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The Barbary Wars (or Tripolitan Wars) were two wars between the United States of America
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Barbary States in North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
 in the early 19th century. At issue was the pirates' demand of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
. American naval power attacked the pirate cities and extracted concessions of fair passage from their rulers. The Barbary Wars are sometimes called "America's Forgotten War
America's Forgotten War

The term America's Forgotten War refers to any of several wars:*French and Indian War *Barbary Wars - largely passed out of popular memory within a generation...
", although they share that name with several other conflicts.






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The Barbary Wars (or Tripolitan Wars) were two wars between the United States of America
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Barbary States in North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
 in the early 19th century. At issue was the pirates' demand of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
. American naval power attacked the pirate cities and extracted concessions of fair passage from their rulers. The Barbary Wars are sometimes called "America's Forgotten War
America's Forgotten War

The term America's Forgotten War refers to any of several wars:*French and Indian War *Barbary Wars - largely passed out of popular memory within a generation...
", although they share that name with several other conflicts. The wars largely passed out of popular memory within a generation.

The punitive actions against the Barbary States were launched by the administrations of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States....
 and James Madison
James Madison

James Madison was an American politician and political philosopher who served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States , and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States....
. When they proved successful, partisans of the Democratic-Republicans contrasted their administrations refusal to buy off the pirates with the failure of the preceding federalist administration to live up to the rhetorical flight, "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute," attributed to Charles C. Pinckney in the course of the XYZ Affair
XYZ Affair

The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic incident that almost led to war between the United States and France. The scandal inflamed U.S. public opinion and led to the passage of the ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS of 1798 ....
, though actually said by Sen. Robert Goodloe Harper
Robert Goodloe Harper

Robert Goodloe Harper , a United States Federalist Party, was a member of the United States Senate from Maryland, serving from January 1816 until his resignation in December of the same year....
.

The Marines Hymn contains a reference to this conflict in the opening line: "From the halls of Montezuma
Battle of Chapultepec

The Battle of Chapultepec was a U.S. victory over Mexican forces holding Chapultepec Castle west of Mexico City during the Mexican-American War....
 to the shores of Tripoli..."

See also

  • First Barbary War
    First Barbary War

    The First Barbary War , also known as the Barbary Coast War or the Tripolitan War, was the first of two Barbary Wars fought between the United States and the North African states known collectively as the Barbary States....
     (1801-1805)


  • Second Barbary War
    Second Barbary War

    The Second Barbary War was the second of two Barbary Wars fought between the United States and the Ottoman Empire North African regencies of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis, known collectively as the Barbary States....
     (1815)


Further reading

  • London, Joshua E. Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-471-44415-4
  • Oren, Michael. "Early American Encounters in the Middle East." Power, Faith, and Fantasy. New York: Norton, 2007.
  • Boot, Max. The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power. New York: Basic Books, 2002. ISBN 0-465-00720-1
  • Lambert, Frank. "The Barbary Wars" New York: Hill and Wang, 2005


External links