Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Date of Graduation
5-13-2022
Publish
yes
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department
Department of History
Advisor(s)
Raymond M. Hyser
Kevin Hardwick
Jonathan W. Keller
Abstract
The First and Second Barbary Wars were incredibly influential in shaping the diplomatic and military tactics of the early United States. These wars were fought against the Barbary states of Tripoli, Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers, located on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa. The First Barbary War lasted between the years of 1801 to 1805. The First Barbary War began due to the United States’ desire to no longer pay tribute sums to the Barbary states, along with an increase in the number American merchantmen captured and enslaved by the Barbary states. Tripoli served as the primary aggressor in the First Barbary War and after years of naval battle, the United States won the war with a successful bombardment of Tripoli. After an interwar period and engagement in the War of 1812, the United States took part in the Second Barbary War in 1815. Algiers continued the practice of increased tribute sum demands, along with continued enslavement of American merchantmen. However, this war only lasted mere months, as the United States had sharpened their naval tactics and become more decisive diplomatically. These wars served as springboard for the United States to engage in widespread global diplomatic endeavors and allowed them to become a stronger nation as a whole.
Recommended Citation
Brett, Kathleen J., "To the shores of Tripoli: A Barbary retrospective" (2022). Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current. 153.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors202029/153
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