The Washington times., 1914-02-03
Causes
of Big
Wars
By ALBERT PAYSoN TERHUNE.
No. ss-A Raise of Price That Led to
Our War With the Barbary States.

OuI Wal WIN lhS Ddl OdIy y Sl1tSS.
~ ECAUSE a Barbary putertate de-
X cided he wanted mole tribute
L. than the sum our cpLHiry had
meekly paid MIN. .5e United
states embarked on a war that smashed
Sarbary piracy.
The Barbary States-3Iorocco, Algiers,
Tunis, and Tripoli-cIingiug along the
African shore of the Mediterranean
Sea, counted piracy and b,ackmail as
their chief sources Of revenue. For
centuries they had vaxed- fat on the
ooting of other nations merchant
ships, and far fatter on the huge sums
they had forced such Iiations to pay as
immunity from being robbed
II is hard to understand today why
such mighty realms as I:asiand and
,e'rance-and later the United States
consented to pay millions Of dollars to
= gang Of African pirates for the priv
lege Of sailing the high seas unmolest-
ID. Yet il is true.
The great European poNcTs could
-eadily have combined at any time to
wipe the Barbary states off the map.
But they did not, chiefly because there
vas money for them in the D.Tacv sys-
EN-. For instance, this tribute gave
70 the nations that could afford TO
Ozy it, a monopoly of 'lle McGiterrean
.rade, because it forced l,om the sea
ne merchant vessels OF suca lesser
Countries which were tco Ooor to pay
tribute to the pirates.
An Odd System of Blacknail.
1t was a good bushes arrangement
al around-except Tor thusc VINO
Couldn't afford to hand over a big sum
II blackmail money % the Barbary
states. The vessels OF these nOn-pay-
ing little nations were captured by the
pirates and their crews and passengers
sold into slavery. In 17SG there were,
At Algicrs alone. 200 Christian prison
crs. One OF the foremost objects OF
church charities in Europe aad Amer
lca was buying back the fICedom o.
such unfortunates.
England paid $2S0,O0O 4 car II tribute
70 the pirates, and 5uro0selk ran up
the price to freeze out her poorer mer-
chant rivals. The neW-cOrn United
states tried to compete With England
rate, but could not. Congress. in l1S4'
appropriated $4,000 to b;lv annuity, but
lhe pace set by England .vSs too rapid
or US TO meet. And As Spears says in
his History of Our May
"A civilized nation sicked the BaTDaly
= : The British agent negotiated
treaty by which the pirates would De
turned loose into the Atlantic, espe-
C5alIy to prey on American commerce
American ships and American crews
srere seized. Congress, in 1795, paid
Algiers ses2. 4eS for protection and as
Tansom for our prisoners held there.
By the early part of the nineteenth
century we had paid out more than
10000 in tribute. Tripoi. regarding
our Government as pItlfully- eas;
r-aised the rates then and demanded
sas5. 600 more and an annual tribute OF
$4,000. We could motor would not
psy it And Tripoli declared wa on the
United States.
Our navy in those days was joke.
II consisted of a mere handful OF little
wooden ships. Our sailors and their
officers had had scant experience in
sea-fighting OF in naval discipline
sheffield said of the Americans: They
,annot pretend to a navy
But a tinv squadron under Commo-
dore Dale sailed to the Mediterranean
md blockaded TripOi. AlgieTs and
Tunis also had thoughts OF raising the
-2tes OF Uncle Sam, but we're forced by
Dale TO stick to their former terms
Norris succeeded Dale, but soon was, III
turn. succeeded by Captain Preble. Tn
der .Preble's leadership the war began
IN earnest.
"MoSt Daring Act of the Age"
Morocco was scared into breaking the
alliance with Tripoli. and Tripoii itself
was bombarded five times. Preble's
.orce was about 1000 men; there were
500 Tripolian warriors. The frigate
Philadelphia, chasing a hostile ship into
Triroli harbor. ran aground. and was
raDture6 by the pirates. PreOle sent an
cEpedition under young Lieutenant Dec
.stur TO destroy the grounded fT!gate.
ader the very guns Of the enemy, that
She might be Of no use to her captOrs.
ord Nelson declared that this destroy
rnz of the Philadelphia was the most
daring act of the age
Against many times itz own numJ"rE.
ne plUcky little Yankee fleet ragged
lOUy the Barbarv coast. here bullrin"
'.uc local power TO submission. there
dying into battle against Secmiug,v an
vOnquerabIe odds
And by 19G5 the pirate states were
whipped into partial suhjectiOH. Al
though ne still paid q certain amount
pf yearly tribute, the chain that had for
,cnturies bound the strongest countries
% the world had been IOoSed by the
handful OF men and the few vessels OF
he baby nation which could not pre-
Ccnd 10 anaYy.''
And a very few years later the same
ouug nation was to strike the rIal
low which should forever end piracy in
Inc Mediterranean.