Privateering is an age-old practice in the Mediterranean.

North African rulers engage in it increasingly in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century because it is so lucrative, and because their merchant vessels, formerly a major source of income, are not permitted to enter European ports.

Although the methods vary, privateering generally involves private vessels raiding the ships of an enemy in peacetime under the authority of a ruler.

Its purposes are to disrupt an opponent's trade and to reap rewards from the captives and cargo.

Privateering is a highly disciplined affair conducted under the command of the rais (captains) of the fleets.

Several captains become heroes in Algerian lore for their bravery and skill.

The captains of the corsairs band together in a self-regulating taifa (community) to protect and further the corporate interests of their trade.

The taifa comes to be ethnically mixed, incorporating those captured Europeans who agree to convert to Islam and supply information useful for future raids.

The taifa also gains prestige and political influence because of its role in fighting the infidel and providing the merchants and rulers of Algiers with a major source of income.

Algiers becomes the privateering city-state par excellence, especially between 1560 and 1620, and it is two privateer brothers who are instrumental in extending Ottoman influence in Algeria.