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

treaties with the western powers, payments in naval stores preserved their
original meaning.
This research work has also detected a mutation in the meaning of
tribute and presents. By the end of the 18 th century, time at which Algiers came
into contact with the Americans, westerners corrupted the original meaning of
tribute which then became synonymous of extortion or protection money.
Moreover, European consuls transformed consular presents into a form of
corruption to obtain more favors and privileges but also to exclude their
competitors. In the race for political influence and trading advantages at
Algiers, western consuls and all sorts of adventurers intrigued, corrupted, and
bribed state official. The more expensive were consular presents, the less the
weakest and lesser-moneyed countries could compete. Therefore, presents lost
their original meaning as symbols of office and were transformed into a
diplomatic arm by means of which European powers sought to exclude new
competitors—like the United States—from Mediterranean profits.
Fourth, contrary to western allegations, this work concludes that
captivity at Algiers was not slavery and that it was not an exclusive Algerian
deed. Christian captives were not slaves but enslaved prisoners of war, an
ancient tradition of war sanctioned by the law of nations and practiced on both
shores of the Mediterranean basin. As such, their enslavement was neither
perpetual nor hereditary nor sanctioned by theories of biological inferiority as
was the case in western societies. By their status of war prisoners, they could
be liberated upon payment of ransom or exchange, also defined by legal
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