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

Gunboat Diplomacy, therefore, may be considered as a form of diplomacy
supported by a show of naval force and threat to use that force by one strong
country in order to impose its will on a weaker one. 129
Although this form of diplomacy had existed since earlier times, the
term did not come into use until the mid-19 th century. 130 As it appears from the
diplomatic history of Algiers with the European powers, already discussed in
chapter three, treaties with Algiers were most often concluded by European
navy admirals during naval missions organized for the purpose. The Dutch, in
fact, were the initiators of this form of negotiations that were accompanied by
threats to use force as testified by admiral Lambert’s capture and hanging of
Algerian corsairs in 1624 as a leverage to obtain the liberation of Dutch
prisoners and a more favorable treaty. 131 The English were not at rest; it was
during the Cromwellian and the Restoration periods that their gunboat
diplomacy found its way to Algiers. 132 France engaged in the same policy
starting from the 1680s 133 and even Denmark, a lesser power, tried it in the
1770s. 134 Spain, after it disappeared from the shores of Algiers after 1541,
returned with force starting from 1730s. Although Spain was successful in
retaking Oran in 1732, the naval expedition of 1775 was a total disaster for its
129 “Gunboat diplomacy,” A Dictionary of World History, 2000. (Accessed 4 September 2008).
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-gunboatdiplomacy.html
130 The notable Don Pacifico incident gave the concept its name. In 1850, Lord Palmerston, Great
Britain’s foreign secretary, dispatched a squadron of gunboats to blockade Greece to obtain
compensation for a British subject whose house in Athens was looted and burned. Boyd, Newell D.,
“Lord Palmerston.” Microsoft Encarta 2009 Premium. (Accessed 4 September 2008).
131 Krieken, Corsaires et marchands, p. 11 ; Panzac, Corsaires barbaresques, p. 26.
132 Matar, “Britain and Barbary,” p. 9-10; Parker, “Reading Barbary,” p. 102-4; Tucker, Dawn Like
Thunder, pp. 55-6.
133 Panzac, Corsaires barbaresques, p. 27.
134 Muller, Consuls, Corsairs, and Commerce, p. 127.
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