The EIC's War on Coasts: The Bombardment of Algiers

In 1816, the British East India Company joined forces with the Dutch navy to bombard Algiers, the capital of the Barbary state that had long terrorized Mediterranean shipping with piracy and enslavement. This episode follows the unlikely alliance between the Company, fresh from its wars in India, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, against a common enemy. We explore the brutal history of Barbary corsairs, the failed diplomacy of earlier missions, the spectacular naval bombardment under Admiral Lord Exmouth, and the aftermath that saw thousands of Christian slaves freed. Along the way, we meet figures like the Dey of Algirs, Omar Agha, and the Company's own Bombay Marine, whose ships played a key role. This is a story of naval power, imperial ambition, and the fight against a state-sponsored extortion racket that had lasted for centuries. #EastIndiaCompany #BarbaryPirates #Algiers #BombayMarine #AdmiralExmouth #OmarAgha #BarbarySlaves #NapoleonicWars #DutchNavy #19thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #Mediterranean #NavalHistory #BritishEmpire #Piracy #Slavery #BombardmentOfAlgiers Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo