The Protestants and the
Muslim Turks, more precisely the
Barbary pirates, collaborated during that period against their common enemy,
Catholic Europe. This collaboration has to be seen in the context of the
wars of religions and the ongoing mortal battle between
Protestantism and
Catholicism. Piracy in the ranks of the Muslim pirates of Barbary was also a way to find employment, after King
James I formally proclaimed an end to privateering in June 1603. Further, abandoning England as well as their faith was often a way to financial success, as fortunes could be made by attacking Catholic shipping. In August 1604, English Corsairs attempted to pillage the Spanish and Portuguese coasts with two ships, including a
fusta. During
an action off Cádiz however, two Spanish
galleons commanded by
Antonio de Oquendo took one ship and forced the other to flee. By 1610, the wealth of English
renegade pirates had become so famous as to become the object of plays, and the king offered royal pardon to those who wished to return. A contemporary letter from an English writer complained: Beyond the shared religious antagonism towards Catholicism, the Barbary States probably offered economic advantages as well as social mobility to Protestant pirates, as the Barbary States were a very cosmopolitan environment at that time. ==Catholic reactions==