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

the same way the Mediterranean system of trade, by making lucrative
businesses without having to conclude treaties and assume charges.
Chapter V discusses the founding principles of American foreign policy
and looks at Algiers through American lenses. In addition to a chaotic
diplomatic machinery and financial weaknesses of the Confederation Congress,
the chapter depicts the place Algiers occupied in European and American
foreign policy and comes out with the conclusion that it was no more than a
pawn which was moved on the chessboard of shrewd players.
Chapter VI moves to detail one of three major events in Algerian-
American relations: the crisis of 1786. It starts with an account of a routine act
of capture of two American ships and ends by an assessment of that first
official contact. It also provides an analysis of the prevailing conditions and
shows how Algiers was transformed to fodder in a huge federalist propaganda
machine. The American politics of fear which fabricated and inflated an
‘Algerine scare’ permitted the adoption of the Constitution of 1787.
Chapter VII centers on the treaty of 1795. It describes the general
circumstances which led to its conclusion and reveals persistence of the Deypawn
theory. Stress is put on the terms of the treaty which, although
overwhelmingly advantageous to the United States, were not respected in
matters of payments and prescribed delays and led to further complications in
relations between Algiers and the United States.
Finally, Chapter VIII covers the closing period 1798-1816 and provides
an analysis of the major events which culminated in the American show of
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