The Pirate Republic of Ulcinj: An Epic of Two Centuries

In Ulcinj, pirates quickly gained a privileged status and legends were created from them. Although pirate towns are generally lawless worlds, strict order reigns here, enforced and guaranteed by the army stationed in the city barracks.

10634 views 28 reactions 9 comment(s)
Ulcinj in the Ottoman Empire, Photo: From the book by M. Canka
Ulcinj in the Ottoman Empire, Photo: From the book by M. Canka
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Our well-known publicist and journalist Mustafa Canka has just published an interesting book "Pirate Republic of Ulcinj". Mustafa Canka is not only a journalist and a reliable chronicler of our time, he is "a phenomenologist and philosopher of the City, and nowhere do the stories of Ulcinj look as bright as under his pen" (B. Brković). The Podgorica promotion of Canka's book was announced for Thursday, October 17 at 19,00:XNUMX PM in the City Library. For the readers of ART, we bring several parts from this interesting and well-written book.

The modus operandi of Ulcinj pirates

Strange are the ways and destinies of people, and even cities on the sea: although Ulcinj served as a refuge from the danger of pirates until 1571 and groaned on the border of two powerful empires, it later became a strong pirate stronghold, and the people of Ulcinj became the masters of the southern Adriatic.

Two months after the destruction of the Ottoman navy at Lepanto, while Venetian ships ravaged the Ottoman Adriatic coast and in anticipation of another major conflict, Istanbul actively encouraged the construction of private ships on the coasts of the Adriatic and Ionian seas and granted authorizations (icazet) to everyone who wanted to go on pirate campaigns.

But, in 1573, the Cypriot War ended, which would bring seven decades of peace in mutual relations to the exhausted Venice and Turkey. Therefore, in the summer of the following year, the Porte ordered the beys of all the districts from the Albanian coast to Thessaloniki to find and arrest the criminal pirates and free the slaves they imprisoned.

In the meantime, the people of Ulcinj organized themselves, acquired the necessary ships and started piracy. They had a favorable geographical position, natural shelters (the islands of Stari Ulcinj and Krš od Đeran, Valdanos bay and Bojana estuary) and a light fleet with which they could operate in the Adriatic, so they initially avoided fighting with the heavily armed ships of larger states.

The rowers on those ships were often slaves captured by the people of Ulcinj. Many of them were involved in pirate actions, as guides. "The Turks would never have conquered any village or country if the Christians themselves had not been spies for them," said a prisoner from Perast in the early 17th century.

Religious dignitaries also welcome sailing ships, encourage the conquest of the sea and point out that one battle won at sea is worth ten battles on land. Because the sea belongs to the one who sails on it and it brings him wealth.

The pirates of Ulcinj, following the example of their Berber allies, usually performed in groups of three to four fast sailing boats (with 12 to 22 rowing benches). On the bow of their ship they would place a metal keel, low and pointed, to break the opposing ship. They also used ganja to capture rival ships and a flamethrower to burn them at a distance. They had bombs that they made themselves, whose filling was made of tar and cloth, which created a kind of smoke screen.

The gun was usually intended to hit the helmsman of another ship from a distance. Shorter rifles and pistols were used during hand-to-hand combat, although these weapons were known to misfire due to the sea air that moistened the gunpowder. Reloading took a long time, so in that case they used the butt and hit the opponent with it. They used axes to climb the ship and cut the ropes and sails. Short swords were their favorite weapons and they would shorten them so they wouldn't get tangled in their ropes. In the lower deck, where space was limited, they used knives.

Most of them carry a Turkish sword, a dagger and a small ax hanging from their belt, and they also use some guns which they handle very skillfully. They let their mustaches grow over their lips and shave their beards completely to look as scary as possible.

Every Ulcinj pirate wore a gold earring. And for very practical reasons. Namely, if a pirate was killed in a skirmish or died somewhere far from Ulcinj, this ensured him a proper funeral, because the one who buried him would have a golden earring as a reward. A gold earring was also believed to prevent seasickness.

When attacking, they were well aware of the advantage of reserves, and they never attacked with the full number of available ships. In addition, all the ships did not carry the booty, but only certain ones, while there were several completely empty fusts sailing next to them for hauling out or for accepting the fight. They knew how to get close to a ship under the flag of a friendly country, then they would suddenly attack it from close range, when it no longer had time to defend itself.

