Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Barbary Wars

Starting point is 00:00:00 In the early years of the United States, American ships faced a threat far from home along the north coast of Africa. Sailors were captured, tribute was demanded, and the young republic had to decide whether it would pay for peace or fight for its place in the high seas. The result was America's first overseas military conflict and the birth of a new navy. Yet despite its historical significance, it's been almost completely forgotten today. Learn more about the Barbary Wars on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast with Benjamin Boster. If you're tired of sleepless nights, you'll love the I Can't Sleep podcast.

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Starting point is 00:01:57 second passports overseas. On the show, Jordan dives into the minds of fascinating people, including everyone from athletes, authors, scientists, mobsters, spies, and hostage negotiators. If you like this podcast, you'll probably like the variety and in-depth interviews on the Jordan Harbinger Show. You can't go wrong with adding The Jordan Harbinger Show to your rotation. It's incredibly interesting and there's never a dull show. Search for The Jordan Harbinger Show. That's H-A-R-B- as-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-Y-R on Apple Podcasts, Spotify. or wherever you listen to podcasts. During the 17th and 18th century,

Starting point is 00:02:36 four states along the North African coast, Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, known collectively as the Barbary States, operated a system of organized maritime piracy that functioned as both a business and a form of statecraft. Pirates from the Barbary states would seize unprotected merchant ships

Starting point is 00:02:55 off the north coast of Africa and demand ransoms from the cruise families and governments. The general practice at the time was to simply pay tributes to the pirates for safe passage in the Mediterranean rather than confront them militarily. Morocco was an independent kingdom, while Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli owed a loose alliance to the Ottoman Empire but effectively operated autonomously. These were not simple criminal enterprises, but quasi-sovereign entities whose rulers understood that the threat of violence was a renewable economic resource. European powers had found it cheaper to pay than to fight. The two major European powers, Great Britain and France, found it expedient to encourage the Barbary State policies and to pay tribute to them, as this allowed their merchant shipping to secure a larger share of Mediterranean

Starting point is 00:03:46 trade. Captured ships were often seized, their cargo sold, and their crews enslaved or held for ransom. This system had existed for centuries. Before independence, America, American merchant ships had been protected by the British Royal Navy and treaties Britain had signed with the Barbary Powers. However, once the United States became independent, that protection disappeared. American ships now sailed under a weak new flag backed by no serious Navy and no established diplomatic leverage. To the Barbary rulers, the United States was just another maritime state that could be forced to pay for safe passage. The problem appeared almost. immediately after the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War.

Starting point is 00:04:36 In 1784, Moroccan Corsairs captured the American Brig Betsy. Morocco, however, proved to be the easiest of the Barbary Powers to deal with. In 1786, the United States signed a treaty with Morocco, one of the earliest treaties in American diplomatic history. That treaty recognized American shipping rights and established peaceful relations. Morocco would remain the least troublesome of the Barbary states to the United States. Alger's, however, was a much bigger problem. In 1785, Algerian corsairs captured the American ships Maria and Dauphin, taking their cruise prisoner.

Starting point is 00:05:15 The United States, under the Articles of Confederation, had almost no ability to respond. It had no Navy, little money, and a very weak central government. American diplomats such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams debated how to respond. Adams believed paying tribute might be unavoidable, at least temporarily, because the United States lacked any force. Jefferson favored building a Navy and resisting tribute, arguing that paying only encouraged more demands. It was kind of the 18th century version of, we don't negotiate with terrorists. The debate exposed a basic weakness in the early United States. American merchants wanted access to Mediterranean trade, but the government lacked the tools to defend them.

Starting point is 00:06:02 In 1794, the continuing threat from Algiers helped lead the Congress to authorize the creation of the United States Navy. The Naval Act of 1794 provided for six frigates, including famous ships such as the USS Constitution, the USS United States, and the USS Constellation. These ships were originally intended, in large part, to deal with the Barbary, pirate threat, although they would first see major action during the quasi-war with France. Despite the naval buildup, the United States initially chose tribute. In 1795, it signed a treaty with Algiers, agreeing to pay large sums and provide equipment to build and maintain ships in exchange for the release of American captives and protection for American shipping. Similar arrangements followed with Tripoli and Tunis. This was humiliating for the country, but practical.

