Piracy, Slavery, and Redemption: Barbary Captivity Narratives from Early Modern England

These narratives recount the harrowing experiences of Englishmen abducted by the Barbary pirates of North Africa. After being sold into slavery, the narrators succeeded in returning to their homeland where their stories were printed. Never before available in a modern, annotated edition, these tales describe combat at sea, extraordinary escapes, and religious conversion, but they also illustrate the power, prosperity, and piety of Muslims in the early modern Mediterranean. Each narrative is preceded by a brief introduction, and Nabil Matar's genera introduction provides important new information about the historical context of captivity and slavery in North Africa.

Author: Daniel Vitkus
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 10/17/2001
Pages: 416
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.98h x 5.96w x 1.04d
ISBN13: 9780231119054
ISBN10: 0231119054
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Slavery
- Literary Criticism | European | General
- History | Middle East | General

About the Author
Daniel Vitkus is assistant professor of English at Florida State University. He is the editor of Three Turk Plays from Early Modern England (Columbia, 2000).