Die Korsaren - Angriff der Menschenhändler

In the 18th century, the threat posed by the Barbary corsairs became increasingly serious. In July 1785, two American vessels were returned to Algiers. By winter 1793, eleven American ships, with their crews in chains, had fallen into the hands of the dey of Algiers. To secure the freedom of movement for its commercial fleet, the United States was compelled to conclude treaties with the major Barbary states, paying substantial sums as a guarantee of non-aggression. With Morocco, a treaty was signed in 1786 for $30,000; with Tripoli, on November 4, 1796, for $56,000; and with Tunis, in August 1797, for 107,000 dollars. The most costly and humiliating agreement, however, was with the dey of Algiers, signed on September 5, 1795, under the title “treaty of peace and friendship,” which amounted to nearly a million dollars (including 525,000 in ransom for American slaves). The treaty also required the payment of 20,000 dollars upon the arrival of each new consul and 17,000 dollars in annual gifts to senior Algerian officials.