A forgotten story: how North African pirates enslaved dozens of allies

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the Mediterranean Sea was a body of water full of unpredictability. In addition to storms, disease and malnutrition, there was another danger that accompanied ship travelers: North African pirates hunted humans on a massive scale. They hijacked Christian ships, enslaved their human prey, and demanded exorbitant ransoms from their homeland. With this business model, they denied a significant portion of the state’s revenue.

It couldn’t be more peaceful on the other side of the Mediterranean. The trade in human goods was also tempting for Christian privateers. Specialized Catholic orders emerged, such as the Maltese, who raided Muslim ships.

How the inhabitants of North Africa dealt with the latent threat is not known due to a lack of sources. In Christian Europe, at least, it was a constant theme. The danger of being picked up by Muslim hijackers from Tunis or Algiers was of great concern to contemporaries—much more so than the considerably more devastating effects of the transatlantic slavery that prevailed at the time, to which 12 million black people from Africa fell victim. In the shadow of this so-called triangular trade, North African pirates kidnapped several hundred thousand European Christians until the beginning of the 19th century. Including about 60 men and women from the Swiss Confederation.

Their fate has so far gone largely unnoticed. This is amazing, as some of these slaves left behind spectacular autobiographical writings.

One of them was Johannes Rohner (1777-1855) from Appenzell-Ausserrhoden. In the spring of 1796, the slender blond man – he was only 1.57 meters tall – was recruited as a mercenary for the king of Naples. A decision he soon regretted. On December 24, Tunisian pirates hijacked the ship on its way to Naples. Since the captain and sailors had seen the impending disaster and left early, the young men were easy prey for the pirates. Rohner recalled, “We were only allowed so much that we could cover our nakedness to some degree. Every day and every hour we awaited death.” Five days later they reached Tunis, where the local ruler made Johannes Rohner his house slave and held him captive for ten years.

Shortly after his return in the winter of 1806, Johannes Rohner wrote his life story in the Appenzeller Calendar, the most influential medium in the canton at the time. Two editions of a book followed (1825 and 1838), in which he gave a more detailed account of his desperation, the allegedly appalling living conditions and his daily life in Islamic Tunis.

Such lyrics were extremely popular with the public. From the mid-16th century, autobiographical accounts of Christian slaves became a genre of their own, greatly influencing the early novel. Miguel de Cervantes, for example, processed his own experience as a slave in Algiers in “Don Quijote” (1605). Daniel Defoe was also inspired for his successful novel Robinson Crusoe (1719) by the life story of a British slave.

Besides Johannes Rohner, at least three other Confederates wrote reports on slaves. Two of them will be examined in more detail here.

Solothurn Johann Viktor Lorenz Arregger von Wildensteg (1699-1770) was an officer in the Spanish service and sailing under the French flag to Alicante when he was escorted off Tarragona by a privateer ship in 1732 and taken to Algiers. He sent numerous letters home asking for help. Because a diplomatic solution remained blocked, Arregger proceeded to collect the ransom himself.

From his house in Solothurn he received a loan of 400 Louis d’Or, which was sent to the Zollikofer trading house in Marseille – only the amount was lost there because the trading house had to go bankrupt shortly afterwards. Nevertheless, French diplomats, Arregger’s family and the wife of a Basel banker were able to ransom the slave in January 1738. The municipality and the mayor of Solothurn provided financial security. Three years after his return, Johann Viktor Lorenz Arregger wrote a «relationship» about his experiences, which was reviewed in detail in 1874 by the Solothurn historian Joseph Amiet, but which is hardly known today.

With their reports, the returned slaves performed a mission for themselves: they had to explain to their homes that they had remained true to their faith and that the donations had been worthwhile. Of course they presented themselves in the best possible light. However, the slave owners described them as cruel Muslim masters who were not afraid of torture and inhumane treatment. They described the culture of North Africa as backward. The aim was to denigrate the enemy of faith as uncivilized.

The doubts about the returnees’ faith were not unfounded – for the daily life of the Christian slaves was often not as difficult as they portrayed it in their writings. In North Africa they had far-reaching opportunities for action, often without giving up their faith. Those who dared to take the extra step and repent could even make a brilliant ascent and benefit from extra benefits such as a career, wealth or marriage. An impressive example of this was the North German Hark Olufs, who not only served as treasurer and commander-in-chief of the cavalry in Algiers, but also made a pilgrimage to Mecca. Here a fundamental difference from transatlantic slavery became apparent: such opportunities for advancement and ransom by their governments were unattainable for black slaves in America.

Writing down one’s own experiences not only served to reconnect at home. It also involved the more profane, as can be seen in the example of the Herisau native Johann Conrad Knellwolf. Not only did he want to thank God and his saviors, but “at the same time earn a small sum of money to be able to do something in my homeland,” he openly admitted in his life story entitled “My Destiny” published in 1774.

To help achieve his writing, he presented a story that turned out to be as spectacular as possible – and is therefore greatly exaggerated in many places. For example, Knellwolf, who had been deported to Algiers in 1764, claimed to have had to feed “raging” tigers and lions for his master. Animals that would have eaten five people. “A lion smashed my right knee with its paw, forcing me to walk on crutches for a year,” explains the mercenary and cloth merchant. Knellwolf was released after eight years when the Austrian Trinitarian Order released him. He then went to Vienna, where he said he was received by the “Kayser and Queen of Hungary with musicians in the kindest and most loving manner” and was even allowed to dine at the Imperial table.

Those who, like Knellwolf, were saved by a religious order, donations, or government back home were lucky. The historian Michael Gabathuler, after analyzing 52 slave biographies from the Swiss Confederation, came to the conclusion that the authorities offered concrete help in only 19 cases. As with the young Johannes Rohner, it was crucial that the horrendous ransom could be paid.

The ruler of Tunis demanded 2,300 guilders for the Appenzeller. An immense amount if you consider that a house cost 800 guilders at the time. Two fundraising campaigns in the canton were unsuccessful. It was Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, who brought about a turning point. When he ascended the throne of Naples in March 1806, he stood up for the captured mercenaries and ordered them to be ransomed. When Johannes Rohner returned home after more than ten years, the first thing he did was confirm himself. In doing so, along with his later writings, he laid the foundation for new beginnings at home. He did not mention in his writings that he received start-up aid of 200 guilders from the government. Like many other things he left out, it would have hurt his version of the story.