Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with ... - Bibliothèque

prevent unscrupulous Americans from using forgeries during the whole
duration of the war of independence, i.e.: from 1776 to 1783.
Even after 1783, American ships “continued to fly British flags when
approached by the Algerians” and carried forged British passports from sheer
opportunism. 36 Such counterfeiting could not pass unnoticed by the British
authorities. Sir John Temple, the British Consul General at the United States,
wrote John Jay, American Secretary for Foreign Affairs, informing him that
“British Mediterranean passes are, and have been counterfeited at Philadelphia,
and that many ships and vessels belonging to the American States, have already
sailed with such passes.” 37 What is worthwhile noticing here is the approach
adopted by the British Consul and the American government alike. It was not
the illegality of the act in itself that was of much concern to Temple—probably
because the British were used to that and ended by closing their eyes—but the
argument he exhibited:
I lament the misery that such of your mariners will probably meet with,
should they, with such counterfeit passes, fall into the hands of the
Barbary corsairs, who have now become so nice and exact, with regard
to British Mediterranean passes of the last cut and form. 38
Probably knowing that his lamentation would not be sufficient argument for
putting an end to American’s so deeply rooted fraud, Temple did not hesitate to
wave Christians’ eternal scapegoat: the cruel Muslim pirate, the hostis humani
generis: “I am really of opinion,” he added, if caught, the counterfeiters
36 Lawrence A. Peskin, “The Lessons of Independence: How the Algerian Crisis Shaped early
American Identity,” Diplomatic History, 28: 3 (Jun., 2004), p. 297, 309.
37 USDC, 6:29, From John Temple to John Jay, June 7, 1785.
38 Ibid.; also see his reply to Jay using the same argument in ibid., 6:32.
171