Barbary Pirate : The Life and Crimes of John Ward

Resumen del libro

In 1603 John Ward led a mass desertion from the English navy, stole a ship and defected to the Ottoman Empire's outpost at Tunis. Allied with the pasha, Ward led Muslim soldiers and sailors in devastating attacks against Christian shipping. Wealthy as a lord, Ward purchased a palatial mansion in Tunis and presided over a scruffy band of English and European renegades. But Ward could not purchase a return to England. When his offers to trade gold for a pardon were rejected by the king, he converted to Islam and settled in Tunis, scandalising Christians throughout Europe. Ward became infamous as the admiral of a fleet of English ships sailing under the Ottoman crescent, and for schooling Muslims in English sailing and gunnery. Was John Ward a traitor, or did England betray him? Barbary Pirate charts treacherous waters of personal honour, international intrigue and national aspiration, even while recounting the daring exploits and seaborne battles that secured his fame.