END OF THE PIRATES

The corsairs' reign lasted into the 19th century, until Europe's superpowers sought to end it permanently through conquest

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Shortly after the second of the two Barbary Wars was concluded in 1815, Britain made a serious effort to stamp out the Christian slave trade. Lord Exmouth was sent on a mission to persuade the Barbary states to abandon the industry and the fleet he took with him, which included five ships of the line, was impressive enough to convince both Tunis and Tripoli that the game was up.

A payment of close to half-a-million Spanish dollars helped take the sting out of the situation and also secured the release of 1,475 European slaves. Tunis and Tripoli agreed that their slave-trading days were at an end but Algiers, the strongest of the Barbary states, was not so easily cowed. They refused to agree to the British terms and in 1816 a second expedition, again led by Exmouth, was sent to persuade them further. In the fighting that followed, Algiers suffered between 2,000 and 7,000 casualties and their entire fleet was destroyed. Seeing no alternative, they agreed to also abandon the slave trade.