Ancient Piracy Activities of Garp Ocakları in Mediterranean World as an International Problem in XVIII Century

Through XVI and XX centuries Ottoman State called Algeria, Tunisia and Tripolis as Western Colonies (Garp Ocakları). The Ottomans, for the first time, entered Algeria in 1516 owing to Captain Oruc; then in 1551 they took Tripolis and Tunisia in 1574. After those conquests, Algeria remained as Ottoman land between 1516 and 1830, Tripolis between 1574 and 1881 and Tunisia between 1574 and 1881. The most significant military force of the Western Colonies was the fleets. Those colonies, having a significant nautical power within the Mediterranean basin, made a great contribution to the naval forces of Ottoman state after they were captured. The Ottoman State governed here establishing a semi- independent policy. The appointed governors could rule independently when necessary. However, the reign of the Sultan of Ottoman State was always in power in those colonies like all other parts of the land. Friday sermons (khutbah) were given in the name of the Sultan and the coins were in the name of the Sultan also. The most considerable sources of income of those colonies were merchant shipping and piracy. The piracy activities especially in the Mediterranean basin were the main source. However, in time, that situation became a problem between Ottoman State and other states that deal with maritime commerce in Mediterranean. Within this frame, Western Colonies that did not obey the international pacts from time to time left Ottoman State in a difficult situation