation to maintain a +house in Jerusalem for the reception of pilgrims visiting the holy places, +and that, further, the Prince permitted the Patriarch of Jerusalem to send +to the Christian Emperor, on his behalf, the keys of the Holy Sepulchre and +those of the Church of Calvary, together with a standard which was the sign +of the power and authority delegated by the Moslem ruler to his mighty +contemporary. In the middle of the eleventh century Italian merchants +coming from Amalfi, who had experienced the hard lot of the Christian +pilgrims in reaching the Holy City, secured from the Caliph Moustafa-Billah +a concession of land, on which they built a chapel known as St. Mary of the +Latins, to distinguish it from the Greek church already established at +Jerusalem, and also constructed a hospice in which to receive the pilgrims, +whether in sickness or in health, known as the Hospice of St. John. + +In 1093 the untiring efforts of Peter the Hermit, with the support of Pope +Urbain II., brought about the first Crusade, and in 1099 we first hear of +Gerard, the founder of the Order of St. John. Gerard was a French monk who, +seeing the good work done by the Hospice of St. John, had attached himself +to it, and had at this time been working in the cause of charity, and +devoting himself to the pilgrims for many years. + +Godfrey de Bouillon, having defeated the Saracens outside the walls of +Jerusalem, entered that city and visited the Hospice of St. John; he there +found many of the Crusaders who had been wounded during the siege, and who +had been carried thither after the taking of the place: all of these men +were loud in their praises of the loving kindness with which they had been +received and tended. + +Great was the honour and reverence in which these simple monks were held +ever after by the Crusaders; for was it not common talk that these holy men +had themselves subsisted on the coarsest and most repulsive fare in order +that the food in the hospice should be both pure and abundant? Fired by +this fine example of Christian charity, several noble gentlemen who had +been tended in the hospice gave up the idea of returning to their own +countries, and consecrated themselves to the Hospice of St. John, and to +the service of the pilgrims, the poor, and the sick. Among these was +Raimond Dupuy. + +The great Prince Godfrey de Bouillon fully approved of the steps taken by +these gentlemen, and for his own part contributed to the upkeep of the +hospice the seigneurie of Montbirre, with all its dependencies, which +formed a part of his domain in Brabant. His example was widely copied by +the Christian princes and great nobles among the Crusaders, who enriched +the hospice with many lands and seigneuries, both in Palestine and in +Europe. All these lands and properties were placed unreservedly in the +hands of the saintly Gerard to do with as he would for the advancement of +his work. In 1118 Gerard died in extreme old age; "he died in the arms of +the brothers, almost without sickness, falling, as it may be said, like a +fruit ripe for eternity." + +The choice of the Hospitallers as his successor was Raimond Dupuy, a +nobleman of illustrious descent from the Province of Dauphiny, and it is he +who first held rule under the title of Grand Master. In all charity and +loving kindness the life of Gerard had been passed, the brethren of St. +John occupying themselves merely in tending the sick, in helping the poor +and the pilgrims; but Raimond Dupuy was a soldier of the Cross, and he laid +before the Order a scheme by which, from among the members thereof, a +military corps should be formed, vowed to a perpetual crusade against the +Infidel. This, in full conclave, was carried by acclamation, and the most +remarkable body of religious warriors that the world has ever seen then +came existence. + +This pact against the Infidel was in the first instance directed against +the barbarians who swarmed around the Holy City, and the Hospitallers, who +nearly all had been knights and soldiers of Godfrey de Bouillon, joyfully +took up their arms again to employ them in the defence of this locality +which they cherished, and in defence of the pilgrims who were robbed, +murdered, and maltreated in all the surrounding country. In becoming +warriors once more, they vowed to turn their arms against the Infidel, and +against him alone; to neither make nor meddle with arms in their hands in +any dispute between men of their own faith. The composition of the Order as +it was arranged by Raimond Dupuy caused it to consist of three classes. In +the first were placed men of high birth and rank who, having been bred to +arms, were capable of taking command. In the second came priests and +chaplains, who, besides the ordinary duties attached to their religious +profession, were obliged, each in his turn, to accompany the fighting men +in their wars. Those who were neither of noble houses nor belonging to the +ecclesiastical profession were known as "serving brothers": they were +employed indifferently in following the knights into battle or in tending +the sick in the hospital, and were distinguished by a coat-of-arms of a +different colour from that worn by the knights. + +As the Order prospered amazingly, and as to it repaired numbers of the +young noblesse from all parts of Europe to enrol themselves under its +banner, it was accordingly divided into seven "Languages"; those of +Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Arragon, Germany, and England. To the +Language of Arragon was in later years allotted those of Castile and of +Portugal. The dress consisted of a black robe, with a mantle of the same +colour, the whole being called _manteau a bec_, having upon the left side +thereof a white cross in cloth, with light points. The eight-pointed cross, +or the Maltese Cross, as it came to be known in subsequent centuries, will +be seen upon the armour, engraven on the breastplate, of all the pictures +of the Grand Masters. + +In the year 1259 the Pope, Alexander IV., finding that men of noble birth +objected to be habited as were the "serving brothers," ordained that the +knights on a campaign should wear a "sopraveste" of scarlet embroidered +with the cross in white; further, that should any knight abandon the ranks, +and fly from the battle, he should be deprived of his order and his habit. +The form of government was purely aristocratic, all authority being vested +in the Council, of which the Grand Master was the chief, the case of an +equal division of opinion being provided for by giving to the Grand Master +the casting vote. There were in the Order certain aged knights who were +called "Preceptors," who, under authority delegated to them by the Council, +administered the estates and funds accruing, and also paid for the hire of +such soldiers or "seculars" whom the Knights took into their service. + +Incidentally, it may be mentioned that the establishment of the Knights of +St. John led to the foundation of the famous Order of the Knights Templars. +In 1118 Hugues de Payens, Geoffrey de St. Aldemar, and seven other French +noblemen, whose hearts were touched by the sufferings which the pilgrims +underwent in their journey to Jerusalem, formed themselves into a society +with the object of the protection of these inoffensive persons on their +transit from the coast inland. Hugues de Payens, received in audience by +Pope Honore II., was sent by the Pontiff to the Peers of the Council, then +assembled at Troyes in Champagne; the Council approving of so charitable an +enterprise, the Order was formed, and Bernard, known as "Saint" Bernard, +drew up the code of regulations by which it was to be governed. The +movement spread, and many princes and nobles returned to the Holy Land in +the train of de Payens and his companions. + +So famous did the Order of St. John become, that in 1133 Alfonzo, King of +Navarre and Arragon, who called himself Emperor of Spain, carried his zeal +so far as to bequeath to the knights his kingdoms of Navarre and Arragon: +this, however, was naturally and hotly contested in these places, and +Raimond Dupuy, who attended a Council to regulate the matter, was content +to compromise on certain lands and benefits being allocated to those whom +he represented. + +On August 15th, 1310, the knights, under the Grand Master, Fulke de +Villaret, conquered the Island of Rhodes and established themselves there, +and from this time onward, while they held the island, were known as the +Knights of Rhodes. No sooner were the knights firmly established in Rhodes +and the fortifications placed in a proper state of repair, than a tower was +built on the highest point of the island, of great height, from which a +view could be obtained of the sea and the surrounding islands, and from +which information could be signalled as to the movements of any vessels +which were observed. It was then decided to fortify the small island of Cos +or Lango in the vicinity, as it contained an excellent harbour; a fortress, +planned by the Grand Master himself, was erected on the island, a knight +was left in command, and we are told that under the successors of de +Villaret--himself twenty-fourth Grand Master--the island, which was very +fertile, flourished exceedingly, producing much fruit and some most +excellent wine. + +There was reigning in Bithynia, at the time when the knights seized upon +Rhodes, that Ottoman whose name has come down to us when we speak of the +Ottoman Empire; it is a somewhat strange coincidence that the Christian +warriors, sworn foes of the Mussulman, should have so established +themselves just when the tide of the Mohammedan conquest was about to rise +and sweep away Byzantium; that they should arrive upon the scene just as +the curtain was about to rise on the tragedy which, in its onward march, +was to make of the church of St. Sophia a mosque for the worship of the +Ottoman Turks. + +Ottoman--the descendant of one Soliman, the chief of a nomadic tribe of +Tartars who had been chased from the Empire of Persia in the year 1214--was +not only a soldier and a conqueror, but also a great and beneficent ruler +in those regions in which he held sway. Approached by those of his +co-religionists who had been driven out of Rhodes by the Knights, Ottoman +embarked an army and attacked the place, assuring himself of an easy +conquest. In spite, however, of the fortifications having been hastily +constructed, his troops were defeated with great loss, and he was obliged +to raise the siege. In this manner did the indomitable champions of +Christendom begin that long and bloodthirsty war between the Cross and the +Crescent in the Mediterranean which was to endure for nearly another five +centuries. + +[Illustration: GOZON DE DIEU-DONNE SLAYING THE GREAT SERPENT OF RHODES.] + +In the long, chequered, and glorious history of the Knights there are many +strange and semi-miraculous deeds recounted of them in the wars and +adventures in which they took so prominent a part; the following, which is +gravely set out by the historians of the time, may be left to the judgment +of the reader. In 1324 Fulke de Villaret was succeeded in the Grand +Mastership by Helion de Villeneuve, a knight of exemplary piety and a +strict disciplinarian. Under his rule the Order regained those habits of +severe simplicity from which they had been allowed to lapse by his +predecessor. In 1329 Rhodes was greatly agitated by the fact that a +crocodile or serpent--as it is indifferently described--had taken up its +abode in the marshes at the foot of Mount St. Etienne, some two miles from +the town. This ferocious creature devoured sheep and cattle; also several +of the inhabitants had lost their lives by approaching the neighbourhood in +which it dwelt. Several attacks were made upon it, but, as there were no +firearms, all the missiles projected against it rebounded harmlessly from +the scales with which it was covered. So dangerous had it become, that the +Grand Master thought it his duty to forbid any of the knights to attempt +its destruction; an order which was obeyed with a right good will. There +was, however, a knight of the Language of Provence called Gozon de +Dieu-Donne, who secretly determined that he would slay the serpent, and he +accordingly made it his occupation to observe as closely as possible the +habits of the monster. Having satisfied himself on certain points, he then +returned to his chateau of Gozon in the province of Languedoc. The point +which Gozon had wished to determine was in what portion of its body was the +serpent vulnerable; and he had convinced himself that the belly of the +creature was unprotected by scales. He accordingly modelled in wood as +exact a representation of the serpent as he could accomplish, colouring it +the same as the original; the belly of the model was constructed of +leather. He then trained some large and ferocious hounds, at a certain +signal, to dash in under the model and fix their teeth in its leathern +underpart. For months did the ingenious knight persevere with the training +of his dogs, himself on horseback in full armour cheering them to the +assault. At last he considered them to be perfect in their parts, and, +taking two servants and the hounds with him, returned to Rhodes. Avoiding +everybody, he caused his arms to be carried to a small church in the +neighbourhood of Mount St. Etienne by his servants. The knight went into +the church, where he passed some time in prayer, recommending his soul to +God in the enterprise which he was about to undertake. + +He then donned his armour and mounted his horse, ordering his servants, if +he were killed, to return to France but if he succeeded in killing the +serpent to come at once to him, or to aid him if he were wounded. He then +rode off in the direction of the marsh accompanied by his hounds. No sooner +did the serpent hear the ring of bit and stirrup-iron, the trampling of the +charger and the baying of the hounds, than it issued forth with wide-open +slavering jaws and terrible burning eyes to slay and to devour. Gozon, +recommending his soul to his Maker, put spurs to his horse and charged. But +his lance shivered on the hide of the serpent as though it had struck a +stone wall. His horse, mad with terror at the sight and the foul odour of +the serpent, plunged so furiously as to unseat him. He fell to the ground, +uttering as he did so his call to the hounds; had it not been for these +faithful auxiliaries he would instantly have been slain, but they rushed in +and, fastening their teeth in the belly of the serpent, caused it to writhe +and twist in its anguish. Instantly Gozon was upon his feet again, and, +watching his opportunity, plunged his sword into the exposed vitals of his +enemy. Mortally wounded, the serpent flung itself high in the air with a +convulsive effort, and falling backwards pinned the knight to the ground +beneath its enormous bulk. The servants, who had been the horrified +spectators of this terrific conflict, now rushed to the assistance of their +master, and succeeded in freeing him from his unpleasant predicament. +Gozon, they thought, was dead, but upon dashing some water in his face he +opened his eyes, to behold the pleasing spectacle of his monstrous enemy +lying by his side a corpse. + +Naturally elated, he returned to Rhodes, where he became on the instant the +popular hero; for who could say or do enough for the man who had slain the +serpent. He was conducted in triumph to the palace of the Grand Master by +his fellow knights, but here a remarkably unpleasant surprise was in store +for him. Very austerely did Helion de Villeneuve regard the triumphant +warrior, and stern and uncompromising was the voice in which he asked him +how he had dared to contravene the express order of his Grand Master by +going forth to combat with the serpent? Calling a Council immediately the +implacable de Villeneuve, in spite of all entreaties, deprived Gozon de +Dieu-Donne of the habit of a knight. "What," said this just and severe +disciplinarian, "is the death of this monster, what indeed do the deaths of +the islanders matter, compared with the maintenance of the discipline of +this Order of which I am the unworthy chief?" + +But Helion de Villeneuve was of too wise and kindly a nature to make his +decree absolute, and having thus vindicated his authority he shortly +afterwards released Gozon and made him happy by his praises and more +material benefits. + +The Abbe de Vertot tells us that the learned Bochart argues that the +Phoenicians gave to this island the name of Gefirath-Rod (from whence the +name "Rhodes"), or the Isle of the Serpents, and that when the Romans were +at war with the Carthaginians Attilius Regulus slew a monster in the island +of Rhodes the skin of which measured one hundred feet. Thevenot, in his +Travels published in 1637, states that he saw the head of Gozon's serpent +still attached to one of the gates of the town of Rhodes, and that it was +as large as the head of a horse. + +Upon the death of Helion de Villeneuve in 1346, a Chapter of the Order was +held as usual to elect his successor. When it came to the turn of the +Commander Gozon de Dieu-Donne to speak, he said: + + "In entering this conclave I made a solemn vow not to propose any knight + whom I did not consider to be most worthy of this exalted office, and + animated by the best intentions for the glory and well-being of the + Order. After considering carefully the state of the Christian world, of + the wars which we are perpetually obliged to wage against the infidel, + the firmness and vigour necessary for the maintenance of discipline, I + declare that I find no person so capable of governing our 'Religion' as + myself." + +He then proceeded to speak in a purely impersonal tone of the magnificent +services which he had rendered, not forgetting the famous episode of the +serpent, and drew their attention to the fact that the late Grand Master +had constituted him, Gozon, his principal lieutenant. He ended: "You have +already tried my government, you know well that which you may hope to +expect. I believe that in all justice I shall receive your suffrages." + +Naturally the assemblage was stupefied at hearing a man thus recommend +himself; on reflection, however, they decided that he had spoken no less +than the truth, and Gozon de Dieu-Donne, "the hero of the serpent," became +twenty-sixth Grand Master of the Order. He died in 1353, when he was +succeeded by Pierre de Cornillan, and upon his tomb were graven these +words: + + "Cy Gist le Vainqueur du Dragon." + +In the years 1480 and 1485 under the Grand Master Pierre D'Aubusson, Rhodes +withstood two great sieges from the Turks. The first of these is described +at length by the knight Merri Dupuis "temoin oculaire" who sets down: "Je, +Mary Dupuis gros et rude de sens et de entendement je veuille parler et +desscrire au plus bref que je pourray et au plus pres de la verite selon +que je pen voir a lueil." The description of that of 1485 is written by +another eye-witness, the Commandeur de Bourbon, to whom "ma semble bon et +condecent a raison declairer premierement les causes qui out incite mon +poure et petit entendement a faire cest petit oeuvre." + +But we have no space to follow these gallant Knights, and it must suffice +to say that on both occasions, after incredible exertions and terrible +slaughter on both sides, the attacks of the Turks were eventually repulsed. + +It was reserved for Soliman the Magnificent to finally vanquish the Knights +and to expel them from Rhodes; from July 1522 until January 1523 the +Knights under the heroic Villiers de L'Isle Adam maintained an all unequal +struggle against the vast hosts of the Crescent, which were perpetually +reinforced. At last, on January 1st, 1523, the Knights, by virtue of a +treaty with Soliman, which was honourably observed on both sides, evacuated +the island in which they had been established for nearly two hundred and +twenty years. + +By favour of Charles V. the Knights on October 26th, 1530, took charge of +the islands of Malta and Gozo, and established themselves therein; still +under the Grand Mastership of L'Isle Adam, whose sword and helmet are still +religiously kept in a small church in Vittoriosa, just at the back of the +Admiral Superintendent's house in the present dockyard. + +The knights fortified the islands and there abode, until in 1565 the +Ottoman returned once more to the attack. + +It may be said that heroism is a relative term, that it has many uses and +applications all equally truthful. On the side of mere physical courage +almost every man who took part in that memorable siege of Malta in the year +1565 may have been said to have earned the title of hero. No man's foot +went back; no man's courage quailed; no man's face blanched when called +upon to face perils so appalling that they meant an almost inevitable and +speedy death; this was true or Christian and Moslem alike. The death-roll +on either side was so tremendous as to prove this contention up to the +hilt. From May 18th to September 8th, 1565--that is to say, in one hundred +and thirteen days--thirty thousand Moslems and eight thousand Christians +perished--an average of some three hundred and thirty-six persons per day. +In that blazing torrid heat the sufferings of those who survived from day +to day must have been accentuated beyond bearing by the myriads of unburied +corpses by which they lived surrounded; and that the contending forces were +not swept away by pestilence is an extraordinary marvel. + +[Illustration: CARRACK IN WHICH THE KNIGHTS ARRIVED AT MALTA, 1530.] + +In many, nay, in most campaigns, personal feeling enters but little into +the contest. Nationality strikes against nationality, army against army, or +navy against navy; but no burning hatred of his adversary animates the +breast of the combatant on either side; it may even be said that frequently +some pity for the vanquished is felt, when all is over, by the side which +has conquered. At Malta the element of actual personal individual hatred +was the mainspring by which the combatants on both sides were moved; each +regarded the other as an infidel, the slaying of whom was the sacrifice +most acceptable to the God they worshipped. "Infidel" was the term which +each hurled at the other; to destroy the infidel, root and branch, was the +act imposed upon those whose faith was the one only passport to a blessed +eternity, and those who fell in the strife, whether Christian or Moslem, +felt assured that for them the gates of heaven stood wide open. Great as +were those others who perished, faithful to the death as were those noble +knights who died to a man in the culminating agony of St. Elmo, adroit, +resourceful, master of himself and others as was the famous Dragut, there +is one name and one alone that shines like a beacon light upon a hill-top +when we think of the siege of Malta. Jean Parisot de la Valette, whose name +is enshrined for ever in that noble city which crowns Mount Sceberass at +the present