Xebeck

Fourteen Xebecks loaded with Ammunition, Cannon, and other warlike Stores from Majorca, bound to any Part of Italy, where they could be landed for the Uſe of the Spaniſh Army, having got ſafe to Genoa in the latter End of June, Admiral Mathews on board of the Namur, with the Barfleur, Norfolk, Princeſs Caroline, Ipſwich and Revenge went there, and concluded a Treaty; […]

The choice of ship of the Maghrebi sailors was influenced above all by local traditions, by their different objectives, and by the availability of the vessels. It is apparent that the xebeck, with its sleek lines, its reputation for speed—admittedly at the expense of its carrying capacity—was the preferred choice of the North Africans. It is true that the xebeck served in privateering and at least a percentage of the ships assigned to shipping merchandise were converted corsairs, with somewhat reduced gunpowder and much smaller crews.