Talk:History of the Regency of Algiers/GA1

GA Review

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Nominator: Nourerrahmane (talk · contribs) 22:13, 1 October 2024 (UTC)

Reviewer: Vigilantcosmicpenguin (talk · contribs) 04:59, 23 January 2025 (UTC)

• A very long article, but I look forward to reviewing it and learning about this subject I know little about. The level of detail is itself impressive. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 04:59, 23 January 2025 (UTC)

  Hello @Vigilantcosmicpenguin, Thank you very much for reviewing this article. I hope it will meet GA requirements under your review. I recommend taking a look at the Regency of Algiers article to better understand the context of this article, which focuses mostly on military history. The main article is much more comprehensive and its history section covers the politics behind the developpements here and much more. Fortunately the GA review is almost done there so I beleive you won't have issues following it. Nourerrahmane (talk) 18:23, 23 January 2025 (UTC)

Rate	Attribute	Review Comment
1. Well-written:
	1a. the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct.
	1b. it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.
2. Verifiable with no original research, as shown by a source spot-check:
	2a. it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline.	References are cleanly listed.
	2b. reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose).	All citations are to books from reputable publishers.
	2c. it contains no original research.
	2d. it contains no copyright violations or plagiarism.	Earwig says 30.1%, but only simple phrases.
3. Broad in its coverage:
	3a. it addresses the main aspects of the topic.
	3b. it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).
	4. Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each.
	5. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute.	Article is stable, no reverts.
6. Illustrated, if possible, by media such as images, video, or audio:
	6a. media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content.	Most images are public domain; the rest are free to use.
	6b. media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.	All images depict the era and events mentioned in the article.
	7. Overall assessment.

General comments

• You have a section titled "Golden Age of Algiers"; however, this does not match the text of the section, which instead says "Golden Age of Corsairs". Y
• You made a minor mistake with the image you uploaded of the Barbarossa flag. You have labelled it as your own work, but because you did not create the flag itself, you should instead list it as public domain. Y

— Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 05:16, 23 January 2025 (UTC)

Lead section

• The first sentence should be phrased differently; there's no need to include the exact title of the article. It could be something like The Regency of Algiers was founded in 1516 and existed until the French invasion of 1830. Y
• and was an important pirate base notorious for Barbary corsairs.Y
• as far north as Ireland and Iceland The body does not exactly support the phrasing "as far north as".Y
• Looks like the body of the article doesn't support the phrasing "tribal revolts" to describe the revolt by the Darqawiyya and Tijānīya.Y
• The last paragraph is only one sentence and can be merged with the previous one.Y

— Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 05:16, 23 January 2025 (UTC)

• Also, this statement is not verified in the body: Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli were known in Europe as the Barbary States. The Ottomans called them Garb Ocakları (western garrisons). The body uses the phrase "Barbary", so it should be defined. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 03:20, 24 January 2025 (UTC)