day, was the forty-eighth Grand Master of the Noble Order of +the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem the charter for which, contained in +the original Bull of Pope Paschal II., dated 1113 (in which the Holy Father +took the Order under his special protection), may be seen to this day in +the armoury of the palace at Valetta. At the time when the supreme honour +was conferred upon him, in the year 1557, he had passed through every grade +of the Order: as soldier, captain, general, Counsellor, Grand Cross: in all +of them displaying a valour, a piety, a self-abnegation beyond all praise, +A man of somewhat austere manner, he exacted from others that which he gave +himself--a whole-hearted devotion to the Order to which he had consecrated +his life. Fearing no man in the Council Chamber, even as he feared no foe +in the field, he ever spoke his mind in defence of that which he deemed to +be right. Proud, with the dignity becoming a man of his ancient lineage, he +merged all personal haughtiness in the zeal he felt in upholding the rights +and privileges of that splendid confederation of knights of the best blood +in Europe over which he had been called upon to preside at the mature age +of sixty-three. There is no instance in history of any man more absolutely +single-minded than La Valette; that in which he believed he cherished with +an ardour almost incredible in these days, and that the sword of the Lord +had been confided into his hand for the utter extermination and extirpation +of the Moslem heresy was the leading feature in his creed. That he had been +advanced to a dignity but little less than royal in achieving the Grand +Mastership was but as dust in the balance to him compared with the +opportunities which it gave him to harry his life-long foes; and he who had +known so well how to obey throughout all his youth and manhood was now to +prove, in the most emphatic manner, that he had learned how to command. In +all those terrible hundred and thirteen days during which the siege lasted +there was none to be compared to him. As occasion occurred this man's soul +rose higher and ever higher; beseeching, imploring, commanding, by sheer +force of example did he point out the way to the weaker spirits by whom he +was surrounded. + +To speak of weaker spirits in connection with the siege of Malta seems +almost an insult; these gallant knights and soldiers were only so in +comparison with their leader. Twice during the siege of St, Elmo did the +garrison send to La Valette and represent that the place was no longer +tenable; but Garcia de Toledo, Viceroy of Sicily for Philip of Spain, was +writing specious letters instead of sending reinforcements, and every +moment gained was of importance. Coldly did La Valette remind the Knights +of their vows to the Order, and when renewed assurances came that it was +only a matter of a few hours before they should be overwhelmed he replied +that others could be found to take their places, that he, as Grand Master, +would come in person to show them how to die. A passion of remorse overcame +these noble gentlemen, who, thus nerved by the indomitable spirit of their +chief, died to the last man in the tumbled ruins of that charnel-house +which had once been a fortress. + +La Valette was ready to die; there was no man in all that garrison so +ready. With pike and sword this veteran of seventy-one years of age was +ever at the post of the greatest danger, repelling the assaults of +Janissaries and corsairs, fighting with the spirit of the youngest among +the Knights in the breaches rent in the walls of Il Borgo. In vain did his +comrades try to prevent him from this perpetual exposure; in vain did they +point out that the value of his life outnumbered that of an army. He was +very gentle with these remonstrances, but quite firm. There were plenty as +good as he to take his place should he fall, he insisted; till that time +came it was his duty to inspire all by his example, to show to the simplest +soldier that he was cared for by his Grand Master. + +As things went from bad to worse, when Il Borgo became in little better +case than had St. Elmo before it, La Valette never hesitated, never looked +back, never ceased to hope that the sluggard Garcia de Toledo might send +relief; and, if he did not, then would they all perish with arms in their +hands, as had their brethren across that narrow strip of water who had held +St. Elmo to the last man. What man or woman can read without something of a +lump coming in their throat of those noble words of the Grand Master in the +last few days of the siege when all had utterly abandoned hope? + +Grimed, emaciated, covered with sweat and blood and dust, did La Valette +move from post to post exhorting and encouraging his soldiers. So few had +the gallant company of the Knights become that command was necessarily +delegated to the under-officers; yet who among them did not find fresh +courage and renewed strength when that great noble, the head of the Order, +stood by their sides and spoke thus to them as man to man?-- + + "My brothers, we are all servants of Jesus Christ; and I feel assured + that if I and all these in command should fall you will still fight on + for the honour of the Order and the love of our Holy Church." + +We have to think of what it all meant, we have dimly to try and realise the +burden which was laid upon this man, before we come to a right conception, +not only of what he endured but the terrible sacrifices he was called upon +to make. Here was no man of iron lusting for blood and greedy of conquest +for the sake of the vain applause of men; but one full of human love and +affection for those among whom he had lived all the days of his life. Upon +him was laid the charge of upholding the honour of the Order, the majesty +of the God whom he served. To this end he doomed to certain death those +brethren of his in St. Elmo, his own familiar friends, reminding them that +it was their duty so to die, while his heart was breaking with the agony of +this terrible decision, which no weaker man could have given. When his +beloved nephew was slain, together with another gallant youth, he smiled +sadly and said that they had only travelled the road which they all had to +tread in a few days; that he grieved as much for the one as for the other. +In speaking of this man, it may truly be said that there is no character in +history more elevated; there is none which shows us the picture of a more +perfect, gentle, and valiant knight. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + + +DRAGUT-REIS + + How Sinan Basha and Dragut raided the islands of Malta and Cozo and + captured the town of Tripoli. How the Knights of Malta captured "the + puissant galleon" belonging to the Kustir-Aga and the Odalisques of the + harem of the Grand Turk. The despair of the ladies and the advice of the + Imaum to Soliman the Magnificent. A great armada is fitted out in + Constantinople. The preparations for defence on the part of La Valette + and the Knights. The expedition sails from Constantinople and lands in + Malta. + +Great must have been the consternation of the Knights when the armada, +commanded by Sinan Basha, appeared off their coasts, and bitter must have +been the reflections of Juan d'Omedes, the Grand Master, who had all along +contended that so formidable an expedition could not possibly be directed +against Malta. The inhabitants of that island were, however, not left long +in doubt, as Sinan, immediately on his arrival, entered the Grand Harbour, +or "the Great Port," as it was called in those days. Sinan, in his royal +galley, led the way in, contemptuously assured of an easy victory over so +insignificant a place of arms. He had his first rude awakening before he +had traversed some quarter of a mile of the placid waters of the Great +Port. The harbour, as is well known, though long, is very narrow, and, on +the starboard hand of the Turkish galleys as they entered, the Commandeur +de Guimeran, a Spanish Knight, had ambushed three hundred arquebusiers. As +the galley of Sinan came abreast of the ambush, the Commandeur gave the +order to fire. The volley at so close a range had a terrible effect, +especially among the "chiourme," or the slaves who rowed the galley, some +hundred of whom were placed _hors de combat_. Sinan, in a furious rage, +ordered an immediate disembarkment; but when his men landed and scaled the +heights of Mount Sceberras (the elevated land on which the city of Valetta +now stands) there was no one to be found, the Commandeur and the men who +had formed the ambush having disappeared. Gazing from the heights at Il +Borgo, the fortress on the opposite side of the harbour where the Knights +then dwelt, Sinan demanded of Dragut, "If that," pointing to the fortress, +"was the place which he had told the Sultan could easily be taken?" + +Dragut, whom no peril ever daunted, coolly replied: + +"Certainly, no eagle ever built his nest on a rock more easy of access." + +A corsair, who had been slave to the Knights, now approached Sinan, and +told him that he had assisted at the building of the fortress; which, he +averred, was so strong that if the admiral delayed until he had taken it +that the winter would be upon them, although it was then only the month of +July. Sinan, as we have said, was a hesitating commander. He had the +ever-present fear of the Grand Turk before his eyes, and was not inclined +for so difficult and dangerous an enterprise as this was represented to be. +Leaving the fortress in his rear, he marched off to the high land in the +centre of the island, on which was situated the Citta Notabile, the capital +of Malta, some seven miles distant from the sea. On their march through the +island the Turks committed their usual atrocities, murdering the wretched +inhabitants, firing their dwellings, destroying their crops, and carrying +off their women. Had the siege of Notabile been pressed, the city must have +fallen; but Sinan declared to Dragut that the principal object of the +expedition was the reduction of Tripoli, and, in consequence, he had not +the time to devote to its reduction. Dragut, furious at this temporising +policy, urged an immediate assault, and, while the contention was waxing +sharp between the two leaders, a letter was brought to Sinan which had been +captured in a Sicilian galley. It was from the "Receiver" of the Order, who +dwelt at Messina, to the Grand Master, informing him that he had expressly +sent this ship to inform him that Andrea Doria had just returned from Spain +and was hastening with a large fleet to attack the Turks. The letter was a +ruse on the part of the "Receiver," and contained not a particle of truth. +It was, however, quite enough for Sinan, who immediately called a council +of war and imparted this alarming news to its members. The council, after +the invariable fashion of such bodies, decided to take the safest and +easiest course: the name of the terrible Andrea was one of evil omen to the +Ottomans, and, as one man, they voted for prosecuting their voyage to +Tripoli before the Genoese seaman should put in an appearance. In vain was +the fury of Dragut, who had counted on a full revenge on his ancient +enemies the Knights. The armada sailed to the adjacent island of Gozo, +which was thoroughly sacked with every refinement of cruelty. Every house +on the island was burned, and six thousand of its inhabitants carried off +to slavery. One incident is deserving of record. In Gozo dwelt a certain +Sicilian with his wife and two daughters: sooner than that they should fall +into the hands of the Turks this man stabbed his wife and daughters and +then threw himself, sword in hand, into the ranks of his enemies, where he +slew two of them, wounded several others, and was then hacked to pieces. +The fleet then proceeded to Tripoli, which was taken almost without +opposition, as it was defended by a mere handful of the Knights and some +utterly unreliable Calabrian infantry, who had never before seen a shot +fired: these men very soon mutinied and refused to fight any longer. Dragut +became the autocrat of Tripoli, as his great predecessor Kheyr-ed-Din +Barbarossa had been of Algiers: from hence, in the years that were to come +before his death, he carried on his sleepless and unending warfare with his +Christian foes, on whom he was destined to inflict another terrible defeat +when they attacked this stronghold which he had made his own. + +Claude de la Sangle dying on August 18th, 1557, Jean Parisot de la Valette +was chosen Grand Master of the Knights of Malta in his stead on August 21st +of the same year. He was, as we have said before, in succession, soldier, +captain, councillor, general, and Grand Cross; he was as wise in council as +he was terrible in battle; he was as much esteemed by his brethren as he +was feared by the infidel. Under his governorship "the Religion" regained +the ancient authority which it had once possessed, especially in some of +the German Provinces and in the Republic of Venice. So great was the +influence of La Valette that he succeeded in making the "Languages" (or +confederations of Knights) of Germany and Venice pay their "responsions," +which had been allowed to get into arrear. These "responsions" were a tax +levied on the "Languages " exclusively for the purpose of combatting the +infidel, and La Valette brought all the firmness of his high character to +bear, in order to induce these Knights to do what, he reminded them, was +their simple and obvious duty. Fired by the highest conception of the +office he had been called upon to execute, La Valette allowed none of those +under his command to be slack in their performance of their duties. In him +dwelt the real old crusading spirit. He saw life with the single eye, for +that which was paramount was the utter destruction of the infidel. There +are many men who have a high conception of duty; there are but few who can +inspire those with whom they are brought in contact. Of these latter was +Jean Parisot de la Valette; in him the pure flame of religious enthusiasm +burnt with so clear a light as to act as an illuminant for the paths of +others. In him dwelt that rare quality of lifting others almost to that +plane on which he dwelt himself, of making men nobler and better almost in +spite of themselves. So it was that, when La Valette stooped to remind +others of his brother Knights that they owed money to the Order, that money +was paid at once. + +Having thus restored order to the finances, the Grand Master turned his +attention to the state of affairs (as he had received them from his +predecessor) connected with the territorial possessions of the Knights. For +long years now the fortress of Tripoli had been in the hands of the +renowned Dragut, who was the scourge and the terror of the Christians. The +corsair dwelt in his stronghold in insolent defiance of the Knights, whose +property it once had been. Years before he had wrested it from them by the +strong hand: what, then, more necessary in the eyes of such an one as La +Valette than to expel this audacious pirate? The Grand Master invited the +co-operation of Juan la Cerda (a Spanish Grandee, Duke of Medina-Celi, and +Viceroy of Sicily for the King of Spain) in this enterprise. The Viceroy +joyfully acceded to the request, and informed his master. Philip II. +approved the project, and sent orders to the Duke of Sesse, Governor of +Milan, to the Duke of Alcala, Governor of Naples, and to John Andrea Doria, +General of the Galleys, to join forces and to repair to Sicily, placing +themselves under the orders of the Duke of Medina-Celi, who was expressly +charged to take no action save by the advice of the Grand Master. The +expedition assembled, the Duke took it to Malta, where it wintered, and in +the spring it sailed and attacked Tripoli. + +They found this fortress, however, in a very different state from that +which they expected. Dragut, says De Vertot, "avoit faire terasser les +murailles de cette place." Bastions had been constructed, and every +advantage taken for defence which was permitted by the terrain, or that the +art of fortification admitted at this epoch. The castle, which was not +advantageously placed, was, notwithstanding, put in a state of defence by +an enormous expenditure of money. Great towers, in which were mounted many +big guns, defended the entrance to the port, which had become the +headquarters of the vessels owned by Dragut, and also of those corsairs who +sailed their craft under the crescent flag of the Sultan of Constantinople. +It was against such a fortress as this that the Duke of Medina-Celi went +up: we have no space to deal here with the details of this attack, which +ended in the hopeless and irremediable defeat of the Christian forces. The +Duke was an incompetent commander; he was opposed to one of the greatest +leaders of the age--an expert in almost every branch of the science of war, +in command of a large body of the fiercest fighters of the day, who ever +feared the wrath of Dragut more than the swords of the enemy. + +La Valette, though he mourned over the repulse of the Christian forces from +Tripoli, did not on that account allow his pursuit of the infidel to grow +faint; the galleys of "the Religion" were always at sea, and both the +corsairs and the Ottoman Turks were perpetually losing valuable ships and +costly merchandise. Under the General of the Galleys, the Commandeur Gozon +de Melac, and that celebrated chevalier, the Commandeur de Romegas, the sea +forces of the Knights were everywhere in evidence. Into the hands of the +Christians fell the Penon de Velez, situated on the northern coast of +Africa opposite to Malaga--a fortress much frequented by the corsairs; the +Goletta at Tunis was also taken, and the pirates became so much alarmed +that they demanded succour from Constantinople. They represented to Soliman +that, at this rate, the whole of Northern Africa would soon be in the hands +of the Christians to the total exclusion of the true believer. + +Soliman listened to their complaints and promised that soon he would send +forth an armament which should put an end to the misfortunes from which +they were suffering. Once again preparations were begun in the arsenals of +Constantinople, and while these were in progress an event took place which +had an important bearing on the situation. Just after the taking of the +Penon de Velez seven galleys of "the Religion," under the command of the +chevaliers de Giou and De Romegas, which were cruising in the neighbourhood +of Zante and Cephalonia, fell in with "a puissant galleon" filled with the +richest merchandise of the East, armed with "twenty great cannons of +bronze," and a number of smaller guns, under the command of the Reis +Bairan-Ogli, having on board "excellent officers of artillery," as well as +two hundred Janissaries for her defence. This great ship was the property +of Kustir-Aga, the chief Eunuch of the Seraglio of the Sultan, and many of +the ladies of the harem were interested in a pecuniary sense in the safe +arrival of this vessel at Constantinople. The galleys of "the Religion" +attacked, and, after a most obstinate resistance, in which one hundred and +twenty of the Christians and an even larger number of the Turks were +killed, the galleon was captured. If there had been an outcry in +Constantinople before this occurrence it was all as nothing to that which +now arose. Kustir-Aga and the Odalisques of the Harem prostrated themselves +at the feet of Soliman the Magnificent, and with streaming eyes, +dishevelled hair, and frantic gestures, demanded the instant despatch of an +expedition to utterly exterminate these barbarian corsairs, the Knights of +Malta, who had thus injured them and lacerated their tenderest +susceptibilities. The Grand Turk, autocrat as he was, had no peace day or +night; he was surrounded by wailing women and sullen officials, all of whom +had lost heavily by the capture of the puissant galleon. The Imaum, or +preacher in the principal mosque, called upon the Sultan in his discourse +to fall upon the audacious infidel and smite him hip and thigh. He reminded +the Padishah that, in the dungeons of the Knights, true believers were +languishing; that on the rowers' benches of the galleys of "the Religion" +Moslems were being flogged like dogs. In a furious peroration he concluded: +"It is only thy invincible sword which can shatter the chains of these +unfortunates, whose cries are rising to heaven and afflicting the ears of +the Prophet of God: the son is demanding his father, the wife her husband +and her children. All, therefore, wait upon thee, upon thy justice, and thy +power, for vengeance upon their cruel and implacable enemies." + +Contrary to all precedent, which enjoins the most perfect silence in the +mosque, these bold utterances were received with something more than +murmurs of applause: never in all his long and glorious reign had the great +and magnificent despot heard so plainly the voice of his people. Apart, +however, from eunuchs, women, and Mullahs, Soliman had long been importuned +by Dragut to take the course which was now being urged upon him with so +much insistence. There was at this time no warrior in all his _entourage_ +for whose opinion the Sultan had the same respect as he had for that of the +ruler of Tripoli. Dragut had more than a tincture of learning: he was first +of all an incomparable leader of men and an entirely competent seaman. He +was also a scientific artillerist, and was learned in the technique of the +fortification of his time. Added to this he was--albeit by no means so +cruel as most of his contemporaries--one of those men before whom all +trembled: as we have seen in the case of the corsairs who defended +"Africa," "they feared the wrath of Dragut more than death itself." + +It was this renowned leader who warned Soliman against the Knights; he +pointed out that they were far more dangerous now than they had been in +1523, the year of their expulsion from Rhodes. When established there they +were, so to speak, surrounded by the Turkish Empire; in Malta, on the +contrary, they were easily succoured from Sicily, which belonged to Spain, +another implacable enemy of the Moslem; that Malta lay right on the route +which all the ships of the Sultan must take on passage from the East to +Constantinople; and in consequence the Order was a standing and perpetual +menace to the trade of the Empire. All this was so undeniably true that so +shrewd a man and so competent a ruler as Soliman could not fail to be +impressed by the soundness of the reasoning. + +Besides all this, he knew quite well that now he could not hold back, had +it been even against his inclination--which was by no means the case; for +there had arisen one of those storms of popular opinion--all the more +formidable because of their infrequency--before which even the most +hardened of despots must bend. Accordingly the Sultan called a conference +of his fighting men, which was held on horseback in the