The Pirate Republic of Salé, also known as the Republic of Bou Regreg, was one of the most remarkable episodes in Moroccan maritime history. Built around Old Salé, New Salé — present-day Rabat — and the Kasbah of the Udayas, it became a powerful corsair centre that terrified European coasts from Spain and France to Ireland and Iceland.
The Pirate Republic of Salé, or what was also called the Republic of Bou Regreg and the Three Republics, is considered one of the most unusual moments in the history of Salé. This republic brought together human groups of different origins, races, and religions. It also managed to assert its presence in the Mediterranean and beyond, terrifying Europeans, as its raids reached as far as Ireland and Iceland.
The history of shipbuilding and piracy in Salé goes back to the beginning of the thirteenth century. However, the development of the corsair fleet that terrified the high seas and the coasts of Europe did not truly begin until the arrival of the Hornacheros and the Moriscos, who settled on the left bank of the Bou Regreg River. This is the subject of the Republic of Salé during the time of the mujahid al-Ayyashi.
Although the growth of piracy was undoubtedly linked to the new migrants, the lists of corsair captains and sailors clearly show the active role played by the people of Salé in rebuilding that natural balance between Muslims and Christians which history had disturbed. Piracy in the early seventeenth century helped create a shared wealth among the three republics, but it also created many of their internal conflicts.
The map of the three republics, or what was called the Republic of Bou Regreg, refers to Old Salé, New Salé — Rabat — and the Kasbah of the Udayas. Each of these republics had representatives within the wider Republic of Bou Regreg.
The Nature of the Pirate Republic of Salé
Dozens of books and articles have been written about the pirates of Salé. Most of them focused on the role of the renegades in organizing and leading piracy. Bou Regreg certainly attracted many different elements from among the pirates of the Mediterranean.
Regardless of religion, we can observe in the same period several similarities in the social and economic structure between the three republics, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli on one side, and Genoa, Pisa, Livorno, and Barcelona on the other. These common features of Mediterranean civilization in the seventeenth century, including the maritime transformations of North Africa, deserve to be studied from all sides.
Despite the apparent “ideological” differences, it remains useful to examine, in this light, the logic of piracy and its importance for the people of Salé. Mohamed Hajji explained, in a chapter entitled “The Fleet of Jihad or Salé Piracy,” that the Arabic meaning of the word piracy does not correspond exactly to the meaning given to it in foreign languages.
He wrote:
“I mean by the Salé pirates those Andalusian and Moroccan mujahids who crossed the sea with their ships to defend the homeland, or to take revenge on the Spaniards who subjected the Muslims of al-Andalus to severe suffering and expelled them from their homes and properties without right.”
The people of Salé, then, viewed killing and plundering on the high seas or along European coasts as part of the continuation of the jihad of the medieval states and the defence of the coastal frontiers. The corsairs enjoyed the blessing of the holy men of the city and were integrated into its population.
Yet this does not deny the participation of renegade pirates, whose purpose in coming to Salé was to share in the spoils of the sea. Even today, when the people of the city speak about old renegade families, they say with a kind of sarcasm: “Look in the chest of the Hsarsa and you will find the Christian cap; as for the Fennansha, the foreign slaves are visible in the blueness of their eyes.”
Although they were “Islamiyyin” — a term used for Christians and Jews who had converted to Islam — their origins did not prevent them from merging into the rules and values of society, nor did it stop them from reaching positions of prestige. The pressure of social and cultural integration turned these renegade pirates into fighters in the path of God.
The most famous of those who reached greatness was Jan Janszoon, who became known as Murad Reis. He led raids on Ireland and Iceland and became one of the leaders of the republic.
The Power of the Sea Raiders
According to some documents, the Republic of Bou Regreg had no more than four ships in 1617 CE, corresponding to 1026 AH. By 1036 AH, or 1626 CE, the number had risen to sixty.
The commander of a French fleet proposed to Cardinal Richelieu, the famous minister of France, that he should allow a French ship to be sunk in the basin of the Bou Regreg port. The aim was to force the sultan to conclude an agreement with France that would stop Morisco piracy, which, according to that commander, was seizing the largest number of French ships compared with other corsair centres.
In this way, the pirates would be forced to free the French captives. Although the French fleet did in fact carry out this plan, it did not lead to any result.
The ships of the Salé corsairs were often brought from Europe. They also built a number of them locally with the help of the Dutch. Their expeditions reached the English coasts, and they attacked foreign ships by surprise because those ships felt safe from them. The corsairs would raise Spanish or other flags to deceive them.
In the period between 1618 and 1626 alone — and perhaps there is some exaggeration in the figures — the corsairs of Bou Regreg captured 6,000 Christians and gained spoils whose value reached 15 million. The corsair fleet that raided the coasts of England, France, and Spain had between thirty and forty ships.
Each ship had around twenty cannons and was operated by about two hundred sailors. Some of the factors behind the success of these corsairs lay in the special nature of the sandbar at the entrance of the Bou Regreg River. Only relatively small ships could enter its harbour. Because of this, large European ships could not attack the corsairs except on the high seas.
Trade and Prosperity in the Republic of Bou Regreg
For a long time, Salé was an important harbour for both European and Moroccan merchants. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the mouth of the Bou Regreg witnessed intense commercial activity. It was, without dispute, the best harbour in Morocco at the time. It was therefore natural that piracy and navigation should coexist.
The people of Salé bought manufactured goods from European ships arriving at the port, especially weapons and gunpowder. They also obtained from them the most valuable spoils. Smuggling was also part of a global commercial movement in Moroccan cities, similar to what existed in Livorno, Pisa, and Genoa, because the most important markets for these goods were located in Western Europe.
In addition to this, the operations of ransoming captives required constant contacts between the European nations and Morocco. Negotiations often took place in Rabat and Salé between specialists, members of European religious missions on one side, and merchants of the two banks on the other.
The most important commercial delegations present in Bou Regreg were those of Holland and England. The parties signed commercial treaties in the years 1610, 1615, 1657, 1658, and 1659.
The last agreement was marked by the reception of the famous Arabist Jacob Golius by a Salé delegation headed by Ibrahim Ma‘nino, one of the greatest notables of the city. One of the results of this agreement was the Moroccan side’s acceptance of sending a group of manuscripts.
In the middle of the seventeenth century, the French continued to maintain strong commercial relations with the harbour of the two banks. They even obtained a general consulate, the first of its kind, in the Street of the Consuls in Rabat.
In reality, it is difficult to estimate the total value of foreign trade at that time. However, some information points to its great importance. The city of Marseille, for example, used to send several ships every year to Salé, with the cargo of each ship exceeding 4,000 crowns. These ships returned to France loaded with leather, wool, ostrich feathers, and pieces of gold.
Salé played an important role in activating exports to Europe because it was a station for caravans coming from Sudan. Alongside grain and leather, the caravans carried precious metals such as copper and bronze, as well as various materials such as gum, sandarac, and other goods. They also carried luxury goods for Europeans, such as dates, ivory, and feathers.
On the other hand, the markets of Salé promoted European goods such as paper, dyes, and textiles. During one year at the end of the seventeenth century, the volume of imports from France reached half a million French francs. The profits made by France in the city of Salé were therefore significant.
A Christian captive who spent many years in Morocco at the end of the seventeenth century mentioned that the richest merchants lived in Salé and not in Rabat, and that they were made up of Muslims and Jews alike. The Jewish community in Morocco was often described as the country’s window onto Europe.
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