53. Barbary Corsairs: Raiding the British isles

In this episode of Empire, hosts Ali Ansari and William Dalrymple interview Professor Nabil Matar about the Barbary slave trade, focusing on the interactions between Britain and North Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. They discuss the historical context of the Barbary states, the complexities of the term "Moors," and the political and economic relationships between Elizabethan England and Morocco. The conversation explores instances of British individuals voluntarily converting to Islam, the dynamics of captivity versus slavery, and the organization of the slave trade. Professor Matar clarifies misconceptions about the scale of the Barbary slave trade, contrasting it with the transatlantic slave trade, and highlights the evolving naval power of Britain under Cromwell, which diminished the threat posed by Barbary pirates. The episode also touches on the presence of North African slaves in British Tangier and the opportunities for social mobility within North African societies for European captives who converted to Islam.