17th-century North African pirate ship discovered off coast of Morocco

After extensive research, the remains of a small 17th-century pirate ship, discovered in the Strait of Gibraltar in 2005, have been identified as the first pirate vessel from Algiers found along the “Barbary Coast,” according to sources cited by Live Science.

The term "Barbary Coast" historically referred to the North African coastline stretching from what is now Morocco to Libya.

"The waters surrounding the Straits of Gibraltar were prime hunting grounds for pirates, with about a third of all corsair (pirate) captures occurring there," Sean Kingsley, a researcher involved in the discovery, told Live Science.

The pirates in this region were predominantly nomadic Muslims who began their operations from Algiers in the 15th century, according to Greg Stemm, founder of Florida’s Odyssey Marine Exploration, the organization that discovered the shipwreck.

For around 200 years, these pirates posed a significant threat. They were known to loot ships and carry out slave raids on vessels traversing the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean near Europe. The captured individuals were either held for ransom or sold into slavery in North African markets, a practice that persisted in some Muslim countries until the early 20th century.

The ship was heavily armed but also contained common items like pots and pans from Algiers, which researchers believe were intended to disguise the vessel as a trading ship.

The era of the Barbary pirates came to an end when forces from the United States, Sweden, and Sicily defeated them in the Barbary Wars, which were fought between 1801 and 1815.