Yusuf Reis was one of the most infamous pirates operating out of the Mediterranean Sea in the early 1600s. At that time piracy was rampant, feeding off the thriving trade passing between Europe and the Ottoman Empire.
Reis was subject of the Ottoman Beys of North Africa with whom he had a pact. In his escapades as a corsair, he’d capture and ransack trading ships filled with valuable goods destined for major commercial centres such as Alexandria, Constantinople and Venice. The Beys, who allowed him to operate, demanded a cut of the profits.
Described as someone who spoke little and was almost always swearing, he was referred to by on Venetian official as, “beyond doubt the greatest scoundrel that ever sailed from England.”
England?
That’s right. It turns out that Yusuf Reis’ orginal name was Jack Ward, born in England around 1533. Originally part of the Royal Navy under King James I, Ward deserted and stole a ship from Portsmouth. En route to the Mediterranean, he captured a merchant ship, and then a larger Venetian warship.
Ward ingratiated himself with the Ottoman Beys of North Africa, developing a symbiotic relationship in which permission was granted to traverse the waters of the Mediterranean in exchange for a share of the profits from captured booty. Jack Ward changed his name to Yusuf Reis, and from 1612 to 1622 he built up a fleet of pirate ships that earned him a fearsome reputation.
Despite efforts by European powers to capture him, Yusuf Reis remained in Tunis and amassed a great amount of wealth, reportedly living in a luxurious palace until his death in 1622.
