Within a year of independence, American merchants were seized by corsairs of the “Barbary Coast” with demands for ransom of the crews. The Tripolitan pirates became a by-word for the regular destruction of European, Mediterranean, and American shipping in the region. The Muslim states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunis and Tripoli formally promoted some of the most successful and brutal incidents of piracy in that era. T the beginning of the 19th Century, the most dangerous maritime area in the world lay between Gibraltar and the shores of North Africa, at the narrow entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. “Day and night they go around her upon her walls, and iniquity and mischief are in her midst.” -Psalm 55:10 The Battle of Derna and the ‘Shores of Tripoli’, April 27, 1805
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |