Abstract:
The Xebec (Chebec) is one of the few marine models that we can boast of having been developed in the arsenals of the Eyalet of Algiers. The remarkable thing about this ship, which Europeans considered one of the corsairships, if not the Barbary States privateering ship par excellence, remains that its origin and the circumstances of its creation are still shrouded in mystery, as a result of the conflicting visions of specialists in this regard.
For this reason, we seek through our study to shed light on its origins and the reasons that made it develop into the very agile and light form, which it would eventually take in the course of the XVIIIth century, and making it an exceptional boat in terms of sailing speed, maneuverability and the ability to escape at the same time ; these characteristics that distinguished it from the rest of the ships of that time, would ensure its adoption by the navies of several European countries until the middle of the XIXth century, given that it was one of the best ships in the Mediterranean Sea intended for war.