The principle of dividing the booty was as follows: the people belonged to the captain, and the goods to the sailors (participants in the action). An exception is every 12 (once ninth) prisoner belonging to sailors, as well as large items that "go to the community". Special awards are given to those who stood out in action. The entire booty is listed by the recorder, and anyone who tries to hide something in advance is severely punished. When it comes to trading ships at sea, the captured sailors belong to the captain, and the trading goods go to the community, from which the distribution is made. The whole thus formed is again divided into four parts: three quarters to the captain, and one quarter to the sailors. But if the sailor's merits are greater in attacking a warship, then it is divided in half. The goods are sold in the port, and the money is shared. The prisoners are divided according to the following principle: first, the more visible persons are separated from the people who will be designated for rowing. The first are divided individually, and the others are sold at a public auction. Money is shared.

In Ulcinj, pirates quickly gained a privileged status and legends were created from them. Although pirate towns are generally lawless worlds, strict order prevails here, enforced and guaranteed by the army stationed in the city barracks.

Porta was fine with that. Because pirates were not paid from the state budget, but supported themselves by looting treasure and selling slaves. Their bravery is great and many times it brought stunning victories to the Sultan.

Ulcinj did not have a naturally protected harbor where its ships could take shelter from the strong southerly, bora or tramontana. That is why the Ulcinj pirates had to know the weather conditions in the wider area very well. With great experience, they predicted this by the color of the sea, the blowing of the winds, the smell of algae, the movement of the clouds and the visibility of the Albanian mountains.

A worthy opponent of the Ulcinj pirates, a Venetian official Alvize Foscari, in his report from 1710, states, among other things:

"The people of Ulcinj are not like other pirates who mostly make up an army of poor and hungry people, who if they lose, gain something. They are all wealthy, steadfast in these favorable circumstances, and carry on trade after the establishment of peace.

The people of Ulcinj are professionals in crime and versatile entrepreneurs, they own small and nimble boats, they stay at sea as long as necessary, and after a quick trip along the coast of Apulia, they immediately return to Albania, where they find safe asylum.

It was not advisable to resist them: as soon as the targeted vessel realized that it was a target, most often the entire crew, in order to avoid worse consequences, boarded the boats and left their cargo and the ship without delay, to return to it as soon as the robbery was over. completed.

With the arrival of spring, rumors and news about pirate ships in Ulcinj ready to set sail began to spread. The essence of the matter would change a little if, or if, in the meantime, a license for piracy had arrived from Istanbul, which would confirm the start of the piracy season".

Pirates had to have written confirmation from the state for their activities, because thanks to this they could avoid the fate of pirates when captured and would be treated as prisoners of war.

Mustafa Canka
Mustafa Cankaphoto: Private archive

"Barbers from Ulcinj"

Although the Venetian galleys were stronger as ships, equipped with good cannons, the pirates were able to sail within reach of Venice without difficulty because they kept to the Italian coast, which did not have many suitable harbors to receive Venetian galleys. However, sailing on the eastern coast of the Adriatic was not easy either: in Venice in the fall of 1580, they calculated that 25 ships fell into the hands of the Berbers in just one month around Kotor!

A Venetian agent that year points out that the entire Kingdom is disturbed by bandits, and that the roadblocks are the lords of Apulia and especially Calabria. Those who wanted to avoid those dangerous roads had to risk falling into the hands of pirates who were then raiding the coasts of the Papal States on the Adriatic. This is also done by the French, and especially by the Knights of Malta.

Venice knows that in March 1581 he was the commander of Ulcinj Jaffer Reis, which was on a galley with 23 benches for rowers, gathered a squadron of 18 ships in front of Ulcinj. In the spring, he began his campaign in the southern and central Adriatic. The Venetians immediately reported this to their baili (ambassador) in Istanbul.

A Venetian report from 1583 indicates the deterioration of the situation in the Adriatic: "Recently, especially since the coasts of Apulia have been equipped with observation posts well-supplied with artillery that protect the coast, and at one time also the ships that managed to escape under the protection of their guns, pirates have made their attacks moved north and managed to flood the bay. There they make short and frequent raids that allow them to deceive the monitoring of the galleys".

