What is Barbary?
[[File:Barbary Coast 1590.jpg|thumb|346x346px|Map of 1590, showing the barbary coast.]] From about the 16th to the 19th century, '''barbary''' was a name for a region in North Africa, from [[Egypt]] to the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]], and from the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] to the [[Sahara]]. The states were called '''barbary states''' or '''berbery states''', after the people of the [[Berber people|Berbers]], who lived there. The coastal regions were commonly called '''barbary coast'''. During the era of [[Colonialism]], names were introduced or re-used, to split this area into single [[state]]s: [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], and [[Libya]]. Today, this region is commonly called [[Maghreb]]. [[Category:History of Africa]] [[Category:16th-century establishments]] [[Category:19th-century disestablishments]]