The United States' First War on Terrorism
As the Iraq War has just ended and the War in Afghanistan is now
winding down, most Americans are under the false impression of this
nation beginning its "war on terror", as President George W. Bush
coined the phrase, since the dawn of the 21st Century and
this is just not true. The United States has been fighting terrorism
since shortly after its independence. Compared to the rest of the
world, the United States is still very young. This nation was born into
a very hostile world ruled by monarchies that did not wish this new
democracy well. At the time of its birth, there was an unexpected
problem that the new American leaders were unsure as to how to confront,
which was known as piracy. This piracy was nothing more than state
sponsored terrorism of its day. In this case, it existed in the
Mediterranean Sea along the North African Coast.
As a result of this, the fledgling United States was considered an easy target due to the lack of protection for its merchant ships sailing into the Mediterranean Sea. These merchant ships were boarded by pirates, its crews held for ransom, and/or sold into slavery. This forced a nation governed under the Constitution of the United States to establish what we now know of as the United States Navy to help defend against terrorism in the Mediterranean Sea. This would lead to little unknown wars known as the First and Second Barbary War. Not only America’s first war overseas governed under the Constitution of the United States, but also America’s first war on terrorism which began in 1801.
The Barbary Pirates were a collective which came from the coastal regions of what are now Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya (formerly known as Tripoli). Their leaders were known as Pasha’s and Deys. “Piracy was sponsored by the rulers of these regions, which generated a large amount of profit for these areas.”[1] When a foreign ship sailed into their waters, which they defined to be pretty far out from their coast line, they would refuse entry until tribute was paid. Once they received payment, they would allow the foreign vessel to pass. When tribute was refused, the Barbary pirates would seize the ship and crew, and hold them until their nation had not only paid the tribute, but now had to pay a ransom for the release of their sailors. Most of the time, the captured vessel would not be returned, but instead be brought into the fleet of the Barbary Pirates.
In most instances, the European powers of the time (England, France, Spain, and Portugal), had over the years worked out an arrangement with the pirates, in which annual tribute was paid in advance. “For a number of years, paying tribute had been British policy.”[2] This can be considered an insurance policy for their ships having safe passage through the Mediterranean Sea. “England and France hoped to bankrupt other nations by driving up the going rate of tribute.”[3] They would do this to try and bankrupt their rivals so they would have unchallenged trade throughout Mediterranean Sea. “If there were no Algiers, we would have to build one.”[4] Not only was this beneficial for England and France at the time, but by sponsoring them, it empowered the terrorist acts carried out Barbary Corsairs.
“Independence abruptly ended that arrangement, and American vessels were now on their own.”[5] By the late 1700’s there was a new nation on the international scene, the United States of America was eager and hungry to get involved in the trading scene that Europe had greatly profited from. However, America was in for a rude awakening once it got involved. “As long as the American colonies were part of the empire, their vessels and trade were protected.”[6] When the Thirteen Colonies were under British rule, they were protected under the British umbrella of insurance. However, after 1783, this new nation of states was forced to deal with this problem of piracy on its own. At this time, no nation had wished the United States well. England certainly did not wish America well, they were not good losers. Although France was an ally during the revolution, they were now considered rivals. At the time of its birth, the United States was already involved with border wars with Native Americans, and naval conflict with Revolutionary France.
One major problem with the United States Government during the 1780’s was that it really did not have the available funds to neither pay the tribute, nor build a navy to protect its merchant ships. “With no navy to protect them and no money to buy a treaty or ransom the captives, Congress spent most of its time lamenting its own weakness.”[7] After the American Revolution, many of the ships used by the young nation were disarmed and sold to private shipping companies to raise revenue to help pay off the huge debt it had incurred during the war for independence. As a result, many American sailors were enslaved by the pirates and forced to build fortifications along the Barbary Coast. This went on for quite some time until the problem became so bad, that it could no longer be ignored.
