Republic of Salé

Bou Regreg Republic
جمهورية بورقراق (Arabic)
República del Bu Regreg (Spanish)
1627–1668
Rabat-Salé, where the republic was located.
StatusUnder the suzerainty of the Zawiya Dila'iya (1641–1661)
CapitalKasbah
Common languagesArabic
Berber
Spanish
Spanish-based lingua franca
GovernmentCorsair republic
Commander 
 1627–1641
Sidi al-Ayachi
Governor 
 1651–1661
Abdullah ibn Mohammed al-Hajj
History 
 Established
1627
 Disestablished
1668
Area
1624–16680.91 km2 (0.35 sq mi)
Population
 1627–1640
13,000
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Saadi Sultanate
Alaouite Sultanate
Today part ofMorocco

The Republic of Salé, also known as the Bou Regreg Republic and the Republic of the Two Banks, was a city-state maritime corsair republic based at Salé in Morocco during the 17th century, located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river. It was founded by Moriscos from the town of Hornachos, in western Spain. The Moriscos were the descendants of Muslims who were nominally converted to Christianity, and were subject to mass deportation during Philip III's reign, following the expulsion of the Moriscos decrees. The republic's main commercial activities were the Barbary slave trade and piracy during its brief existence in the 17th century.