Ziyanids

The troops of the Marinid dynasty takes the city of Algiers, at this time independent of the Zenata Berber Ziyanid Emirate.

The Berber Wattasid family had been the autonomous governors of the eastern Rif since the late thirteenth century, ruling from their base in Tazouta (near present day Nador).

They had close ties to the Marinid sultans and provided many of the bureaucratic elite.

While the Marinids tried to repel the Portuguese and Spanish invasions and help the kingdom of Granada to resist the Reconquista, the Wattasids had accumulated absolute power through political maneuvering.

When the Marinids became aware of the extent of the conspiracy, they had slaughtered the Wattasids in 1459, leaving only Abu Abdellah al-Shaykh Muhammad ben Yehya alive.

However, the 1465 revolt had seen the end of the Marinid dynasty as Muhammad ibn Ali Amrani-Joutey, leader of the Sharifs, was proclaimed Sultan in Fes.

He is in turn overthrown in 1471 by Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Sheikh, one of the two the surviving Wattasids from the 1459 massacre, who inaugurates the Wattasid dynasty.

Three Berber dynasties now rule the three divisions of the Maghrib: the Wattasids in Morocco, the Ziyanids in Algeria and the Hafsids in Tunisia.

The Hafsids also control Tripolitania in present Libya.

The Introduction of West Indian Mahogany to European Furniture Making

By the late 15th and early 16th centuries, West Indian or Cuban mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) began to be imported into Europe, where it quickly became prized for its strength, durability, and striking reddish-brown grain. This marked the beginning of its use in fine European furniture making, though it would not reach peak popularity until the 18th century.

Characteristics of West Indian Mahogany

• Native Range – Found in the West Indies (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico) and southern Florida.
• Wood Quality –
  • Compact, dense, and hard, making it highly durable.
  • Deep reddish-brown heartwood, which darkens with age.
  • Handsome grain patterns, allowing for polished, refined finishes.
• Workability – Mahogany is resistant to warping and splitting, making it ideal for cabinetry, decorative inlays, and shipbuilding.

Early Imports and Use in Europe

• Portuguese and Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to encounter mahogany in the Caribbean.
• By the early 16th century, small quantities were shipped to Europe for use in royal and ecclesiastical furniture.
• The wood’s rich color and ability to hold fine carving made it a luxury material, particularly for church interiors and high-status furniture pieces.

Rise of Mahogany in Fine Furniture Making

• Though introduced earlier, mahogany became a dominant wood in European furniture making by the 18th century, especially in England and France.
• Cabinetmakers such as Thomas Chippendale (England) and André-Charles Boulle (France) used it extensively.
• It replaced oak and walnut in high-end furniture, leading to the creation of iconic Georgian and Rococo-style pieces.

Legacy of West Indian Mahogany

• By the 17th–18th centuries, demand for mahogany led to mass deforestation in the Caribbean.
• Today, Swietenia mahagoni is a protected species, with Honduran and South American mahogany being more commonly used.
• The introduction of mahogany in the late 15th century marked the beginning of its status as one of the most sought-after hardwoods in European craftsmanship.

Thus, West Indian mahogany’s arrival in Europe laid the foundation for its later dominance in furniture design, influencing styles that remain highly valued in antique markets today.

The Iberian Expulsion of the Jews and its European Consequences (1492–1498)

The culmination of the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula had profound implications beyond its immediate political or territorial consequences. With the fall of Granada in 1492, the Catholic monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, decisively ended the centuries-long Muslim presence in Spain. However, this victory also ushered in an era of religious intolerance and mass expulsions, dramatically reshaping the social and cultural landscape of late medieval Europe.

Expulsion of the Iberian Jews

Immediately following the Reconquista’s conclusion, the Catholic monarchs issued the Alhambra Decree on March 31, 1492, demanding that all Jews within their realms either convert to Catholicism or leave their territories permanently. As a result, approximately 150,000 to 200,000 Jews—who had long contributed significantly to Iberian culture, commerce, and intellectual life—faced immediate expulsion or forced conversions. Portugal, under immense diplomatic pressure from Spain, followed suit in 1498, expelling its Jewish communities as well.

Destinations and Consequences of Exile

Exiled Iberian Jews—known collectively as Sephardim—sought refuge across the Mediterranean and throughout Europe, notably in North Africa, Italy, and particularly within the territories of the tolerant Ottoman Empire, including the Balkans and the Middle East. The Ottoman authorities welcomed these skilled exiles, viewing them as valuable economic, administrative, and cultural contributors to their rapidly expanding empire.

