Second barbarian war
| date | 1815 |
|---|---|
| place | western Mediterranean , Algiers |
| output | American victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Stephen Decatur, Jr. |
unknown |
| Troop strength | |
| 10 warships | not specified |
| losses | |
|
4 dead |
53 dead, |
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The Second Barbaric War of 1815 was a military conflict between the United States of America and the barbarian states of Algiers , Tunis and Tripoli . It ended with a US victory and an end to US ransom and tribute payments to the barbarian states.
background
After victory in the First Barbarian War (1801–1805), US attention turned to deteriorating relations with France and Great Britain that culminated in the 1812 war . The barbaric states used this opportunity to attack US merchant ships in the Mediterranean again and take their crew hostage. In the absence of current military resources, the US was initially forced to pay a ransom.
Gradually, however, the US stopped these payments. The displacement of American merchant ships by British warships from the Mediterranean during the War of 1812 encouraged the barbarian states to make further attacks. Omar ben Mohammed , the Dey of Algiers, had the US consul Tobias Lear deported and declared war on the United States for failure to honor their tribute payments. Since there were no US merchant ships in the Mediterranean at this time, the declaration of war initially remained unanswered.
The US answer
After the war of 1812 ended, the United States could turn its attention again to North Africa. On March 3, 1815, Congress approved the equipment of a military expedition of ten ships under commanders Stephen Decatur Jr. and William Bainbridge , veterans of the First Barbarian War. On May 20, 1815, Decatur's squadron left for the Mediterranean. Bainbridge could not leave until July 1, thus missing the fighting.
Shortly after Decatur had passed Gibraltar , his squadron met the Algerian flagship Meshuda and after a short battle forced it to drop its flag. His captain Hamidu Reis was also killed. Shortly afterwards, the Algerian brig Estedio fell into their hands. In the last week of June he finally reached Algiers and negotiated with the Dey. By insisting on compensation payments - mixed with threats of destruction - Decatur forced the Dey to agree to a contract to end the conflict. On July 3, 1815, the contract was signed on board the Guerriere in the Bay of Algiers . Decatur agreed to return the Estedio and Meshuda , while the Algerians had to exchange all US prisoners (approx. 10) along with a larger number of European hostages for 500 Algerian hostages and $ 10,000 compensation payments. The treaty also guaranteed the US freedom from further tribute payments and safe passage for all US ships.
Shortly after Decatur left for Tunis in order to force a similar treaty on the Bey of Tunis and later on the Pasha of Tripoli, the Dey of Algiers declared the treaty null and void. In the following year, however, a British-Dutch fleet under the command of the British Admiral Edward Pellew, Lord Exmouth , entered the Bay of Algiers, sank the entire Algerian fleet there and bombed the city for nine hours. This forced the Dey to sign a second contract in which he confirmed Decatur's terms. In addition, the Dey had to assure that no more Christians were taken as slaves.
Effects
In contrast to the first barbarian war, during and after which the European powers were at war with each other or the USA also waged a war against Great Britain, there were no European wars after the second barbarian war. In this way the European powers could build up their armed forces and fight the piracy of the barbarian states without distraction. The barbarian states visibly lost power after the second barbarian war. Algeria and Tunisia became French colonies in 1830 and 1881, respectively , while Tripoli returned under the control of the Ottoman Empire in 1835 and became an Italian colony in 1911 . With the advent of modern, iron warships at the end of the 19th century, the age of piracy in the Mediterranean finally ended.
literature
- Franklin Lambert: The Barbary Wars. American Independence in the Atlantic World. Hill and Wang, New York NY 2005, ISBN 0-8090-9533-5 .
- Frederick C. Leiner: The End of Barbary Terror: America's 1815 War against the Pirates of North Africa . Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0195189940 .