A Spanish Document on Redemption of Captives in Salé 1632

Abstract

Following the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain in 1609, a group of them settled at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river in the city now called Rabat. These exiles were able to rebuild the city and found a statelet that endured for some years. This period witnessed a revival in piracy, which was funded and led by a group of Andalusians from the city of Hornachos that were able to make large profits by selling stolen goods and ransoming prisoners. This document, translated from Spanish, sheds light on piracy and the issue of freeing captives, an undertaking by monks of the Trinitarian Order, and the victims of piracy.