The Barbary pirates of North Africa attacked the coastal northern Mediterranean launching attacks against Britain, France, Italy and Sicily. In their feverish search for slaves a few pirates even went as far as the coast of Iceland, raiding inland to kidnap people and bring them back to North Africa.

From the 1500s to the 1800s it is estimated that one million white Europeans, to include those captured at sea as well as through land raids abroad were enslaved. Many of these were Americans captured at sea.