Pirates and Corsairs on Lanzarote
🏴☠️ The History of an Island Raided from the Sea
The conquest of Lanzarote brought the era of the Majos to an end, but it did not bring peace to the island. Its location close to the coast of Africa meant that for centuries Lanzarote lay on a dangerous frontier between two worlds. Settlements were plundered, houses and churches were burned, and inhabitants were captured and sold into slavery. At the same time, expeditions were organised from the Canary Islands to the African coast, where the aim was also to capture prisoners and enslaved people.
The raids left traces that can still be found across Lanzarote today – in its castles and defensive towers, in caves used by the inhabitants as places of refuge, and in the history of Teguise and Arrecife. Let’s discover the pirates and corsairs whose ships were feared on the horizon for centuries.
📖 History You Can See While Exploring
In the guidebook Lanzarote with César Manrique, history is about more than dates. We take you to the places where these events left their mark – castles, old settlements, caves and lookout points – while also showing you how to include them in your exploration of the island.
👉 Discover the guidebook: Lanzarote with César Manrique
🌍 Why Lanzarote?
Pirates and corsairs attacked the entire Canary Islands, but Lanzarote – like neighbouring Fuerteventura – was particularly vulnerable to raids from North Africa. This was mainly due to its location on the eastern edge of the archipelago, closest to the African coast.
Location alone, however, does not explain everything. Lanzarote was sparsely populated, had an extensive coastline and, for a long time, few effective fortifications. Its small settlements were difficult to warn and defend quickly, and once the attackers had landed, they could move inland in search of valuables and people to capture.
Threats also came from the Atlantic. The Canary Islands lay along important shipping routes, which meant that French, English and Dutch corsairs also appeared in their waters.
For the people of Lanzarote, a raid therefore meant much more than looting. Settlements and churches were burned, crops were destroyed, and inhabitants were captured and taken into slavery.
☠️ Pirate or Corsair?
Although the words pirate and corsair are often used interchangeably, historically they did not mean the same thing. A pirate acted independently – attacking ships and settlements for loot without official authorisation from any state.
A corsair operated with the permission of a ruler, who authorised them to attack enemy ships and territories. During wartime, this was therefore a form of armed activity considered legal from the perspective of the state that granted the authorisation. Corsairs could capture ships and goods and take prisoners, sharing part of their spoils.
The distinction, however, was not always clear-cut. The same person could be regarded as a corsair by one country and as an ordinary pirate by its enemies. This is why both terms appear in the history of Lanzarote.
⛓️ Slavery – The Darkest Side of This History
One of the main targets of many raids on Lanzarote was people. Captured inhabitants were taken mainly to ports in North Africa, where they could be sold into slavery or held until a ransom was paid. Sources on Barbary corsairing explicitly identify looting and the capture of people for sale as two of the principal aims of such expeditions.
However, there was another side to this history. From Lanzarote, armed expeditions known as cabalgadas were organised against the African coast. During these raids, local people were captured and brought back to the Canary Islands as slaves. In the 16th century, Agustín de Herrera y Rojas, who later became the first Marquis of Lanzarote, took part in such expeditions. In 1572, Philip II prohibited these raids into Barbary, although they did not cease immediately.
Enslaved people were also part of Lanzarote’s own society and economy. They worked, among other things, in agriculture and livestock farming, while the trade in human beings remained significant on the island well into the 17th century. Research covering the period 1618–1650 shows that the slave trade was an important part of the local economy at that time.
As a result, families on both sides of the sea had loved ones who were taken into captivity. The people of Lanzarote were victims of this system, but the island itself also participated in it. This is important to remember when telling the story of pirates and corsairs – behind the stories of captured castles and burned settlements lay, above all, the trade in human beings.
⚔️ The First Attacks on Lanzarote
The threat from the sea accompanied Lanzarote almost from the beginning of European rule on the island. As early as 1450, a Portuguese fleet appeared at Puerto del Arrecife and burned a ship anchored there. This was, however, a period of rivalry between Castile and Portugal for control and influence in the Canary Islands, so the incident should not yet be associated with the later Barbary corsair raids.
In the first half of the 16th century, the threat became more apparent. In 1532, a French corsair captured a ship off the coast of Lanzarote, and in 1537, French vessels attacked a ship connected with a fleet returning from the Americas in the area of Arrecife. Similar incidents occurred in the years that followed.
The real shock for the island’s inhabitants, however, came in 1551, when the attackers did not limit their actions to the sea. They landed on Lanzarote and captured Teguise – the island’s capital at the time.
🏴☠️ 1551 – El Clérigo Captures Teguise
In November 1551, a French squadron appeared off the coast of Lanzarote. The attackers landed in the area of Puerto del Arrecife and then advanced towards Teguise – the island’s most important settlement at the time. According to historical studies, the landing force numbered around 600–700 men, including many arquebusiers.
