Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates: The Forgotten War That Changed American History
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.48 (845 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B0146TJT52 |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 591 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-10-31 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"An Interesting Accout of Our Navy's Appearance on the World Scene" according to R. Grabowsky. This is a readable account of the individuals and circumstances concerning the fledgling United States and the Barbary pirates. Engrossing narrative moves you through the years of frustrations and ineptitude of our early navy. Although my impression had been that the Marines had a major role in subduing the Mediterranean pirates, Kilmeade minimizes their contribution. Since the Marine hymn memorializes the Marine role - "From The Halls of Montezuma To The Shores of Tripoli" I had the impression there was more Marine action than portrayed in the book. Indeed, diplomac. Michael E. Farrell said A good, but short, story covering America's first war. This is a good, but short, story covering America's first war against the Barbary pirates at the start o the 19th century. This is more of a political history than a military/battle history.The book gives a brief history of the piracy practiced of the four countries located on the north shore of Africa, stretching west from Egypt to the strait of Gibraltar (Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco), against shipping from Europe in the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic. Because of payments made by Britain to the Barbary countries, shipping from the colonies were spar. "Useful brief history" according to B. Dench. I enjoyed this brief history of the early struggle between the USA and Muslim despots along the African coast. Little has changed. Always ethically corrupt the potentates of the region did not hesitate to rob and enslave mariners who fell under the reach of their power. There are lessons here from the first decades of our nationhood. The narrative flows well though seemed a bit jerky at times. The history is full of interesting details.
These rogue states would show no mercy - at least not while easy money could be made by extorting America, France, England, and other powers. The new nation was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Over the previous 15 years, as a diplomat and then as secretary of state, Jefferson had tried to work with the Barbary states (Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco). Pirates from North Africa's Barbary Coast routinely captured American sailors and held them as slaves, demanding ransom and tribute payments far beyond what the new country could afford. He sent the US Navy's new warships and a detachment of marines to blockade Tripoli - launching the Barbary Wars and beginning America's journey toward future superpower status. Unfortunately, he found it impossible to negotiate with people who believed