American–Algerian War (1785–1795)

1785–1795 conflict between Algiers and the United States

American–Algerian War

William Bainbridge paying tribute to the Dey of Algiers in 1800
| Date| 1785–1795

|

Location|

Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean

Result|

Algerian victory

* United States agrees to pay an annual tribute of $21,600 to Algiers[1][2]
* Establishment of the United States Navy

Belligerents
Regency of Algiers|  United States
Commanders and leaders
Muhammad V
Raïs Hamidou|  George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Strength
Unknown|  Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown|  180+ captured
1 brig captured
53 merchant ships captured[3]

The Algerian–American War was a state of conflict which existed between the Regency of Algiers and the United States that lasted from 1785 to 1795. Occurring after the U.S. became independent from the British Empire as a result of the American Revolutionary War, Algiers declared war on the United States after realizing that American merchant shipping was no long under the protection of the Royal Navy.

Barbary pirates operating out of Algiers captured 53 U.S. merchant ships and 1 brig along with 180 American sailors, 83 of whom were subsequently ransomed back by the United States government. Since the Continental Navy had been disbanded in 1783, the U.S. had no navy to protect American shipping, and was forced to sue for peace with Algiers in 1795, agreeing to pay an annual tribute of $21,600. The war led to the United States Congress to pass the Naval Act of 1794, which created the United States Navy.

## Background[edit]

Beginning in the early modern period, Barbary pirates operating out of the Barbary Coast targeted Christian European merchant shipping, capturing and frequently enslaving their crews as part of the Barbary slave trade. Before independence, American merchant shipping were protected by the Royal Navy. But after the United States declared independence, British diplomats informed the Barbary States that U.S. ships were no longer under their protection and in 1785, Algiers declared war on the United States.[4]

## War[edit]

In 1785, Algiers, led by Dey Muhammad, declared war on the United States and captured American ships. The financially struggling Confederation Government couldn't afford a navy or the tribute needed for protection. Conversely, negotiations with Morocco went smoothly after initial tensions. Morocco's Sultan Sidi Muhammad had seized a US merchant ship in 1784 but later opted for peaceful trade. The US successfully formed a treaty with Morocco in 1786, yet couldn't satisfy Algiers financially. Thomas Jefferson, then U.S. Minister to France, tried to assemble a coalition against Algiers but failed.[5] Portugal's conflict with Algiers briefly safeguarded U.S. merchant ships in the Atlantic. In 1793, a Portuguese-Algerian truce left American ships vulnerable, pushing the US to negotiate with the Barbary States.[6]

## Aftermath[edit]

US diplomats Joel Barlow, Joseph Donaldson, and Richard O'Brien secured treaties with Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, involving tribute payments.[7][8] The Algiers treaty also released 83 American sailors out of 130 seamen.[9]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Milestones: 1801–1829". Office of the Historian, State Department, United States.
2. ^ David Hunter Miller, ed. (1931). Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America. Vol. 2\. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 275, 303.
3. ^ Lawrence (2009). Captives and Countrymen – Barbary Slavery and the American Public, 1785 1816. JHU Press. pp. 15–21. ISBN 978-0801891397.
4. ^ William O. (2009). National Security and Core Values in American History. Cambridge University Press. p. 31\. ISBN 9780521518598.
5. ^ R. Ainad Tabet (1990). Algérie : passé,présent et devenir. FeniXX réédition numérique. ISBN 9782307234029.
6. ^ Lawrence A.Peskin (2009). Captives and Countrymen Barbary Slavery and the American Public, 1785–1816. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801891397.
7. ^ Grégoire Jeanne (1894). Histoire des États-Unis. C.F. Chamerot. p. 16.
8. ^ Don Philpott (2015). Understanding the Department of State. Bernan Press. p. 267\. ISBN 9781598887464.
9. ^ M.A.Khan (2009). Islamic Jihad A Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism, and Slavery. iUniverse. p. 342\. ISBN 9781440118463.

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Armed conflicts involving the Armed Forces of the United States

Listed chronologically

Domestic|

* Shays' Rebellion
* Whiskey Rebellion
* Fries's Rebellion
* Turner's Rebellion
* Mormon War
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* Bleeding Kansas
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* Harpers Ferry raid
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* Tulsa riot
* Bonus Army
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* 1960s ghetto rebellions
* Kent State shootings
* 1992 Los Angeles riots
* 2020 racial unrest
* 2021 U.S. Capitol attack

Foreign|

* American Revolutionary War
* American-Algerian War (1785-1795)
* Quasi-War
* First Barbary War
* War of 1812
* Second Barbary War
* First Sumatran expedition
* Second Sumatran expedition
* Ivory Coast expedition
* Mexican–American War
* First Fiji expedition
* Second Opium War
* Second Fiji expedition
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* Boxer Rebellion
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* Border War
* World War I
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* Vietnam War
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* Invasion of Grenada
* Lebanese Civil War
* Invasion of Panama
* Gulf War
* Somali Civil War
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* Bosnian War
* Kosovo War
* War in Afghanistan
* Iraq War
* War in North-West Pakistan
* First Libyan Civil War
* War against the Islamic State
* Iraq
* Syria
* Cameroon
* Libya
* Yemeni civil war

