Thomas Jefferson & Tripoli Pirates
I have read the book "Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates" (ISBN 9780143129431) and learned something new: The United States first war after the war of freedom was not the 1812 war against England but Jefferson's war against Tripoli from 1801 to 1804. England and France was paying tributaries to the North African states (Morocco, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria) each year so that these states would not let their pirates hijack English and French ships. When the United States declared independance from Britain, the United States merchant ships ceased to be protected by England's agreement with the North African states and their pirate ships. Suddenly, the US trade fleet was prey for the North African pirates. Neither George Washington nor John Adams tried when they were the first and second presidents of the United States to put an end to these hijackings of American ships or the enslavement of American sailors. But Thomas Jefferson (USA's third president) had openly argued against this already before he became president (1801).The first commander (Adams - not the 2nd president of the USA) of the new US Navy asked the muslim leader in Tripoli how the barbary states could justify "making war upon nations who had done them no injury?"
The response was nothing less than chilling: according to his holy book, the Quaran, Abdrahaman explained "All nations which have not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the fathful to plunder and enslave"
Christian sailors were, plain and simple, fair game. After the war of liberation, the new American nation stopped having an army and the United States had no fleet. Jefferson realized that it was necessary for the United States to build a fleet that was strong enough to defeat and conquer the North African pirate states and immediately took action to achieve this. Already after a few years, the United States had a fleet of just over half a dozen battleships and frigates. At the same time the US Marin Corps were created. There were not so many individuals (a dozen) belonging to the US Marines who followed the new United States navy to the Mediterranean in the early 19th century, but they were both brave, devoted, totally loyal to the new nation and more than willing to sacrifice their own lives for the cause.
The worst "pirate state" was ruled by a Muslim Arab (he was the "dey" of Tripoli) who had taken over the capital of Tripoli by depositing the legitimate heiress (his older brother) and kept the brother's wife and children as hostage in Tripoli, while the brother hid as a refugee in Egypt. One of the most dedicated marines soldiers realized that if he could get the fugitive brother Hamat to join the Americans, the United States navy and soldiers could help him
to be reintegrated to the throne of Tripoli. It would immediately improve the US position. He managed to contact Hamat, who was able to mobilize a few hundred Arab warriors, and so began the March towards Tripoli - 10 US Marines and hundreds of Arab camel-raid warriors. They had to travel over 300 miles through the desert. They were running out of water and food, but the navy soldiers promised that the US fleet would meet them with new supplies before they arrived at the first smaller society they needed to conquer. Before the caravan arrived at the meeting place, unrest spread among the Arab camel riders. They worried about water and food supplies. Would there be enough for all of them? They decided to loot the food and water supplies. Ten US Marines stood in front of the stores and did not give way by a single inch when the rebellious Arabs approached the stores. It made the Arabs retreat. Some Arabs left. Most of them calmed down. The caravan could continue its march. When the caravan arrived at the meeting place, nobody could catch a glimpse of any ship with necessities. Worry spread again among the Arabs. The marines soldiers calmed them down by informing them that a proper fire would be lit on an adjacent mountain. When the night came, the fire was lit. In the morning, the ship showed up at the beach. With renewed water supplies and supplies, the little army continued towards the first village, which was easily taken. Meanwhile, as the caravan had traveled through the desert, the captain responsible for the US Mediterranean fleet had attempted to set the American enslaved sailors free. But the "dey" had requested an excessive amount of money, so the captain could not reap any honor for solving the situation. As soon as the US marines and Hamat's Arab warriors managed to capture the village, rumors spread that a party of Arabs and US Marines was on their way to Tripoli to remove the sitting "dey" and reintroduce the rightful heir on his throne. So now the "dey" became very anxious and suddenly very willing to negotiate the ransom money, to release the American seamen. "The Dey" and the captain agreed on a sum of only 20% of the original solvency sum and a peace agreement between Tripoli and the United States was signed. When the dedicated leader of the navy soldiers who had struggled to get through the desert found out that the captain had cheated on him he got very upset. He would never had agreed to pay a single dollar to get his countrymen released. He had already agreed with Hamat to release his countrymen without having to pay any ransom.
Eventually, the information about the development of events in North Africa reached the US government. It soon became clear who desreved the honor for the defeat of the north African pirates (the other North African pirate homelands realized that the time had arrived when it was was necessary to make peace with the United States and cease harassing American ships and crews).The patriotic marines were not satisfied with the North African states who committed pirate activities and enslaved sailors from Christian lands. It was not enough that they released American enslaved sailors. They demanded that all seamen of all Christian countries be released and that all merchant ships from Christian countries should be permitted to travel outside North Africa's coasts without being attacked and robbed.
The marines got their way, but the ransom money could not be returned.
The US fleet was significantly smaller than both the Brittish and French fleets. But it was the United States Navy and the US Marines that made the North African countries stop robbing Christian merchant ships.
Thruogh the US war against Muslim pirate countries, both the US navy and US marines were created. This later allowed the United States to fight Britain in the war that began in 1812. The United States Marine Corps has subsequently performed one heroic effort after another in later wars of the USA.
The first war that the US fought under President Jefferson's leadership has been forgotten by most historians. This is not hard to understand as the world's focus by this time was directed towards what happened in Europe during the Napoleonic Wars. But Jefferson was no meak president. Jefferson already showed when he violated almost all rules about the powers he had as president when he bought the "Louisiana territory" from Napoleonic France. Todd June 2018
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