British blockade of Algiers

The British blockade of Algiers took place from March to July 1824 after the diplomatic immunity of the British consul general in Algiers had been disregarded.

prehistory

After a nomadic tribe raided the population near Bugia , Hussein Dey of Algeria ordered on October 22nd, 1823 that all Kabyle be imprisoned. Since Kabyle was employed by most of the foreign representations in Algiers , they had to fire them. The British Consul General Hugh McDonell and his American colleague William Shaler opposed the order and let the Algerian authorities know that they were providing shelter for their Kabyle employees. They warned of the consequences if the Algerian authorities were to use force to take the Kabyle out of diplomatic homes . Despite this, Algerian security forces forcibly gained access to McDonell's house and searched the private apartments for hidden Kabyle.

McDonell reported the incident to the British government and in January 1824 the frigate HMS Naiad and the brig HMS Cameleon were dispatched to Algiers . Hussein Dey was asked to grant the British consul further rights by means of a contract. Since he refused to sign, McDonell boarded the frigate with his family, gave Shaler his house and left Algiers.

Blockade of Algiers

On March 28, 1824 Vice Admiral Harry Burrard-Neale appeared with a large fleet off Algiers and went to see Hussein Dey. The Algerian Dey finally showed himself ready to sign the contract, but refused to allow McDonell to become consul in Algiers again. Harry Burrard-Neale then declared that the war against Algeria had started and imposed a blockade on the port of Algiers. He expected more bombard ships to arrive, so that the Dey would give way by bombarding the city.

On July 10, 1824, the ships were brought into position at a great distance, although the requested reinforcement had not yet arrived in full. The cutter Racer was supposed to sail to Marseille on July 14th , as there was no wind it drifted to the coast, got too close to the enemy and was shot at by him. It was obviously planned to take over the weakly armed ship. The HMS Naiad opened fire on the enemy and sank two of their gunboats and the HMS Racer escaped.

On July 24, 1824, after the last bombard ship had arrived, Robert Spencer went to the Dey, who apologized for the incident. The following day, Hussein Dey signed the contract in the presence of Harry Burrard-Neale, and McDonell's return was no longer negotiated.

Ships involved

Ship name	Cannons	captain	Ship description
HMS Revenge	76	Flag Captain Charles Burrard	Frigate, third class ship of the line , flagship of Vice Admiral Harry Burrard-Neale
HMS Glasgow	50	Captain Hon. Anthony Maitland	Frigate, fourth class ship of the line
HMS Leander	50	Captain Edward Chetham	Frigate, fourth class ship of the line
HMS Naiad	46	Captain Hon. Sir Robert Cavendish Spencer	Frigate, fourth class ship of the line
HMS Active	48	Captain Andrew King	Frigate, fifth class ship of the line
HMS Cambrian	46	Captain Gawen William Hamilton	Frigate, fifth class ship of the line
HMS Euryalus	42	Captain Augustus William James Cliffon	Frigate, fifth class ship of the line
HMS Lively	46	Captain William Elliott	Frigate, fifth class ship of the line
HMS Phaeton	46	Captain Henry Evelyn Pitfield Sturt	Frigate, fifth class ship of the line
HMS Sybille	44	Captain Samuel John Brooke Pechell	Fifth class ship of the line
HMS Cyrene	20th	Captain Percy Grace	Ship of the line sixth class
HMS Aetna	6th	Captain William Sandom	Bombard ship
HMS Falmouth	22nd	Lieutenant John Milligen Laws	Bombard ship , ship of the line sixth class
HMS Infernal	10	Captain Robert Heriott Barclay	Bombard ship
HMS Meteor	14th	Captain James Scott	Bombard ship
HMS terror	10	Captain Alexander Dundas Young Arbuthnott	Bombard ship
HMS Lightning	2		Paddle steamer, as tractors used
HMS Express	12	Mate James Gordon	Schooner , tender to HMS Revenge
HMS Martin	18th	Captain Henry Eden	Sloop
HMS Prometheus	18th	Henry Edward Wingrove	Sloop
HMS Ranger	28	Captain Peter Fisher	Sloop
HMS Weazel	10	Commander Timothy Curtis	Sloop
HMS Racer	6th	Mate James Irwin	Cutter, tender to HMS Revenge, used as a tug
HMS goodwill		Lieutenant Commander James Thorne	small ship

By participating in the blockade of Algiers, the HMS Lightning was the first steamship to be used in a military conflict, if only as a tugboat.

literature

• William Black, Narrative of Cruises in the Mediterranean , Edinburgh 1900, p. 172 ( online )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Southern literary messenger , pp. 723-724 ( online )
2. ↑ Sarah Susanna Bunburry, Life and letters of Robert Clement Sconce , Volume 1, London 1861, p. 109 ( online )
3. ↑ James Acland on REDDING'S REMINISCENCES. No. 2
4. ↑ James Silk Buckingham , The Oriental Herald and Journal of General Literature , Volume 2, London 1824, p. 458 ( online )