Virtual Local History Talk: The “Turkish Captivity” of Jacob Leisler and the Susanna

The Hudson Area Library and the Jacob Leisler Institute for the Study of Early New York History present The "Turkish Captivity" of Jacob Leisler and the Susanna by David Voorhees, Thursday, January 28, 6-7:30pm. Visit our website, hudsonarealibrary.org, for Zoom registration link or contact Brenda Shufelt at 518-828-1792 x106 or brenda.shufelt@hudsonarealibrary.org. The Turkish Captivity follows the capture in Africa of Dutch New Yorker Jacob Leisler. Throughout the early modern era, North African raiders known as Barbary Corsairs, trolled Europe’s coasts from the Aegean Sea to the Netherlands and as far north as Iceland in search of European slaves. American ships were among their victims. On October 8, 1677, Algerian Corsairs boarded New York City merchant Jacob Leisler’s ship Susannah in the English Channel and captured Leisler along with his crew, two stepsons, nephew, and a passenger. This lecture focuses on the Susannah’s dramatic captivity, the efforts to obtain the prisoners release, and their enslavement’s subsequent impact on New York politics.