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

Should the Dey want to freight any American Vessel that may be in the
Regency or Turkey said Vessel not being engaged, in consequence of
the friendship subsisting between the two Nations he expects to have the
preference given him on his paying the Same freight offered by any
other Nation. 40
This article has since been subjected to all kinds of interpretations.
Samuel Flagg Bemis (1891-1973), who is no more than the father of American
diplomatic history, considered that the Dey acted principally “under a
gratuitous interpretation of the English translation of his treaty (of 1795)… and
forced Bainbridge to carry tribute to the Sultan of Turkey, shadowy sovereign
of the Barbary states.” 41 Bemis probably wanted to suggest that the Dey based
his decision on the Turkish original copy of the treaty. But, as discussed earlier,
the Turkish original was not respected by Cathcart and the Swedish consul
Skjoldebrand. More, even the authentic Hunter Miller translation of the original
Turkish copy of the treaty made in 1930 did not reveal the existence of any
counterpart of Article XIV of the original English translation in it. 42
Whatever
the allusion of Bemis, the Dey certainly did not refer to his copy of the treaty.
As O’Brien stated, the Dey asked for a favor on the basis of the custom of all
nations; and O’Brien confirmed that in the letter to Bainbridge. The latter, even
though he had another alternative, decided to hoist the Algerine flag:
40 SaL, 8:133-34, Treaty of Peace and Amity between the Dey and the United States of America (1795).
41 Samuel Flagg Bemis, A Diplomatic History of the United States, 5 th edition (New York/Chicago/San
Francisco: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1965), p. 340. Emphasis is added by this researcher.
42 Hunter Miller, ed., Treaties and other International Acts of the United States of America, vol. 2:
1776-1818 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1931), (Accessed 8 March 2008),
available at The Avalon Project at Yale Law School,
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/barbary.htm#r
347