Thomas Jefferson had been the loudest voice throughout the 1780’s and 1790’s, but was unable to persuade Congress, as well as President George Washington to do anything about it. However, in 1794, when the cost of tribute was astronomical, this could not be allowed to continue. As a result, Congress passes the Naval Act of 1794 on March 27, 1794 and established the first naval force of the United States of America. This was the creation of what we now know of as the United States Navy.
“The Naval Act of 1794 provided for the construction of four ships to carry forty guns each, and two ships to carry thirty-six guns each.”[8] This was a major idealistic shift for the young Republic, many of statesmen of the time felt that a Navy would be too expensive to raise and preserve, too imperialistic, and would unnecessarily provoke the European powers. In the end, however, it proved to be necessary to protect American interests at sea.
In March 1796, as construction of the frigates slowly progressed, a peace accord was announced between the United States and the Dey of Algiers. In accordance with clause nine of the Naval Act of 1794, a clause that specifically directed that construction of the frigates be discontinued if peace was established, construction on all six ships was halted. After heated debate, Congress agreed to continue to fund the construction of the three ships closest to completion. The most popular ship to come from this was the USS Constitution, which is still afloat today in Boston, Massachusetts.
This was a short lived peace, because only two years later, the Barbary Coast pirates resumed seizing American ships and demanding tribute be paid to pass. The President of the United States at this time John Adams, and his views are to just pay the tribute and get on with business. However, Vice President Thomas Jefferson demanded it was not a matter of business; it was a matter of honor. Thomas Jefferson felt that if America demanded respect through the presence of a naval force in the Mediterranean Sea, it would gain stature in the eyes of Europe, which was the center of the world at the time. This disagreement would last until the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as the third President of the United States.
In 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli, Yussif Karamanli demanded tribute at the cost of $225,000. “At the time of his demand, United States revenues totaled a little over $10 million.”[9] It is obvious to see how the United States considered this too much money to pay out as tribute. With a large amount of confidence in the newly established United States Navy, Thomas Jefferson refused the demand for tribute. Consequently, the Pasha of Tripoli chopped down the flagstaff in front of the U.S. Consulate. This was a sign of a declaration of war against the United States.
In response to the actions of Yussif Karamanli, Jefferson sent a group of frigates to protect American interests in the Mediterranean Sea, and informed Congress. Although Congress never voted on a formal declaration of war, they did authorize the President to carry extended military engagements against those carrying out these state sponsored terrorist acts in the Mediterranean Sea and respond to the Pasha of Tripoli’s’ declaration of war against the United States.
The first naval battle was a victory for the United States when the USS Enterprise defeated the Tripolitan Corsair named Tripoli. Up to this point, the United States Navy went unchallenged in the Mediterranean Sea. Thomas Jefferson decided to have 4 ships, led by Commodore Edward Preble, who already in the Mediterranean, set up a blockade of Tripoli Harbor. This proved to be a tactical error and failure since the USS Philadelphia was boarded and captured by the Barbary Corsairs. The pirates now took the ship and began preparation to put the most heavily armed warship in the area into their fleet. “Bringing her free was impossible; she must be destroyed. But how? The answer came from Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, commander of the Enterprize. He too had been giving a great deal of thought to the problem, and he now proposed to the commodore a plan. No American vessel could ever hope to gain the harbor of Tripoli, but Mastico, with her Tripolitan rig and appearance, might well be able to penetrate without raising suspicion. Why not send her in with Americans hidden below, come up to the Philadelphia, board, and burn her?”[10]
The ship, its captain, William Bainbridge, and all officers and crew were taken ashore and held as hostages. On February 16, 1804, a small contingent of U.S. sailors in a disguised USS Intrepid (This was the captured enemy vessel Mastico, which had been captured by the Navy when she left Tripoli three months earlier) and led by Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, Jr., were able to invade the harbor of Tripoli and burn the USS Philadelphia since he was unable to leave with it under fire, denying her use to the enemy. Stephen Decatur bravery in action made him one of the first American military heroes since the Revolution. “Admiral Lord Nelson of the Royal Navy is said to have called this "the most bold and daring act of the age"”.[11]
This unprecedented and highly successful operation made Lieutenant Decatur the first national hero since the American Revolution. His status was enhanced by his courageous conduct during bombardment of Tripoli in August of 1804. In that action, he led his men in hand-to-hand combat while boarding and capturing an enemy gunboat. Stephen Decatur was subsequently promoted to the rank of Captain, which made him the youngest Captain ever for the United States, and over the next eight years had command of several frigates.
