Samson Rowlie (died after 1588), was Chief

Eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

and

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

during Ottoman rule. Born in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, the son of a

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

merchant, Francis Rowlie, he was captured aboard of the ''Swallow'' and castrated by the Ottomans in 1577. He converted from Christianity to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

and took the name Hassan Aga. He served the Beglerbeg of Algiers, Uluç Ali Pasha. Richard Hakluyt's 1589 collection, ''The Principal Navigations,'' included a 1586 letter from William Harborne, England's ambassador to the Ottoman court, addressed to Hassan Aga, for the purpose of negotiating prisoner release. A 1588 watercolor portrait depicts Hassan Aga with white skin and rosy cheeks, wearing a large turban. He was reported to have been murdered.

References

{{reflist 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Slaves from the Ottoman Empire Converts to Islam Eunuchs 16th-century slaves English Muslims Algerian people of English descent Slavery in Algeria