The defence of Lanzarote was led by Agustín de Herrera y Rojas, who would later become the first Marquis of Lanzarote and was only around 14–15 years old at the time. He attempted to stop the attackers but, faced with their superior forces, was forced to retreat. Teguise was captured and plundered, while some of its inhabitants sought refuge outside the town.
The raid demonstrated just how ineffective the island’s defences were. The small tower on Guanapay volcano could serve as a lookout point, but it was unable to provide effective protection for the inhabitants. Following the events of 1551, Agustín de Herrera y Rojas decided to expand the tower – an important stage in the development of what would later become Castillo de Santa Bárbara.
⚔️ The Era of the Great Raids Begins
Attacks on Lanzarote were nothing new, but from 1569 onwards, the threat grew considerably. A series of major expeditions by Barbary corsairs from North Africa began, involving large crews who advanced deep into the island, plundering and burning settlements and taking inhabitants captive. Researchers identify four particularly devastating raids on Lanzarote: 1569, 1571, 1586 and 1618.
The first of these marked the beginning of a period described in Canarian historiography as two centuries of Barbary corsairing – from 1569 to 1749. Significantly, both the first and the last major invasions of this period struck Lanzarote.
☠️ 1569 – Calafat Strikes Lanzarote
In September 1569, an expedition led by Calafat, a corsair from the Moroccan port of Salé, reached Lanzarote. According to historical studies, his force numbered around 600 armed men. Some of the ships remained off Arrecife, while the attackers who landed on the island advanced towards Teguise – Lanzarote’s capital at the time.
Teguise was captured and plundered. Around 200 inhabitants of Lanzarote were taken captive, including members of the local elite. The prisoners were taken to ports in North Africa, where they could be sold into slavery or held for ransom.
The attackers also took an image of the Virgen de Guadalupe from the church in Teguise. They carried it to Morocco with the intention of demanding a ransom for its return. The statue was later recovered and, after restoration, brought back to Lanzarote.
Calafat’s raid was more than just another attack on the island. It marked the beginning of a series of particularly devastating Barbary corsair raids that would repeatedly strike Lanzarote over the following decades.
⚔️ 1571 – Dogali el Turquillo
Just two years after Calafat’s raid, Lanzarote was attacked again. On 21 September 1571, Dogali, known as “El Turquillo,” arrived from Salé at the head of seven galleys and around 400 armed men. The attackers landed at Arrecife and advanced towards Teguise, which had still not fully recovered from the events of 1569.
Agustín de Herrera y Rojas did not have sufficient forces to resist them effectively. Together with some of the inhabitants and defenders, he took refuge in the fortress on Guanapay – today’s Castillo de Santa Bárbara. Dogali occupied and plundered Teguise and then laid siege to the fortress.
When the corsairs left Lanzarote on 7 October, they took around 100 captives with them. However, a particularly interesting document written less than a month later by the inquisitor Ortiz de Funes gives a more precise figure of 115 people taken captive, including 14 enslaved people, and describes Lanzarote as almost depopulated and devastated. The captives were to be ransomed or sold in Salé.
🔥 1586 – Morato Arráez
The raid led by Morato Arráez was one of the most devastating in Lanzarote’s history. On the night of 30 July 1586, the Algerian corsair landed in the area of Los Ancones with around 1,000 men; sources also record a fleet of seven galleys. The following day, his forces advanced towards Teguise almost unnoticed.
The inhabitants tried to take refuge in Castillo de Santa Bárbara on Guanapay, which Morato Arráez laid siege to. After several days, some of those sheltering inside escaped during the night, seeking safer hiding places in the mountains and caves. The raid also spread to northern Lanzarote, and Cueva de los Verdes was among the places used by the local population as a refuge.
The attackers also reached Arrecife. There, they captured the fortress and burned Castillo de San Gabriel – following this event, the islet on which the castle stood became known as El Quemado, meaning “the Burnt Islet.”
The raid also had a dramatic personal dimension. The wife and daughters of Agustín de Herrera y Rojas, Marquis of Lanzarote, fell into the hands of Morato Arráez. Gonzalo Argote de Molina negotiated the terms of their ransom with the corsair; historical sources record that an agreement concerning their release was concluded in Arrecife.
⚔️ 1618 – Tabac Arráez and Solimán
In May 1618, Lanzarote suffered one of the most tragic raids in its history. The Algerian corsairs Tabac Arráez and Solimán landed on the island with around 3,000 men. They attacked Arrecife and Teguise, plundering everything of value.
