Uncharted Waters New Horizons

I found some interesting info that I wanted to share concerning the Barbary Coast in general.

By 1640, the Algerian pirates had about 70 sail powered ships. They patrolled the Adriatic Sea to the Canary Islands and all the way to Newfoundland. They raided Ireland, England, Denmark,Portugal and Spain. Their prisoners were sold as slaves.

Around 1663 they had in their fleet about 500 cannons (bronze & Iron) capable of firing 5-6 pounder balls.

Past 1737, they used xebec, caravelle, frigates, and some smaller ships that carried between 16 to 30 cannons only.
Algiers had the capability to build their own ships. Two of those ships were known. One was named the Gazelle, and the other one was the Chateau. They both carried 50 cannons.

All the way to the 18th century, they still used xebec armed with weak cannons (16-30), also weapons called pierriers (shot stones) but carriying a large crew of 300 to 450 men and more.

Those ships were mainly used to attack merchant ships and the personel was composed of a captain, a first mate, a chief navigator, a surgeon, a scribe (for the ship log), Agha (don't know what it is yet), lieutenants , chief cannoneers, janissaries, and the rest to manoeuvre the ship.

The typical armament of a jannissary was a scimitar, a dagger, a spear, gun, bow and arrows.

The diet aboard was biscuit, vinegar and oil. They were allowed to carry some dry fruits and cheese at their own expense.

I also learned that the caravelle is an evolution of the xebec.

In conclusion, the fall of the Barbary coast
pirates was due to the fact that the European, were getting more powerful ships, the French and the Americans were paying tribute so that they wouldn't attack their ships and the fact that North Africa didn't have trees suitable for providing wood and they had to import pretty much everything else (sails, ropes, cannons, etc).
Most important, they never developped any kind of merchant fleet so once they ran out of preys, they didn't have any other incomes.

Napoleon is credited for giving them le coup de grace (I don't know the date and events) but this is another story that doesn't really interest me.

The Mediterranean Sea can be treacherous. Throughout history, there has been many accounts of storms that wrecked war fleets and merchants as well.
The merchants were trading all year long except for winter where the bad weather occured. I also read somewhere that the Strait of Gibraltar was very tricky and inexperienced sailor often had shipwreck there.
When I find my notes I'll post more informations and details.

I found the article about the Strait of Gibraltar.
Check the thread with the same name.