La red diplomática de los Habsburgo en las negociaciones con los beylerbeyi de Argel (1535-1571) = The Secret Habsburg Negotiations with the Ruler of Algiers (1535-1571)

During the Early Modern period, the corsair activity was an harassment for the Hispanic world. The Mediterranean became a dangerous sea for the Western inhabitants. The Berber corsairs, vassals of the Ottoman Empire since 1518, plundered the Christian harbours, besieging the Italian and Hispanic shores. In order to defend its kingdom, the Hispanic Monarchy opened several relationships with the governor of Algiers because they couldn’t always fight against the corsair state’s power. By the documents conserved in the Archivo General de Simancas (AGS), I analyse the Spanish diplomatic system during the negotiations with the rulers of Algiers. For that purpose, I have chosen the clearest examples of this diplomacy: firstly, the negotiation between Charles V and Hayraddin Barbarossa, governor of Algiers (1518-1547) and first admiral of the Ottoman fleet (1534-1547); secondly, the negotiation between Philip II and Uluç Alí, governor of Algiers before the battle of Lepanto (1568-1571). By a network analysis of the Habsburg diplomacy, combined with a textual analysis of the main documents present in this work, we can reflect about the dynamism and flexibility of the Hispano-Berber relationships over the 16th century.