This print of the bombardment of Algiers by the British painter Thomas Whitcombe was published in Amsterdam with a Dutch inscription. 'Albion' is depicted prominently in the left half of the composition. The bombardment of Algiers was part of a continuing campaign by various European and the American navies to suppress the piracy against Europeans by the North African Barbary states. The specific aim of this expedition, in which an Anglo-Dutch fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Exmouth bombarded ships and the harbour defences of Algiers, was to free Christian slaves and to stop the practice of enslaving Europeans. To this end, it was partially successful as the Dey of Algiers freed around 3,000 slaves following the bombardment and signed a treaty against the slavery of Europeans. However, this slavery did not end completely until the European conquest of Africa. Plate 1.