From this point forward, there were many inconclusive battles that kept this conflict pretty much at a stalemate. It was not until William Eaton came to the shores of Tripoli with eight Marines and one midshipman, that there was a turning point in this war. Because of his experience in the North African region, he was appointed Navy agent for the Barbary Regencies in May of 1804. He devised a plan that would take the deposed leader of Tripoli, Hamet Karamanli, and put him in power in as the Pasha of Tripoli. He was the brother of current Pasha of Tripoli, Yussif Karamanli. From there, he organized a group of about 200 Christian and 300 Muslim mercenaries to begin the takeover of Tripoli starting with Derna. “From this come the first lines of the Marine Corps Hymn, “From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli.””[12] William Eaton led the attack in the Battle of Derna on April, 1805. “On 27 April Argus and Hornet came into sight. The entire American force, land and sea, was now in place for the attack. Eaton delivered the ultimatum to the governor of the city.”[13] This is known as the first Battle of American troops overseas on foreign soil. It also established the Marine Corps as a fighting force overseas for the United States. This is the first time the United States ever had their flag fly on captured territory overseas. The town's capture, and the threat of further advance on Tripoli, was a strong influence toward peace, negotiated in June 1805 with the Pasha of Tripoli.
The peace that was negotiated would end the seizing and demands for tribute by the Barbary Pirates. Although the Senate did not approve the treaty until the following year, this effectively ended the First Barbary War. On some level the United States did gain the respect and stature it was looking for at that time. It also proved to be great experience for those who would come to lead the navy in upcoming conflicts. However, a few years later, the Barbary Corsairs would continue it’s seizing of American ships, as well as demanding tribute.
As time would progress, the actions of the Barbary Pirates would become overshadowed with the growing tensions between the United States and the United Kingdom. By the time the War of 1812 been declared on June18, 1812, the United States did not have the time nor the resources to confront the Barbary Corsairs. The removal of American vessels from the Mediterranean during the War of 1812 by the British navy further emboldened the pirate nations. “Hadji Ali reacted favorably to British Attempts to stir up the Barbary powers against the Americans during the war of 1812 by declaring war on the United States.”[14] After the War of 1812 came to a close, the United States could now focus on the resurfacing of problems in the Mediterranean Sea.
At this time President James Madison and in March, 1815, the Congress of the United States again gave the President authorization for extended military engagements along the North African Coast, and a force of ten ships were dispatched under the command of Commodores Stephen Decatur, Jr. and William Bainbridge. Both of these naval commanders were veterans of the First Barbary War. Decatur's squadron departed for the Mediterranean on May, 1815. William Bainbridge's command was still assembling, and did not depart until July of the same year, in so doing missing the military and diplomatic initiatives which Decatur quickly and decisively handled with the Dey of Algiers.
Shortly after departing Gibraltar en route to Algiers, Decatur's squadron encountered the Algerian flagship Meshuda. After a quick action, Decatur captured it. Shortly after this, the American squadron likewise captured the Algerian brig Estedio. By the last week of June, the squadron had reached Algiers and had opened negotiations with the Dey. After unrelenting demands for compensation mingled with threats of destruction, the Dey surrendered. By terms of the treaty signed aboard the Guerriere in the bay of Algiers in July of 1815, Decatur agreed to return the captured Meshuda and Estedio while the Algerians returned all American captives. This was estimated to be about ten, and a significant proportion of European captives were exchanged for about five hundred subjects of the Dey along with $10,000 in payment for seized shipping. The treaty guaranteed no further tributes and granted the United States full shipping rights.
