The Turkish Abductions (Icelandic: Tyrkjaránið) were a series of raids that took place in Iceland between July 4 – July 19, 1627. Both Austurland (the eastern edge of the country) and Vestmannaeyjar (islands off the south coast) were raided by Barbary pirates; hundreds of the inhabitants were kidnapped, and 242 of them later were sold into slavery on the Barbary Coast. All those offering resistance were killed. The pirates took only young people and those in good physical condition. They gathered old people into a church, locked it, and burned both it and the people inside^{[citation needed]}.

When the pirates invaded Vestmannaeyjar, some of the inhabitants and a minister left for the mountains of the island to hide in a cave. Later that day, the minister left the cave to look; some pirates saw him, killed him, and found the cave with all the people in it.

The most famous captive from that raid was Guðríður Símonardóttir. See Jan Janszoon.

The pirates also attempted to attack Bessastaðir, but were thwarted by cannon fire from the local fortifications (Bessastaðaskans) and a quickly mustered group of men at arms.^[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ Vilhjálmur Þ. Gíslason, Bessastaðir: Þættir úr sögu höfuðbóls. Akureyri. 1947.

[edit] External links

• Heimaslóð (Icelandic)
• Vísindavefurinn (Icelandic)

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