Michael Talbot on the Ottoman Empire and Piracy

Hidden Histories

Michael Talbot starts with a broad overview of the Ottoman Empire's interests and what power it held, before moving on to a problem that would haunt the Ottomans consistently - pirates. These weren't necessarily pirates in a Disney sense - war between the British and the French consistently spilled over into the Meditterenean, and often Ottoman goods and shipping came under attack.

Michael explores the Ottoman response, and how they sought to protect their shipping from pirates, corsairs and all sorts, with mixed results. Michael also approaches this story from the Ottoman perspective, a side of the story that we don't often get to hear.

Read some of Michael's work here: https://www.historytoday.com/reviews/interpreting-ottoman-empire

Find out more here: https://www.ukri.org/news/100-new-generation-thinkers/

Producer: Peter Curry

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