The Cossacks at sea: pirate tactics in the frontier environment

Authors

  • Marina A. Tolmacheva Washington State University
  • Vera Moya Sordo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v10i20.734

Keywords:

Cossacks, Pirates, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Dnieper River

Abstract

The article examines a complex period of premodern Cossack history and expands their image as frontier horsemen of the East European steppe to address their pirate activities on the Black and Caspian seas. The 1569-1669 period was characterized by transformations of the Russian and Polish-Lithuanian states and the advancement of the Ottoman Empire into the Black Sea. Cossack presence on the Sea of Azov was noted since the 15th-century, and the Don became the main arterial for the Cossacks allied with Muscovite Russia, while on the Dnieper the Zaporogue Ukrainian manoeuvred among the Polish, Austrian, Russian and Ottoman neighbours. Moscow’s eastward advancement toward the Volga in the mid-16th-century promoted the expansion of Cossack operations to the Caspian Sea. The destinations of Cossack raids, the level of river waters, provision of boats and crews determined the opportunities for robbing land targets or cargo traffic. While environmental conditions in estuaries or at islands could provide sanctuary from storm, starvation or retribution. Bribes to local officials were designed to soften government punishment upon return. Ottoman, Safavid, and even Christian shipping and settlements suffered from their raids. With time, the regulation of frontier settlement, construction of fortifications, supply of weapons or food staples increased state political control over the self-declared free hosts. Although governments resented the aggravation of foreign relations caused by Cossack depredations, both the Russian Tsar and Polish King requested and later required their participation in military operations. Official records and published European travel reports provide decrees, social commentary and eyewitness accounts of armed naval confrontations.

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Author Biography

  • Marina A. Tolmacheva, Washington State University

    Marina Tolmacheva es historiadora profesora en la Universidad Estatal de Washington y afiliada del Centro de Oriente Medio de la Escuela Jackson de Estudios Internacionales de la Universidad de Washington, Seattle. Es especialista en la civilización árabe principalmente en la geografía islámica, los viajes pre modernos y la historia de la mujer. Ha publicado trabajos sobre el Océano Índico, África transahariana y Asia Central. Asimismo, es Presidenta Emérita de la Universidad Americana de Kuwait, miembro de la Fundación Rockefeller en Humanidades y ex directora del Programa WSU Asia. Ha sido galardonada dos veces con la beca Fulbright (1994 para Kirguistán y 2012 para Ucrania), también fue becaria del Programa Internacional de Apoyo a la Educación Superior del Open Society Institute (2005-2006); y recibió premios de la National Endowment for the Humanities, el American Council of Learned Societies, y la American Historical Association.

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Published

2021-07-01

How to Cite

The Cossacks at sea: pirate tactics in the frontier environment. (2021). Revista Universitaria De Historia Militar, 10(20), 64-94. https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v10i20.734

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