The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-10-14
LAST OF THE sARsARY POWERS
Passing Of TrlpolI Final Curtain on
Long Historic Drama


Passing Of TrlpoII Final Curtain on
Long Historic Drama
The capture of Tripon by the Ital-
ians extinguishes the last word Of
legend that was once great Their
first act of occupation is to abolish
slavery, which has survived in Trip
oil in a mild domestic patriarchial
form. With the manumission disAp-
pears the very last OF the institu-
tons reminiscent OF the days when
the "Barbary Powers" we're distress
ing aetualities to the commerce OF
the world when dsys and beys col
leeted tribute from mercantile nas
ions, and despite this license 20
freedom of trade replenished their
slave markets with Christian ssamen
taken prisoners by the corsairs OF
Tripoli, Tunis and Algiers. Nor in
the lifetime of civilization is the
heydey OF the Barbary Powers so
very far back. Little more than one
hundred years ago these powers were
Tripoli, Tunis and Algiers. They
maintained navies which in effect
were pirate squadrons that preyed on
the commerce of nations that refus-
ed tribute and snapped UP prizes
from those who paid when nobody
was looking.
These corsair nations exerted
much to their surprise and chagrin
an influence on the United States on
J which they had little counted We,
after a time OF bare submission to
! their exactions concluded that ii was
cheaper to fight than to pay for It,
The war with Tripoli followed, which
helped form" our navy and raised
us to a position approaching respec-
liability in the eyes OF the world
which heretofore had believed Yam
KEGS could not be kicked into fighting
so long as there was a chance left
to trade. That war, by reason of the
.yalor and skill of our seamen, looms
large in our annals-a trife too large
for 1t has been frequently referred
to since the Italian Turkish War
opened as having forever put an end
to piracy in the Mediterranean. SO
far from this being fact the Bar
barry pirates made big profits while
the great Continental wars diverted
the attention of the naval powers
from the pernicious activity of Trip
oil, Tunis and Algiers. While we
we're fighting with Great Britain In
the War of 1872, the corsairs plum
dered American vessels and gener-
ally INDUCED In an insolence they
thought would pass unpublished. Az.
ter our peace with Great Britain our
fleets, under the command of Decatur
and cambridge, made a round of the
piratical ports, and compelled Trip
oil. Tunis and Alglers to apologize
and generally to amend their man
ners.
! AS the Dey of Algiers had robbed
impartially all nations and seized
British and Dutch ships. an allied
feet, principally British, bombarded
Algiers. knocked his castle to pieces
and exacted from him peace and the
abolition of Christian slavery. Ever
the object lessons which the United
States and Great Britain had giveI
did not act as complete deterrent
to all the corsair rulers, and in 1871.
the Congress of the European Pow
ers at Aix-la-Chapelle had to send {
notification to the Bey of Tunis thai
If he did not leave off poaching OF
the merchant marines of the nations
they would concertedly do something
to him that would prove painful &c
} his dignity and person. The Bey
Immediately became decent. AlgIers
the strongest OF the Barbary Powers
was reluctant to come to order, and
In 1880 France landed an army and
in due time converted Algeria into q
French colony, but only after the
J hardest of hard fighting There wal
no more chance for revival OF piracy
= In the Mediterranean after the fall
| of Algiers, but its death blow came
} not long after 1t had made a spas
= modic exhibition of activity There
must be many men now living who
remember old Admiral Goldsborougf
who died in 1877 When he was
: young Lieutenant Goldsborough II
= the late twenties distinguished him
self by his dash and enterprise II
dealing with the Greek pirates OF the
Mediterranean, corsalrs who had Ia
ken advantage of the war for Greel
independence to do great deal o
picking and stealing on their own &C
' count Goldsborough, then an office
OF the "Porpoise," commanded
boat expedition which recaptured o
British merchant vessel taken by tn,
8 pirates, ninety of whom were killeC
I in the encounter. For this gallan
deed Goldsborough was thanked b,
: the British government and earned
the gratitude of the merchants o
all nations.
or the Barbary Powers, Algier
4 and Tunis are French possession
. and Tripoli is a prize to the Italians
: There Is a certain historical fines
In Italians selling the last OF tn
= Barbary Powers that remained unde
Moslem rule, for when we we're fight
!, ing with Tripoli 1S01-O5, squadron
: OF Neapolitan gunboats cooperate,
part Of the time. The name Vesu,
ius In our navy is souvenir OF tn
u era when Americans and Italian
= were alike In arms against the exac
y ions OF the Barbary Powers, exac
y ions which despite occasional har
t knocks received from maritime Flu
: ope were kept up for centuries.