Establishment

• (I'll be doing some minor copyedits throughout the article for grammar, conciseness, clarity, and MOS:LINK.)Y
• I don't think it's relevant to include the years that Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera fell.Y
• walled and fortified redundant Y
• humiliating agreements is a vague description; what made them humiliating?Y
• Describing the Barbarossa brothers as "skillful" and is puffery Y
• "formidable fortifications" is also puffery Y
• He did however succeed in capturing hundreds of Spanish prisoners. → He captured hundreds of Spanish prisoners.Y
• The subsection "Barbarossa brothers arrive" is fairly short and could probably be merged with "New masters of Algiers".Y
• recognized Catholic king Ferdinand II of Aragon as his sovereign, and made a number of pledges. since the pledges are mentioned in the following sentence Y
• in a total defeat for the Spaniards, and a momentous victory for Aruj since a defeat for the Spaniards and a victory for Aruj are the same in this situation.Y
• The sentence Abu Zayan began to conspire against Aruj, so Aruj arrested and executed him. lacks a citation.Y
• Historian Nicolas Vatin points out that after reluctance from the Sublime Porte, Algiers officially became part of the Ottoman Empire under Selim I in the summer of 1520. I don't think this needs attribution; it's not really an opinion or anything.Y
• The debacle caused by this assassination cleared the road to Algiers, whose population had complained about Belkadi and opened the gates for Hayreddin in 1525. → The people of Algiers, who had complained about Belkadi, opened the gates for Hayreddin in 1525.Y
• then captured Algiers in 1520 and ruled over it for five years (1520–1525). since the 1525 date is already mentioned later in the paragraph.Y
• Two years later in June 1535Y
• Under steady assault by Berber Algiers cavalryY
• I don't think the quote from Roger Crowley is necessary.Y
• Hasan Pasha, Hayreddin's son, endeavored to end the see-sawing of Tlemcen's allegiance between Ottomans and Spaniards by taking control of it in 1551. → Hasan Pasha, Hayredidn's sun, took control of Tlemcen in 1551, aiming to end Y
• You mention Salah Rais had the support of the kingdom of Kuku—is there an explanation to how they became allies with Algiers, having previously been enemies? Would be useful context to readers.Y
• When you mention that Beni Abbas maintained its independence, it's against Algiers, right? It should say that instead of Ottoman. Also, what does "lasting until the early 18th century" mean? If it was conquered by Algiers, that should likely be later in the article; if it was something else, it's not relevant to the article.Y
• Algiers had finally reached its 1830 borders towards the end of the 16th century. It's not clear to a reader at this point why 1830 is significant, so it'd be better to say something like borders that would last for the rest of the regency's existence. Also, if possible, describe what those borders were.Y
• You link to "Andrea Doria" multiple times, but they link to different people.Y
• Instead of saying the victor of Lepanto John of Austria you should probably mention John in the previous paragraph describing the battle.Y
• I think it'd be better to specify when Hassan Veneziano became the ruler, instead of just saying "the late 16th century".Y
• Algerian pirates were everywhere in the waters Saying "everywhere" is a bit figurative.Y
• When you say Kapudan Pasha Uluj Ali, I think it'd be better to say when he gained the title of Kapudan Pasha.Y

— Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 03:20, 24 January 2025 (UTC)

Corsair heyday

• I'm not familiar with the word "corso", so probably use a different word.Y
• Sicily and the islands of Italy redundant Y
• speed and surprise Vague description; if it can't be more specific it should be removed.Y
• corsairs famously sacked Baltimore in IrelandY
• Does the population figure of 100,000 to 125,000 refer to the city of Algiers or the regency? Either one can be called Algiers.Y
• "the most precious objects and delicacies from the European and Eastern worlds" is a quote that must be attributed or paraphrased. I think paraphrasing is better here.Y
• was not uncontested Who contested it?Y
• In clear defianceY
• You inconsistently refer to the same person as "Rais Mourad the Younger" and "Murat Rais".Y
• a sign of how differently Algiers and Constantinople saw relations with France I think this line can be removed. It's already clear that Algiers has disagreed with Constantinople.Y
• The first paragraph of the "Ali Bitchin Rais" section isn't about Ali Bitchin Rais. The section could have a different title or it could be reorganized.Y
• A great influx of crewsmen allowing operations to scale up, both Moriscos expelled from Spain and European renegades who renounced their Christian faith between 1609 and 1619. Ungrammatical sentence with unclear meaning.Y
• Their skills proved valuable for the strength of the Algerian fleet. Vague Y
• but the population of Algiers rose up against him since it's not the population of the whole empire, right?Y
• the diwân demanded that Ali Bitchin pay the janissaries their wages This is referring to the losses against Venice, right? It's not very clear since there's another sentence between them.Y
• The rise in power of the Turkish janissaries in the early 17th century gradually weakened the appointed triennial Ottoman pashas. This is the first time you mention that pashas were appointed triennially. This would be useful context earlier.Y
• the unrest when Hassan Pasha defaulted on the janissary payroll This is the first time you mention this Hassan Pasha. He should be introduced.Y
• they blew up the powder magazine, causing a huge explosion in the kasbah Y
• The last paragraph of the "Coulougli revolt" section mentions the terms Odjak and Dey for the first time without defining them.Y

• It looks like there's more detail about these in the article Regency of Algiers. On that note, it looks like there are several points mentioned in the main article but not here. These should be included.Y

