Occupation

Indeed, the Great Fire of London couldn't have been more devastating. While the Great Fire of London in 1666 may have burned a larger area, its ignition point was singular. Although the fire couldn't be controlled, its spread wasn't as rapid, allowing most people to escape. Although the Great Fire of London tens of thousands of buildings, it's said that only five people died. (I personally highly doubt this number; the statistical capabilities of that era are questionable. However, it's safe to say that there weren't a large number of deaths.)

But the fire set by the France was different. The initial shelling was designed to quickly block escape routes, and subsequent shelling aimed to ignite the fire as rapidly as possible. Naturally, many died from the fire. Those closer to the shore had a chance to escape by jumping into the sea, even though they would be attacked by the Turkey who colluded with infidels. At least they had a chance of survival. Besides, even being shot was better than being burned alive.

As for those who didn't have time to jump into the sea, they naturally faced certain death in such a massive fire. Therefore, although the Tripoli fire was smaller in scale than the Great Fire of London, it caused tens of thousands of casualties. Because the Tripoli fire also destroyed municipal institutions, all kinds of documents were burned. So, the exact population of Tripoli at that time became a mystery, and no one could say for sure.

Therefore, there is no definitive answer as to how many people died in this fire; there are only various speculations, but the lowest estimate is over ten thousand.

After the fire, Tripoli's defenses completely collapsed. However, the fire was still burning, so the Turkey could not land immediately. The fire burned for a full day and night before gradually being extinguished, and the Turkey waited another two hours before using small boats to send some soldiers ashore.

These soldiers encountered no further resistance and quickly occupied several high points in the city along the ashes-covered road. More Turkey soldiers then landed at the port, reorganized their ranks, and, under the command of a general, marched towards the Tripoli.

The Tripoli was far from the port area, so it was not affected by the fire. However, after the port fire, Yusuf looked at the flames on the other side of the port and knew that most of his army had perished in the fire, and that the forces he had were no longer able to resist the invading Turkey and France.

Yusuf was a man who could take things in stride. Seeing that things were hopeless, he immediately gathered his guards, took the valuables he could carry, set fire to the palace, and then led the remaining troops towards Tunisia.

Because the port was still in a state of chaos and all the dock facilities had been burned down, the Turkey fleet could not dock there. Instead, they used small boats to send a group of people ashore, thus occupying the ruins.

However, Tayyip wasn't particularly concerned about this level of damage—after all, according to the agreement between the two parties, the port was originally going to be handed over to the France, so if it burned down, so be it, there was nothing to be sad about.

Turkey warships couldn't dock, so France warships were out of the question. However, the France still managed to send a group of soldiers ashore in small boats. These soldiers had two tasks: one was to cooperate with the Turkey to quickly control the surrounding area; the other was to rescue the Christianity slaves in the area.

Even disregarding its port conditions, Tripoli was a pleasant place, with a mild climate and excellent oasis conditions. Therefore, there were many farms near the city where many Christianity and Black slaves worked.

Napoleon placed great importance on the liberation of these Christ slaves, as this would provide greater legitimacy for the campaign. Since the Industrial Revolution began domestically, the production of various goods had skyrocketed, and the Europe market was now experiencing a degree of undersupply. Opening up new markets for dumping goods was, in Joseph's view, an urgent matter. Africa and the "sick man of West Asia" were the markets the France had recently set their sights on.

Because he left in such a hurry, Yusuf didn't have much time to manage the affairs of the farms outside the city. The local Yusuf owners were unlikely to flee with him—after all, their businesses were there. And from what they knew, the invaders weren't infidels, but rather a force that also carried the crescent and star banner and believed in the true God. In fact, this force was led by the leaders and protectors of the religion, so why should they run? At most, they could simply bribe the warriors and then continue paying taxes and living as before.

To their surprise, in addition to the warriors who believed in the true God, a troop of pagan soldiers suddenly appeared before them. Then, they were told that their Christ slaves were now free. This meant that the plantation owners had lost their slaves, who were part of their property, even a significant part of it. Naturally, they were dissatisfied and wanted to protest.

But the Turkey soldiers who shared their faith in the true God resolutely sided with the infidels. They immediately drew their swords and threatened the devout farmers, claiming that they suspected the farmers of being accomplices of the rebels and that there were even rebels in their houses, so they were going to enter their homes to search them.

Such behavior is, of course, impossible in France, at least legally. Entering someone's home to search requires a search warrant, in theory. (However, in practice, when law enforcement deems it urgent and wants to avoid the destruction of evidence, a warrant can be obtained without one; one can simply be issued afterward.) But in Turkey, even this formality is unnecessary. If I find you suspicious, if I suspect you of hiding gold for treason, I can search you and confiscate the gold, without even issuing a receipt.

Turkey soldiers then stormed into the homes of these farmers and confiscated all their valuables under the pretext of "treasonous hidden wealth." Some farmers who didn't know better tried to resist, and their heads were chopped off as proof of military merit. Their wives and children, if all goes as expected, will soon appear as commodities in the markets of Istanbul.

Of course, not many plantation owners were stubborn enough to resist the royal army. So for the time being, they only lost slaves and gold coins; at least the things they couldn't take with them—the land and houses—were still in their hands. However, even worse news awaited them: Turkey officials soon landed on the shore as well.

As the saying goes, "Thieves come like combs, soldiers like fine brushes, and officials like shavings," one of the most important tasks these officials who came ashore had was to secure enough land for the meritorious officials of this war to reward their loyalty. Of course, this could also be described in a more respectable way: to investigate and punish the supporters and sympathizers of the rebels.

Before they even reached the shore, the officials were told, "If those ranchers have escaped, then without a doubt they are open and undisguised accomplices of the rebellion, and all their wealth—including land, houses, and everything else—should be confiscated. If they remain on their farms, then you must be even more vigilant, because this means they are secret, hidden supporters of the rebellion. Such vipers, of course, must be dealt with severely; they should be sent to prison and tried by a judge—of course, we will not wrong an innocent person, but we cannot let a traitor go unpunished..."

So, almost all the farmers near Tripoli, except those who had already escaped or had their heads chopped off beforehand, were arrested and sent to makeshift prisons set up by the Turkey. Then, the officials began to try these cases at an astonishing speed, and with the speed of Robespierre's Revolutionary Tribunal, they chopped off the heads of the farmers and sold their wives and children to a slave trader named Erdo who had come with them.

Now, the most valuable land in the entire suburbs of Tripoli has become precious unclaimed territory. How wonderful is that? How much loyalty Selim III can gain from these precious lands!

Of course, not all of these lands could be awarded to the loyal subjects of Selim III, as some of them were to be distributed to the Christ slaves as compensation for their abduction and enslavement.

In fact, most of these Christ slaves were descendants of the Christ who were actually captured back then. In the last hundred years, Barbary Pirates have rarely landed on the northern Mediterranean Sea coast (except in France) to plunder coastal residents as they had hundreds of years ago. New Christ slaves have certainly appeared, but most of them came from maritime raids.

The number of Christ who have recently become slaves is actually quite small. They can certainly return to Europe after receiving some compensation. But for most Christ slaves, their connection with Europe has been completely severed. In fact, apart from their Catholicism faith, their lifestyle and habits have become more like those of North Africa pagans.

Therefore, they had no choice but to remain in North Africa, and France needed them to stay in North Africa because they were natural supporters of France. In order for them to continue living in North Africa, France had to secure a piece of land for them large enough to support their entire families.