The Freedom Merchants

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And I really like her characterisations - she often has some truly lovely people and yes, I have met some who would fit the bill , but most have flaws. This book is set in the 17th century when the pirates of the Barbary Coast were notorious. They not only commandeered ships and all their cargo, but dealt in the slave trade as well. While Africa was being plundered for black slaves to build the Americas, Northern Africa was plundering the seas and the English and Irish coasts for white slaves.

Liam is an Irish lad who rescues a young Moslem pirate from death.

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The ship the pirate was on was wrecked in a storm, and all the other survivors slaughtered by the men of Liam's village. Yet the village allowed Liam and his family to befriend Iskandar. And I won't write any more of the plot, though the blurb does say that Liam's brother is later captured by the slavers, and that Liam travels with a small band of monks to find them and redeem them. This book has been researched thoroughly and aside from the fictional characters is based on the truth.

Bands of monks did travel, at great cost, to attempt to buy back the enslaved. What an amazing story! And this book is an amazing story - sad, happy, no punches pulled, stirring. Oct 10, Theresa Revilak rated it it was amazing.

This book is incredible. I'm a huge Sherryl Jordan fan anyway, and have been since Winter of Fire. But this one takes the cake. It's the story of a boy who lives in Ireland in the days of the slave trade. His brother is taken by pirates and the boy goes with monks to search for him and pay the pirates gold to rescue him and other villagers taken. In the process, he's sucked right into the pirate and slavery trade. These slaves were Algerian and preyed on other countries, stealing not just gold a This book is incredible.

These slaves were Algerian and preyed on other countries, stealing not just gold and riches, but the people themselves and selling them into slavery.

This book is fascinating and just so well written. If you haven't read any of her books, please check this one out. Normally she writes fantasy, but this is based on history. Feb 02, Riya rated it really liked it.

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Can I just start by saying that I finished this book in one sitting. The Freedom Merchants is an amazing read! When his elder brother is enslaved by pirates, Liam travels across the sea with a band of monks to rescue him from the slave lords of Northern Africa. Feb 04, Olivia rated it it was amazing. I can't believe that I didn't read this book sooner! A part of me is bagging for a sequel, but the other part is satisfied and doesn't want a sequel to possibly ruin my view of the book.

I can hardly believe that it's based upon a true story! Jun 27, Miriam Matthews rated it liked it Shelves: The blurb on the back of this book and what you read in the description above are two different things and both give me different thoughts as to what this book is exactly about.

Above has me thinking it is a tale about a young boy who's home is attacked by pirates and what the aftermath is that occurs, the blurb on the back of the book itself tells me that this is a story of a young boy who's brother is taken by pirates and he begins a journey to rescue his brother.

Whilst both of these blurbs a The blurb on the back of this book and what you read in the description above are two different things and both give me different thoughts as to what this book is exactly about. Whilst both of these blurbs are right I don't think either fit the actual book well. Young Liam lives in a tiny little village in Ireland.

One night the bell tolls and they fear either a shipwreck or a pirate attack, the events that follow affect the village in more ways than they expect and has a bigger effect than expected upon Liam. Later, when his brother and others are taken by pirates, the events of that fateful night ends up helping Liam in his quest and changing his life. Because of what I expected the book to be about, it took a little while to really get into the book as I kept wondering when the stuff in the blurb on the back was going to happen.

After a while it didn't matter, once I really got into the book, Liam and his life. The characters themselves are nothing amazing but they are believable and it is easy to imagine that a young lad like Liam really did exist and wish to reunite his family.

Freedom Merchants

There is enough description in this book for you to really get a good picture of slave life and the world that they are in without being hideous. Took me one day to read it and I did have to push myself quite a bit to read it at first as it was difficult to get into when you are wanting the action to start happening, but it was still a good read.

Sep 03, Jacob Marsh rated it really liked it. I throughly enjoyed reading this book. I felt that i could relate to Liam as he is a similar age to me. I like how the book was based on a real event that happened in history, it even interested me so much that i went and researched it even more. At first i found the book a bit dull and slow, but i decided to continue to read on and after i while i realized i was engulfed by the book, i couldn't put it down and i finished it in two days.

You can really emphasize with the grief the community must I throughly enjoyed reading this book. You can really emphasize with the grief the community must have been going through after losing ten people, and the community was already small. And you can feel the sadness as it is there second pirate attack in 25 or so years, and that the main reason for enslaving the christian people was to get revenge for being kicked out of Spain, something that was out of the little community control and something they didn't even have involvement in.

The Freedom Merchants

Jul 19, Jamie Dennett rated it really liked it. I decided to read this book because I saw it in Whitcoulls and read the blurb and decided to get it. A character that I found interesting was Liam, I thought that he shows great courage and initiative to go after his relatives on a wild goose chase. My favourite quote from this book is when Liam tells his father about what he's been hiding in the hills,"No,Da, I've got a pirate".

I think this shows Liam's open mindedness towards different races and cultures. Something that I've learned from this bo I decided to read this book because I saw it in Whitcoulls and read the blurb and decided to get it. Something that I've learned from this book is to be open minded towards others no matter their appearance. This is the best book i have ever read!! I cried of both happiness and sadness! I have read many books but none come anywhere near the quality of this one! Liam is so couragous! Im so glad everyone go reunited in the end. I was estatic when i found out that liams new master was iskander!!

I had tears of joy streaming down my face! The Freedom Merchants starts in the small seaside fishing village of Ballykilmara on the Irish Coast. It is and twenty five years prior the village was brutally raided by Barbary pirates from North Africa who carried off men and women to be slaves to Muslim masters. These events were happening at the same time as the slave trade of Negros to America.

Over 1 million white Christians were captured by corsair pirates, and sold. The main protagonist is fifteen year old Liam who has been born since the raid. During a storm Liam hears the warning bell tolling; a pirate ship has been wrecked in the bay and survivors are struggling ashore. Armed menfolk rush to the shore to protect the village and what ensues is both bloody and brutal and leaves a guilt burden on the normally peaceful villagers. Liam has a secret. One of the pirates, Iskander, washed up further along the beach and dragged himself to safety.

He has terrible injuries. Liam confesses to his family who then nurse him back to health. The villagers, remembering the slaughter, now show clemency. But the local priest and the English land owners are not so lenient and Iskander is dragged off to be hung in England. Some months later another pirate raid seriously wounds Liam's father and his older brother is amongst many other villagers carried off to be sold as slaves in the markets of Algiers. Liam has heard of Monks paying for the release of hostages and approaches the Monks of the local monastery to mount a rescue mission using gold from the pirate ship sunk during the storm.

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They all set sail for North Africa in a leather boat. Liam's adventures bring to life the cruel and brutal slave trade and two religions that have been at odds for centuries and continue to battle each other in the present day. Wonderfully researched with detailed historic notes and bibliography along with a contents page, this is an all-round fantastic book. In my opinion this excellent story should be an essential reading resource in any class of teenagers learning about the history of slavery.

In , corsair pirates from the Barbary Coast prowl the coasts of England and Ireland, attacking ships and raiding villages for slaves to sell to masters in the Mediterranean. When year-old Liam's brother is captured, Liam is desperate to get him back and travels with a small band of monks to the heart of the pirate world, into the turmoil of religious persecution, and the horrors of slavery. Home Groups Talk Zeitgeist.

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