Emily Chan
As queen, Sayyida turned to piracy to protect her town. The Iberians regularly conducted attacks on Morocco in an attempt to gain more control of the country’s maritime trade. She partnered with Oruc Reis, or Barbarossa of Algiers, to expand her reach in the Mediterranean.
Barbarossa was also known as “Redbeard.” He was the most feared pirate in the region. Between 1504 and 1510, he used his fleet to transport refugees from Spain to Africa as the persecution of religious minorities on the Iberian Peninsula grew more extreme.
In the partnership, Sayyida dominated the western half of the Mediterranean. She terrorized Spanish and Portuguese ships.
She became very wealthy from all the plundered booty and ransoms for prisoners. So, not only was she able to defend her home, but she also received retribution for her family’s exile.
Sayyida’s ransom negotiations with Europeans for the release of Christian prisoners largely contributed to her reputation as a pirate.
In 1541, she remarried to the King of Morocco, Ahmed al-Wattasi. He traveled to her for the marriage, marking the first and only time that a king married outside his capital city.
But in 1542, she was deposed by her son-in-law Muhammed al-Hassan. As a result, she lost her power and property.
Sayyida spent the rest of her days in Chefchaouen, Morocco, where she is now buried. She died at the age of 75.
