islamic-jihad-legacy-of-forced-conversion-imperialism-slavery

Islamic Slaverydiplomatic duty in Paris, he unsuccessfully tried to build a coalition of American-European naval powers forputting an end to the Barbary depredations of European and American trading ships. He faced opposition evenback from home; even John Adams opposed his idea. Adams, amongst many others, preferred the payment oftribute than engaging in a protracted war against a doggedly warrior people. When asked for Adams’ opinionabout organizing ‘‘an international taskforce comprised of all European nations whose shipping was beingvictimized,’’ he wrote to Jefferson that although his idea was ‘‘bold and wholly honourable…, We ought notto fight them at all unless we determine to fight them forever.’’ 926Meanwhile the depredation of American ships and enslavement of their crews continued; 130seamen had been captured between 1785 and 1793. The U.S. Government dispatched diplomats Joel Barlow,Joseph Donaldson, and Richard O’Brien to North Africa in 1795, who successfully concluded treaties withAlgiers, Tunis and Tripoli agreeing to pay tribute for the safe passage of American ships. Algiers also freed83 American sailors, it had enslaved. During the presidency of John Adams (1797–1801), America continuedpaying tribute, which gradually reached as high as 10 percent of the national budget.The humiliating exercise of paying tribute, combined with stories of appalling sufferings of whiteslaves in North African dungeons, gradually changed the public sentiment against ransom-payment and infavor of military actions. When Thomas Jefferson became the President in 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli, YusufQaramanli, citing late payment of tribute declared war on the United States, seizing two American brigs, anddemanded additional tributes. This followed demands for larger tributes from other Barbary States as well.Jefferson was all along totally against the humiliating exercise of paying tribute to the Barbary States. Asearly as in 1784, he had told Congressman James Monroe (later U.S. President, 1817–25): ‘‘Would it not bebetter to offer then an equal treaty? If they refuse, why not go to war with them… We ought to begin a navalpower if we mean to carry on our own commerce.’’ 927Not forgotten of his encounter with the Tripolian ambassador sixteen years earlier, the newPresident, without informing the Congress, sent forth a naval fleet to Barbary North Africa. In retaliation,Tripoli declared war on the United States in May 1801 and Morocco soon followed suit. America soonsuffered a setback when Tripoli captured the U.S. frigate Philadelphia, but Edward Preble and StephenDecatur soon mounted a heroic raid on the Tripolian harbor, destroying the captured ship and inflicting heavydamage on the city’s defences. This news created great excitement in the U.S. and Europe: a new power hasarrived on the world-stage.Meanwhile William Eaton, American consul in Tunis, allied with Hamid, the exiled brother ofTripolian pasha Yusuf Karamanli, offering him to make the American nominee for Tripoli’s crown. The ploydid not receive appreciation back home, but Eaton pursued it anyway. In 1805, he made a daring journey witha small detachment of marines and a force of irregulars across the desert from Egypt to Tripoli. They made asurprise attack and the city of Darna with its huge garrison surrendered. As Eaton had engaged pasha’s forces,Jefferson and Karamanli reached an understanding to end the war. The terms of truce included the release ofthe Philadelphia crew upon payment of a tribute, but America would pay no more tribute in future. In this,stressed Jefferson, Eaton’s derring-do had played a part. Daring and uncompromising, Eaton denounced thedeal as a sellout.New hostilities began between Britain and the United States in 1812. Exploiting this Anglo-American hostility, the new pasha of Algiers, Hajji Ali, rejected the American tribute negotiated in the 1795treaty as insufficient. Algerian corsairs resumed the capture of American ships. Once the Treaty of Ghentended the war with Britain, President James Madison requested the Congress to declare war on Algiers. On 3March 1815, the war was declared and Madison dispatched the battle-hardened naval force under thecommand of Stephen Decatur to North Africa again to put a complete end to the piracy problem. The U.S.926. Ibid927. Ibid262