After Decatur set off for Tunis to negotiate a similar agreement with the Bey of Tunis and enforce prior agreements with the Pasha of Tripoli, the Dey repudiated the treaty. The next year an Anglo-Dutch fleet, under the command of British admiral Viscount Exmouth, delivered a punishing nine-hour bombardment of Algiers. The attack immobilized many of the Dey's corsairs and coerced from him a second treaty which reaffirmed the conditions imposed by Decatur. In addition, the Dey agreed to end the practice of enslaving Christians.
Unlike after the First Barbary war, in which the European nations were engaged in warfare with one another (and with the US to a British extent in regards to the War of 1812), there was no general European war after the Second Barbary War. Consequently the age of colonization allowed the Europeans to build up their resources and challenge Barbary power in the Mediterranean Sea without distraction. The Barbary States declined in power after the Second Barbary war. Algiers and Tunis became colonies of France in 1830 and 1881 respectively, while Tripoli returned to the control of the Ottoman Empire in 1835, becoming a colony of Italy in 1911. Europeans remained in control of the government there until the mid-twentieth century. By then the Iron-clads of the late 19th century and destroyers of the early 20th century ensured European and American dominance of the Mediterranean Sea.
As William Fowler states, “The return of Decatur’s squadron marked the end of an era. Since its founding the United States had been almost constantly embroiled in war, wars that had imperiled the very existence of the nation. That was now past, independence was vindicated, and the American republic was firmly established as a national entity with which to be reckoned. For this, much credit must go to the navy of the new republic”[15]
As a result of this, the fledgling United States was considered an easy target due to the lack of protection for its merchant ships sailing into the Mediterranean Sea. These merchant ships were boarded by pirates, its crews held for ransom, and/or sold into slavery. This forced a nation governed under the Constitution of the United States to establish what we now know of as the United States Navy to help defend against terrorism in the Mediterranean Sea. This would lead to little unknown wars known as the First and Second Barbary War. Not only America’s first war overseas governed under the Constitution of the United States, but also America’s first war on terrorism which began in 1801.
The Barbary Pirates were a collective which came from the coastal regions of what are now Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya (formerly known as Tripoli). Their leaders were known as Pasha’s and Deys. “Piracy was sponsored by the rulers of these regions, which generated a large amount of profit for these areas.”[1] When a foreign ship sailed into their waters, which they defined to be pretty far out from their coast line, they would refuse entry until tribute was paid. Once they received payment, they would allow the foreign vessel to pass. When tribute was refused, the Barbary pirates would seize the ship and crew, and hold them until their nation had not only paid the tribute, but now had to pay a ransom for the release of their sailors. Most of the time, the captured vessel would not be returned, but instead be brought into the fleet of the Barbary Pirates.
In most instances, the European powers of the time (England, France, Spain, and Portugal), had over the years worked out an arrangement with the pirates, in which annual tribute was paid in advance. “For a number of years, paying tribute had been British policy.”[2] This can be considered an insurance policy for their ships having safe passage through the Mediterranean Sea. “England and France hoped to bankrupt other nations by driving up the going rate of tribute.”[3] They would do this to try and bankrupt their rivals so they would have unchallenged trade throughout Mediterranean Sea. “If there were no Algiers, we would have to build one.”[4] Not only was this beneficial for England and France at the time, but by sponsoring them, it empowered the terrorist acts carried out Barbary Corsairs.