open-air. The +inclination of the Sultan being known, most of the generals, like good +courtiers, voted for immediate war with the Knights. At this conference was +present that Ali Basha, or Occhiali, or Uluchali, as he was indifferently +called, of whom we shall have more to say later on. Upon this occasion he +was present as the representative of Dragut, and urged, on behalf of his +master, that the time was not yet ripe for an attack on Malta. First, he +contended, it was necessary to recapture the Goletta and the Penon de +Velez, and to defeat the Moors of Tunis, who were feudatories of the +Spanish king and avowed enemies of the Ottoman Empire. Ali was supported by +one Mahomet, an old warrior who had grown white in the service of the +Sultan, who strongly opposed the contemplated campaign on the ground that +the Knights would in all probability have the full strength of Europe at +their backs. + +Numbers, however, added to the personal inclination of the Sultan, carried +the day. The die was cast, the memorable expedition was decided upon, and +all the Sultan's vast Empire soon rang with the note of preparation. The +Capitan Basha, Piali, was in command of the fleet, and the direction of the +land forces was confided to Mustafa, an old officer sixty-five years of +age, a severe disciplinarian, and of a sanguinary and cruel disposition to +any of his enemies who had the misfortune to fall into his hands. + +Once again did Europe lose itself in speculation: against whom, all men +were asking, was this new expedition to be directed? Spain feared for her +African possessions, as the Goletta was the key to the kingdom of Tunis, +while the Penon de Velez was one of the bulwarks of Algeria. In consequence +Don Garcia de Toledo passed over from Sicily to confer with the Grand +Master of the Knights. Garcia de Toledo was by no means a favourable +specimen of the illustrious race from which he sprang, and was a complete +antithesis to La Valette; he was to prove himself in the terrible days that +were to come to be sluggish, incompetent, a ruler who could not rule, a +person for ever letting "I dare not wait upon I would." Just as long as +Spain considered this new expedition was directed against herself +considerable activity was shown; when the attack developed and it was seen +that the objective of the Turks was Malta, the procrastinating Spanish king +and his incompetent viceroy allowed matters so to drift that, had any other +man than La Valette been in command at Malta, the fall of that island had +been inevitable. + +We have seen how Juan d'Omedes had dealt with a previous crisis in the +affairs of the Order; very different was it in the opening months of the +year 1565. La Valette was well served by his spies in Constantinople, and +the Grand Master was under no illusions from the very first as to what the +destination of the army of the Sultan would be. He recognised that against +the small islands of Malta and Gozo all the strength of the mightiest +Empire in the world was about to be directed, and with serene confidence +set about the task of preparation. His first care was to send out "a +general citation" to those Knights living in their own homes in different +countries in Europe, commanding them to repair at once to Malta and take +part in the defence of that Order to which they had vowed to consecrate +their lives. The agents of the Order in Italy succeeded in raising two +thousand infantry, and the Viceroy of Sicily sent over two companies of +Spanish infantry which he had promised. All the galleys of "the Religion" +were called in from distant service and were set to work importing +ammunition, stores, provisions, and all requisites for the withstanding of +a siege. As the galleys passed backwards and forwards to Sicily, in each +returning vessel came noble gentlemen of every country in Europe, in answer +to the summons of their Grand Master. They were received with the tenderest +affection by him and by those others already assembled; never in all its +long and glorious history had the Order assembled in circumstances more +grave; never in its history, either in the past or in the future, did it +quit itself with so supreme a heroism as in those days of 1565 which were +yet to come. In Malta the orderly bustle of preparation went on +ceaselessly; the Italian and Spanish troops and the inhabitants of the +island, for the most part hardy mariners well accustomed to the ceaseless +_guerre de course_ of the Knights, were formed into companies, officered by +the members of the Order, and assigned to different posts. + +Meanwhile the Grand Master caused copies of the letters which he had +received from Constantinople to be sent to all the great princes of Europe; +showing them the straits to which the Order was shortly to be reduced and +imploring of them to send timely succour. But it was not upon outside aid +that La Valette counted overmuch; he was preparing to confront the Turks +with such forces as he had at his own disposal; content, if necessary, to +leave the issue in the hands of the God in whom he trusted. As the +chevaliers came flocking to the standard of St. John he received them, we +are told, "as a kind father receives his beloved children, having provided +in advance for their food and lodging." He personally entered into the most +minute details of his charge; he reviewed his infantry, he instructed his +artillery, he planned sites for hospitals, he sketched out new +fortifications, and then went among the humblest of his followers and +wielded the pick and shovel in the burning sun. Everywhere his cheering +presence was felt, his equable and serene temperament diffused confidence +and hope. + +All things being thus in train he assembled his brethren and addressed them +in the following terms: + + "A formidable army, composed of audacious barbarians, is descending on + this island; these persons, my brothers, are the enemies of Jesus + Christ. To-day it is a question of the defence of our faith as to + whether the book of the Evangelist is to be superseded by that of the + Koran? God on this occasion demands of us our lives, already vowed to + His service. Happy will those be who first consummate this sacrifice. + But that we may indeed be worthy to render it come, my dear brothers, to + the foot of the altar, where we may renew our vows. Let each one rely on + the blood of the Saviour of men and in the faithful practice of the + sacraments; in them we shall find so generous a contempt for death that + we shall indeed be rendered invincible." + +The Knights then, headed by the Grand Master, took themselves in procession +to the church. Here they confessed and received the sacrament. "They went +out from thence as men who had received a new birth." The Knights, we are +then told, tenderly embraced one another in all solemnity; vowing to shed +the last drop of their blood in defence of their religion and its holy +altars. It was in this lofty frame of mind that the Knights of Malta +awaited the coming of their hereditary foe. Into the hearts and minds of +these gallant gentlemen of the best blood in the world the Grand Master had +instilled some leaven of the greatness by which he himself was inspired. +When belief is so wholehearted as it was in the case of La Valette; when it +is allied to a genius for war, and a supreme gift for the inspiration of +others, then that man and the force which he commands are as near to +invincibility as it is permitted to fallible human beings to attain. There +were two things in which the Knights were supremely fortunate on this +occasion: the first was that they had La Valette as Grand Master, the +second that Dragut was not in supreme command of the Turks, and that the +siege had opened before he arrived upon the scene. In this expedition, as +in previous ones, the Turkish commanders had orders to attempt nothing +really important without the advice of Dragut. They found themselves +without him when they arrived and made an initial mistake. With La Valette +in command there was no room for blundering; the ultimate result of their +blunder was the defeat which they sustained. + +Grand Master, Knight, and noble, soldier, peasant, and mariner, strove +valiantly with the task of putting the island into a state of defence, and +when at last the long-expected armada of their foes rose above that distant +blue horizon in the north all had been done that skill and experience could +dictate. + +It was upon May 18th in the year 1565 that the Turkish fleet arrived at +Malta. It was composed of one hundred and fifty-nine galleys and vessels +propelled by oars: on board of these was an army for disembarkation of +thirty thousand men, composed of Janissaries and Spahis, the very pick and +flower of the Turkish army. Soliman the Magnificent was leaving as little +to chance as was possible on this occasion; he well knew the temper of the +Knights, and that this expedition had before it a task which would try both +the army and its leaders to the very utmost of their strength. Behind the +main body of the fleet came a host of vessels, charged with provisions, the +horses of the Spahis, the siege-train of the artillery, all the innumerable +appliances and engines of war which were in use at that day. The initial +mistake on the part of the Turks was in embarking cavalry for a siege; they +knew, or they should have known, of the extreme smallness of the island +which they were about to attack, and that they were by no means likely to +be met with armies in the field owing to the enormous preponderance of +numbers which they had assured to themselves. + +Piali, as we have said, was in command of the fleet, and Mustafa of the +army; the corsairs did not arrive on the scene till some days afterwards. + +The Turks landed some men who encountered the Chevalier La Riviere and some +Maltese troops, with whom they had some lively skirmishes. Unfortunately, +in one of these the Chevalier was captured, put to the torture, and +eventually beheaded for having wilfully misled the Turks. A council of war +was held by Piali, Mustafa, and their principal officers, to deliberate on +the best manner of prosecuting the enterprise on which they were engaged. +The admiral, wishing to conform strictly with the instructions of Soliman, +voted to delay all initiative until the arrival of the famous corsair. +Mustafa, however, held a different opinion: the unfortunate Chevalier La +Riviere had, before his death, informed the Turkish general that large and +powerful succours were expected daily from Sicily. Secretly disquieted by +this news, which he had at the time affected to disbelieve, Mustafa now +urged immediate action. His opinion was that, in the first instance, they +had better attack the castle of St. Elmo. It was a small and insignificant +fort which at best would only delay them some five or six days; when this +had fallen they could proceed to the more serious business of taking Il +Borgo, the principal fortress on the island in which the Grand Master and +most of the Knights were established. By the time St. Elmo had been taken +they might reasonably expect that Dragut and his corsairs would have +arrived, and, with these seasonable reinforcements, proceed to the really +formidable portion of their task. In their decisions both admiral and +general were wrong; to delay attack, once the troops were landed, was a +counsel of pusillanimity hardly to be expected of Piali, but showing at the +same time how he dreaded above all else departing one iota from the +instructions which he had received. To attack the castle of St. Elmo first +was a military mistake, because it could be--and was during the whole of +the siege--reinforced from its larger sister Il Borgo. + +The discourse of Mustafa prevailed in the council of war, and the siege of +St. Elmo was decided upon and immediately begun. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + + +THE SIEGE OF MALTA + + The siege of Malta by the Turks; The capture of the fortress of St. + Elmo; The death of Dragut-Reis + +[Illustration: JEAN PARISOT DE LA VALETTE, GRAND MASTER OF THE KNIGHTS OF +MALTA, AT THE SIEGE OF THAT ISLAND BY THE TURKS IN 1565.] + +There was an entire disregard of human life among the leaders of the +Ottoman Turks at this time which is almost incredible; to attain their end +in war they sacrificed thousands upon thousands of men with an absolutely +callous indifference. In no chapter of the bloodstained history of their +Empire was this trait more in evidence than it was at the siege of Malta. +There was, however, a reason for this, which developed itself more and more +as the ceaseless assaults on the positions of the Knights went on. From a +military point of view, all the operations which took place were those of +the siege of a fortress; as when at length St. Elmo fell the Turks turned +their attention to the fortress of Il Borgo. The time-honoured method of +the attack on a fortress, of approaching it by sap and mine, was here +almost an impossibility, as the island of Malta is composed of solid rock +through which it was practically impossible to drive trenches. It is true +that the rock is of an exceptionally soft nature, easily cut through with +proper tools; but you cannot cut through rock, no matter how soft it may +be, when your operations are opposed at every step by a brave and vigilant +enemy. Mustafa and the council of war had, as we have said, decided to +begin operations by the siege of the fortress of St. Elmo. This place had +been built from the designs of the Prior of Capua, an officer of the Order, +and was situated at the extreme end of the promontory of Mount Sceberass, +which juts out between the Great Port and the harbour of Marsa Muzetto. The +fort was in a commanding position and dominated the entrance to the two +principal harbours in the island. It was admirably adapted for repulsing an +attack from the sea; but, owing to the proximity of other points of land +upon which artillery could be mounted, was easily capable of attack by such +an enemy as that by which it was now assailed. + +The principal preoccupation of the militant Prior of Capua had been to make +it formidable on the side facing the sea; perhaps the designer had never +contemplated the possibility that the day might dawn when it would be +attacked from the landward side! However this may have been, Mustafa +decided that it could and should be carried on this, its weakest face, and +made his preparations accordingly. + +As far as it was possible to open trenches this was done, at the most +prodigal expenditure of the lives of the pioneers. Where the rock proved +absolutely impossible of manipulation redoubts were constructed of massive +beams on which thick planks were bolted, the whole covered with wet earth +which had to be collected with incredible toil from the country at the +back. Disembarking their siege-guns, and utilising the cattle of the +islanders for transporting them, the great cannon of the Turks were dragged +up the slopes of the Mount and got into position; and by the 24th of May +fire was opened on St. Elmo with ten guns which threw balls weighing eighty +pounds. Besides these there were two culverins which threw balls of sixty +pounds, and a huge basilisk, the projectile from which weighed no less than +one hundred and sixty pounds. A terrible fire was opened against the walls +of the fort, and so destructive did it immediately become that the Bailli +of Negropont, the Knight in command, very soon became aware that his trust +must be in the stout hearts and strong arms of his garrison; as the walls +by which they were surrounded were hourly crumbling into nothingness. + +Regarding the matter from this point of view, he sent at once to the Grand +Master by the Chevalier La Cerda demanding succour; this officer, "rendered +eloquent by fear," exaggerated the peril to which the fort was exposed and +stated that it could not possibly hold out for more than another eight +days. + +"What losses have you had?" demanded the Grand Master. + +"Sire," replied La Cerda, "the fort may be compared to a sick man in his +extremity, in the last stage of weakness, unable to sustain himself except +by perpetual cordials and remedies." + +"Then I myself will be your physician," said the Grand Master with +contempt, "and I will bring others with me. If that cannot cure you of fear +it will, at all events, prevent the infidels from seizing upon the fort." + +There was no real hope in the mind of La Valette that St. Elmo could be +saved from the enemy. The place was too weak, and none knew this fact +better than the man to whom all the defences of the island were as familiar +as the hilt of his own good sword; but, though he secretly deplored the +necessity, he felt that if Malta were to be preserved it could only be done +by delaying until succour should come from outside; every day, nay, every +hour, was of importance, and he was prepared to sacrifice St. Elmo and the +lives of its entire garrison to attain his end. He did not, however--to +continue the simile of La Cerda--prescribe for others a medicine which he +himself was not prepared to take, and when he said that he would go to the +fort of St. Elmo it was no mere figure of speech. The council of the +Knights, however, would not hear of the Grand Master thus sacrificing +himself; well did these noble gentlemen know that there was none among them +like unto him, that his name and his influence were worth an army in +themselves. The outcry was so loud that La Valette had to yield; which he +did the more readily when he saw the splendid emulation among his brethren +to cross over to the beleaguered and crumbling fortress which promised +nothing but the grave to those who should pass within the circle of fire by +which it was now surrounded. To the Chevaliers Gonzales de Medran and de la +Motte was conceded the proud privilege for which all the Knights were +clamouring; and, accompanied by the tears and the prayers of their +brethren, they passed to that place where, if death were certain, honour at +least was immortal. Truly the heart warms somewhat to the days of chivalry +when one reads of what was done at the siege of Malta. The motto of +_Noblesse oblige_ was no dead letter in the sixteenth century. By this time +the whole of Europe was awake to the peril of the Order, and, galloping for +dear life across Europe, came the Knights, anxious and willing to share in +the danger. For most of these gentlemen Sicily was the goal at which they +aimed; arrived there they flung themselves into any boat or shallop which +they could hire, and, heedless of the risk of capture by the Turkish fleet, +totally ignorant of what was passing in Malta save that the infidel was at +her gates, they passed across the channel which separates the two islands +and joined their fellows at Il Borgo. + +Greatly heartened by the reinforcements brought to them by de Medran and de +la Motte, the garrison of St. Elmo made a sortie, surprised the Turks in +their entrenchments, and, under cover of the guns of the fort, succeeded in +destroying nearly all the works which the enemy had so painfully built up. +The Turks, however, when they had recovered from the surprise, were in such +large numbers as to be able to rally and drive the Christians from the +vantage points which they had gained; and to oblige them once again to +retire into the fort. From this time onward there was never a day in which +the garrison and the besiegers were not hand to hand in the trenches. + +Just after the first reinforcements had been thrown into St. Elmo there +arrived on the scene Ali, the Lieutenant of Dragut. This corsair came from +Alexandria with six galleys, on board of which were nine hundred men, +reinforcements for the Turkish army. A few days after this the famous +Dragut himself appeared, with thirteen galleys and two galleots, on board +of which were sixteen hundred men. + +What must not have been the despairing feelings with which the defenders +viewed the arrival of this augmentation to the swarming ranks of their +foes! From afar they noted the vessels and knew, while Philip of Spain and +Garzia de Toledo still procrastinated, that now was added to the number of +their enemies the most famous captain who served the autocrat of the +Eastern world. Very naturally the arrival of Dragut was hailed with +acclamation by the Turks: every gun in that vast armada spoke in salute, +every trumpet blared, every drum rolled to welcome the man honoured of the +Padishah, notorious throughout the whole world of Europe for his implacable +enmity to the Knights. The first preoccupation of the corsair was to inform +himself as to the conduct of the operations. These, when disclosed to him, +by no means met with his approval. This real leader immediately made it +clear to Piali and Mustafa that which they should have done. In the first +place they should have made themselves masters of the castle of Gozo, and +then captured the Citta Notabile. By doing this the supplies to the town +and fortress of Il Borgo would have been cut off: besides--and more +important than aught else--they would in this manner have closed the road +to those succours expected by the Christians. Piali, who had desired from +the first to undertake nothing without the advice of Dragut, now said that +the siege of St. Elmo was not so far advanced after all, and, if the Basha +of Tripoli should so direct, it could be raised at once. To this, however, +Dragut would by no means consent. + +"That would have been well enough," he said, "if the affair had not gone so +far; but, after the opening of the trenches and several days of attack, it +is not possible to raise the siege without sullying the honour of the +Sultan and discouraging the valour of the soldiers." + +It cannot be denied that, in acting as he did, the corsair displayed a +self-restraint and a loyalty to the Sultan hardly to be expected in the +circumstances. The jealousy which so often obtains among rival commanders +was singularly in evidence in the forces of the Padishah: Dragut had good +cause to be dissatisfied with the dispositions which had been made, and +yet, for the reasons which we have quoted, he allowed them to proceed. +Before the Basha had left Tripoli he had been engaged in communications +with Muley Hamid, the then King of Tunis, who was feudatory of Spain. +Anxious as was the corsair to aid in attacking his implacable enemies, the +Knights, he could not afford to leave his own flank unguarded in Africa. He +succeeded, however, in arriving at an understanding with the King of Tunis, +and, further than this, he had assured himself, by means of his spies, that +the succours which were to be sent from Sicily by the Spanish King could +not possibly arrive for another two months. It was the negotiations which +he was obliged to undertake with Muley Hamid which had caused his late +arrival. As far as it is possible to judge, it was this circumstance, which +(added to their own incomparable valour) turned the scale in favour of the +Knights. + +Among all those brave men at Malta, on both sides, in this flaming month of +June 1565, there were none who excelled the Basha of Tripoli. "No one had +ever seen a more intrepid general officer," says de Vertot. "He passed +entire days in the trenches and at the batteries. Among his different +talents none understood better than did he the direction and conduct of +artillery, which was his special _metier_. By his orders on June 1st a +second battery was constructed closer to the fort and parallel to the one +already in existence, in order that an absolutely continuous fire might be +maintained. He mounted four guns on the opposite side of Marsa Muzetto +Harbour on a projecting point of land, from which a further enfilading fire +smote the doomed fortress on the flank: this point has been known ever +since as the Point Dragut." + +A ravelin in advance of the fortress on the land side was scourged without +ceasing by the arquebus fire of the Janissaries. One evening, as the return +fire had slackened and all seemed quiet within this work, some Turkish +engineers stole forth from the trenches to reconnoitre. Approaching the +cavalier, all was still as death; the bold sappers pushed on as far as the +ditch by which the work was surrounded, creeping on hands and knees. They +let themselves down noiselessly into the ditch, and then, one standing on +the shoulders of another, peeped in upon their Christian foes. Whether or +no the sentry had been slain by a stray shot, or whether he too slept, can +never be known; but the cavalier was unguarded; all within it slept the +sleep of men utterly exhausted. The sappers crept back to their trenches, +fetched scaling-ladders, swept like a flood over the rim of the cavalier, +and put to death every man whom they found. Profiting by their advantage, +the Turks dashed over the bridge connecting the cavalier with the fort; +here, however, they were met by Sergeant-Major Guerare and a handful of +soldiers aroused by him. These men were instantly succoured by the +Chevaliers de Vercoyran and de Medran, who were immediately followed by the +Bailli of Negropont and several other Knights. An obstinate hand-to-hand +combat now ensued; fresh Turks came up to the attack, but were mown down in +swathes by an enfilading fire from two cannons which the defenders of the +fort managed to bring to bear upon them. More pioneers arrived from the +trenches, carrying planks and sacks filled with wool. These men tried to +effect a permanent lodgment, but the fire was too hot on the Christian +side, and men fell in hundreds. Nothing daunted, the Turks reared their +scaling-ladders against the sides of the fortress itself, and attempted to +scale the walls; but for this the ladders were too short, and the +assailants were hurled back into the ditch. This attack, in which the +Turkish arms were rewarded by the capture of the ravelin behind the +cavalier, is said to have cost them the lives of three thousand men. It +lasted from daybreak until midday. + +On the side of the Christians twenty Knights and one hundred soldiers were +slain; but worst of all, from their point of view, the ravelin remained in +the hands of their enemies. The chevalier Abel de Bridiers de la Gardampe +having received a ball through his body, some of his comrades ran to place +him under cover. "Count me no longer among the living," said the Knight. +"You will be better employed in defending the rest of our brethren." He +then, unassisted, dragged himself to the foot of the altar in the chapel, +where his dead body was discovered when all was over. + +So far communication remained established between St. Elmo and their +comrades in Il Borgo on the opposite side of the harbour; in consequence +the wounded were removed and their places taken by one hundred fresh men +under the Chevalier Vagnon. To the Bailli of Negropont and the Commandeur +Broglio, La Valette sent a message to return to Il Borgo. These gallant and +aged veterans, both of whom were wounded, whose faces were scorched by the +sun and blackened with powder, whose bodies were well-nigh worn out with +perpetual vigil and hand-to-hand fighting, refused stoutly to quit their +post, which now was naught but a dreadful shambles filled with corpses +mangled out of recognition and heads and limbs which had been torn and +hacked from their bodies. + +Dragut now proposed to erect batteries on the same side of the Great Port +as that on which Il Borgo was situated; on the point now known as Ricasoli, +but which was then and for centuries afterwards known as the Punta Delle +Forche (or Point of the Gallows, because it was here that all pirates was +executed; and their bodies, swinging in chains, were the first objects that +met the eye on entering the Great Port). In this he was overruled ruled by +Piali, who declared that he had not sufficient men to spare, and the +Knights of II Borgo would soon render the battery untenable even if they +should succeed in erecting it, which the Turkish admiral now considered +extremely doubtful. The siege of St. Elmo, which Mustafa had said would +last at the outside for five or six days, had now been in progress for four +weeks; and, although the fort was in a ruinous condition, nothing seemed +capable of daunting those invincible warriors by which it was held. + +The position in St. Elmo now was that the Turks still held on to the +ravelin which they had captured; this they had built up to such a height +that they could look over the parapet of the fortress and shoot down with +arquebus fire any one whom they could see. Meanwhile the Turkish sappers +delved night and day in their endeavour to undermine the parapet, which, if +blown up, would give them free access to the interior of the fort; while +another party, by use of the yards of galleys and huge planks of wood, +busied themselves in constructing a bridge to connect the ravelin with the +parapet. Lamirande, one of the most active of the defenders of the fort, +viewed these preparations without undue alarm, as he was aware that, by the +nature of the ground, it would be almost impossible to excavate +sufficiently under the parapet to place an effective mine. As, however, the +sapping was causing the parapet to incline outwards, and it was possible +that it might almost at any moment fall over into the ditch, he caused a +second parapet to be erected inside the first and artillery to be mounted +thereon. Having done this he caused a false sortie to be made on the +following night, and when the Turks rushed to the attack he, accompanied by +a party of sappers, sallied out into the ditch and burned the bridge which +had been made. The Turks, returning after their fruitless assault, found +their bridge destroyed, but with untiring activity set to work and +constructed it afresh. Dragging cannon to the very edge of the ravelin, +they, on the very next evening, revenged themselves by also making a false +attack: they swarmed into the ditch, and, placing their scaling-ladders +against the walls, pretended that an escalade was to be attempted. The +garrison, deceived, appeared on the parapet in large numbers, when a +murderous fire at point-blank range was opened upon them from the ravelin. +So great was the execution done on this occasion that the garrison lost +more men than had hitherto been the case in the most determined attacks +which they had sustained. + +It now seemed as if indeed the end had come, that the garrison had done all +that was in the power of mortal man and nothing was left for them but to +retire while there was yet time. Accordingly choice was made of the +chevalier Median to represent the desperate extremities to which they were +reduced to La Valette. It was well known that for none among the Knights +had the Grand Master more respect than he had for Medran, one of the +bravest and most chivalrous of them all. He, at least, could never be +suspected of cowardice, feebleness, at a desire to desert his post. This +gallant Knight crossed the harbour on his dolorous errand and was received +by his chief: to him he represented the state of affairs as it has here +been set down, assuring him that at best the fort could but hold out for a +few days longer. + +A chapter of the Knights Grand Cross was immediately held and the most part +of them were of opinion that the time had come to abandon a hopeless +position. But this decision did not meet with the approval of the Grand +Master. No one was more sensible than he of the peril to which their +brethren were exposed; at the same time, he contended, that there were +occasions on which it was necessary to sacrifice a certain number for the +good of the whole Order. He had certain information that, if St. Elmo were +abandoned, the Viceroy of Sicily would hazard nothing for the relief of the +island; that upon the arrival of succours depended the existence of their +ancient and honourable confederacy: therefore, at no matter what cost, they +were bound to hold out as long as possible. So dominant was the personality +of the Grand Master that, in a short time, he had won over the votes of the +chapter and Medran was ordered to return to St. Elmo and deliver to the +garrison a message that the siege must take its course. + +Medran accordingly returned and reported to his comrades the result of his +embassy. Several of the older Knights received the command with due +submission, but among those who were younger there were murmurings. These +men deemed the answer to their appeal hard and cruel; they could see no +object in the loss of their lives, which they well knew would all be +sacrificed in the next assault. They accordingly, to the number of +fifty-three, wrote a letter to the Grand Master, demanding permission to +abandon St. Elmo and retire to Il Borgo. If their request were denied they +announced their design to sally forth, sword in hand, and perish in the +ranks of the enemy. The Commandeur de Cornet was the bearer of this letter, +which was received by the Grand Master with sorrow and indignation. To +reassure them, he sent three commissioners to inspect the place. This was +done, and one of them, a Knight of Greek descent named Constantine +Castriot, reported that the fort could still hold out a while longer. When +he announced this at St. Elmo the recalcitrant Knights were so furious with +him that the Baili of Negropont had to sound "the alarm" to prevent a +disgraceful fracas. The commissioners returned to Il Borgo. After hearing +their report La Valette wrote a letter to those by whom he had been +memorialised to the following effect: + + "Return to the convent, my brothers; you will there be in greater + security; and on our part we shall feel a greater sense of security in + the conservation of so important a place, on which depends the safety of + the island and the honour of our Order." + +Never were men so taken aback as were the Knights in St. Elmo when they +received this response; here it was intimated to them that that which they +refused to do on account of the danger thereof was to be undertaken by +others. This was no more than a fact, as La Valette was besieged with +applications from, not only the Knights, but also the simple soldiers of +the garrison, to be allowed to pass over to St. Elmo and die if necessary +to the last man. It was, therefore, with prayers and tears that the Knights +besought the Grand Master to allow them to remain. At first La Valette was +adamant. He preferred, he said, the rawest militia which was prepared to +obey his orders, to Knights who knew not their duty. In the end, however, +he yielded, and in the fortress of St. Elmo, that crushed and ruined +charnel-house, its defences gaping wide, its every corner exposed night and +day to a sweeping murderous fire, there remained a host of men sadly torn +and battered, but animated by such a spirit that nothing the Turks could +devise made upon it the least impression. These great and gallant gentlemen +had had their moment of weakness; they had been heartened to the right +conception of their duty by the noble veteran who was their chief. To him +had they turned at last, as his obedient children who had had their moment +of rebellion in a trial as hard as was ever undergone by man. And now, as +the inevitable end drew near, it was as if they would imitate the Roman +gladiator with that terrible chorus of his: "Ave Caesar morituri te +salutant." + +All day and every day did the garrison fight, snatching such repose as was +possible when their pertinacious enemies, worn out by fatigue and the +terrible heat, could no longer be led to the attack against those whom they +now firmly believed to be in league with Shaitan himself; "For how else," +demanded Janissary and Spahi alike, "could infidels like these make head +against those chosen of the Prophet like ourselves." + +At this time the garrison took into use a device attributed to the Grand +Master himself. This consisted in hoops of wood which were first thoroughly +soaked in alcohol and then boiled in oil; they were then tightly bound with +cotton or wool, also soaked in inflammable liquids mixed with saltpetre and +gunpowder. Once these fiendish contrivances were set alight nothing availed +to put them out, and they were feared as was naught else by the Turks +during the remainder of the time they were in Malta. They were particularly +deadly against the Turks, and at times two or more soldiers mounting the +breach would be caught in one of these fiery circles, and the unfortunate +wretches would be burnt alive. Even the Janissaries refused to advance at +times when these fireworks were being flung down upon their flowing +garments. + +On June 16th another attack was made on the fortress, and, incredible as it +may seem, it was repulsed with such awful slaughter that at last the Turks +would not face the swords of the garrison. Alter this the enemy succeeded +in drawing so close a cordon round the place that no more succours could +reach it, and the end was but a matter of time. The day before it came +Dragut, who, with his usual intrepidity, was standing in the midst of a hot +fire, was struck on the side of the head by a stone dislodged from a wall +by a cannon-ball. At the moment when this happened he was holding a council +of war in the trenches with Piali, a Sanjak, and the principal Turkish +engineer. The same shot which wounded Dragut killed the Sanjak on the spot. +Piali caused a cloak to be thrown over the body of the corsair in order +that his state should not be observed by the soldiers, and as soon as +possible had him removed to his tent, where he lay unconscious till the +following day. + +The council on which the corsair had been engaged when he received his +mortal wound had for its object the complete isolation of St. Elmo from Il +Borgo; his dispositions were completed and his orders given to the engineer +just before he was struck. + +The agony of St. Elmo was drawing to an end; completely hemmed in by the +latest dispositions of Dragut, the fortress was at its last gasp; a brave +Maltese swimmer managed to slip through the cordon, swim the harbour, and +deliver to the Grand Master a letter from the Bailli of Negropont. The +Grand Master made one last effort to throw succours and reinforcements into +the place, but these were beaten off with terrible slaughter: nothing now +remained but to await the inevitable tragedy. + +[Illustration: DEATH OF DRAGUT AT THE SIEGE OF MALTA.] + +On the night of June 22nd the defenders of St. Elmo, having now lost all +hope of being supported, made ready for death. Into them La Valette had +breathed his own heroic spirit, and none among them counselled or dreamed +of surrender. The Order to which they had given their allegiance now +demanded of them the last sacrifice which it was in their power to make, +and this was offered in the manner most fitting to its tenets. These +exhausted, war-worn, battle-scarred warriors repaired to the chapel, where +they confessed, and made ready by partaking together of the sacrament, +"and, having thus surrendered their souls to God, each retired to his post +to die on the bed of honour with arms in his hand." Those among the Knights +who were too severely wounded or too ill to stand caused chairs to be +carried to the breach in which they seated themselves and awaited the +assault. For four hours did these indomitable men withstand the might of a +host innumerable: at the conclusion of this period there remained alive but +sixty of the garrison. Mustafa ceased the assault for a few moments only to +replace the storming party by fresh troops, and then the end came. Almost +the last to fall were the Chevalier Lamirande and the veteran Bailli of +Negropont, and when the crescent banner was planted on the walls there +remained alive not one of those defenders who had held the fort. Several of +Dragut's officers ran to his tent and announced the taking of St. Elmo. The +great captain was in his last extremity and unable to speak, "He, however, +manifested his joy by several signs, and, raising his eyes to heaven as if +in thankfulness for its mercies, immediately expired: a captain of rare +valour and even abundantly more humane than are ordinarily these corsairs." + +The Basha Piali, on entering the fort and observing with what miserable +resources it had so long been held exclaimed, as he looked across the +harbour to Il Borgo: + +"What will not the parent do to us, when so small a son has cost us the +lives of our bravest soldiers?" + +There is no record of what that cruel savage, Mustafa, said on this +occasion; his deeds, however, spoke eloquently. He caused the bodies of the +Knights to be decapitated and nailed to wooden crosses, while across their +corpses were slashed a cross in derision of the religion of his foes. The +bodies were then cast into the harbour, and were washed up at the foot of +Il Borgo. Instantly the Grand Master ordered the decapitation of all the +Turkish prisoners, and their heads were fired from cannon into the camp of +Mustafa. + +With the remainder of the siege, which was yet to last till September 18th, +we have no concern in this book. It is only necessary to say that the men +of Il Borgo were worthy to stand in the same category with the defenders of +St. Elmo, which is equivalent to stating that in them also was discovered +the last limit of heroism. The Grand Master survived the siege, his +monument is the noble city of "Valetta" built on Mount Sceberras. The Turks +abandoned the siege and returned to Constantinople on the arrival of some +insignificant reinforcements from Sicily. So terrible had been the +resistance of the Knights that no heart was left in their armada. Of Dragut +there remains but little to be said: he was perhaps the best educated of +the corsairs and less cruel than was usually their habit. Although not so +renowned as his more celebrated master, Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, this is, +perhaps, because his career was cut short at the siege of Malta at a +comparatively early age. Although he never attained the rank of +Admiralissimo to the Grand Turk, that potentate, as we have seen, placed in +him the greatest confidence, and relied largely on his judgment, especially +when sea-affairs were in question. Like the Barbarossas before him, he rose +from nothing to the height to which he eventually attained by sheer force +of intellect and character. In the stormy times in which his lot was cast +he never faltered in his onward way, never repined, never looked back, +sustained as he was by a consciousness of his own capability to rule the +wild spirits by whom he lived surrounded. So it is that, whatever other +opinion we may hold of Dragut, we cannot deny that in this captain of the +Sea-wolves were blended rare qualities, which caused him to shine as a +capable administrator, a fine seaman, but above all as a supreme leader of +men. Dragut died with arms in his hands fighting those whom he considered +to be his bitterest enemies. He did not live to see the repulse of Piali +and Mustapha, and it is to be presumed that he died assured in his own mind +that victory would rest with the Moslem host. For such a man as this no +death could have been more welcome. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + + +ALI BASHA + + Ali, the Basha of Algiers, succeeds to Dragut--He conquers the Kingdom + of Tunis, captures four galleys from the Knights of Malta, joins Piali + Basha in his raidings preliminary to the battle of Lepanto--The + gathering of the Christian hosts and the arrival of Don John of Austria + in the Mediterranean to take command. + +"Now I have heard several mariners and captains of the sea, nay, even +Knights of Malta, debate among themselves this question, as to which was +the greater and better seaman, Dragut or Occhiali? And some held for one +and some for the other; those who held for Occhiali declaring that he had +held greater and more honourable charges than Dragut, because he commanded +as General and Admiral for the Grand Turk and that _il fit belle action_ at +the battle of Lepanto." Pierre de Bourdeille, the Seigneur de Brantome, +from whom we make the above quotation, was himself present at the siege of +Malta and, besides this, as is well known, gossiped in his own inimitable +way concerning men and women of his time, from corsairs to courtesans. When +such contemporary authorities as those mentioned could not agree it is +quite certain that we of the twentieth century cannot decide on the rival +claims to distinction between the Bashaw of Tripoli and his follower +Occhiali, as he was known to the Christians, or Ali Basha, as he was called +by the Turks. Ali Basha has a title to fame in the fact that he is +mentioned by Cervantes in his _Don Quijote de la Mancha_ under the name of +"Uchali" in chapter xxxix., "Donde el cautivo cuenta su vida y sucesos." +The captive is supposed to have been no less a person than the famous +Cervantes himself, and he briefly describes how Uchali became "Rey de +Argel," or King of Algiers. + +Ali was a Christian, having been born at a miserable little village in +Calabria called Licastelli. Nothing whatever is known of his birth and +parentage, and he does not appear even to have possessed a Christian name, +although born in a Christian land. He followed from his earliest youth the +calling of a mariner; "he was from infancy inured to salt water," says +Joseph Morgan, in his _Compleat History of Algiers_, and he was, as a mere +boy, captured by Ali Ahamed, Admiral of Algiers, and was chained to the +starboard-bow oar in the galley of that officer. He was thus very early in +life "inured" to suffering, and must have possessed a constitution of iron +to withstand thus, in boyhood, the hardships of the life of a galley-slave, +which as a rule broke down the endurance of strong men in a very few years. +Morgan presents us with a description of him at this period which in these +more squeamish days can certainly not be set down in its entirety: suffice +it to say that he suffered all his days from what is known as "scald-head," +and that personal filthiness was one of his principal characteristics. + +For some years Ali remained at the heart-breaking toil of the rower's +bench: cut off from home, which to him meant nothing, devoid of kinsfolk, +alone--miserably alone in a world which, so far, had given him naught but +the chain and the whip--it is not a matter for surprise that he became a +Mussulman, thus freeing himself from slavery. From the time that he took +this step his fortunes mended rapidly in that strange medley of savagery +and bloodshed in which his lot was cast. + +Alert, strong, capable, and vigorous, he became in early manhood chief +boatswain in the galley in which his apprenticeship had been passed--a +position which enabled him to accumulate a small store of ducats, with +which he bought a share in a brigantine. Here he soon acquired sufficient +wealth to become captain and owner of a galley, in which he soon gained the +reputation of being one of the boldest corsairs on the Barbary coast. +Having in some sort made a name for himself, his next step was to seek for +a patron who could make use of his valour, address, and capability for +command. His choice was soon made, as who in all the Mediterranean, in his +early days, held such a name as Dragut? He accordingly entered the service +of the Basha of Tripoli, and, under his command, became well known to the +officers of the Grand Turk, particularly to the Admiral, Piali Basha, to +whom he was able to render some important services. + +There is no object to be gained in lingering over the earlier years of this +notable corsair, as we should thus only be repeating what has been said +about Dragut, whose lieutenant and trusted follower he became. He +accompanied his master to the siege of Malta, and when Dragut was slain the +Capitan-Basha, Piali, named him as successor to his chief as Viceroy of +Tripoli. Ali sailed from Malta to Tripoli, taking with him the remains of +Dragut, to be buried as that chieftain had directed. When he arrived on the +Barbary coast he made himself master of the slaves and treasure which had +been left behind by Dragut; shortly after this he was confirmed in his +Vice-royalty of Tripoli by the Grand Turk; thenceforward increasing, both +his wealth and the terror in which his name was held, by continual raids +upon the Christians, more particularly on the coasts of Sicily, Calabria, +and Naples. It is curious to observe the sort of spite which all the +renegadoes seem to have harboured against the countries in which they were +born. + +In March 1568, owing to the fall of Mohammed Basha, the Vice-royalty of +Algiers became vacant, and, through the good offices of his old friend +Piali, Ali became Governor. He thus returned to occupy a position of +literally sovereign power to the city which he had first entered as a +galley-slave. + +That he was no negligent Governor and that he took an entirely intelligent +view of his functions, is proved by an occurrence which took place in this +same year in Spain. The Moriscoes in the Kingdom of Granada revolted +against their Spanish Governor, by whom they were sorely oppressed. They +sent messages to Ali at Algiers, begging for succour against their +persecutor. But the Basha would send no expedition; he permitted all and +sundry to go as volunteers, but gave out publicly that "it more concerned +him to defend well his own State than to interfere in the affairs of +others." He even went farther than this, and when a number of Moriscoes, +who were settled at Algiers, embarked a quantity of arms for transportation +to the coast of Andalusia, he put an embargo on the vessels and would not +allow them to sail, saying "he would never suffer the exportation of what +was so necessary for the defence of his own dominions." At last, after much +importunity, he consented "that all such as had two of a sort--as muskets, +swords, or other weapons--might, if they thought fit, send over one of +them, provided they did it gratis and purely for the cause' sake; but he +would never allow any of them to strip themselves of their arms for lucre." + +Ali, being now firmly established at Algiers, took up arms against the +neighbouring State of Tunis. For long years now the King of Tunis had been +protected by the Spaniards--a nation whom the Sea-wolves always held in +singular abhorrence as the most bigoted of the Christian Powers, and who +held in thrall many of their co-religionists. Hamid, son of Hassan, who now +ruled in Tunis, had reduced that unfortunate State to anarchy bordering on +rebellion, and the whole country, torn by internal feud, was ready to rise +against him. The Goletta was in the hands of the Spaniards; Carouan, an +inland town, had set up a king of its own, while the maritime towns passed +from the domination of the Sea-wolves to that of the Christians, and from +the Christians back to the Sea-wolves, according to which party happened to +be the stronger for the time being. + +El Maestro Fray Diego de Haedo, "Abad de Fromesta de la Orden del Patriarca +San Benito" and "natural del Valle de Carranca," whose _Topografia e +Historia de Argel_ (or Algiers) was printed in Valladolid in the year 1612, +gives an account of Hamid at this time in which he describes that monarch +as an "unpopular tyrant who sadly persecuted his vassals and the friends of +his father; who could by no means suffer his tyrannies and those of his +ministers, the scum of the earth ("hombres baxos"), to whom he had given +the principal offices of the kingdom. Accordingly, since the time that Ali +had become Basha of Algiers, letters had been written to him importuning +him to come to Tunis that he might possess himself of that city and +kingdom." + +There were three principal conspirators--the Alcaid Bengabara, General of +the Cavalry, the Alcaid Botaybo, and the Alcaid Alcadaar. Ali, however, was +too shrewd a man to move until he had satisfied himself by reports from his +own adherents; he, therefore, awaited the result of investigations made by +spies from Algiers. At last, in the beginning of the year 1569, when the +offers from the Alcaids had been three times renewed and the Basha was +assured that the people in Tunis were sincere in their offer to him of the +sovereignty of the kingdom--which they begged him to conquer and hold in +the name of the Ottoman Empire--the ex-galley-slave no longer hesitated. He +left Algiers in the month of October, leaving that city in charge of one +Mami Corso, a fellow renegado. Unlike Dragut, who would have gone by sea, +he set out by land with some five thousand corsairs and renegadoes. On the +way he was reinforced by some six thousand cavalry of the wild tribes of +the hinterland, then as ever ready to join in a fray with promise of booty: +doubly ready in this case, as it was to harass so unpopular a tyrant as +Hamid. Passing through Constantine and Bona, he continued to march towards +Tunis, his following augmenting as he proceeded, and adding to his forces +ten light field-guns. Arriving at Beja, a town which Haedo describes as +being but two short days' march from Tunis, he came upon a fortress, +recently erected by Hamid, mounting fourteen brass cannon. Here he halted, +whereupon Hamid sallied out to give him battle at the head of some three +thousand troops, horse and foot. The engagement had scarcely begun when the +three Alcaids, who had been in communication with Ali, deserted with all +their following. Hamid fled to Tunis, expecting to find shelter there, but +he was hotly pursued by the corsairs, who followed him up to Al-Burdon, +where his summer palace was situated. Hamid, finding that his people were +everywhere in revolt, fled to the Goletta, carrying with him a quantity of +money, jewels, and portable valuables, and placed himself under the +protection of the Spanish garrison--not, however, without the loss of the +major portion of his baggage, plundered from him by certain Moors in the +course of his flight. + +Like Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa, Ali was now lord of Algiers and Tunis, and as +he was, for a corsair, a man of wide views, he treated his new subjects +with consideration. He made, however, one curious mistake not to have been +expected from one so politic: he demanded tribute from the tribes of the +hinterland. In those days, particularly in Northern Africa, men paid +tribute to an overlord because he was stronger than they; because +retribution followed swiftly and suddenly upon refusal. To order tribute to +be paid without being ready to strike was merely to expose the man making +the demand to derision. Particularly was this the case with the fierce +land-pirates of the desert, whose habit it was to exact and not to pay +tribute. To Ali the Sheiks replied that "if he wanted tribute from them he +must demand it lance in hand in the field, for there and nowhere else were +they accustomed to pay: that their coin was steel lance-heads and not +golden aspers." After this, says Morgan, "the Basha thought it well to +dissemble." + +Ali, being in no position to wage war in the desert against these people, +had to swallow the insult and to turn his attention to regulating the +internal affairs of his newly acquired kingdom. This he succeeded in doing +sufficiently by the month of June in the following year to enable him to +leave Tunis in the hands of one Rabadan, a Sardinian renegado, and to start +himself for Constantinople. His reason for doing this was the old one of +attempting to consolidate his power in Northern Africa by appealing to the +Sultan for help. As long as the Goletta remained in the hands of the +Spaniards no corsair could feel himself secure in either Tunis or Algiers. +The object of Ali was to beg from the Grand Turk men and ships to assist +him to chase the Spaniards out of Africa. + +The month of June 1570, in consequence, saw Ali once more at sea in his +"Admiral galley," steering northwards to the Golden Horn. Carrying with +them a favourable breeze from the south-east, the galleys spread their huge +lateen sails, and the straining rowers had rest awhile. The squadron +consisted of twenty-four galleys. Off Cape Passaro, in Sicily, a small +vessel was captured which gave information that five galleys of the Knights +of Malta were at anchor at Licata, a small harbour in the neighbourhood, +and that they were on the point of sailing for Malta. The decision of Ali +was taken on the instant: were he to go in and attack them with the +overwhelming force at his command the crews might escape to the shore; even +the Knights of Malta could hardly be expected to fight twenty-four galleys +with five. He was anxious to capture the ships, but above all to capture +those by whom they were manned: to have the satisfactory revenge of seeing +the proud Knights stripped naked and chained to the benches of his own +fleet. + +The hot Mediterranean sun poured down out of a cloudless sky as the +Sea-wolves made their offing; out of sight of land they lay, but right in +the course which the galleys of the Christians were bound to take. The +great yards, with their lateen sails, were got down on deck, and, oar in +hand, the Moslems awaited their prey. Presently the Maltese galleys were +discovered coming leisurely along, under oars and sails, and then--when it +was too late--the Knights discovered the snare into which they had fallen. +There was but scant time for preparation or deliberation, and who shall +blame four out of the five if they decided to try to escape? for it was +escape or annihilation. + +But there was one which did not fly, "Una galera hizo cara a los Turcos" +(One single galley turned her bows towards the Turks), says that faithful +chronicler Haedo. She was named the _Santa Ana_, but the name of her heroic +commander has not come down to us. Even as Grenfell "at Flores in the +Azores," stood upon the deck of the little _Revenge_ on that memorable +August day in 1591, when "he chose to die rather than to dishonour himself, +his country, and her Majesty's ship," so also did this Knight of Malta bear +down on the twenty-four that were his foes. + +When Don John of Austria, being at the time young and inexperienced in +warfare on the sea, wrote to the Marquis of Villafranca, General of the +Galleys of Sicily, requesting advice on the subject of galley attacking +galley, that officer replied to him, "Never fire your arquebus at the foe +until you are so close at hand that his blood will leap into your face at +the discharge." If we bear in mind such an instruction as this it will help +us to picture that close-packed sanguinary conflict upon which the +Mediterranean sun looked down on this day. Eight to one, all that could +find room to get alongside of the _Santa Ana_, fought with the Knight and +his followers. The issue was, of course, never in doubt for a moment. +"Muertos y cansados" (Dead and deadbeat), says Haedo, the caballeros and +soldados of the Christian ship could at length hold out no longer. The +Sea-wolves were victorious, the proud banner of Saint John was lowered; but +never in all its history had it been more nobly upheld, and the galley +_Santa Ana_, commanded by that unknown member of the great Christian +military hierarchy of the sixteenth century, may well stand in the roll of +fame alongside of the _Revenge_, the _Vengeur_, and the _Victory_. + +The _Capitana_, or "Admiral's galley," of the Knights, being hotly pursued, +ran ashore with one of her consorts at Licata: the crews landed, but were +pursued and overtaken. One galley escaped altogether, but four out of the +five were taken. So notable a victory as this over the Knights caused so +much rejoicing in the fleet of the Sea-wolves that Ali determined to +celebrate it by a triumphal return to Algiers instead of proceeding +directly to Constantinople. Accordingly, the ships' heads were turned south +once more, and upon July 20th, 1570, the fleet arrived in the African port, +"on sus galeras todas llenas de muchas banderas"--with galleys gaily +beflagged. + +[Illustration: A GALLEY OF THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA.] + +The procession entered the harbour in three divisions of eight galleys: and +towing behind each division was one of the captured galleys of the Knights. +In memory of his prowess Ali ordered that the shields and bucklers taken +from the Maltese galleys, which bore upon them emblazoned the white cross +of "the Religion," should be hung up in the great arched gate of the +Marina. Also there was placed here the image of Saint John the Baptist, +taken from the _Capitana_ galley, "all of which remain," says Haedo, "until +this day" _(i.e._ 1612), except the image of Saint John, which in the reign +of Hassan Basha, a Venetian renegado, was taken down and burned at the +instance of the Morabutos, "los letrados de los Moros" (the learned among +the Moors). It is an instructive commentary on the fear and respect in +which the Knights of Malta were held that such a man as Ali should have +considered it a triumph worth the celebrating when he defeated five of +their vessels with twenty-four of his own. + +The next occurrence in the life of Ali was one of those to which the +Sea-wolves were subjected from time to time, and which do not seem to have +caused them much trouble or anxiety. This was a mutiny of the Janissaries +in Algiers, who very reasonably objected to being left without their pay. A +mutiny of the Janissaries, however, was somewhat a serious matter, as they +were accustomed to the enjoyment of many privileges, and were, as we have +said elsewhere, a picked corps who had it in their power even to coerce the +Sultan himself upon occasions. + +Those of them who were in Algiers demanded "Who was this corsair who dared +to keep the picked men of the army of the Grand Turk waiting for their pay, +as if they were no better than his slaves?" Such a thing as a mutiny was, +in the days of which we speak, a matter for which any prudent corsair had +to be prepared. Ali was in no means discomposed, and, as the crisis had +become acute on shore, he went to sea, where he was under no obligation to +pay his men, who paid themselves at the expense of their enemies. He put to +sea with twenty galleys, and, shortly after leaving Algiers, he met with a +galley from the Levant, from which he received information that a powerful +armada was preparing in Constantinople for an expedition against the +Christians. He steered for Coron in the Morea, where he was almost +immediately joined by the Ottoman fleet, the commander of which force was +overjoyed to find so formidable a reinforcement under so renowned a captain +as Ali. + +Soliman the Magnificent had died in 1566, and had been succeeded by his +son, Selim; this prince, bred in the Seraglio, was weak and licentious, +given to that strong drink forbidden by the Prophet to an extent which +caused him to be nicknamed by the Spaniards as "el ebrio," or "el bebedor." + +This was a state of affairs which boded ill for the Turkish Empire, and +Selim II. had been educated in a very different manner from that which had +hitherto been the custom. Speaking of this, Gibbon says, "Instead of the +slothful luxury of the Seraglio, the heirs of royalty were educated in the +council and the field. From early youth they were entrusted by their +fathers with the command of provinces and of armies; and this manly +institution, which was often productive of civil war, must have essentially +contributed to the discipline and vigour of the monarchy." + +Drunkard and weakling as he was, Selim had his ambitions. He wished to +signalise his reign by some great conquest, such as had added lustre to the +rule of his father; and in consequence he laid claim to the island of +Cyprus, then belonging to Venice, The Venetians, having strengthened the +fortifications of the island and fitted out their navy, sought alliances in +Europe to curb the pretensions of the Porte. In this they found support, +instant and generous, from the Pope Pius V. Of this great ecclesiastic +Prescott says: "He was one of those Pontiffs who seemed to have been called +forth by the exigencies of the time to uphold the pillars of Catholicism as +they were yet trembling under the assaults of Luther." + +The Pope, Philip II. of Spain, and Venice formed what was known as the +"Holy League," and, having formed it, immediately began to quarrel among +themselves as to what its functions were to be. The Venetians wished all +its efforts to be directed to safeguarding Cyprus, while Philip and his +viceroys were anxious to attack the Sea-wolves on the coast of Africa in +their strongholds. After much squabbling, an agreement was come to. The +principal items of this were, that the Pope should pay one-sixth of the +expenses, Venice two-sixths, and Spain three-sixths; that each party should +appoint its own Commander-in-Chief, and that Don John of Austria should be +in supreme command of the whole forces assembled. The contracting parties +were to furnish 200 galleys, 100 transports, 50,000 foot, 4,500 horse, and +the requisite artillery and stores. + +While the Christians were negotiating and talking, the Turks were acting. +It was in May that the Pope caused the treaty to be publicly read in full +consistory; in April the Turkish fleet had got to sea and committed +terrible ravages in the Adriatic, laying waste to Venetian territory. + +While ships and men were gathering, and while the fleet which it was to be +his fortune to defeat was pursuing its career in the Mediterranean, Don +John of Austria left Madrid for the south on June 6th, 1571. When he +arrived at Barcelona he made a pilgrimage to the Hermitage of Our Lady of +Montserrat, where his father Charles V. had confessed and received the +sacrament before he sailed on his voyage to the Barbary coast in his +expedition against Barbarossa. From Barcelona he sailed with thirty galleys +to Genoa, where he arrived on the 25th, and was lodged in the palace of +Andrea Doria. In August he arrived by water at Naples. + +By this time all Europe was aflame with excitement: warriors of noble birth +were flocking to serve under the standard of the brother of the King of +Spain, who was regarded as the very mirror of chivalry. The following +description of Don John, at Naples, is from the pen of that great historian +Prescott: + + "Arrangements had been made in that city for his reception on a more + magnificent scale than any he had witnessed on his journey. Granvelle, + who had lately been raised to the post of Viceroy, came forth at the + head of a long and brilliant procession to welcome his royal guest. The + houses which lined the streets were hung with richly tinted tapestries + and gaily festooned with flowers. The windows and verandahs were graced + with the beauty and fashion of the pleasure-loving capital, and many a + dark eye sparkled as it gazed upon the fine form and features of the + youthful hero, who at the age of twenty-four had come to Italy to assume + the baton of command and lead the crusade against the Moslems. His + splendid dress of white velvet and cloth of gold set off his graceful + person to advantage. A crimson scarf floated loosely over his breast, + and his snow-white plumes drooping from his cap mingled with the yellow + curls that fell in profusion over his shoulders. It was a picture which + the Italian maiden might love to look on. It was certainly not the + picture of the warrior sheathed in the iron panoply of war. But the + young Prince, in his general aspect, might be relieved from the charge + of effeminacy by his truly chivalrous bearing and the dauntless spirit + which beamed from his clear blue eyes. In his own lineaments he seemed + to combine all that was comely in the lineaments of his race." + +At Naples Don John found a fleet at anchor under the command of Don Alvaro +de Bazan, first marquis of Santa Cruz, of whom much was to be heard in the +future in his capacity as Admiral of Castile. Here also he received from +the hands of Cardinal Granvelle a consecrated banner sent to him by the +Pope at a solemn ceremony in the church of the Franciscan Convent of Santa +Chiara. On August 25th he left Naples and proceeded to Messina, where he +landed under a triumphal arch of colossal dimensions, embossed with rich +plates of silver and curiously sculptured with emblematical bas-reliefs. +The royal galley in which the hero embarked was built at Barcelona: she was +fitted with the greatest luxury, and was remarkable for her strength and +speed; her stern was profusely decorated with emblems and devices drawn +from history; no such warship had ever been seen in the world before. + +Cayetano Rosell, in his _Historia del combate naval de Lepanto_, says that +the number of vessels, great and small, in the Christian armada was over +300, of which 200 were galleys, the ordinary warships of the time. He goes +on to say: + + "In this spacious harbour [Messina] there were collected the squadrons + of the League; the people who managed the oars and sails and the + innumerable combatants making an immense number when added together. + Since the days of Imperial Rome, never had been seen in these seas so + imposing a spectacle, never had there been collected so many ships + moving towards a single end dominated by a single will. Never was there + a spectacle more gratifying in the eyes of justice, nor of greater + incentive to men to fight for the cause of religion." + +The Spanish fleet comprised 90 royal galleys, 24 nefs, and 50 fregatas and +brigantines "los mejores que en tiempo alguno se habrian visto" (the finest +that ever were seen at any time), as they were described by Don John. The +Pope sent 12 galleys and 6 fregatas, under the command of Mark Antony +Colonna. The Pope had also made a grant of the "Crusada" and "Excusada," +and other ecclesiastical revenues which he drew from Spain, to the King of +that country, to meet expenses. + +Venice appointed Sebastian Veniero to the command of her fleet, which +consisted of 106 galleys, 6 galeasses of enormous bulk and clumsy +construction carrying each 40 guns, 2 nefs, and 20 fregatas. These vessels +were, however, so miserably manned and equipped that Don John had to send +on board Spaniards and Genoese to complete their complements. In a +manuscript of the Bibliotheque du Roi (Number 10088) is an account of the +battle of Lepanto by Commandeur de Romegas. He gives the number of the +Turkish fleet at 333 ships, of which 230 were galleys, the rest galeasses +and smaller craft. The total which he gives for the Christian fleet is 271. +Ali Basha was in supreme command of the Turkish forces, "a man of an +intrepid spirit, who had given many proofs of a humane and generous +mature--qualities more rare among the Turks, perhaps among all nations, +than mere physical courage." With Ali was the Basha of Algiers, that other +Ali, the corsair, who since his arrival at Coron had done more than his +share of the fighting, marauding, and devastating which were the +preliminaries to the battle of Lepanto. In this historic conflict he was to +show once again how, on the face of the waters, the Sea-wolves were +supreme; as it was he and his corsairs, out of the whole of the Moslem +host, who acquitted themselves with the greatest credit on that day so +fatal to the arms of the Ottoman Turk. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + + +LEPANTO + + How Ali Basha fought at the battle of Lepanto: his subsequent + career--Conclusion. + +Lepanto, the last battle of first-class importance in which the Sea-wolves +bore a leading part, is memorable in many ways. It is one of the most +sanguinary which was ever fought, the element of personal hatred between +the combatants, to which we have alluded more than once, being singularly +in evidence on this occasion. As we have said, this campaign was brought +about at the initiative of the Venetians, and an incident which occurred +not long before the battle exacerbated the feelings with which the Turks +were regarded by the Christians to the point of madness. The city of +Famagusta, in Cyprus, had been captured by that Mustafa of whom we heard so +much at the siege of Malta. The Venetian defenders made an honourable +capitulation, but when the four principal Venetian captains were brought +before Mustafa, that general caused three of them to be beheaded on the +spot; the fourth, a noble and gallant gentleman who had been responsible +for the magnificent defence of the city entrusted to his charge, he caused +to be flayed alive in the market-square. He then had the skin stuffed with +straw, and, with this ghastly trophy nailed to the prow of his galley, +returned in triumph to Constantinople. Bragadino, the defender of +Famagusta, did not die in vain; his terrible fate excited such a passion of +anger in the whole of the armada of Don John that each individual of which +it was composed felt that the sacrifice of his own life would be but a +small thing if it only led to the destruction of such fiends as those +against whom they were arrayed. + +[Illustration: DON JOHN OF AUSTRIA.] + +Lepanto was a magnificent triumph for the arms of Christendom, and taught a +much-needed lesson to Europe that the Ottoman Turk was not invincible upon +the sea; it was not, however, an interesting battle from the point of view +of the student of war and its combinations. Of all the high officers in +command on that memorable day there was only one who displayed real +generalship and a proper appreciation of the tactical necessities of the +situation; that officer was Ali Basha, the leader of the Sea-wolves. The +account of the battle is somewhat obscured by the fact that on the side of +the Moslems the name of the Ottoman Commander-in-Chief was also "Ali"; in +order to avoid confusion in this narration, we shall allude to the Basha of +Algiers by the name given to him by the Christians, "Occhiali." + +It was on Sunday, October 7th, 1571, that the Christian fleet weighed +anchor from Cephalonia and stood southwards along the Albanian coast, which +is here fringed with rocky islets. The right wing was commanded by John +Andrea Doria, the left wing by the Provediteur Barbarigo, the centre, or +"battle," as it was called, by Don John in person, who had on the one side +of him Mark Antony Colonna, the General of the Galleys of the Pope, and on +the other that fiery veteran Sebastian Veniero, the commander of the +Venetians. Here also were stationed the Prince of Parma, nephew to Don +John, Admiral of Savoy; Duke Urbino, Admiral of Genoa; the Admiral of +Naples, and the Commandeur of Castile. The reserve, under the command of +the Marquis of Santa Cruz, consisted of thirty-five galleys. Immediately in +rear of the _Real_, or royal galley of Don John, was that of the Grand +Commander Requesens. The number of seamen, soldiers, officers, and +galley-slaves in the fleet amounted to over eighty thousand persons; +twenty-nine thousand infantry had been embarked, of which number nineteen +thousand were Spaniards. Opposed to the Christians on this day was a +Turkish fleet which had on board no less than one hundred and twenty +thousand men embarked in two hundred and fifty galleys, without counting an +innumerable host of smaller vessels. + +[Illustration: SEBASTIAN VENIERO. Inset, portraits of Don John and Pope +Pius V. Heroic statue of Don John dominating Christian and Turkish Fleets. +The breath of the Almighty destroying the Turkish fleet at Lepanto.] + +The authorities on whose accounts of the battle this description is based +are Prescott, the famous historian; P. Daru, a member of the Academie +Francaise, who wrote an exhaustive _Histoire de Venise_ and Don Cayetano +Rosell, member of the Spanish Academy, who is responsible for an exposition +of the subject, known as _Historia del combate naval de Lepanto_. From a +comparison of the works of these eminent men one fact emerges with great +clearness, which is that the battle of Lepanto was an indiscriminate melee +which was decided by some of the most desperate fighting ever recorded, but +which depended hardly at all upon the tactical abilities of the men in +chief command. It is true that we are told Don John issued written +instructions to the commander of each ship, but we are left in the dark as +to what these instructions were, while at the same time we discover that in +his line of battle, which in the first instance appears to have been that +of "single line ahead," the galleys of all nationalities were inextricably +mixed up; making it thereby impossible for the Papal, Spanish, and Venetian +commanders to deal, as they should have done, exclusively with their own +men. On the other hand, Occhiali kept together the squadron of the +Sea-wolves; he outgeneralled and had all but defeated John Andrea Doria, +when the end came and he was obliged to retreat. + +We are, however, anticipating. Don John passed down his own line in a light +"fregata" giving a few words of exhortation and advice to each ship under +his command. If the bastard brother of the King of Spain did not exhibit +any large measure of ability as a leader on this occasion, he was perhaps +none the less the right man in the right place, as he had about him so +winning a way, he was so striking and gallant a figure, that the hearts of +all under his command went out to him. The seamen and soldiers of the great +armada greeted him with enthusiastic shouts of delight as he bade them +remember in whose cause it was that they fought. The last of the +Knights-errant must have made a brave show as he passed down that line four +miles in length, the sun shining on his damascened armour, and his yellow +curls streaming out from beneath his helmet. + +Soon after sunrise the Turkish fleet was descried sailing towards the +Christians, in such apparently overwhelming force that several of the +Spanish commanders represented to Don John that it would be imprudent to +risk a battle. To his honour be it recorded that he replied he had come out +to fight the Turks and that the time for talk was now over. He then hoisted +all his banners, and the executive signal for the combat to begin was given +by displaying at his mainmast head the sacred banner blessed by the Pope. +As this standard floated out upon the breeze there went up a great shout in +unison from all that were under the command of Don John. The scene of the +combat was that area of the Ionian Sea which is enclosed on the east by the +coasts of Albania and Morea and on the west by the islands of Ithaca and +Cephalonia, Just to the northward, at the entrance to the Gulf of Arta, +sixteen hundred years before had been fought the battle of Actium between +Antony and Octavius; the same spot had witnessed, in 1538, the memorable +battle of Prevesa between Andrea Doria and Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa. + +From the point of view of the seaman, who is naturally anxious to discover +the dispositions of their fleets made by the rival Commanders-in-Chief, +Lepanto is an almost hopeless puzzle. As far as can be gathered, however, +it was that the two armadas approached one another in what is known as +"line ahead," each ship being immediately astern of its next ahead in one +long continuous line; and that, when they got within striking distance, +these lines turned so that they formed "line abreast," when each ship, +having turned at right angles, simultaneously the line advances abreast, +the ships forming it being broadside to broadside. + +When the Turks discovered the allies they were issuing from between the +islets and the shore. Seeing John Andrea Doria moving to the right, they +judged that he was executing a turning movement with the object of escaping +to the northwards, from whence he had come; they were, at the time, unable +to see the rest of the fleet, which was hidden by the land. With sound +tactical judgment they accordingly advanced to attack the allies before +they should have time to issue from the strait. They were, however, too far +off to accomplish this, and, by the time they arrived within striking +distance, the Christian fleet had cleared the strait and was ready for +them, "drawn up for battle," says Monsieur Daru, which is somewhat vague in +describing the disposition of a fleet. What is certain, however, is that in +advance of the galleys of Don John were six great galeasses, which were +armed with guns of immensely superior power to anything which could be +mounted in galleys. As the Turks advanced to the attack these vessels +opened fire, and did so much execution that Ali, the Turkish +Commander-in-Chief, ordered his line to open out and thus avoid their fire. +Whatever formation the fleet was in at the time--which was, as far as we +can gather, "line abreast"--this opening-out process, to avoid the +galeasses, threw it into hopeless confusion. The Turkish right wing, which +was hugging the coast, and was the first to come into action, passed on in +an endeavour to turn the left wing of the allies. While this manoeuvre was +in progress Ali, the Capitan-Basha of the Turks, arrived in his vessel +opposite to the royal galley of Don John. At the masthead of the galley of +the Capitan-Bashaw floated the sacred standard of the Ottomans. This, the +ancient banner of the Caliphs, was covered with texts from the Koran, and +had upon it the name of Allah emblazoned no less than twenty-eight thousand +nine hundred times in letters of gold. "It was," says Prescott, "the banner +of the Sultan, having passed from father to son since the foundation of the +dynasty, and was never seen in the field unless the Grand Seigneur or his +lieutenant was there in person." Ali, the Commander-in-Chief, a favourite +of the Sultan, had been entrusted with this most precious of all the +possessions of the Padishah, as an incentive to him and all under his +command to fight their hardest to do honour to the Prophet, and to prevent +this symbol of their religion from falling into the hands of the Christian. +Ali, like Don John, was young, and burning to distinguish himself; +accordingly, as soon as the ships of the two leaders came opposite to each +other neither regarded any enemy save his rival Commander-in-Chief. Ali +drove his great galley straight on board of the vessel of Don John, and a +most obstinate conflict ensued. Veniero and Colonna hastened to the +assistance of their chief, who was sore beset. + +The combat now became general, and, as has been said, was for the most part +nothing but a melee, in which each ship sought out the nearest of her foes +and closed with her. For some time the fight went hard with Don John; time +and again the galley of the Moslem leader was boarded, but on each occasion +the Spaniards were hurled back upon their own decks. Loredano and Malipier, +two Venetian captains, fell upon seven Turkish galleys which were hastening +to reinforce the attack on Don John, and sank one of them. They then fought +with such fury and resolution with the six that remained that, although +both captains were killed, it was conceded that they had saved their +general, entirely altered the complexion of the battle in their +neighbourhood, and facilitated the capture of the Turkish admiral. The +determined conduct of the two Venetians allowed the Spanish division to +close in on the Turkish flagship, which, after an heroic resistance, was +captured, principally because there were practically none left alive to +fight. The head of Ali was struck off by a Spanish soldier, the banner of +the Moslems was replaced by the flag of the Cross, the head of Ali on a +pike being exhibited in derision above it. The conquerors seem to have seen +no incongruity in this performance. The lowering of the sacred standard of +the Capitan-Basha had a disheartening effect upon the Turks; they knew by +this that their Commander-in-Chief was dead and his ship captured, the +result being that the resistance of the Ottomans began to weaken. Then +thirty galleys took to flight from the neighbourhood of the Christian +flagship; so hotly were they pursued that they ran on shore, the crews +swimming or wading to the beach and making off inland. + +On the right of the Christian line things had not been going so +propitiously for them. Here Occhiali had managed, by his apparently +persistent attempts to outflank John Andrea Doria, to decoy that commander +away from his supports and from the main body of the Christians. This +tactical manoeuvre of the corsair was successful; having drawn off some +fifteen of the Christian galleys, he suddenly flung the whole of his +greatly superior force into the gap and surrounded them. These galleys were +Spanish, Venetian, and Maltese, and, although they offered a most vigorous +resistance, they were mostly destroyed or captured. Doria, in spite of all +his efforts, was on this day both outgeneralled and outfought: the +Sea-wolves, under their grim leader, manoeuvring for position, obtaining +it, and then falling like a thunderbolt on the foe. They were all brave men +at Lepanto on this memorable October day; but few there were like the +corsair king, in whom a heart of fire was kept in check by a brain of ice, +who, during the whole combat, never gave away a chance, or failed to swoop +like an eagle from his eyry when the blunders of his enemy gave him the +opportunity for which he watched. It was the old story of "the veritable +man of the sea" pitted against gallant soldiers fighting on an unfamiliar +element. And yet it was against the best seaman on the Christian side that +Occhiali pitted himself on this stricken field; and none can deny that with +him rested such honour as was gained by the Turks on this day, the day +which broke up for ever the idea of the invincibility of the Ottomans on +the water. It needs not to say, to those who have read the story of the +siege of Malta, how the Knights comported themselves in the battle; and yet +Occhiali captured the _Capitana_, or principal galley of the Order, He was +towing her out of action, a prize, when the Marquis of Santa Cruz bore down +upon him with the reserve. By this time the battle was lost; the Moslems +were in full retreat. + +The corsair recognised that he could do no more: sullenly he cast off the +tow, and, forming up some thirty of his galleys, still in a condition to +navigate, stood boldly through the centre of where the battle had once +raged, and escaped. The _Capitana_ of Malta had been taken; and to the +Sultan did Occhiali present the great standard of Saint John, as an earnest +of his achievement. + +Bernardino de Escalente, in his work _Dialogos del arte militar_, printed +in Seville in 1583, says that the Captain Ojeda, of the galley _Guzmana_, +recaptured the _Capitana_ of Malta; and that, in recognition thereof, "the +Religion" pensioned him for life. Ojeda, it is to be presumed, was under +the orders of the Marquis of Santa Cruz during the battle. + +There remains one incident connected with the battle of Lepanto which must +be told. In the _Marquesa_ galley, in the division of Doria, was lying in +his bed sick of a fever a young man twenty-four years of age; a Spaniard of +Alcala de Henares, "de padres hidalgos y honrados," we are told, although +these parents were poor. When this young man heard that a battle was +imminent he rose from his bed and demanded of his captain, Francisco San +Pedro, that he should be placed in the post of the greatest danger. The +captain, and others, his friends, counselled him to remain in his bed. +"Senores," replied the young man, "what would be said of Miguel de +Cervantes should he take this advice? On every occasion up to this day on +which his enemies have offered battle to his Majesty I have served like a +good soldier; and today I intend to do so in spite of this sickness and +fever." He was given command of twelve soldiers in a shallop, and all day +was to be seen where the combat raged most fiercely. He received two wounds +in the chest and another which cost him the loss of his left hand. To those +to whom he proudly displayed them in after-years he was accustomed to say, +"wounds in the face or the chest are like stars which guide one through +honour to the skies." Of him the chronicler says: "He continued the rest of +his life with honourable memory of this wonderful occurrence, and, although +he lost the use of his left hand, it added to the glory of his right." How +glorious was that right hand is known to all readers of _El Ingenioso +Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha._ + +The losses at the battle of Lepanto are something so prodigious that +imagination boggles at them. It is said that the Christians lost five +thousand men and the Turks no less than thirty thousand. Enormous as these +numbers are, they represent probably a very conservative estimate of the +loss. The Turks lost two hundred vessels, and when we recollect the number +of men embarked on board of the sixteenth-century galleys we can see that +the numbers are by no means exaggerated, especially as no quarter was given +on either side. When the Captain Ojeda recaptured the battered wreck which +had been the _Capitana_ of Malta, we are told that on board of her were +three hundred dead Turks; if this were the cost of the capture of one +galley we need not be surprised at the total. + +With the results to Europe of this amazing battle we have nothing to do in +this book. That which it demonstrated, as far as the Sea-wolves were +concerned, was that they still remained the most competent seamen and +sea-fighters in the Mediterranean, and that the legend of the invincibility +of the Ottomans at sea rested on what had been accomplished during a long +period of years by these insatiable pirates and magnificent warriors. + +That which the fighting Pontiff, Pius V., said when he heard of the victory +is in character with everything which history has told us of this +remarkable occupant of the chair of Saint Peter. It was short but very much +to the point, consisting of the one sentence, "Fuit homo misus a Deo cui +nomen erat Joannes." + +In a collection of epitaphs printed in Colonia in 1623 (and edited by one +Franciscus Swertius) is one in Spanish by an anonymous author on Don John +of Austria. In this, which takes the form of question and answer, it is +asked of him "who with so much real glory lies so humbly 'neath this +stone," what it is that Spain can do for him, what temple or what statue +can she raise to his honour. To this the hero is made to reply that "My +temple is found in my works, my statue has been my fame." This is not only +a pretty conceit, but it is very substantially true when we think of the +place in history which this man attained. + +It remains to speak of the future career of Ali Basha after his experiences +at Lepanto. He now returned to Constantinople, where he found that the +bitter complaints of the Janissaries concerning their lack of pay had +preceded him; this must have been annoying, as by this time so +insignificant a circumstance had probably escaped his memory. His old +friend and patron Piali Basha was still in power; the Basha used his +influence, and the corsair laid at the feet of the Sultan the great +Standard of Saint John captured by him from the Knights--which was the only +trophy which came to Constantinople from that disastrous battle; and in +consequence we are told that "instead of reprimands he was loaded with +caresses and applauses." + +There was in Ali the same dauntless quality of never knowing when he was +beaten which had distinguished Kheyr-ed-Din Barbarossa. His exploits at +Lepanto had secured him the high favour of the Sultan, which he used in a +manner most grateful to that sovereign by approaching him with a request +that he might be allowed to fit out another fleet to revenge himself on the +Christians. The Sultan acceded to his request, and such diligence did he +use that in June 1572, only eight months after the crushing defeat of the +Turks, Ali took the sea with two hundred and fifty galleys besides smaller +vessels. So powerful had he now become that Selim nominated him as his +Admiralissimo, allowing him also to retain the Bashalic of Algiers. With +his new fleet he sought out the allies once more, finding them at anchor in +a port in the Morea. He lay outside the harbour defying them to come out, +which they refused to do--"but they parted without bloody noses"--is +Morgan's comment. Haedo attributes this inertia on the part of the allies +to dissension among their leaders; but, however that may have been, Ali +gained almost as much favour with the Sultan as if he had defeated them in +a pitched battle. "But these are the judgments of God and things ordered by +His divine providence and infinite wisdom," says Haedo. The connection is +somewhat hard to establish. + +In 1573 the Bashalic of Algiers passed into the hands of Arab Ahmed, and in +this same year Don John of Austria recaptured Tunis from the Turks. Ali, +with a fleet of two hundred and fifty galleys and forty smaller vessels, +recaptured it again in a siege lasting forty days, and once more returned +to Constantinople in triumph with thousands of Spanish captives. He was yet +to live some years to harass the Christians, against whom he ever displayed +a most inveterate rancour. In 1576 he set out from Constantinople with +sixty galleys and ravaged the Calabrian coast, where he had been born. In +1578, the Janissaries of Algiers having assassinated Arab Ahmed the Basha, +he was sent to chastise them, which he did with a heavy hand. + +Ali was never married, and left no descendants; in the later years of his +life he built himself a sumptuous palace some five miles from +Constantinople, and no man in all the realm save the Sultan himself was so +great a man as the Calabrian renegado, the unknown waif from Southern Italy +who possessed neither name nor kindred. He was tall and robust in stature, +but all his life suffered from "scald-head"; for a definition of which +ailment we may refer the curious to the dictionary. He possessed, for a +chieftain and a fighting man, the disadvantage of a voice so hoarse as to +be inaudible at a few paces distant. In default of offspring he maintained +at his charges five hundred corsairs, whom he called his children. He died +in the year 1580, and with him what has been called the "Grand Period of +the Moslem Corsairs" in this book may be said to have come to an end. + +By the men whose deeds have been here chronicled the pirate States of +Northern Africa were established; and, as we have seen, they maintained an +unceasing warfare against all that was mightiest in Christendom, aided and +abetted by the Sultans of Constantinople. In the sixteenth century the +Sea-wolves had this at least to recommend them, that they feared neither +King nor Kaiser, albeit these great ones of the earth were bent on their +destruction. Villains as they were, they were none the less men to be +feared, men in whom dwelt wonderful capabilities of leadership. Such, +however, was not the case with those by whom they were succeeded; and the +great and civilised nations of the world tolerated for centuries in their +midst a race of savage barbarians whose abominable insolence and fiendish +cruelty were only equalled by their material weakness and military +impotence. Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli became recognised States, and the +Great Powers degraded themselves by actually accrediting diplomatic agents +to the "Courts" of these people. + +"The Algerines are robbers, and I am their chief," was the remark made by +the Dey of Algiers to the English Consul in 1641, and the man spoke the +plain unvarnished truth. Yet at this time the Algerines had no more than +sixty-five ships, and no organisation which could have held out for +twenty-four hours against such attacks as had been successfully resisted on +many occasions in the previous century. + +On April 10th, 1682 (O.S.), "Articles of peace and commerce between the +most serene and mighty Prince Charles II., by the Grace of God King of +Great Britain, etc., and the most illustrious (_sic_) Lord, the Bashaw, +Dey, and Aga, Governor of the famous city of Algiers in Barbary," were +concluded by "Arthur Herbert, Esquire, Admiral of His Majesty's Fleet." It +need hardly be said that such a treaty as this was not worth the paper on +which it was written; that the barbarians by whom it was signed were as +ignorant as they were unprincipled, and that the only argument which they +understood at that, or any other time, was that of the right of the +strongest. + +When we of the present day read of the deeds of the corsairs we are filled +with horror, we fail to understand how such things could have been +tolerated, we seek for some explanation. When we hear of a "League of +Christian Princes," and find that all its members could accomplish was to +turn their arms the one against the other, we are even still more puzzled. +What was it, then, that lay at the root of this problem? The answer would +appear to be in the ethical standpoint of the sixteenth century. We are so +accustomed in the present day to hear of the rights of man that we are apt +to forget that, in the time of Barbarossa, of Dragut, of Charles V., and +the Medicean Popes such a thing did not exist, and the only rights +possessed by the common man were those vouchsafed to him by his sovereign +lord. We have also to take another factor into consideration, which is that +what we call "humanity" simply did not exist, the result being that the +raids of the Sea-wolves were not judged by the great ones of the earth from +the standpoint of the amount of suffering which they inflicted, but in what +manner these proceedings affected the wealth and power of the lord of the +territory which had been despoiled. So differently was society constituted +in those days that the very victims acquiesced more or less meekly in their +fate, each one unconsciously voicing that most pathetic saying of the +Russian peasant that "God is high and the Czar is far away." + +The fact of the intolerable lot of the common man in these times helps us +to understand one thing which otherwise would be an insoluble problem: +which was, why did Christian soldiers so often become renegadoes and fight +for the corsairs under the banner of those who were the fiercest and most +irreconcilable foes of themselves and their kindred? The life of the common +soldier or sailor did not offer many advantages; it was generally a short +and anything but a merry one, and the thing by which it was most +profoundly affected was capture by the corsairs. + +When this happened he became either a "gallerian," rowing out his heart on +the benches of the Moslem galleys, or he festered in some noisome dungeon +in Algiers, Oran, or Tlemcen. For him, however, there was always one avenue +of escape open: he had but to acknowledge that Mahomet was the Prophet of +God and the prison doors would fly open, or the shackles be knocked off the +chain which bound him to the hell of the rower's bench. Many of the +Christian captives had really nothing to bind them to the faith of their +fathers--neither home nor lands, wealth nor kindred, and they were +doubtless dazzled by the amazing success which accompanied the arms of the +leaders of the pirates. Is it wonderful, then, that such men in such an age +should grasp at the chance of freedom and throw in their lot with their +captors? + +It was treachery, it was apostasy, and no amount of sophistry can prove it +to have been otherwise; but the man who would sit in judgment in the +present day must try to figure to himself what the life of a galley-slave +meant--a life so horrible and so terrible that it is impossible, in the +interest of decency, to set down a tithe of what it really was. + +We who in the present day sit in judgment upon the virtues and vices of a +bygone age can, in the ordered security of our modern civilisation, see +many things which were hidden from our forefathers, even as in another +three hundred years our descendants will be able to point the finger of +scorn at the mistakes which we are now committing. We have seen how it was +that the pirate States arose; we have seen also how, in future generations, +they were allowed to abide. We cannot, in common honesty, echo the words +already quoted of the historian that "these are the judgments of God, and +things ordered by His divine providence and infinite wisdom," neither can +we acquit the heirs of the ages for that slackness which prevented them +from doing their duty; we have, however, to ask ourselves this question, +that, had it fallen to our own lot to deal with the problem of the +extermination of the pirates, should we have done better? + +One word in conclusion. That which they did has been set down here; the +record, however, is not complete, as many of their acts of cruelty, lust, +and oppression are not fitted for publication in the present day. It has +been said, with truth, that no man is much better or much worse than in the +age in which he lives; and to hold the scales evenly--if one were tempted +to shock contemporary opinion by too literal a transcript of all that was +done by the corsairs--it would also be necessary to cite the reprisals of +their Christian antagonists. It has seemed better to leave such things +unchronicled: to present, with as much fidelity as possible, the public +lives and acts of these troublers of the peace of the sixteenth century. +Looking back, as we do, over three hundred and fifty years, and judging as +fairly as is possible, it would seem that there is little which can be said +in their favour. + +But we may at least concede that, no matter how infamous were the +Barbarossas, Dragut, and Ali, they proved that in them dwelt one rare and +supreme quality, which, in all the ages, has covered a multitude of sins. +At a time when every one was a warrior and the whole world was an armed +camp, men sought great captains in whose following to serve. Among the +Moslems of Northern Africa, in ordered succession, there rose to the +surface "veritable men of the sea," in the wake of whose galleys ravened +the Sea-wolves. When we consider how undisciplined and how stupidly violent +these pirates were by nature, and how they were welded into a homogeneous +whole by those of whom we speak, we are forced to the conclusion that +seldom, in all the ages, have abler captains arisen to take fortune at the +flood, to dominate the minds and the bodies of a vast host, to prove that +they were, in deed and in truth, supreme as leaders of men. + + + + +AUTHORITIES CONSULTED + +Sailing Ships and their Story. E. Keble Chatterton. + +Barbary Corsairs: Story of the Nations. Stanley Lane Poole. + +Compleat History of the Present Seat of War in Africa between Spaniards + and Algerines. 1632. Joseph Morgan. + +History of Philip II. William Hickling Prescott. + +History of Charles V. Robertson. + +Histoire de Barberousse. Richer. + +Vie des plus celebres marins. Richer. + +Histoire de Barberousse. Sander Rang et Ferdinand Denis. + +Doria et Barberousse. Les derniers jours de la Marine aux Rames. Admiral + Jurien de la Graviere. + +Histoire de Barbarie et ses corsaires. Pierre d'An. Paris, 1637. + +Histoire d'Alger. Laugier de Tassy. + +Messire Pierre de Bourdeille Seigneur de Brantome. Vie des hommes + illustres et grands capitaines etrangers de son temps. 1594. + +Histoires de les Chevaliers de Malte. Mons l'Abbe de Vertot. Paris, 17S6. + +Histoire de Venise. P. Daru. + +Topografia e Historia general de Argel El Senor Don Diego de Haedo. + +Reverendissimo Arcobispo de Palermo. Presidente y Capitan-General del + Reyno de Sicilia por el Rey Felipe Segundo. Nuestro senor. + Valladolid, 1612. + +Descripcion general de Africa. Don Luys de Marmol Caravajal. Granada, + 1573. + +Historia de Carlos Quinto. El Maestro Don Fray Prudencio + de Sandoval, Obispo de Pampluna. 1612. + +El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha. Cervantes. + +Arte de Navegar. Martin Cortes. + +Dialogos del arte militar. Bernardino de Escalante. + Seville, 1583. + +Historia del combate naval de Lepanto. Cayetano Rosell. + +Epitaphia joco-seria. Francisco Swertius. 1623. + +La Guerra dei pirati e la marina Pontifica dal 1500 al 1560. + Padre Alberto Guglielmotti. + +Storia della sacra religione et illustrissima milizia de San + Giovanii Gerosolimitano. Jacopo Bosio. + +Lo Assedio di Malta, 18 Maggio-8, Settembre, 1565. Conte + Carlo, Sanminiatelli, Zabarella, Colonello. + + + + +LIST OF THE KINGS OF ENGLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, SULTANS OF TURKEY, POPES OF +ROME, AND GRAND MASTERS OF MALTA, BETWEEN THE DATES 1492-1580, THE PERIOD +COVERED IN THIS BOOK. + + +ENGLAND + +Henry VII., 1485-1509. +Henry VIII., 1509-47. +Edward VI., 1547-53. +Mary, 1553-58. +Elizabeth, 1558-1603. + + +FRANCE + +Charles VIII., 1483-98. +Louis XII., 1498-1515. +Francis I., 1515-47. +Henry II., 1547-59. +Francis II., 1559-60. +Charles IX., 1560-74. +Henry III., 1574-89. + + +SPAIN + +Granada, taken by Ferdinand and Isabella, the sovereigns of Aragon and +Castile ("Los Reyes Catolicos") in 1492. Their daughter, Joanna, married +Philip, son of the Emperor Maximilian of Germany. Ferdinand died 1516, and +was succeeded by Charles V., son of Philip and Joanna, as King of Spain, in +1517. On the death of his grandfather Maximilian, in 1519, Charles was +elected Emperor of Germany. He resigned all his dignities and retired to +the monastery of Yuste in 1555, and was succeeded by his son, Philip II. +Charles died 1558. Philip II., who married as his first wife Mary Tudor, of +England, reigned from 1555 till 1598. + + +SULTANS OF TURKEY + +Bajazet II., 1481-1512; Selim the Cruel, 1512-20; Soliman the Magnificent, +1520-66; Selim II., known to the Spaniards as "el bebedor" (the +drunkard), 1566-74; Murad III., 1574-95. + + +POPES OF ROME + +Pius III., 1503; Julius II., 1503; Leo X., 1513; Hadrian VI., 1522; Clement +VII., 1523; Paul III., 1534; Julius III., 1550; Marcellus II., 1555; Paul +IV., 1555; Pius IV., 1559; Pius V., 1566; Gregory XIII., 1572; Sixtus V., +1585. + + +GRAND MASTERS OF THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA + +Pierre d'Aubusson, 1476-1503; Emeri d'Amboise, 1503-13; Fabrice Carette, +1513-21; Villiers de L'Isle Adam, 1521-36; Juan d'Omedes, 1536-53; Claude +de la Sangle, 1553-57; Jean Parisot de la Valette, 1557-68; Pierre Dumont, +1568-72; Jean Levesque de la Cassiere, 1572-82. + + + + +DISTANCES IN SEA MILES ON THE COAST OF NORTHERN AFRICA + +Gibraltar to Oran 225' +Oran to Tenes 110' +Tenes to Shershell 41' +Shershell to Algiers 40' +Algiers to Bona 104' +Bona to Jigelli 30' +Jigelli to Bizerta 205' +Bizerta to Tunis 55' +Tunis to Susa 120' +Susa to Sfax 86' +Sfax to Jerbah, otherwise known as Los Gelues 54' +Jerbah to Tripoli 130' +Gibraltar to Algiers 410' +Algiers to Tunis 391' +Algiers to Tenes 91' +Tunis to Malta 232' +Malta to Tripoli in Barbary 200' +Tripoli to Cape Serrano 350' +Jerbah to Malta 210' + + + + +INDEX + + +Abdahar, 141. + +Abu-Abd-Allah-Mahomed, 40. + +Actium, battle of, 189, 199, 366. + +Adam, Prince Philippe Villiers L'Isle, Grand Master of the Knights of St. + John, 42, 124, 299. + +Adorno, Antony, 103. + +Adriatic, coasts of the, 182. + +Adrumentum, 251. + +"Africa," town of, position and fortifications, 251, + attacked and taken by Dragut, 257-259; + besieged by Andrea Doria, 265; + captured, 267; + mutiny, 268; + blown up, 268. + +Ahmed, Arab, Basha of Algiers, 375, + assassinated, 375. + +Albania, coast of, 363, 366. + +Al-Burdon, 350. + +Alcadaar, Alcaid, 349. + +Alcala, Duke of, 311. + +Alcala de Henares, 371. + +Alcaudite, Count of, his defence of Marzaquivir, 10. + +Aldemar, St., Geoffrey de, 291. + +Aleppo, 120, 125. + +Alexander IV., Pope, 290. + +Alexander VI., Pope, 99. + +Alexander VII., Pope, initiates the "Alliance of Christian Princes," 38. + +Alexandria, 49. + +"Alexandria, The Young Moor of," defeated, 177, + released, 178. + +Alfonso, King of Navarre and Aragon, 291. + +Alghieri, Bay of, 235. + +Algiers, 2, + attacks on, 30, 88; + captured, 62, 64; + Moorish refugees at, 63; + appeal for help, 66; + surrenders, 89; + mutiny of Janissaries, 355; + treaty with King Charles II., 377. + +Ali Ahamed, Admiral of Algiers, 345. + +Ali, at the siege of Malta, 328. + +Ali Basha, or Occhiali or Uluchali, 6, 14, 22, + present at the conference held by Soliman, 316; + his birthplace, 345; + endures the life of a galley-slave, 345; + becomes a Mussulman, 346; + enters the service of Dragut, 346; + at the siege of Malta, 346; + appointed Viceroy of Tripoli, 347; + Governor of Algiers, 347; + view of his duties,347; + offered the sovereignty of Tunis, 349; + expedition against Hamid, 349; + captures Tunis, 350, 375; + captures galleys of the Knights, 352-355; + at the battle of Lepanto, 363,368-371; + his banner, 368; + captures the _Capitana_, 370; + withdraws and escapes, 371; + returns to Constantinople, 373, 375; + nominated Admiralissimo, 374; + his palace, 375; + ailment of "scald-head," 375; + death, 376. + +Ali Basha, in command of the Turkish forces, 361, + at the battle of Lepanto, 367; + beheaded, 369. + +Ali-Chabelli defeated, 180. + +Al-Mehedi, his fortifications of "Africa" blown up, 268. + +Amalfi, 287. + +Ambracian Gulf, 189. + +Amburac, Ibrahim, his plot with Dragut, 253, 256. + +Ampasta, Rio de, 83. + +An, Rev. Frere Pierre d', on the dangers from the corsairs of + Barbary, 20-22, 27. + +Andalusia, 4, 15. + +Andior, 246. + +Andrade, Captain Diego de, 73. + +Andros, island of, 187. + +Angelo, Michel, 139. + +Aponte, Antonio de, "Electo Mayor" of "Africa," 268. + +Aragon, Alfonso d', 235. + +Aragon, Ferdinand of, acquires Granada, 29, + attempts to recover Naples, 99. + +Arba, Francisco d', 210, 217. + +Archipelago, islands of the, 182, + raid on, 187. + +Arta, Gulf of, 189, 191, 195, 366. + +Aubusson Pierre D', Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, 37, + 38, 39, 298. + +Augustus Caesar, at the battle of Actium, 189, 199. + +Austria, Don John of, 23, 230, + in command of the forces of the "Holy League," 357; + at Barcelona, 357; + reception at Naples, 358; + dress, 358; + appearance, 359, 365; + at Messina, 359; + his fleet, 364; + instructions, 365; + at the battle of Lepanto, 366-371; + recaptures Tunis, 375 + + +Baetio, 141. + +Bairan-Ogli, the Reis, in command of the "puissant galleon," 313. + +Balearic Islands, 32, 66. + +Barbarigo, Provediteur, at the battle of Lepanto, 363. + +Barbarossa, Hassan, left in charge of Algiers, 312. + +Barbarossa, Khoyr-ed-Din, 6, 14, 17, 22, 108, + King of the Sea, 24; + his birth, 43; + title, 45, 51; + joins his brother at the island of Jerba, 50; + attacks _The Galley of Naples_, 51-54; + his wealth, 56; + captures Jigelli, 56-58; + his embassy to Soliman, 60, 76; + character, 67, 75, 114-116, 127, 219; + treatment of Hassan, 85-87; + defeated by Venalcadi, 87; + his allies, 88; + fight against Venalcadi, 88; + assisted by Spanish captives, 89; + captures Algiers, 89; + lays siege to the fortress of Navarro, 92-95; + his plunder of the Christians, 108; + requested to take the command of the Ottoman fleet, 111; + voyage to Constantinople, 112-117; + his captures, 113, 133; + cruelty, 115, 133, 220; + entry into Constantinople, 117; + gifts to Soliman, 118; + reception, 120; + at Aleppo, 125; + appointed head of the fleet, 127; + his age, 127, 190; + appearance, 127; + speech to the Sultan, 128-130; + raids on the coast of Italy, 133-137; + sacks Reggio, 133; + captures 11,000 Christian slaves, 133; + his attempt to capture Julia Gonzaga, 134-136; + enters Tunis 138; + massacre of the inhabitants, 141; + his fame, 142; + appeal for help against the Christian hosts, 146; + preparations for defence, 152; + joined by the tribesmen, 153; + defeated, 158; + flight, 159; + sufferings of his army, 163; + at Bona, 164; + embarks, 165; + retires to Algiers, 168; + return of his men, 169; + captures the castle of Minorca, 172; + recalled to Constantinople, 173, 178, 182; + ravages, 182; + number of slaves, 182; + sets sail, 185; + his innovation in the manning of galleys, 185-187; + raid on the islands of the Archipelago, 187; + his age, 190; + hesitates to fight, 193; + anchored in the Gulf of Arta, 194-207; + at the battle of Prevesa, 208-216; + withdraws from the battle, 213, 2l5, 2l7; + his death, 220, 250; + ransoms Dragut, 248. + +Barbarossa, Uruj, 7, 74, + his birth, 43; + character, 44; + first attempt at piracy, 45; + taken prisoner, 46; + escapes, 47, 48; + presented with a ship, 48; + winters at Alexandria, 49; + at the island of Jerba, 50; + joined by his brother, 50; + treaty with the Sultan of Tunis, 51; + attackes _The Galley of Naples_, 51-54; + wounded, 54; + attacks on Bougie, 55, 58; + loses an arm, 55; + appeal from the Algerines, 66; + treatment of Kara-Hassan, 66; + besieges Navarre's Tower, 67; + slaughters the Berbers, 68-70; + defeats Don Diego, 71; + marches on Tlemcen, 72; + blockaded, 73; + killed, 73. + +Barbary, coast of, 236. + +Barbary, corsairs of, their character, 21. + +Barbezieux, his attempt to seize Andrea Doria, 104. + +Barcelona, 148, 357. + +Bazan, Don Alvaro de, General of the Galleys of Spain, at Barcelona, 149, + Admiral of Castile, 359. + +Beachy Head, battle of, 283. + +Beja, 350. + +Bengabara, Alcaid, 349. + +Berber tribes, their character, 57, + number, 57; + conspiracy against Uruj Barbarossa, 68; + slaughtered, 69. + +Bergerac, Jean Marteille de, on the treatment of slaves on board + the galleys, 224. + +Bianco, Cape, 189. + +Biba, island of, 113. + +Bizerta, 2, 40, + captured, 41; + massacre of, 141. + +Boabdil el Chico, yields up Granada, 29. + +Bona, 153, 164, 350, + Cape, 264. + +Bonifacio, Straits of, 113, 136. + +Borgo, Il, fortress, siege of, 32, 324, 342. + +Bosworth, battle of, 215. + +Botaybo, Alcaid, 349. + +Bougaroni, Cape, 56. + +Bougie, 2, 153, + attacks on, 55, 58. + +Bouillon, Godfrey de, defeats the Saracens, 287. + +Bourdeille, Pierre de, 242, 344. + +Bragadino, his defence of Famagusta, 362, + killed, 362. + +Brigantines, 18, 151, 240. + +Broglio, Commandeur, at the siege of Malta, 333. + +Byzacena, 40. + +Byzantine, Empire, fall of the, 33. + + +Cabri, 246. + +Cachidiablo, 88, 90. + +Cadiz, 4. + +Cadolin, defeated, 100. + +Cagliari, Bay of, 152, 236. + +Calabria, 345. + +Calibia, castle of, surrender, 264. + +Canale, Girolame, his victory over the Moslems, 177. + +Candia, 187. + +Canete, Marquis de, Viceroy and Captain General of Navarre, 147. + +Cantara, La Bocca de, 272, 274. + +Capello, Vicenzo, his age, 190, + in command of the Venetian fleet, 191, 215; + at Corfu, 191. + +_Capitana_, the, captured, 354, 370, + retaken, 371. + +Capua, Prior of, his designs for the building of St. Elmo fortress, 325. + +Caracosa, Marie, 98. + +Caramania, coast of, 35, 37, 45, 48. + +Caravajal, Don Luys de Marmol, his "Descripcion general de Affrica," 272. + +Caravels, 231. + +Carouan, 348. + +Castel Rosso, Isle of, 47. + +Castile, Isabella of, 29. + +Castriot, Constantine, his report on the condition of St. Elmo, 337. + +Centurion, Adan, fails to attack Barbarossa, 165. + +Cephalonia, 313, 363, 366. + +Cervantes, Miguel de, his mention of Ali Basha, 345, + at the battle of Lepanto, 371; + his wounds, 372. + +Charabulac, 