Muslim Galley Slaves in the Caribbean

Between 1578 and 1635, Spanish galley fleets in the Caribbean relied heavily on Muslim galley slaves. These men came from Mediterranean regions and were captured in wars and raids.

During the summer I researched galley warfare and galley slavery in 16th century and I encountered some very interesting information about Spanish galley fleets in the Caribbean and the galley slaves they used as oarsmen. A lot of these were of Muslim origin from the Mediterranean, most of them being from North Africa. I would like to share some of their individual stories with you as they represent a haunting insight into this subject. I will also give some historical context to the phenomenon of galley slavery in 16th century.