The expelled Iberian Jews revitalized urban economies, particularly in cosmopolitan cities such as Istanbul, Salonica, Venice, and various North African trading hubs. They founded thriving communities, bolstered trade networks, and significantly enriched Ottoman cultural and intellectual life.

Linguistic and Cultural Impact: Ladino

A lasting cultural legacy of this diaspora was the spread of Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish, a language that emerged from medieval Castilian, incorporating Hebrew and Arabic elements. Ladino became a lingua franca among Sephardic Jews across the Ottoman Balkans and Mediterranean region, preserving cultural and religious traditions for generations, even into the modern era.

Sephardic Cultural Dominance

The large-scale migration profoundly reshaped Jewish cultural traditions. Sephardic practices, once largely restricted to Iberia, came to dominate Jewish life throughout the Mediterranean basin, North Africa, and Middle Eastern Jewish communities. Eventually, the term "Sephardic" came to loosely describe all Jews adopting Iberian-derived religious customs, even among Jewish populations previously resident in these regions. Thus, the Iberian expulsions had the unintended consequence of spreading Iberian-Sephardic cultural traditions broadly across the Mediterranean world, becoming dominant in many Jewish communities in subsequent centuries.

Historical Significance and Consequences

The mass expulsions and forced conversions in 1492 and 1498 reshaped not only Iberia but also the broader cultural and economic landscapes of Europe and the Mediterranean region. By driving out many of their most talented artisans, merchants, and intellectuals, the Iberian kingdoms lost vital economic and cultural capital, a loss reflected in economic stagnation and social tension in later centuries. Conversely, their arrival significantly benefited receiving regions, particularly the Ottoman Empire, bolstering economic and cultural vitality.

Moreover, these expulsions symbolized the rising intolerance and homogenization of religious identities across early modern Europe, prefiguring similar expulsions, forced conversions, and persecutions in later centuries. The Sephardic diaspora and subsequent flourishing of Ladino culture dramatically reshaped cultural, economic, and social developments in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern societies, leaving a legacy that endured for centuries.

In sum, the expulsions of 1492 and 1498 represent a key moment in the history of Atlantic West Europe, deeply influencing European religious and cultural dynamics, reshaping Sephardic Jewish identity, and affecting broader patterns of migration, trade, and cultural exchange across the late medieval and early modern world.

The brother corsairs Oruç and Hizir Reis raid Capo Limiti from Algiers and later the Island of Capo Rizzuto in Calabria in 1517.

Oruç now controls a considerable territory the size of colonial French Algeria in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

For Oruç, the best protection against Spain is to join the Ottoman Empire, his homeland and Spain's main rival.

For this he has to relinquish his title of Sultan of Algiers to the Ottomans.

He does this in 1517 and offers Algiers to the Ottoman Sultan.

The Sultan accepts Algiers as an Ottoman Sanjak (province), appoints Oruç as the Bey (Governor) of Algiers and Beylerbey (Chief Governor) of the West Mediterranean, and promises to support him with janissaries, galleys and cannons.

The Spaniards order Abu Zayan, whom they had appointed as the new ruler of Tlemcen and Oran, to attack Oruç by land, but Oruç learns of the plan and preemptively strikes against Tlemcen, capturing the city in 1517 and executing Abu Zayan.

The only survivor of Abu Zayan's dynasty is Sheikh Buhammud, who escapes to Oran and calls for Spain's assistance.

Oruç crowns himself king of Tlemcen.

This victory puts Oruç in control of the back country behind the Spanish base of Oran, which greatly threatens their usual supply routes.

Oruç has established the Ottoman presence in North Africa, which will last four centuries, de facto until the loss of Algeria to France in 1830, of Tunisia to France in 1881, of Libya to Italy in 1912 and de jure until the official loss of Egypt and Sudan to the United Kingdom in 1914, after the Ottoman Empire joins the First World War on the side of the Central Powers.

Emperor Charles V arrives at Oran in May 1518 and is received here by Sheikh Buhammud and the Spanish governor of the city, Diego de Córdoba, Marquess of Comares, who commands a force of ten thousand Spanish soldiers.

Joined by thousands of Bedouins, …

…the Spaniards march overland on Tlemcen, where Oruç and his brother Ishak await them with fifteen hundred Turkish and five thousand Moorish soldiers.

They defend Tlemcen for twenty days, but are eventually killed in combat by the forces of Garcia de Tineo.

The last remaining brother, Hizir Reis, inherits his brother's place, his name (Barbarossa) and his mission.

Barbarossa now requests the assistance of the Ottoman Empire, in exchange for acknowledging Ottoman authority in his dominions.