Barbary Wars from 1785 to 1815 and the Birth of the US Navy

The U.S. involvement in the Barbary Wars from 1785 to 1815 was a crucial period in early American foreign policy and naval development, a coming-of-age story written on the waves of the Mediterranean.

The Barbary States (primarily the Ottoman Regencies of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and independent Morocco) on the North African coast practiced state-sanctioned piracy. They demanded tribute ("protection money") from maritime nations to allow safe passage for their ships in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. Failure to pay resulted in the capture of ships, cargo, and crews, who were held for ransom or sold into slavery.

• The U.S. National Archives: The correspondence of American diplomats like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams is particularly revealing. In a famous 1786 meeting with the Tripolitanian ambassador Sidi Haji Abdrahaman, the Americans asked why his state was hostile to nations that had done them no injury. The ambassador replied, as recorded by the U.S. officials, that it was "found in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave." He further stated that every Muslim who was slain in this warfare was guaranteed a place in paradise.
• Treaties (Capitulations): The peace treaties and "capitulations" signed between European states and the Barbary regencies often included clauses for the return of captives and payments of tribute. The very existence of these treaties legitimized the Barbary states' position that without a treaty, a state of war existed. The language often differentiated between "Muslim" and "Christian" powers, reinforcing the religious dimension of the conflict.

Phase 1: The Pre-War Crisis & Tribute (1785-1800)

Following independence, American ships lost the protection of the British Royal Navy, which had paid tribute on behalf of its colonies.

• 1785: The first American ships are captured by Barbary corsairs. The schooner Maria and brig Dauphin are taken by Algiers; 21 crewmen are enslaved.
• 1786-1793: The weak Articles of Confederation government struggles to raise funds for tribute or a navy. Diplomatic negotiations, led by figures like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, are contentious. Jefferson, then minister to France, argues for military force, while Adams favors paying tribute as the cheaper option. The U.S. pays ransoms and signs treaties with Morocco (1786), Algiers (1795), Tripoli (1796), and Tunis (1797), committing to annual payments of cash, naval stores, and weapons.
• 1794: In response to the Barbary threat and other piracy, Congress passes the Naval Act of 1794, authorizing the construction of the United States Navy's first six frigates, including the famed USS Constitution and the USS Congress, whose keel would be laid the following year at a shipyard in Kittery, Maine.
• 1800: The Pasha of Tripoli, Yusuf Karamanli, dissatisfied with American tribute compared to that given to Algiers, increases his demands. The new American consul to Tripoli, William Eaton, reports that war is imminent.

Phase 2: The First Barbary War (1801-1805) – The Tripolitan War

• May 1801: The Pasha of Tripoli declares war on the United States by symbolically chopping down the flagpole at the U.S. consulate. President Thomas Jefferson, long opposed to tribute, dispatches naval squadrons to the Mediterranean, beginning the first American overseas naval campaign.
• 1801-1803: A naval blockade of Tripoli is established. The USS Enterprise defeats the Tripolitan corsair Tripoli in a notable single-ship action.
• 1803-1805: The newly launched USS Congress, the 36-gun frigate built in Maine, entered the fray. Recommissioned in 1804, it joined the Mediterranean Squadron under Commodores Samuel Barron and John Rodgers. The war saw dramatic turns: the frigate USS Philadelphia was captured after running aground in 1803, only to be heroically burned by Lieutenant Stephen Decatur in 1804. The Congress played its part in the decisive final year, capturing a Tripolitan gunboat near the coast on April 24, 1805.
• April-May 1805: The "Battle of Derna." A land expedition led by ex-consul William Eaton and a small contingent of U.S. Marines captured the city of Derna—the first time the U.S. flag was raised over a foreign battlefield.
• June 4, 1805: With Derna captured and pressure mounting, the Pasha agrees to negotiate. The Treaty of Tripoli (1805) ends the war. The U.S. pays a ransom for the crew of the Philadelphia but is relieved of all future tribute payments to Tripoli.

Phase 3: Interwar Period & Renewed Crisis (1805-1812)

• The U.S. continues paying tribute to the more powerful Algiers to keep its ships safe, though relations are tense.
• American attention is diverted by escalating tensions with Great Britain leading toward the War of 1812.
• Taking advantage of the War of 1812, the Dey of Algiers resumes capturing American merchant ships, believing the U.S. incapable of responding.

Phase 4: The Second Barbary War (1815) – The Algerine War

• March 1815: With the War of 1812 ended, President James Madison and Congress immediately declare war on Algiers. A powerful naval squadron under Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. is sent.
• June 1815: Decatur's squadron achieves a swift and decisive victory, capturing key Algerian ships. As part of this final, overwhelming demonstration of American naval power, the USS Congress returned to the Mediterranean with the follow-on squadron. Though Decatur secured a treaty before the Congress arrived, the Maine-built frigate remained with the fleet as a critical show of force off Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis to ensure the Barbary states adhered to the new, permanent terms.
• June 30, 1815 & Aftermath: Decatur dictated a treaty forcing the Dey of Algiers to release captives without ransom, pay compensation, and forever renounce tribute. He then proceeded to Tunis and Tripoli, forcing them to sign similar treaties, an peace enforced by the presence of ships like the Congress.

Legacy and Significance (1785-1815)

• Naval Coming-of-Age: The wars proved the necessity and effectiveness of a standing navy, transforming the young U.S. Navy into a professional force. Ships like the Maine-built USS Congress, one of the original six frigates, were instrumental in this transformation, serving with distinction in both Barbary conflicts.
• Diplomatic Shift: America moved from a policy of appeasement (tribute) to one of armed deterrence and diplomatic equality.
• National Identity: Victories became powerful symbols of American resolve and ingenuity.
• International Precedent: The U.S. victory in 1815, combined with later European actions, effectively ended the centuries-old system of Barbary piracy against Western nations.

The period 1785-1815 thus captures the full arc of the U.S.-Barbary relationship: from vulnerable victim paying tribute, through a difficult first war to establish respect, to a final, overwhelming naval demonstration that cemented American sovereignty and security on the high seas. A noble tradition which continues today.

Image: U.S. Frigate Congress by Christopher Blossom (Oil on Canvas)