For all the centuries of slavery throughout human history, you might think one group came through mostly unscathed: white Europeans. But for more than a thousand years, Barbary pirates from North Africa (funded by the Ottoman Empire) prowled European coastlines, snatching unsuspecting Christian folk and taking them to be slaves in the Islamic world.
At their height, huge fleets of privateers were raiding coastal towns, sliding their ships silently up onto English beaches in the dead of night, and snatching people in their beds. Here’s the ShortHand, on the forgotten history of the Barbary corsairs.
--
Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus Episodes
YouTube - Full-length Video Episodes
TikTok / Instagram
Sources and more available on redhandedpodcast.com
You May Also Like

Missing Persons Mysteries
Steve Stockton

L’heure du crime : les archives de Jacques Pradel
RTL

Hidden Killers Live! Daily True Crime News & Breakdowns
Hidden Killers Podcast

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

Solved Murders - True Crime Stories
RedditKing

Scared To Death
Dan Cummins, Lynze Cummins

Unresolved
Unresolved Productions

CRIMES • Histoires Vraies
Minuit

True Crime Podcast 2025 - Police Interrogations, 911 Calls and True Police Stories Podcast
True Crime Podcast 2026

Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast
Ray William Johnson
Community discussion