• In fact, the lucrative cabotage businessY
• This conferred on Algerian foreign military elites an international legitimacy What does "this" refer to?Y
• Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius (1583–1645)Y
• You inconsistently refer to the same person as "Zymen Danseker" and "Simon Rais".Y
• fifteen corsairs from an Algerian ship were massacred By whom? Also, the word "massacred" is less neutral than "killed".Y
• But it did have to face the French Levant Fleet and the Knights of Malta, who scored a minor victory against Algerian vessels near Cherchell in 1655.Y
• A regime change in Algiers ensued. Surely this needs elaboration.Y
• But peace did not last. → Peace lasted until 1686. and remove the previous mention of the year 1686.Y
• 40 ships were captured By Algiers, I'm assuming. Should specify that, so it's not ambiguous which side it is.Y

— Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 23:13, 24 January 2025 (UTC)

Maghrebi wars

• There are some links in hatnotes that should also be mentioned in the prose.
• I think this entire section could be organized chronologically instead of separating the Tunisian campaigns from the Moroccan campaigns.
• Beylerbey should be italicised throughout the article.
• Tunis had inherited ambitions in the Constantine region Unclear
• Morocco resisted Ottoman attempts at domination from the outset Since "the outset" is not a clear timeframe.
• Should probably specify that Mohamed Bey El Mouradi was the son of Murad II Bey, for clarity.
• The section "Coulougli revolt" mentions the Battle of Moulouya, but it's mentioned again in "Moroccan campaigns", which makes it feel disordered. I think the paragraph in "Coulougli revolt" should be moved to this section since it happened long after the Coulougli revolt.
• What is Orania? If it's the same thing as Oran you should just say Oran for clarity.
• It should be clarified why Moulay Ismail's Saharan incursions are relevant to the Regency of Algiers.

— Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 00:21, 26 January 2025 (UTC)

Dey Muhammad ben Othman Pasha

• This section should have a different title since part of it is not about Dey Muhammad ben Othman Pasha.
• I don't see why Husayn I ibn Ali in 1705 and Tripolitan Ahmed Karamanli in 1711 are relevant here.
• the implementation of a sort of bureaucracy
• issued what is known as "The Fundamental Pact of 1748" or "pact of trust", a fundamental politico-military text that defined the rights of the subjects of Algiers and of all the and other inhabitants of the regency of Algiers
• The French king Which one?
• Moreover, the raïs, especially the Christian converts to Islam, did not dare land on Christian soil, where they risked imprisonment and torture. This is a poorly written sentence—"did not dare" is a bad phrase to use, and "Christian soil" is unclear about whether it refers to France or something else.
• The first paragraph of the section "Muhammad ben Othman's policy" says too much detail about Muhammad ben Othman himself, which would fit better in the article about him than this one.
• kept the janissaries in check Vague
• Several captains became famous during his reign, such as Rais Hamidou, Rais Haj Suleiman, Rais Ibn Yunus and Rais Hajj Muhammad, who according to Al-Zahar commanded about 24,000 men in his various maritime incursions. "Famous" is WP:PUFFERY, and the comment from Al-Zahar is too much detail.
• 2.5 million dollars Dollars?
• western bey Mustapha Bouchelaghem → Mustapha Bouchelaghem, Bey of the Western Beylik
• The assault's spectacular failure dealt a humiliating blow to the Spanish military reorganisation.
• and Spain undertook to "freely and voluntarily" return the two cities
• Delete Algerians had freed their land from foreign occupation.

— Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 00:21, 26 January 2025 (UTC)

Decline of Algiers

• Between 1803 and 1805, famine caused by failed wheat harvests resulted in public riots that led to the death of prominent Jewish grain merchant Naphtali Busnash who was blamed for the shortages. → Failed wheat harvests caused a famine from 1803 to 1805. Rioters killed Jewish grain merchant Naphtali Busnash, whom they blamed for the shortages.
• Delete a loss to Algiers of a seasoned politician and military and administrative leader
• Once Previously the most prosperous beylik of the Regency,
• most of whom were incompetent Doesn't feel like wikivoice.
• Constant war burdened the population with heavy taxes and fines that took no account of the hardship they caused and primed the population to respond to calls for led to disobedience, which the deys always met with brute force.
• "barbarous relic of a previous age" Whom is this quote from?
• Should specify who/why killed Omar Agha.
• The fact about supplying wheat to France is mentioned twice.
• Overthrow of Charles X is not relevant.

— Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 00:21, 26 January 2025 (UTC)