“Independence abruptly ended that arrangement, and American vessels were now on their own.”[5] By the late 1700’s there was a new nation on the international scene, the United States of America was eager and hungry to get involved in the trading scene that Europe had greatly profited from. However, America was in for a rude awakening once it got involved. “As long as the American colonies were part of the empire, their vessels and trade were protected.”[6] When the Thirteen Colonies were under British rule, they were protected under the British umbrella of insurance. However, after 1783, this new nation of states was forced to deal with this problem of piracy on its own. At this time, no nation had wished the United States well. England certainly did not wish America well, they were not good losers. Although France was an ally during the revolution, they were now considered rivals. At the time of its birth, the United States was already involved with border wars with Native Americans, and naval conflict with Revolutionary France.
One major problem with the United States Government during the 1780’s was that it really did not have the available funds to neither pay the tribute, nor build a navy to protect its merchant ships. “With no navy to protect them and no money to buy a treaty or ransom the captives, Congress spent most of its time lamenting its own weakness.”[7] After the American Revolution, many of the ships used by the young nation were disarmed and sold to private shipping companies to raise revenue to help pay off the huge debt it had incurred during the war for independence. As a result, many American sailors were enslaved by the pirates and forced to build fortifications along the Barbary Coast. This went on for quite some time until the problem became so bad, that it could no longer be ignored.
Thomas Jefferson had been the loudest voice throughout the 1780’s and 1790’s, but was unable to persuade Congress, as well as President George Washington to do anything about it. However, in 1794, when the cost of tribute was astronomical, this could not be allowed to continue. As a result, Congress passes the Naval Act of 1794 on March 27, 1794 and established the first naval force of the United States of America. This was the creation of what we now know of as the United States Navy.
“The Naval Act of 1794 provided for the construction of four ships to carry forty guns each, and two ships to carry thirty-six guns each.”[8] This was a major idealistic shift for the young Republic, many of statesmen of the time felt that a Navy would be too expensive to raise and preserve, too imperialistic, and would unnecessarily provoke the European powers. In the end, however, it proved to be necessary to protect American interests at sea.
In March 1796, as construction of the frigates slowly progressed, a peace accord was announced between the United States and the Dey of Algiers. In accordance with clause nine of the Naval Act of 1794, a clause that specifically directed that construction of the frigates be discontinued if peace was established, construction on all six ships was halted. After heated debate, Congress agreed to continue to fund the construction of the three ships closest to completion. The most popular ship to come from this was the USS Constitution, which is still afloat today in Boston, Massachusetts.
This was a short lived peace, because only two years later, the Barbary Coast pirates resumed seizing American ships and demanding tribute be paid to pass. The President of the United States at this time John Adams, and his views are to just pay the tribute and get on with business. However, Vice President Thomas Jefferson demanded it was not a matter of business; it was a matter of honor. Thomas Jefferson felt that if America demanded respect through the presence of a naval force in the Mediterranean Sea, it would gain stature in the eyes of Europe, which was the center of the world at the time. This disagreement would last until the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as the third President of the United States.
In 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli, Yussif Karamanli demanded tribute at the cost of $225,000. “At the time of his demand, United States revenues totaled a little over $10 million.”[9] It is obvious to see how the United States considered this too much money to pay out as tribute. With a large amount of confidence in the newly established United States Navy, Thomas Jefferson refused the demand for tribute. Consequently, the Pasha of Tripoli chopped down the flagstaff in front of the U.S. Consulate. This was a sign of a declaration of war against the United States.
In response to the actions of Yussif Karamanli, Jefferson sent a group of frigates to protect American interests in the Mediterranean Sea, and informed Congress. Although Congress never voted on a formal declaration of war, they did authorize the President to carry extended military engagements against those carrying out these state sponsored terrorist acts in the Mediterranean Sea and respond to the Pasha of Tripoli’s’ declaration of war against the United States.
