Author Ari Saastamoinen on Visit

Non-fiction author Ari Saastamoinen visits Sello Library to present his work Barbary Coast Pirates. The book tells the story of Mediterranean corsairs in the early modern period - European converts and other privateers who plundered merchant ships and coastal villages as far as Iceland and enslaved their captives.

Behind it all lay bloody power struggles: Christian European states and the Ottoman Empire fought for control of the Mediterranean, and corsairs served as state-sanctioned private soldiers, partly driven by religious motives. Europeans responded with retaliatory raids and eventually open warfare - the newly founded United States also joined in.

The work follows seafarers from the 15th to 18th centuries aboard galleys and sailing ships, tracing the fates of attack victims. Among those affected were Finns as well as soldier and author Miguel de Cervantes, whose prison experiences deeply influenced Don Quixote. The book also covers the history of the corsairs' main strongholds - the pirate states of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.

Ari Saastamoinen holds a doctorate in philosophy and works as a teacher and ancient historian whose research has focused on hieroglyphics. He has published works on Roman North Africa and the history of board games. Further information about the book and its contents can be found on the Gaudameus website.