The English expedition to Algiers occurred between 1620 and 1621, it was a naval attack ordered by King James with the goal of ending Muslim piracy.

An "opponent of Islam", he damaged relations with the Regency of Algiers by issuing privateering licenses to his subjects, enabling them to attack ships of the Barbary states.

"[5] In 1620, an English fleet under the command of Robert Mansell, supported by Richard Hawkins and Thomas Button, was sent to Algiers to put an end to the grips of the Barbary pirates on the trade route passing through the Strait of Gibraltar.

Mansell was aware that this was a small amount since the Algerians had captured 150 English vessels in the past six years, however he was not prepared to fight and sailed away.

[1][2][3] The expedition prompted a violent response by the Algerian pirates: they not only raided merchant ships in the Mediterranean, but extended their piracy to the British mainland along the English Channel.