The first naval battle was a victory for the United States when the USS Enterprise defeated the Tripolitan Corsair named Tripoli. Up to this point, the United States Navy went unchallenged in the Mediterranean Sea. Thomas Jefferson decided to have 4 ships, led by Commodore Edward Preble, who already in the Mediterranean, set up a blockade of Tripoli Harbor. This proved to be a tactical error and failure since the USS Philadelphia was boarded and captured by the Barbary Corsairs. The pirates now took the ship and began preparation to put the most heavily armed warship in the area into their fleet. “Bringing her free was impossible; she must be destroyed. But how? The answer came from Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, commander of the Enterprize. He too had been giving a great deal of thought to the problem, and he now proposed to the commodore a plan. No American vessel could ever hope to gain the harbor of Tripoli, but Mastico, with her Tripolitan rig and appearance, might well be able to penetrate without raising suspicion. Why not send her in with Americans hidden below, come up to the Philadelphia, board, and burn her?”[10]
The ship, its captain, William Bainbridge, and all officers and crew were taken ashore and held as hostages. On February 16, 1804, a small contingent of U.S. sailors in a disguised USS Intrepid (This was the captured enemy vessel Mastico, which had been captured by the Navy when she left Tripoli three months earlier) and led by Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, Jr., were able to invade the harbor of Tripoli and burn the USS Philadelphia since he was unable to leave with it under fire, denying her use to the enemy. Stephen Decatur bravery in action made him one of the first American military heroes since the Revolution. “Admiral Lord Nelson of the Royal Navy is said to have called this "the most bold and daring act of the age"”.[11]
This unprecedented and highly successful operation made Lieutenant Decatur the first national hero since the American Revolution. His status was enhanced by his courageous conduct during bombardment of Tripoli in August of 1804. In that action, he led his men in hand-to-hand combat while boarding and capturing an enemy gunboat. Stephen Decatur was subsequently promoted to the rank of Captain, which made him the youngest Captain ever for the United States, and over the next eight years had command of several frigates.
From this point forward, there were many inconclusive battles that kept this conflict pretty much at a stalemate. It was not until William Eaton came to the shores of Tripoli with eight Marines and one midshipman, that there was a turning point in this war. Because of his experience in the North African region, he was appointed Navy agent for the Barbary Regencies in May of 1804. He devised a plan that would take the deposed leader of Tripoli, Hamet Karamanli, and put him in power in as the Pasha of Tripoli. He was the brother of current Pasha of Tripoli, Yussif Karamanli. From there, he organized a group of about 200 Christian and 300 Muslim mercenaries to begin the takeover of Tripoli starting with Derna. “From this come the first lines of the Marine Corps Hymn, “From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli.””[12] William Eaton led the attack in the Battle of Derna on April, 1805. “On 27 April Argus and Hornet came into sight. The entire American force, land and sea, was now in place for the attack. Eaton delivered the ultimatum to the governor of the city.”[13] This is known as the first Battle of American troops overseas on foreign soil. It also established the Marine Corps as a fighting force overseas for the United States. This is the first time the United States ever had their flag fly on captured territory overseas. The town's capture, and the threat of further advance on Tripoli, was a strong influence toward peace, negotiated in June 1805 with the Pasha of Tripoli.
The peace that was negotiated would end the seizing and demands for tribute by the Barbary Pirates. Although the Senate did not approve the treaty until the following year, this effectively ended the First Barbary War. On some level the United States did gain the respect and stature it was looking for at that time. It also proved to be great experience for those who would come to lead the navy in upcoming conflicts. However, a few years later, the Barbary Corsairs would continue it’s seizing of American ships, as well as demanding tribute.
As time would progress, the actions of the Barbary Pirates would become overshadowed with the growing tensions between the United States and the United Kingdom. By the time the War of 1812 been declared on June18, 1812, the United States did not have the time nor the resources to confront the Barbary Corsairs. The removal of American vessels from the Mediterranean during the War of 1812 by the British navy further emboldened the pirate nations. “Hadji Ali reacted favorably to British Attempts to stir up the Barbary powers against the Americans during the war of 1812 by declaring war on the United States.”[14] After the War of 1812 came to a close, the United States could now focus on the resurfacing of problems in the Mediterranean Sea.
