By Manushag N. Powell, Purdue University
Most of the pirate queens have been found on the European side of the roving world. But there are some tremendous examples of women who have ruled over pirates elsewhere in the world. Women whose stature meets or exceeds anything that has been seen in their European counterparts.
Sayyida al-Hurra: A Background
Sayyida al-Hurra, Queen of Tétouan or Hakima Tatwan in the 16th century, was a commander of corsairs and was allied to the famous Barbarossa brothers. Sayyida al-Hurra is a sort of title that may be translated into “The Independent Lady.”
Al-Hurra’s journey to becoming Queen of Tatuan and, Queen of the corsairs, another moniker sometimes assigned to her, started with the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. Their marriage united Castile and Aragon, allowing the Catholic monarchs to devote considerable resources to complete the Reconquista.
That meant expanding the reach of Christianity through the Iberian Peninsula and demanding that Jewish and Muslim people living there either convert or leave. The Nazari Kingdom of Granada was the last sovereign Islamic state in Western Europe.
Al-Hurra was born in Granada sometime around 1490. Her father was, probably, Moulay Ali ibn Rashid al-Alami. On January 2nd, 1492 Granada, where she had been holding out for a decade, finally fell to the Spanish.
Many Andalusian Muslims fled their homes for the north of Africa, and many, including Al-Hurra’s family, settled in Morocco, which is where she grew up, specifically in what is now the blue-walled city of Chefchaouen.
Historical Accounts on Al-Hurra
Al-Hurra was born in Granada around 1490, give or take maybe five years. On January 2nd, 1492 Granada finally fell to the Spanish. A desire for revenge against Iberian Christians is commonly assumed to have motivated many of her later actions. Portuguese sources, which admittedly had no particular reason to be objective in describing a powerful female ruler from another region, depict her as able but also prone to anger against the rivals of Chefchaouen such as Saouta, then Portuguese controlled city on the southern tip of the Straits of Gibraltar.
Most of the sources we have on Al-Hurra are Spanish and Portuguese. And they depict her as firmly in control of her government and the pirates of her region.
Marriage and Inheritance
Al-Hurra married a man named al-Mandri. The family had been restoring Chefchaouen, and fortifying against the North. Like other Viking noblewomen, when Al-Hurra’s husband died, she carried on with the family business. She became the sole governor of Chefchaouen, and her title Sayyida al-Hurra became the name by which she was recorded in history.
It’s unclear how proper it is to consider her as having engaged in piracy. Corsair was absolutely endemic throughout the Mediterranean, and both European, Islamic, and Renegade actors engaged in the practice. Portuguese, Spanish, English, Ottoman, and rival North African powers vied for supremacy.
This article comes directly from content in the video series The Real History of Pirates. Watch it now, on Wondrium.
Al-Hurra’s Allies
Although there are no precise details of their agreement, Al-Hurra made contact with an ally to the Babarossas. Their partnership persisted after Baba Oruc died, and Hizir took over. Her ships were authorized to raid the western side of the Mediterranean.
Al-Hurra must still have been allied with the Babarossas by 1540 when the documentary shows it was she with whom the Spanish had to negotiate to recover their prisoners taken from Gibraltar. Some of her ships had been among the fleet that attacked it in September.
Al-Hurra: A Pirate?
At the same time, al-Hurra did not raid herself. She was the power behind the galleys, but not a swashbuckler waving a scimitar about with the boarding party. Calling her a pirate is misleading.
It’s unlikely al-Hurra thought of herself as a pirate any more than the quantum pirate Queen Elizabeth the first had. Certainly, her people thought highly of her. No criminal element attached itself to her reputation. And of course, the Corsairs were mostly only pirates according to their European enemies.
On the other hand, her authority with the major Corsairian powers must have helped her case for building and maintaining power. If one wanted their citizen released, Al-Hurra was who they had to go through. She could deliver the goods when others could not if one met her price.
Later Years
In 1541 when she was no longer a young woman, she agreed to marry again, this time to Moulay Ahmed al-Watassi, Sultan of Fez. He came to Tétouan for the marriage because she would not give up its governorship. Their marriage was a crafty political power play in that it merged two important Moroccan regions, mirroring the union of Ferdinand and Isabella, which had united Aragon and Castile, and caused much grief to the young al-Hurra.
Al-Hurra held Tarchiwan for 30 years uncontested until her son-in-law deposed her in 1542. There’s little evidence as to why except, probably, that he wanted the city that she had made great and prosperous. Or perhaps he did not care for its alliance with Fez. She returned to Chefchaouen and lived peacefully there until 1561. She’s buried there, the last woman to hold the title, Al-Hurra.
Even though there is a paucity of historical details about Al-Hurra, she still has an important legacy. Popular speculation says that she was not improbably, both well-educated and exceptionally intelligent, gifted in languages, determined, firm in character, beautiful, and brave.
Common Questions about Sayyida al-Hurra
Sayyida al-Hurra, Queen of Tétouan or Hakima Tatwan in the 16th century, was a commander of corsairs and was allied to the famous Barbarossa brothers. Born in Granada sometime around 1490, she was the queen who held sovereign power alone, not sharing it with a consort, the last woman to hold the title, Al-Hurra.
Most of the sources we have on Al-Hurra are Spanish and Portuguese. And they depict her as firmly in control of her government and the pirates of her region.
Calling Al-Hurra a pirate is misleading. She was the power behind the galleys, but not a swashbuckler waving a scimitar about with the boarding party. It’s unlikely al-Hurra thought of herself as a pirate but her people thought highly of her.