242. + +Charlemagne, Emperor, his renown, 286. + +Charles II., King of England, his treaty with Algiers, 377. + +Charles V., Emperor, 14, 79, + history of, 43; + determines to crush the corsairs, 80; + total fleet and army, 81,191; + caught in a storm, 82; + his wrath on the fall of Navarro, 97; + acquisitions, 98; + suzerain of Genoa, 101; + joined by Andrea Doria, 105; + his trust in him, 107; + preparations for his attack on Barbarossa, 143; + at Barcelona, 148; + joined by his allies, 148-150; + reviews the armada, 150; + embarks in the _Galera Capitana_, 150; + attack on the fortress of La Goletta, 156; + defeats Barbarossa, 159; + letter to the potentates, 163; + evacuates Tunis, 166; + his mistaken policy, 167; + at Corfu, 191; + orders the destruction of Dragut, 245, 261; + orders the capture of "Africa," 265; + denunciation of Dragut, 271; + concentrates his fleet at Messina, 278. + +"Christian Princes, Alliance of," formed, 38, + artillery, 39; + seize Naples, 40. + +Christian slaves, number of, captured, 133. + +Citta Notabile, 308. + +Civita Lavinia, 140. + +Coeva, Andrea, 98. + +Colonna, Camille, taken prisoner, 101. + +Colonna, Mark Antony, in command of the Papal fleet, 360, 364. + +Colonna, Vespasian, 134. + +Columbus, his caravels, 231. + +Comares, Marquis de, 80. + +Condalmiero, Alessandro, Captain of the _Galleon of Venice_, 192, 194, + attacked by the Moslems, 209-213; + his victory, 213. + +Constantine, 350. + +Constantinople, fall of, 33, + entry of Barbarossa into, 117. + +Cordoba, Don Martin de, his defence of Oran, 10. + +Cordoba, Gonsalvo de, the "Great Captain," 39, + war against Roverejo, 99; + besieges the fortress of Rocca Guillelma, 99. + +Cordoba, Mosque at, 64. + +Corfu, siege of, 179. + +Cornet, Commandeur de, 337. + +Cornillan, Pierre de, appointed Grand Master of the Knights of + St. John, 298. + +Coron, 355. + +Coronado, Capt. Juan Vasquez, 273. + +Corsairs, Moslem, their iron and rigid discipline, 7. + _See_ Moslem + +Corsica, coast of, 246. + +Corso, Mami, left in charge of Algiers, 349. + +Cos, or Lango, island of, fortifications of, 292. + +Curtogali, at Bizerta, 40, + his depredations, 41; + attempt to carry off the Pope, 41, 140; + Governor of Rhodes, 42. + +Cyprus, island of, 34, 356. + + +Daoud Pasha, Admiral, defeats Grimani, 38. + +Dardanelles, 116, + fortification of the, 34. + +Daru, P., _Histoire de Venise_, 364, 367. + +Delizuff, joins forces with Barbarossa, 112, + killed, 113. + +Diou-Donne, Gozon de, his mode of killing a serpent, 294-296, + praises of his services, 297; + appointed Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, 298; + his death, 298. + +Doria Andrea, 6, 22, 108, + his birth, 98; + parents, 98; + sent to Rome, 98; + at the court of Urbino, 99; + in the service of the King of Aragon, 99; + joins Roverejo, 99; + takes service with Lodovico Sforza, 100; + appointed General of the Galleys, 100; + captures the Fort of the Lantern, 100; + defeats Cadolin, 100; + appointed Captain-General of the Galleys of France, 101; + the treatment of Francis I., 102, 104; + letter to him, 103; + joins Charles V., 105; + honours received from Genoa, 105; + Admiralissimo of the Navy, 107, 151; + defeats the Turks at Patras, 109; + at Barcelona, 148; + captures Bona, 166; + pursuit of Barbarossa, 166; + defeats Ali-Chabelli, 180; + wounded, 180; + appearance, 180; + age, 190; + his fleet, 192; + anchors outside the Gulf of Arta, 194-207; + at Sessola, 207; + tactics at the battle of Prevesa, 214; + sails away, 216; + ordered to capture Dragut, 261, 271; + his pursuit of him, 262-264; + expedition against "Africa," 265; + blockades Dragut at Jerbah, 271-275; + allows him to escape, 275. + +Doria, David, 99. + +Doria, Dominique, 98. + +Doria, Franco, 192. + +Doria, Jannetin, captures Dragut, 245-247. + +Doria, John, 165. + +Doria, John Andrea, at the battle of Lepanto, 363, 367, 370. + +Doria, Philippin, defeats Moncada, 101. + +Dragut-Reis, 10, 14, 22, + his birth and parents, 242; + career, 242; + offers his services to Barbarossa, 243; + in command of twelve galleys, 243; + his destruction ordered, 245, 261; + captured by Jannetin Doria, 245-247; + employed as a galley slave, 248; + ransomed, 248; + increase of power, 250; + his desire to capture "Africa," 251; + plot with Ibrahim Amburac, 253; + preparations for the attack, 254-256; + wounded, 257; + attack on the city, 257-259; + pursued by Andrea Doria, 262-264, 271; + his "Horrid Devastations," 264; + in the siege of "Africa," 265; + escapes, 267; + at Constantinople, 269, 276; + denounced by Charles V., 270; + appointed Sandjak, or governor, of the island of Santa Maura, 271; + blockaded at Jerban, 271-275; + mode of escape, 275; + hatred of the Knights of Malta, 276, 286; + autocrat of Tripoli, 309; + characteristics, 315; + at the siege of Malta, 329-339; + mortally wounded, 339; + death, 341. + +Dupuy, Raimond, joins the Hospice of St. John, 288, + appointed Grand Master, 289; + forms a military corps, 289. + + +Eginard, 286. + +Egypt, Soldan of, his treatment of the Knights of Saint John, 34, + besieges Rhodes, 36. + +Elmo, St., siege of, 6, 301-305, 323-341, + appeal of the garrison to abandon the fortress, 335-337; + their use of fireworks, 339; + fall, 341. + +Escalente, Bernardino de, his "Dialogos del arte militar," 371. + +Esquemelin, John, his literary labours, 1. + +Etienne, St., Mount, 294. + +Eutemi, Selim, besieges Algiers, 65, + assassinated, 68. + +Exmouth, Lord, bombards Algiers,30. + + +Famagusta, captured, 362. + +Ferdinand V., King of Spain, joins the "Alliance of Christian Princes," 38, + his death, 65. + +_Florence_, the, 236. + +Floreta, M. de., 144. + +Forfait, on the speed of the galley, 234. + +Francis I., 14, + appoints Andrea Doria Captain of his fleet, 101; + attempts to levy a fine, 102; + treatment of him, 102; + fortifies Savona, 103; + letter from Andrea Doria, 103; + attempts to take him prisoner, 104; + refuses to join in the war against Barbarossa, 144; + treachery, 144. + +Fundi, 134, + sacked by the corsairs, 136. + + +Galeasse, the, 18, + description of a, 233. + +_Galera Capitana_, 150, + number of flags and banners on board, 151. + +_Galleon of Venice_, 192, 194, 208, + attacked by the Moslems, 209-213; + victory, 213. + +Galley, 2, 18, + sufferings of the rower, 19, 221; + innovation in the manning, 185; + mobility, 222; + length, 222; + number of men on board, 223; + treatment of the slaves, 223-229, 379; + size, 229; + mode of opening fire, 230; + speed, 234; + obsolete, 236. + +_Galley of Naples, The_, attacked by the brothers Barbarossa, 51-54. + +Gardampe, Chevalier Abel de Bridiers de la, killed at the siege of + Malta, 333. + +Gelves, 271. + +Genoa, 32, + arrangement with the Grand Turk, 34; + confers honours on Andrea Doria, 105. + +Gerard, the founder of the Order of St. John, 287, + death, 288. + +Gibraltar, Straits of, 15. + +Giou, Chevalier de, 313. + +Goialatta, 246. + +Goletta, La, 348, + attack on the fortress, 156; + fall, 157; + captured, 313. + +Gomez, Alvar, left in charge of Bona, 166. + +Gonzaga, Hernando de, his advice at the battle of Prevesa, 198. + +Gonzaga, Julia, attempt to capture her, 134-136, + escape, 136. + +Gozo, island of, Knights of St. John at, 277, 299, + sacked, 309. + +Granada, fall of, 4, 8, 22, + expulsion of the Moors from, 8, 29; + revolt in, 347. + +Grandenico, Count, 178. + +Granvelle, Cardinal, 7, 359. + +Graviere, Admiral Jurien de la, 17, 54, 127, 214, + his description of a Galeasse, 233. + +_Great Harry_, 232. + +Grimani, Antonio, the Venetian Admiral, defeated at Zonchio, 38. + +Grimani, Marco, in command of the Papal contingent, 191, 214, + at Corfu, 191; + raid on Arta, 191. + +Guasto, Marquis de, taken prisoner, 101, + his suggestion to Andrea Doria, 104; + in command of the army, 156. + +Guerare, Sergeant-Major, at the siege of Malta, 332. + +Guglielmotti, Alberto, his work "La Guerra dei Pirati," 39, 41, 180. + +Guimeran, Commandeur de, success of his ambush, 307. + +_Guzmana_, the galley, 371. + + +Hadj-Hossein, his embassy to Selim I., 76-78. + +Haedo, Don Fray Diego de, his _History of Algiers_, 96, 348, 353, 374. + +Hamid, King of Tunis, character of his rule, 348, + conspiracy against, 349; + flight, 350. + +Hassan Ali, 53, + ravages towns and villages, 83; + repulsed by Spaniards, 84; + flogged and imprisoned, 86; + released, 87; + attacks Barbarossa, 87. + +Hassem, his attack on Oran, 10, + retreat, 10. + +Henry II., 34. + +Henry VII., 215. + +Henry VIII., 14. + +Herbert, Arthur, concludes a treaty with Algiers, 377. + +Himeral, Basha, 114, 125. + +Hogue, La, battle of, 283. + +Honore II., Pope, 291. + +Horusco, Pero Lopez de, 166. + +Hunyadi, John, 14. + +Hyeres, island of, 234. + + +Ibrahim, Grand Vizier to Soliman, 9, + his mission to Aleppo, 120; + advice, 123; + impressions of Barbarossa, 126; + return from Aleppo, 132; + his relations with Soliman, 173; + murdered, 176. + +Innocent VIII., Pope, 98. + +Ionian Islands, 179. + +Ionian Sea, 49. + +Ithaca, island of, 366. + +Iviza, 82. + + +Janissaries, their character as soldiers, 8, + institution, 279; + system of training, 280; + mutiny in Algiers, 355. + +Jerbale, 2, 50, 153, 251. + +Jerusalem, Hospice of St. John at, 287. + +Jigelli, 2, 56, + siege of, 57. + +John of Jerusalem, St., Knights of, 18. + _See_ Knights + +Judeo, El, 88. + + +Kara-Hassan, takes possession of Shershell, 66, + beheaded, 67. + +Khorkud, Governor of Caramania, 48. + +Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, or Knights of Malta, their bigotry, 18, + take refuge at Limasol, 34; + characteristics, 35, 36; + fortifications of Rhodes, 35; + faith, 36; + repulse the Turks, 37; + expelled from Rhodes, 42, 277; + forced to retreat to Malta, 42, 277, 292; + their use of galleys, 229; + fight for their "Religion," 277; + warfare against the corsairs, 277; + history of the Order, 286-291; + founded at Jerusalem, 287; + Grand Masters, 289-298, 301; + crusade against the Infidel, 289; + composition of the Order, 289; + languages, 290; + dress, 290; + form of government, 291; + in the siege of Malta, 300, 324-342; + number of deaths, 300; + capture fortresses, 312; + capture the "puissant galleon," 313; + at Licata, 352; + their galleys captured by Ali Basha, 352-355. + +Knights Templars, foundation of the Order, 291, + code of regulations, 291. + +Kustir-Aga, chief Eunuch of the Seraglio, 313. + + +Lamirande, Chevalier, at the siege of Malta, 334, + killed, 341. + +_Lancaster_, the cruiser, 231. + +Lanciani, extract from "The Golden Age of the Renaissance," 139. + +Lantern, Fort of the, captured, 100. + +Lautrec, Marshal de, 104. + +Leo X., Pope, 41, + attempt on his life, 140; + flight to Rome, 141. + +Lepanto, battle of, 6, 23, 362-372; + number of killed and wounded, 372. + +Lerici, 104. + +Leyva, Antonio de, 143. + +Leyva, Don Sancho de, Governor of "Africa," 267. + +Liazzo, 246. + +Licastelli, 345. + +Licata, 352. + +Limasol, 34. + +Loredano, Jacques, 34. + +Loredano, Captain, at the battle of Lepanto, 369. + +Los Gelues, 112, 271. + +Louis XII., 100, + joins the "Alliance of Christian Princes," 38. + + +Magliana, Castle of, 140. + +Mahan, Rear-Admiral, his books on "Sea Power," 14. + +Mahomedi, banished from Constantinople, 43, + his sons, 43. + +Mahomet, result of his death, 286. + +Mahomet II., Caliph, captures Constantinople, 33, + fortifies the Dardanelles, 34; + defeated Rhodes, 38; + death, 38. + +Majorca, 172. + +Malipier, Captain, at the battle of Lepanto, 369. + +Malta, siege of, 6, 22, 299-305, 324-342, + number of deaths, 300; + position, 315; + expedition against, 316; + preparations for the siege, 318-321. + +Malta, Knights of. + _see_ Knights + +_Marquesa_, the galley, 371. + +Marsa Muzetto harbour, 325, 331. + +Marsaquivir, attack on, 10. + +Maura, Santa, island of, 207, 271. + +Mecca, 4. + +Medina-Celi, Juan la Cerda, Duke of, expedition against Tripoli, 311. + +Medran, Chevalier Gonzales de, at the siege of St. Elmo, 327, 332, 335. + +Mehedia, 251. + +Melac, Commandeur Gozon de, 312. + +Mendoza, Bernard de, in command of La Goletta, 166. + +Mendoza, Don Luis Hurtado de, 143. + +Messina, 180, 278, 359. + +Minorca, 172. + +Mitylene, island of, 43. + +Monastir, 2, 250. + +Moncada, Don Hugo de, Viceroy of Sicily, 80, + escapes to Iviza, 82; + defeated and slain, 101. + +Mondejar, Marquis de, 143. + +Monferrato, Monastery of Nuestra Senora de, pilgrimages to, 150, 357. + +Monte Cristo island, 113. + +Montmorency, Anne de, 281. + +Monuc, the eunuch, 206. + +Moors, their characteristics, 4, + expulsion from Granada, 8, 29; + their condition in Algiers, 63. + +Morea, the, 355, 366. + +Morgan, Sir Henry, his capture of Panama, 24. + +Morgan, J., his _Compleat History of Algiers_, 243, 250, 345. + +Moriscoes, their persecutions, 5, + revolt in Granada, 347. + +Mosca, Lodovico del, 39. + +Moslem corsairs, their cupidity, 3, + driven out of Spain, 4, 29; + characteristics, 4, 67, 241; + fanaticism, 5, 17; + supremacy on the sea, 8; + frequent defeats, 10; + tyranny, 11; + ships, 18; + booty, 24; + cruel methods, 24, 32; + retrogression, 239; + mode of commencing their careers, 240; + conquer Palestine, 286; + at the siege of Malta, 300; + number of deaths, 300. + +Motte, Chevalier de la, at the siege of St. Elmo, 327. + +Mourad-Reis, 201. + +Moustafa-Billah, Caliph, 287. + +Muley Hamid, negotiations with, 330. + +Muley Hassan, King of Tunis, 130, 137, + restored to his kingdom, 161; + terms of his vassalage, 162. + +Mustafa, in command of the land forces against Malta, 316, 322, + captures Famagusta, 362. + + +Naples, seized, 40, + invasion of, 90; + reception of Don John of Austria at, 358. + +Navarro, Count Pedro de, seizes the town of Bougie, 55, + captures Algiers, 62, 64; + his Tower, 64. + +Navarro's Tower, siege of, 65, 67, 91-95, + captured, 95; + pulled down, 97. + +Nef, the, 18, 232. + +Negropont, Bailli of, at the siege of Malta, 326, 332, 333, + killed, 341. + +Nunez, Martin, his embassy to the Pope, 163. + + +Occhiali. + _See_ Ali Basha. + +Ojeda, Captain, rescues the _Capitana_ at the battle of Lepanto, 371. + +Omedes, Juan d', Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, 278, + warned of the approach of the corsairs, 281; + refuses to take alarm, 281, 306. + +Oneglia, 98. + +Oran, 2, 73, + attack on, 10. + +Oristano, Gulf of, 236. + +Osmanli, their warlike achievements on land, 15. + +Ottoman, 292, + his siege of Rhodes, 293. + +_Our Lady of the Conception_, 45. + + +Palamos, Bay of, 236. + +Palermo, 265. + +Palestine, conquered by Moslems, 286. + +Palma, 172. + +Panama, capture of, 24. + +Pantellaria, island of, 236. + +Pantera, Captain Pantero, "L' Armata Navale," 225. + +Parma, Prince of, at the battle of Lepanto, 364. + +Paschal II., Pope, 301. + +Passaro, Cape, 352. + +Patras, Turks defeated at, 109. + +_Patrona_ galley, capture of, 275. + +Paul III., his scheme of defence for Rome, 139. + +Paxo, island of, 180. + +Payens, Hugues de, founds the Order of the Knights Templars, 291. + +Pedro, Francisco San, 371. + +Penne, Barras de la, on the treatment of men on board the galleys, 223. + +Peter the Hermit, 287. + +Philip II., King of Spain, 274, 311, + forms the "Holy League," 357; + his fleet, 360. + +Piali, Admiral, 10, + in command of the fleet against Malta, 316, 322. + +Pierre, St., Isle of, 235. + +Pius V., Pope, 356, 373, + forms the "Holy League," 357. + +Portugal, Don Juan, King of, his armada at Barcelona, 148. + +Portugal, Prince Luis of, at Barcelona, 148, 150. + +Prescott, William Hickling, 4, + his description of the Janissaries, 279; + of Don John of Austria, 358; + of the battle of Lepanto, 364, 368. + +Press-gang, methods of the, 226. + +Prevesa, battle of, 6, 22, 108, 189, 190, 194-218, 366. + +Punta delle Forche, 277, 333. + + +Rabadan, Celebi, 92, 112. + +Rabadan, left in charge of Tunis, 351. + +Raschid, 130, 137. + +Raschid, Caliph Haroun, 287. + +Ravenstein, Count Philip of, 39. + +_Real_, the, 364. + +Reggio, 32, + sack of, 133. + +Reis, Aisa-, left in charge of "Africa," 261, 264, + his defence, 266; + captured, 267. + +Reis, Dragut-, + _See_ Dragut + +Requesens, Don Luiz de, disaster to his fleet, 234. + +_Revenge_, the, 354. + +Rhodes, island of, 242, + seized by the Knights of St. John, 35, 292; + besieged, 36, 293; + serpent at, 294-296; + derivation of the name, 297. + +Ribera, Don Perisan de, 80. + +Ricasoli, 333. + +Richard II, 215. + +Rio, Juan del, taken captive, 71. + +Riviere, Chevalier La, 322. + +Robeira, Captain, repulses the corsairs, 84. + +Rocca Guillelma, fortress of, besieged, 99. + +Rodas, Capitan de, 111. + +Roderick the Goth, conquered by the Osmanli, 15, 29. + +Rome, fortifications of, 139. + +Romegas, Commandeur de, 312, 313, + his account of the battle of Lepanto, 360. + +Rosell, Don Cayetano, his _Historia del combate naval de + Lepanto_, 359, 364. + +Roverejo, Juan, war with Cordoba, 99. + +Roxalana, Sultana, her influence over Soliman, 174, + characteristics, 174; + jealousy, 174; + murders Ibrahim, 176. + + +Salaerrez, 88. + +Saleh-Reis, 187. + +Salerno, Gulf of, 101. + +Sallee, the rovers, 237. + +Sandoval, El Maestro Don Fray Prudencio de, his history of + Charles V., 43, 70, 71, 108, 142, 144, 150, 155. + +Sangle, Claude de la, his death, 309. + +Sangullo, Antonio de, 139. + +_Santa Ana_, bravery of the, 353. + +Santa Cruz, Marquis of, at the battle of Lepanto, 364, + rescues the _Capitana_, 371. + +_Santa Maria_, the flagship of Columbus, 231. + +Sardinia, 136. + +Satalie, Gulf of, 47. + +Savona, fortification of, 103. + +Sceberass, Mount, 301, 307, 325, 342. + +Scutari, 38. + +Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean, + take refuge in Northern Africa, 1; + their deeds of terror, 2; + cupidity, 3; + fanaticism, 5, 17; + autocratic rule, 7, 25; + equality, 7; + aptitude for the sea, 8; + defeats, 10; + nefarious doings, 15; + characteristics of their leaders, 16, 25, 284, 376; + ships, 18; + character of the men, 26; + leagues against, 29; + relations with the Turks, 33. + +Seignelay, his criticism of Admiral de Tourville, 283. + +Selim I., Sultan of Turkey. + _See_ Soliman + +Selim II., Sultan of Turkey, 356, + his character, 356; + lays claim to the island of Cyprus, 356. + +Serpent, method of killing, 294-296. + +Sesse, Duke of, 311. + +Sessola, islet of, 207. + +Sfax, 2, 250. + +Sforza, Lodovico, Duke of Milan, 100. + +Shershell, 2, 66. + +Shott-el-Jerid, 153. + +Sinan-Reis, in command of La Goletta fortress, 156, + at the battle of Prevesa, 197; + in command of the Janissaries, 279, 281; + character as a leader, 285, 307; + his expedition against Malta, 306; + sacks the island of Gozo, 309; + captures Tripoli, 309. + +Skiathos, 187. + +Skios island, 187. + +Slaves, on board galleys, their treatment, 223-229, + mutiny at Lepanto, 228. + +Smyrna, Basha of, 48. + +Soliman the Magnificent, Sultan of Turkey, 9, 14, 109, + expels the Knights of St. John from Rhodes, 42, 277, 299; + embassy from Barbarossa, 60, 76; + sends reinforcements, 61; + recalls his ships, 61; + his conquest of the Mamelukes, 77; + invites the cooperation of Barbarossa, 110; + appoints him commander of his fleet, 111, 117, 127; + receives gifts from him, 118; + his reception of him, 120; + relations with Ibrahim, 173; + under the influence of Roxalana, 174; + declares war against Venice, 179; + defeated, 179; + preparations for campaigns, 183, 277, 316; + his demands from Charles V., 270; + loss of his "puissant galleon," 313; + lamentations of his people, 314; + holds a conference, 316; + expedition against Malta, 316; + his death, 356. + +Spaniards, under Moorish rule, 30, + expedition against the Barbarossas, 62; + repulse Hassan, 84; + captives, assist in the capture of Algiers, 89; + restored to liberty, 89. + +Spartivento, Cape, 136. + +Spezzia, Gulf of, 104. + +Susa, 2, 250. + +Swertius, Franciscus, his collection of epitaphs, 373. + + +Tabas, 88. + +Taranto, 32. + +Tarik, 15, 29. + +Tenes, 2, + fall of, 72. + +Thevenot, his Travels, 297. + +Tiber, the, 139. + +Tineo, Garzia de, kills Uruj Barbarossa, 73. + +Tlemcen, 2. + +Tlemcen, Sultan of, his flight to Fez, 72. + +Toledo, Don Garcia de, 230; + in the expedition against Dragut, 265; + his character as a ruler, 317. + +Toledo, Don Pedro de, 273. + +Tours, Viscomte de, sent to Genoa, 102. + +Tourville, Admiral de, criticism on, 283. + +Traparni, 265. + +Tripoli, 2, 153, + defence of, 10; + capture, 309; + fortifications, 311; + expedition against, 311. + +Trivulce, Theodore, 104. + +Tunis, 2, + captured by the corsairs, 137, 375; + massacre in, 141, 159; + fortifications repaired, 146; + rebellion in, 348; + appeal to Ali Basha, 349; + flight of Hamid, 350. + +Tunis, Sultan of, his treaties with the Barbarossas, 51, 61, + repudiates treaty, 59. + +Turks, their character as soldiers, 8, 124, + relations with the Sea-wolves, 33; + attack on Rhodes, 37; + defeated at Patras, 109. + +Tuscany, Duke of, 235. + + +Urbain II., Pope, 287. + +Urbino, Duke of, 99, + at the battle of Lepanto, 364. + + +Vagnor, Chevalier, 333. + +Valentia, ravaged by corsairs, 83. + +Valetta, position of, 307, 342. + +Valette, Jean Parisot de la, Grand Master of the Knights of + St. John, 6, 248; + his characteristics, 301, 309; + creed, 302; + personal example in the siege of Malta, 302-305; + his high conception of duty, 310; + expedition against Tripoli, 311; + repulsed, 312; + summons help, 318; + preparations for the siege, 318-321; + address to his brethren, 319; + at the siege of Malta, 324-328; + reinforcements, 328. + +Vargas, Martin de, in command of the fortress of Navarro, 91, + besieged, 91-95; + wounded and taken prisoner, 95; + beheaded, 96. + +Vasto, Marquis de, 143. + +Vega, Don Alvaro, in command of "Africa," 267. + +Vega, Don Juan de, Viceroy of Sicily, 273, + in the expedition against Dragut, 265. + +Velez, Penon de, captured, 312. + +Venalcadi, 73, + escapes, 86; + attacks Barbarossa, 87; + fight, 88; + beheaded, 88. + +_Vengeur_, the, 354. + +Venice, 32, + treaty of commerce concluded, 34; + relations with Soliman, 179; + war declared, 179; + "Holy League" formed, 357. + +Veniero, Sebastian in command of the Venetian fleet, 360, 364. + +Vera, Don Diego de, sent to capture Algiers, 70, + defeated, 71. + +Vercoyran, Chevalier de, at the siege of Malta, 332. + +Vertot, M. L'Abbe de, 273, 297, 311. + +_Victory_, the, 354. + +Villaret, Fulke de, Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, 35, + seizes Rhodes, 35, 292. + +Villegagnon, Commandeur de, his interview with the Grand Master, 281. + +Villeneuve, Helion de, Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, 293, + character of his rule, 293; + death, 297. + +Vittoriosa, 299. + +Volo, Gulf of, 187. + + +Ximenes, Fray Francisco, Cardinal Bishop of Toledo, 70. + + +Yamboli, 216. + +Yonis Bey, sent to Venice, 178. + + +Zante, island of, 114, 313. + +Zara, port of, 227. + +Zay, Basha, 114, 125. + +Zonchio, battle of, 38. + + + + +PRINTED BY + +HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LTD., + +LONDON AND AYLESBURY. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean +by E. 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