The Venetians went under arms and with soldiers on deck to trade as far as Durres, Valona, ​​as well as Alexandria or Apulia. From the last decade of the 16th century, Herzegovinian piracy began to develop. Controlling the entrance to the Venetian base in the Boka Kotorska has left Venice in great pain for almost a whole century.

Due to the extreme insecurity of navigation on the Ionian Sea and in the southern Adriatic, especially after the appearance of pirates organized by the Knights of Malta, the Venetians decided in 1588 to invest large funds in the construction of the Split pier.

The people of Dubrovnik bought security at sea by regularly sending gifts to the Kapudan-Pashas and the Albanian Reis. But even that was not a solid guarantee. In the spring of 1587, Ulcinj pirates captured a Dubrovnik frigate that was carrying three thousand ducats to Lješ to pay for grain. They killed the captain, wounded the crew members and sold them as slaves, and kept the money and the ship. That is why in the contracts of the people of Dubrovnik, the element of risk is often emphasized, and sometimes the damage that could occur in Albania from the people of Ulcinj or from the "Berbers from Ulcinj" is also mentioned.

By the way, the people of Dubrovnik never had a strong navy with which to ensure the navigation of their merchant ships, but they had special legal regulations that determined that merchant ships must sail together in the so-called "cans", due to a better joint use of the ship's artillery in case of a pirate attack.

Pirate battle at sea
Pirate battle at seaphoto: Angus Konstam

However, at the beginning of 1587, the already mentioned Ulcinj frigate with a crew of 25 members seized a Dubrovnik frigate of 3.000 ducats intended for the purchase of grain in Albania, not far from Bar, near Cape Volujica. The Dubrovnik commissioner was killed, and seven crew members were captured.

In the last two years of the 16th century, the people of Ulcinj seized a lot of Kotor ships that came to Albania for wheat.

Piracy, therefore, is encouraged by trade; no merchant ships, no pirates. And from the end of the 16th century, Venice and Dubrovnik retreated to the Adriatic routes. Venice had to wage a war against the pirates, again and again, but also to use them. In one Venetian study, it is stated that damages from piracy reach 36 percent of the value of the cargo being transported.

The attack on the Klis fortress, when Ottoman pirates seized 12.000 head of cattle, was the reason pope Clement VIII to launch an action in 1596 to liberate Novi, Ulcinj, Shkoder and Kruja. All those actions were carried out on the ground by adventurers, so they failed before they even started.

After 1600, Algerian piracy, technically completely renewed, spilled over into the Atlantic Ocean. The people of Ulcinj have the Adriatic and part of the Mediterranean. Venetian providor Molin wrote in 1602 that "it can truly be said that the pirates from Ulcinj have become unbearable".

That year, in October, the Venetians discovered and attacked a pirate ship in Valdanosa Karabash of Mehmed, a famous pirate from Durres. He saved himself by fleeing to the coast, while his ship was seized and taken to Corfu. Immediately after that, Karabaša returned to Durrës, equipped a new ship and already in November attacked Venetian subjects in the waters of Ulcinj.

We find the Ulcinians in 1603 in the north of the Adriatic, where they plundered the Brion Islands, as well as the coasts of Apulia, and in 1607 the coast around Pula. Just as the Algerians brought the Ottomans to the gates of Spain, so the people of Ulcinj brought the Ottomans to the gates of Venice.

Venetian commander of the Adriatic Bernard Venijer In 1605, he was given the task to sail with four galleys into Albanian waters and disable some Berber ships "because they greatly hinder shipping on the sea". First of all, it was about the pirate ship of Ulcinj Isuf-age, who with his 20 sailors, controlled traffic in the Bojana delta.

Mustafa Canka's book
Mustafa Canka's bookphoto: Gazmend Çitaku

Primacy in piracy

As a counterbalance to the Ottoman pirates, the Venetian government supported the raids, armed them and supplied them with the necessary logistics, and punished most of their offenses with fines. When it feared that it would be accused by the European states of sponsoring the invasion, Venice decided to take a more decisive action in 1615, which was completed two years later. A Venetian garrison was stationed in Senj, the main stronghold of the Usks, the Usks' boats were burned, and the Usks were forced to move to areas at least 50 miles away from the sea. In this way, Venice considered that the issue was over, but the Uskoks, nevertheless, continued to operate in the northern and central Adriatic.