At this time President James Madison and in March, 1815, the Congress of the United States again gave the President authorization for extended military engagements along the North African Coast, and a force of ten ships were dispatched under the command of Commodores Stephen Decatur, Jr. and William Bainbridge. Both of these naval commanders were veterans of the First Barbary War. Decatur's squadron departed for the Mediterranean on May, 1815. William Bainbridge's command was still assembling, and did not depart until July of the same year, in so doing missing the military and diplomatic initiatives which Decatur quickly and decisively handled with the Dey of Algiers.
Shortly after departing Gibraltar en route to Algiers, Decatur's squadron encountered the Algerian flagship Meshuda. After a quick action, Decatur captured it. Shortly after this, the American squadron likewise captured the Algerian brig Estedio. By the last week of June, the squadron had reached Algiers and had opened negotiations with the Dey. After unrelenting demands for compensation mingled with threats of destruction, the Dey surrendered. By terms of the treaty signed aboard the Guerriere in the bay of Algiers in July of 1815, Decatur agreed to return the captured Meshuda and Estedio while the Algerians returned all American captives. This was estimated to be about ten, and a significant proportion of European captives were exchanged for about five hundred subjects of the Dey along with $10,000 in payment for seized shipping. The treaty guaranteed no further tributes and granted the United States full shipping rights.
After Decatur set off for Tunis to negotiate a similar agreement with the Bey of Tunis and enforce prior agreements with the Pasha of Tripoli, the Dey repudiated the treaty. The next year an Anglo-Dutch fleet, under the command of British admiral Viscount Exmouth, delivered a punishing nine-hour bombardment of Algiers. The attack immobilized many of the Dey's corsairs and coerced from him a second treaty which reaffirmed the conditions imposed by Decatur. In addition, the Dey agreed to end the practice of enslaving Christians.
Unlike after the First Barbary war, in which the European nations were engaged in warfare with one another (and with the US to a British extent in regards to the War of 1812), there was no general European war after the Second Barbary War. Consequently the age of colonization allowed the Europeans to build up their resources and challenge Barbary power in the Mediterranean Sea without distraction. The Barbary States declined in power after the Second Barbary war. Algiers and Tunis became colonies of France in 1830 and 1881 respectively, while Tripoli returned to the control of the Ottoman Empire in 1835, becoming a colony of Italy in 1911. Europeans remained in control of the government there until the mid-twentieth century. By then the Iron-clads of the late 19th century and destroyers of the early 20th century ensured European and American dominance of the Mediterranean Sea.
As William Fowler states, “The return of Decatur’s squadron marked the end of an era. Since its founding the United States had been almost constantly embroiled in war, wars that had imperiled the very existence of the nation. That was now past, independence was vindicated, and the American republic was firmly established as a national entity with which to be reckoned. For this, much credit must go to the navy of the new republic”[15]
[1] Robert J. Allison The Crescent Obscured (Chicago, Il. 2000)
[2] William M. Fowler Jack Tars and Commodores (Boston, MA. 1984)
[3] Richard J. Allison The Crescent Obscured (Chicago, Il. 2000)
[4] IBID
[5] William M. Fowler Jack Tars and Commodores (Boston, MA. 1984)
[6] IBID
[7] IBID
[8] Richard Zacks; The Pirate Coast (New York, NY. 2005).
[9] IBID
[10] William M. Fowler Jack Tars and Commodores (Boston, MA. 1984)
[11] http://www.navy.mil/navydata/people/secnav/dalton/speeches/traf1015.txt
[12] Richard Zacks; The Pirate Coast (New York, NY. 2005).
[13] William M. Fowler Jack Tars and Commodores (Boston, MA. 1984)
[14] A.B.C. Whipple To The Sores of Tripoli (Annapolis, MD. 1991)
[15] William M. Fowler Jack Tars and Commodores (Boston, MA. 1984)
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