Related|

* Conflicts in the U.S.
* Wars involving the U.S.
* Timeline of U.S. military operations
* Length of U.S. participation in major wars
* Territorial evolution
* Military history
* History of the Central Intelligence Agency
* Casualties of war
* Peace movement
* List of anti-war organizations
* Conscientious objector
* Cold War
* War on terror
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* v
* t
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Barbary Corsairs

Territories

* Regency of Algiers
* Annaba
* Barbary coast
* Bizerte
* Cherchell
* Mahdiya
* Oran
* Rabat
* Republic of Salé
* Tetouan
* Regency of Tripoli
* Regency of Tunis

Commanders

| 16th century|

* Aruj
* Hayreddin Barbarossa
* Sayyida al Hurra
* Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis
* Occhiali
* Salah Rais
* Murat Reis the Elder
* Kemal Reis
* Aydın Reis
* Muhammad I Pasha
* Hasan Corso
* Muhammad Kurdogli
* Hasan Agha
* Hasan Pasha
* Arnaut Mami
* Hassan Veneziano
* Sinan Reis
* Dragut

|

17th century|

* Jan Janszoon
* Salé Rovers
* Anglo-Turkish piracy
* Sulayman Reis
* Ahmed el Inglizi
* Omar Agha
* Ali Bitchin
* Simon Reis
* Yusuf Reis

18th century|

* Ahmed Karamanli
* Yusuf Karamanli

19th century|

* Ali Khodja
* Hussein Dey
* Omar Agha
* Mohamed Kharnadji
* Haji Ali
* Baba Mohammed ben-Osman

Diplomacy

* Franco-Ottoman alliance
* Anglo-Moroccan alliance
* Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship
* US Treaty with Tripoli (1796)
* US Treaty with Tunis (1797)
* US Treaty with Tripoli (1805)
* US Treaty with Algiers (1815)
* US Treaty with Tunis (1824)
* US Treaty with Morocco (1836)

Conflicts

| 16th century|

* Ottoman raid on the Balearic Islands (1501)
* Capture of Algiers (1516)
* Fall of Tlemcen (1518)
* Battle of Pianosa (1519)
* Siege of Rhodes (1522)
* Battle of Formentera (1529)
* Capture of Peñón of Algiers (1529)
* Conquest of Tunis (1534)
* Conquest of Tunis (1535)
* Sack of Mahón (1535)
* Siege of Corfu (1537)
* Battle of Preveza (1538)
* Siege of Castelnuovo (1539)
* Battle of Alboran (1540)
* Siege of Nice (1543)
* Ottoman wintering in Toulon (1543-1544)
* Capture of Mahdiye (1550)
* Invasion of Gozo (1551)
* Siege of Tripoli (1551)
* Battle of Ponza (1552)
* Invasion of Corsica (1553)
* Capture of Bougie (1555)
* Siege of Oran (1556)
* Ottoman invasion of the Balearic Islands (1558)
* Battle of Wadi al-Laban (1558)
* Expedition to Mostaganem (1558)
* Battle of Djerba (1560)
* Sieges of Oran and Mers El Kébir (1563)
* Great Siege of Malta (1565)
* Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568–71)
* Battle of Lepanto (1571)
* Conquest of Tunis (1574)
* Sack of Sori (1584)

|

17th century|

* Expulsion of the Moriscos (1609)
* Franco-Algerian War (1609–28)
* Raid on Żejtun (1614)
* Battle of Cape Corvo (1615)
* Dutch-Barbary War (1618–22)
* Anglo-Algerian War (1620–1621)
* Action of 3 October 1624
* Dutch expedition to Algiers (1624)
* Turkish Abductions (1627)
* Sack of Baltimore (1631)
* Raid on Ceriale and Borghetto (1637)
* Cretan War (1645–69)
* Action of March 1665
* Anglo-Algerian War (1677–82)
* French-Tripolitania War (1681–85)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1682)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1683)
* Morean War (1684–99)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1688)
* Sieges of Ceuta (1694–1727)
* Battle of the Oinousses Islands (1695)

18th century|

* Dutch-Algerian War (1715–26)
* Spanish conquest of Oran (1732)
* Action of 28 November 1751
* Battle of Cape Palos (1758)
* Danish–Algerian War (1769–72)
* Siege of Melilla (1774–75)
* Dutch–Moroccan War (1775–77)
* Invasion of Algiers (1775)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1783)
* Bombardments of Tunisia (1784–92)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1784)
* Moroccan seizure of the Betsey (1784)
* American-Algerian War (1785–95)
* Portuguese Algerian War (1790–1813)
* Siege of Oran (1790–1792)
* Bombardment of Tangier (1791)
* 1st Swedish-Algerian War (1791–92)
* 2nd Swedish-Algerian War (1796-1802)
* Action of 16 May 1797

19th century|

* First Barbary War (1801–05)
* Second Barbary War (1815)
* Bombardment of Algiers (1816)
* Battle of Tripoli (1825)
* Bombardment of Tripoli (1828)
* Austrian expedition against Morocco (1829–30)
* Invasion of Algiers (1830)

Slavery

* Barbary slave trade
* Slavery on the Barbary Coast
* Bagnio
* Lazarists
* Monte della Redenzione degli Schiavi
* Redemptorists
* Trinitarians

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