After that, the terrible pirates of Senj ("it is easier to catch birds in flight with your hands, than the galleys of these uskos") seek and find the support of Austria-Hungary. Neither the flag of Venice nor the Papal States aroused any respect for them. "They were a handful of people, in any case not more than a thousand: but they managed to establish such an efficient public plundering society that nothing could eradicate it," writes the researcher. A. Lieutenants.

In the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire, after a series of rebellions, open or covert, which eroded the Empire from Algeria to the end of Persia, from the Tatar lands to the south of Egypt, began to crack like a ship with weakly joined timbers. But, the Balkan part of the Ottoman Empire experienced a general economic rise at that time. Cities grew, trade relations with western countries expanded, and land revenues multiplied. Due to economic problems in the center and increased military expenditures throughout the country, the Turks opened ports on the Adriatic and in the Ionian Sea, which caused them to gain great importance.

A few decades after they became part of the great empire, the people of Ulcinj presented themselves as a state-building element. They prevented the illegal export of grain and other food from the Albanian coast, which the Porta also prohibited. They would take money from smugglers, and in April 1604. two boats from Ulcinj caught the Dubrovnik boat in Sindjin (San Giovanni di Medua).

Lured by the possibility of easy money, pirates from Durrës, Wallonia and North Africa also join in the actions. In May 1607, Mehmed Reis of Karabaš sacked Cavtat and enslaved 45 people, three years later they attacked the Dubrovnik island of Lopud, while in 1612 they took Koločep to Africa 84 people.

When that didn't suit them, the people of Ulcinj didn't care too much about the firmans from Istanbul. They began to feel powerful, and piracy became the main economic branch of the city. At the end of August 1617 sultan Ahmed I he sent an order to the kadi in Ulcinj "not to cause trouble to the Venetian friends, but to provide them with support and all kinds of help". Namely, the sultan writes that he learned that the ships of Naples and Spain, united with pirate galleys, entered the Adriatic with the intention and decision to cause damage and trouble to subject countries and Venetian ships.

It was in those years that the people of Ulcinj took over the primacy in piracy on the Adriatic from the Berbers. With the tightening of relations between the Christian powers and the Turkish Empire, it turned out that the people of Ulcinj were the only real Muslim power on the Adriatic, so the people of Novalja leaned more and more on them.

The population of Ulcinj is also growing. In the Report and description of the Skadar Sanjakat from 1614, Kotoran Marian Bolica it says that in this city, together with the surrounding area, there are 300 houses with 800 soldiers. Among the soldiers, as he points out, are 300 Ulufedzi.

Ulcinj tartan
Ulcinj tartanphoto: Marco Bonino

At the end of 1626, the Ulcinj aga wrote to the Dubrovnik government about some of its people, whom it had imprisoned as murderers; the government emphasized the old friendship, but declared that it could not trample on its own laws and justice.

In September of the following year, the people of Ulcinj seized two Venetian barges that were loading grain in Albania, so the Kotor providur Kontarini asked the champions of Ulcinj to return the seized ships. He turned to the elders in Herceg Novi for help, who told him that "everyone in Ulcinj has united for two or three years and built 10-15 armed barges", and, as they add, "no one dares to pass by Ulcinj, except many miles away by the said city”.

An order came from Istanbul to return the seized ships, but the people of Ulcinj did not pay much attention to it. That's why the Venetians decided to seize two ships from Ulcinj loaded with grain in Kotor. The people of Ulcinj pointed out that this was a violation of earlier agreements, stating that the people of Budva should return 330 reais stolen to one of their fellow citizens "who is not at fault". "If you don't return the money, the first time we meet, don't expect good from us," they told the president of the Budva municipality.

Stating that trade is beneficial to both parties, the Porte issued a firman in 1633 and ordered the authorities in Elbasan and Durrës to punish all those who obstruct it. In 1638, the Venetians also strengthened their fleet of patrol ships. She is in the southern Adriatic, under command Marina Chapel, numbered 22 galleys and two galeos.

Bonus video: