For the best part of three centuries the “corsairs,” or pirates, from the “Barbary” coasts of North Africa dominated the western and central Mediterranean, making forays far into the Atlantic and preying on the shipping and coastal settlements across Christian Europe, ranging from Greece to West Africa to the British Isles. In the absence of organized European navies, they seldom faced serious opposition, and the scope of their raiding was remarkable.

As well as piracy and slave-raiding, they fought as privateers, sharing their spoils with the rulers of the port cities that provided them with ships, men, and a ready market. This book examines their development and style of fighting, chronicles their achievements and failures, and illustrates their appearance and that of their ships, explaining why they were so feared and so effective.

Angus Konstam is the author of over fifty books--thirty published by Osprey--including Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate. A former naval officer, Konstam was the Tower of London's Curator of Weapons and the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum's Chief Curator in Key West. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Gerry Embleton, a leading illustrator of historical costume, has illustrated Osprey titles for over twenty years. He lives in Switzerland, where he creates life-size historical figures for museums.