So, I was wonderin’ the other day about Italian pyrates. How come I haven’t read (more) about Italian pyrates? I was genuinely puzzled, but then felt like a wee bit of an idiot when I read and subsequently realized that Italy didn’t have colonies in the New World and seemingly, not much interest in the New World. Hence, there were simply very, very few Italian merchant ships and even fewer Italian pyrates / privateers in the Americas and Caribbean, (the area that I’ve plundered the most for information).
But, that didn’t stop me from plunderin’ a bit more deeply into the matter, and I was rewarded with a find that has had me laughing ever since.
There once was an (in)famous privateer from Algiers who made a fortune plunderin’ ships in the 17th century. He was a former Christian who converted to Islam and even built a mosque that still stands today. His name? Ali Bitchin.
Yes, you read that correctly. Ali Bitchin.
First, what a GREAT pyrate/privateer name, right? Okay, maybe not so much during the 17th century, but today, it’s SO spot on! What an impressive entrance and introduction, yea?
“And what’s your name, mate?” asks first pyrate.
“Arrr, my name is Bitchin…Ali Bitchin.”
Or, even better:
“Arrr, my name is Captain Bitchin…”
Pyrates cheer and drink a healthy toast to their new friend, Captain Ali Bitchin. (If you’re not at least cracking a smile at this point, say it aloud: Ali Bitchin. Put a lil growl to it…AAAlliiii Biitchinnnnn.)
Ali Bitchin is a pretty entertaining name but…what does this have to do with Italian pyrates? Glad you asked.
Bitchin was captured, (along with a bunch of other folks), in 1578 by Hassan Veneziano. Bitchin was only ten years old at the time and had been sailing on a Venetian ship. His Venetian family name may have been Piccini, Puccini, or Piccinino. The boy was sold at a slave market to a pryvateer named Raïs Fettah-Allah Ben-Khodja.
Ben-Khodja taught Bitchin everything that he knew about plunderin’ ships, and Bitchin, in turn, became very wealthy. He built a mosque in 1622, (allegedly to impress his lady love), and that mosque was and is named, (you guessed it!), Ali Bitchin Mosque.
Bitchin died in 1645 after an incredibly successful career at sea. He was enormously wealthy and a hero to the people of Algiers. Not bad for an Italian (Venetian) kid who was plucked from the sea and sold as a slave, huh?
And now you have a comical and interesting tidbit about Italian pyrates to impress your pyrate mates at your next pyrate gathering! You’re wecome!
Here’s a toast to Ali Bitchin!
Next time Corsairs, Buccaneers, and Pyrates, Oh My! Until then, keep plunderin’!
Virginia Chandler 