Teguise suffered particularly badly. Part of the town was burned, numerous houses were destroyed, along with the residence of the Marquises and the Convent of San Francisco. The flames also consumed documents and notarial records, resulting in the permanent loss of some sources relating to Lanzarote’s earlier history.
Once again, the inhabitants sought refuge in places that were difficult to reach. Many hid in Cueva de los Verdes, whose extensive underground passages protected them from the attackers for a time. The corsairs eventually discovered the hiding place with the help of Francisco Amado, a public notary on Lanzarote, who showed them the entrance used by the inhabitants. Sources differ regarding his motivation – some suggest that he acted under pressure, while others claim that he hoped to save himself or his loved ones. In the end, he too was taken captive and transported to North Africa, although he later returned to Lanzarote.
The scale of the tragedy was enormous – the corsairs took around 900 people captive, while the island’s entire population at the time numbered only about 1,200–1,600 inhabitants.
The 1618 raid left Lanzarote devastated and dramatically depopulated. It was one of those events that demonstrates that corsair expeditions meant far more than simple looting – within just a few weeks, they could disrupt the functioning of almost an entire island.
🕳️ Where Did the Inhabitants Hide?
When foreign ships appeared on the horizon, the people of Lanzarote often had little chance of defending themselves effectively. Instead, they fled their settlements, taking whatever they could carry and seeking refuge in places that were difficult to reach or hidden from view from the coast.
The best-known refuge was Cueva de los Verdes – an extensive lava tunnel in the north of the island. Its numerous passages and hidden entrances could shelter large numbers of people, and the cave was used by the inhabitants during successive raids. In 1618, however, the hiding place was revealed to the corsairs, as mentioned earlier.
People also sought refuge in the mountains, volcanic caves and other natural hiding places in the island’s interior. Guanapay, above Teguise, also played an important role – initially as a lookout point and, after the fortress there was expanded, as a place of defence and refuge. Today, it is known as Castillo de Santa Bárbara.
🏰 How Did Lanzarote Try to Defend Itself?
For a long time, Lanzarote’s defensive system was very weak. The priority was to spot approaching ships as early as possible and warn the inhabitants, giving them enough time to leave their settlements and find shelter. Over time, however, the island’s most important strategic points began to be fortified.
Above Teguise, the fortress on Guanapay was expanded – today’s Castillo de Santa Bárbara – while the port of Arrecife was protected by Castillo de San Gabriel. In the south, Torre del Águila was built to guard the coast of Rubicón. These fortifications were rebuilt and strengthened several times, as successive raids repeatedly exposed the weaknesses of the island’s earlier defences.
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💰 What Happened to the Captured Inhabitants?
Being taken captive did not always mean that a person would never return to Lanzarote. Some captives were sold into slavery, while others were held in the hope of receiving a ransom. For their families, this marked the beginning of a desperate struggle to raise enough money to buy back their loved ones.
Families sold property, took on debts and sought help from relatives and religious institutions involved in ransoming Christian captives. Some inhabitants of Lanzarote even travelled to the Americas to earn the money needed to pay a ransom.
Not everyone, however, returned. Some remained in North Africa, while others converted to Islam and began a new life there.
⚔️ 1749 – The Last Great Barbary Raid
More than a century had passed since the catastrophic raid of 1618 when the threat once again became very real. On 30 October 1749, two Algerian xebecs reached Las Coloradas in southern Lanzarote and landed around 400 armed men.
Their first target was Torre del Águila, built only a few years earlier specifically to protect the southern coast. After several hours of fighting, the attackers captured the tower, set it on fire and took its defenders captive. They then moved inland, destroying the Hermitage of San Marcial and attacking Femés.
This time, however, the islanders did not remain merely victims. As the corsairs made their way back towards their ships, the island militia attacked them and inflicted significant losses.
The 1749 raid is regarded as the last pirate raid on Lanzarote. The burned Torre del Águila was later rebuilt – the present structure dates from 1769 and still stands today on the coast near Playa Blanca.
🌅 Why Did the Raids Eventually Stop?
After 1749, Lanzarote no longer experienced major Barbary raids like those that had devastated the island during previous centuries. This change, however, did not happen overnight or for a single reason. The political and military situation in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic was changing, while large-scale corsair expeditions to the Canary Islands gradually lost their former importance.
Lanzarote itself was also better prepared to defend against attacks. Fortifications were strengthened, and in the 18th century the security of Arrecife was reinforced by Castillo de San Gabriel and the new Castillo de San José. Sources on the history of Arrecife indicate that as the corsair threat declined, the harbour became safer, encouraging trade and contributing to the city’s development.
We can therefore regard 1749 as the symbolic end of the era of major raids on Lanzarote – but not as the moment when piracy in the waters around the Canary Islands suddenly disappeared altogether.