The separate “French privateering in the Mar das Éguas: the case of the attacks on Faro sailors in 1538”, written by Algarve historian Fernando Pessanha, was released in June 2025.
The edition was in charge of Guadiana Publishing House, based in Vila Real de Santo António, with graphic design by Editamarketing – Communication and Editorial Design Service.
This work, which saw its first publication in Volume XLIV of the Annals of the Municipality of Faro (2022), now gains new life in an autonomous format, accessible to a wider audience interested in the History of the Algarve.
According to the author, researcher at the Navy Academy and winner of the National Defense Award 2023, privateering and piracy on the Algarve coast continues to be a neglected topic in national and regional historiography. However, it is a fundamental area of study for better understanding the social, economic and geopolitical reality of the Algarve in the Modern Age.
The specific episode of 1538, in which Faroese sailors were the target of attacks by French corsairs in the so-called “Sea of Mares”, serves here as a starting point for a broader and more enlightening approach to a phenomenon that has profoundly marked coastal life in the south of the country.
The work thus represents an important contribution to knowledge of the Maritime History of Portugal and the Algarve region, promoting a new reflection on the role of local communities in the context of defense, trade and external threats in the 16th century.
The reprint is available for purchase from Editora Guadiana and at major bookstores in the region.