Starting point is 00:06:55 The United States was still young, financially strained, and militarily limited. So paying tribute bought them time. However, the arrangement didn't last. The most serious challenge came from Tripoli, ruled by Yusuf Karamandli, the Pasha of Tripoli. He believed that the United States was not paying him enough compared to what it paid Algiers. In 1801, shortly after Thomas Jefferson became president, Tripoli demanded a larger payment, and Jefferson refused. In response, Tripoli declared war by cutting down the flagpole at the U.S. consulate, the traditional local sign that relations had been broken.

Starting point is 00:07:34 This was the beginning of what became known as the first Barbary War, fought from 1801 to 1805. It was not a conventional war with mass armies on land. It was a naval and diplomatic conflict centered on blockades, raids, coastal bombardments, prisoner exchanges, and pressure on Tripoli's government. It was also not a war declared by Congress as specified under the Constitution. Jefferson sent a naval squadron to the Mediterranean. At first, the American efforts were very cautious. The Navy was new, commanders had limited experience operating so far from home, and logistics so far from home were very difficult.

Starting point is 00:08:14 The United States had to maintain ships across the Atlantic, negotiate with European ports, and operate near hostile shores. Still, the deployment itself was significant. It showed that the United States was willing to send armed forces overseas to defend its commerce. The early war featured blockades of Tripoli and engagements with Tripolitan vessels. One of the first dramatic American successes came in 1801 when the Schooner USS Enterprise, commanded by Lieutenant Andrew Sterrett, defeated the Tripolitan corsair named Tripoli. because Congress had not issued a formal declaration of war, the captured enemy ship was disarmed and released rather than taken as a prize. And that reflected the ambiguous nature of the conflict. Tripoli considered itself at war, but the United States treated the matter as a limited naval campaign

Starting point is 00:09:06 authorized by presidential and congressional action, which was short of a formal war. The war's most famous disaster came in October of 1803 when the war's most famous disaster came in October of 1803 when the frigate USS Philadelphia, commanded by Captain William Bainbridge, ran aground on a uncharted reef while blockading Tripoli. The ship couldn't be freed and Tripolitan forces captured it along with its crew of more than 300 men. This was a major blow to the Americans. The Philadelphia was one of the most powerful ships in the U.S. Navy, and if Tripoli managed to refloat it and use it, the balance of power in the region could shift. The American response became one of the legendary episodes in early U.S. naval history. In February 1804, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a small

Starting point is 00:09:53 raiding party into Tripoli Harbor aboard the Intrepid, disguised as a local vessel. Decatur and his men boarded the Philadelphia, overcame its guards, set the ship on fire, and escaped. The raid denied Tripoli the use of the frigate and became a minor military victory and a major morale victory. British Admiral Horatio Nelson is often said to have called it one of the most daring acts of the age. The United States also bombard Tripoli from the sea in 1804. Commodore Edward Preble led aggressive attacks against the harbor using frigates, gunboats, and mortar vessels. These actions did not capture the city, but they increased pressure on the Pasha and demonstrated that American forces could operate effectively in the Mediterranean.

Starting point is 00:10:37 At the same time, the United States pursued a landward political strategy. Former U.S. consul, William Eaton, promoted a plan to replace Eustah, Karamanli with his brother Hamit Karamonli, who had been pushed out of power. Eaton believed that backing Hammett could force Tripoli to make peace or even create a friendly government. With a small force of U.S. Marines, Greek and Arab mercenaries, and supporters of Hammett, Eaton marched across the desert from Egypt towards Tripolitan territory. This campaign produced the Battle of Durna in April of 1805. Eaton's force supported by U.S. naval vessels offshore captured the city of Derna. It was the first time the American flag was raised

Starting point is 00:11:21 in victory on a foreign battlefield, and it was later immortalized in the Marine Corps hymn with the phrase to the shores of Tripoli. Militarily, Durna was not the conquest of Tripoli itself, but psychologically and diplomatically, it mattered a great deal. It showed that the United States could threaten the Pasha from both land and sea. The war ended in 1805 with a treaty between the United States and Tripoli. The agreement required the United States to pay $60,000 for the release of American prisoners from the Philadelphia, but it did not agree to the kind of continuing annual tribute that Tripoli had demanded. And this left the outcome unresolved. The United States did pay a ransom so it was not a total refusal to pay anything, but it also proved willing to fight rather than say, and

Starting point is 00:12:11 submit to escalating demands, and it secured peace on better terms than Tripoli had originally sought. The first Barbary War became a source of national pride. It strengthened the reputation of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, gave early American officers valuable experience, and helped create a tradition of defending American commerce abroad. It also reinforced Jefferson's belief that a republic could use a limited naval force without maintaining a large standing army. However, the Barbary problem wasn't fully solved. After the First Barbary War, the United States still had to manage relations with Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. During the War of 1812, American attention turned back to Britain. With the U.S. Navy occupied, Algiers resumed attacks on American shipping. In 1812, the leader of

Starting point is 00:12:58 Algiers rejected the existing agreement with the United States and declared war. American ships were captured, and Americans were again held prisoner. But once the war of 1812 ended, the United States moved quickly. In 1815, President James Monroe sent a squadron to the Mediterranean under Commodore Stephen Durkater, who became one of the country's most celebrated naval officers. This began the second Barbary War. Decatur's campaign was swift and aggressive. In June of 1815, his squadron captured the Algerian flagship Mashuda off the coast of Spain. Soon after, he captured another Algerian vessel, the Estidio. These victories gave Decatur. immediate leverage. He then sailed to Algiers and demanded a treaty. Faced with an American naval force

Starting point is 00:13:46 in no time to prepare, Algiers capitulated. The resulting treaty ended tribute payments by the United States to Algiers, freed American prisoners without ransom, and requested compensation for seized American property. Decatur then sailed to Tunis and Tripoli and pressured those governments into similar settlements, including compensation for violating American ships during the recent conflicts. The second Barbary War was much shorter than the first, but in some ways it was more decisive. The United States no longer approached the Barbary States as a weak country seeking just tolerable terms. To be fair, Barbary piracy did not end solely because of the United States. European powers, especially Britain and later France, also acted against the Barbary states.

Starting point is 00:14:33 In 1816, a joint British Dutch fleet bombarded Algiers and forced the release of many European captives. France's conquest of Algiers in 1830 effectively ended Algiers as a Barbary power. But the American Wars were part of the much broader decline of the Mediterranean tribute system. The Barbary Wars had several lasting consequences for the United States. First, they helped justify the creation and maintenance of a permanent Navy. Many Americans in the 1790s had been suspicious of standing military forces, seeing them as a tool of monarchy and tyranny. But the Barbary crisis showed that a...

Starting point is 00:15:10 commercial republic needed to be a naval power. Second, the wars established an early precedent for American military action overseas. The United States did not fight the Barbary Wars to annexed territory or build an empire. It fought it just to protect trade, free captives, and end tribute. Third, the wars shifted the identity of the United States Marine Corps and Navy. Decatur's raid on the Philadelphia, the bombardments of Tripoli, and the capture of Durnah, all became foundational stories in these branches of service. In the end, the Barbary Wars were not merely episodes of piracy suppression. They were the young American republic's first real lesson in the cost of independence.

Starting point is 00:15:52 Without British protection, the United States had to decide whether it would pay for safety or build the power to defend itself. At first, it did both, and eventually it chose force over tribute. The result was a stronger Navy, a more confident foreign policy, and the first steps of the United States as a global power. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. I want to remind everyone that we're getting close to the sixth anniversary episode of the podcast

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Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Barbary Wars

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