Sketches of the History and Present Condition of Tripoli, No. VII [pp. 653-656]

SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
VOL. 1.] RICHMOND, AUGUST 1835. [No. 12.
T. W. WHITE, PRINTIMR AND PROPRIETOR. FIVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM.
For the Southern Literary Messenger.
SKETCHES OF THE HISTORY
And Present,ndition of Tripolil with some
account of the other Barbary States.
NO. VII.
Events of great importance had also occurred in Algiers, by which this ancient stronghold of piracy was
stripped of its terrors, and its impotence fully demonstrated.
The resources of this state were even more severely
affected by the wars of Europe, than those of Tunis
and Tripoli, as it depended less than either of them
upon native industry for support. A Pasha of Algiers,
who wished to retain his throne and consequently his
life, was forced to keep his troops engaged in wars from
which they might individually derive profit; to increase their pay at the expense of the public treasury
was ineffectual, and he who attempted thus to win
their favor was soon despised and overthrown. They
required the excitement of contests and plunder, and
bread not won at the dagger's point seems to have had
no relish with them. In 1805, these desperadoes murdered their Dey Mustapha, only because he was of too
peaceable a disposition. Under Achmet his successor, they had a war with Tunis, but it was conducted
in a very languid manner, for no plunder could be expected.
The United States continued to pay the enormous
annual tribute which had been stipulated in the treaty
of 1796, but not punctually. The little respect which
was paid to neutral rights at that period by France
and England, rendered the transmission of the naval
stores composing the tribute difficult and unsafe, and
this was the reason always alleged by the American
Consul in accounting for the delay; but it was also in
a great measure intentional, from the idea on which the
other nations tributary to Algiers acted, that by thus
remaining always in arrears, the fear of losing the whole
sum due, would render the Dey less inclined to make
any sudden depredations on their commerce. A strict
adherence to engagements voluntarily entered into,
would have been perhaps the better, and.certainly much
the more dignified course, as the Dey would have found
it to his interest to conciliate those who paid so regularly.
Whilst the American squadron remained in the Mediterranean, these excuses were listened to without many
signs of impatience, but on its departure Achmet raised
his tone, and after threatening for some time, he at
length in the latter part of 1807 sent out his cruisers
with orders to seize American vessels, informing Mr.
Lear at the same time, that this was not to be considered as a hostile proceeding, and should not disturb the
peace between the two countries.
The Algerine cruisers took three American vessels,
of which two were brought into port and condemned;
the crew of the third the schooner Mary Anne, rose
upon their captors, killed four of them, and having set
the remaining four adrift in a boat, carried the vessel
VOL. I.-83
safe into Naples. As soon as the Dey received the
news of this, he ordered the American Consul instantly
to pay sixteen thousand dollars as satisfaction for the
lives of his eight subjects. Mr. Lear endeavored to obtain a delay until he could receive the orders of his government; but he was threatened with imprisonment,
and a number of ships of war were ready to sail for
the purpose of plundering American vessels; he therefore, after a formal protest, paid the sixteen thousand
dollars for the Algerines killed, as well as the whole
amount of the tribute then due.
Shortly after this occurrence, on the 7th of November, 1808, the Turkish soldiery revolted, and having
killed Achmet, placed in his stead Ali the keeper of a
small mosque. What were their reasons for such a
choice cannot be stated, but the expectations of the
Turks seem not to have been fulfilled; for on the 4th
of March, 1809, they quietly took their sovereign to the
common house of correction, and there strangled him.
They then raised to the throne a decrepid old man
named Hadji Ali, whose character was much more conformable with their wishes, for hlie proved to be one of
the most energetic, as well as most ferocious tyrants
ever known even in Algiers. He determined to revive
the old glory of his state, and again to offer to all Christian nations the alternative of war or tribute.
Great Britain and France were at that time the only
commercial nations at peace with Algiers and paying
no fixed tribute, yet they vied with each other in the
richness of their presents, which were made with great
regularity on all public occasions. Great Britain too,
passively encouraged the piratical propensity of the
Algerines, by allowing them to plunder and carry off
the miserable inhabitants of the territories which were
occupied by her troops and at least nominally under
her protection, while France and the countries subject
to or in alliance with her, were secure from such depredations. The British did more; for in 1810,-when
neutral commerce had been extinguished, and the resources of Algiers were in consequence almost cut off, as
neither could tribute be sent nor compensation be obtained for it by piracy-at this conjuncture two large
ships and a brig entered the harbor, laden with warlike
munitions, the whole sent as a present to the Dey from
the Government of Great Britain. Seventy thousand
dollars were soon after received through the agency of
the same government from Spain, in satisfaction for a
pretended injury committed by a Spanish vessel.
By the aid of this timely supply, Hadji Ali was enabled to fit out a respectable naval force, which under
the command of the Rais Hamida a daring and skilful
corsair, sailed for the coast of Portugal, and for some
time continued to insult and plunder the vessels of that
wretched kingdom; this too, at a period when its fortresses were held by British troops, and its harbors
filled with British ships of war.
At the commencement of 1812, it was almost certain
that war would soon take place between the United
States and Great Britain; in expectation of this, it was