Category: Middle East

Christopher Hitchens: ”In 1786, when the United States was barely a country, it was having its sailors taken as slaves by the Barbary states, the states of the Ottoman Empire and North Africa. Tripoli, shores of Tripoli. Ships stopped, its crews carried off into slavery. We… pic.twitter.com/hbRRR4mCYP

— Taya Bass (@travelingflying) March 21, 2026

Christopher Hitchens: ”In 1786, when the United States was barely a country, it was having its sailors taken as slaves by the Barbary states, the states of the Ottoman Empire and North Africa. Tripoli, shores of Tripoli. Ships stopped, its crews carried off into slavery.

We estimate 1.5 million European and American slaves taken between 1750 and 1815. Jefferson and Adams went to their ambassador in London and said, why do you do this to us? The United States has never had a quarrel with the Muslim world of any kind.

We weren’t in the crusades. We weren’t at war with Spain. Why do you do this to our people and our ships? Why do you plunder and enslave our people?

The ambassador said very plainly, Mr. Abdul Rahman said, because the Quran gives us permission to do so, because you are infidels, and that’s our answer.

Jefferson said, well, in that case, I will send a navy which will crush your state, which he did. Islamic fundamentalism is not created by American democracy. It’s a lie to say so. It’s a masochistic lie, and it excuses those who are the real criminals, and blames us for the attacks made upon us.”

The actual quote Hitchens cites is even more illuminating, tying the acts of the Barbary Pirates directly to the Koran:

When Jefferson and Adams asked “by what right the Barbary States made war on nations that had done them no harm, the ambassador responded that it was founded on the laws of their Prophet, written in the Quran: all nations that did not acknowledge Muslim authority were sinners, and it was the right and duty of Muslims to wage war against them, enslave their people, and take their property. He added that any Muslim killed in battle would go to Paradise.”

This account is documented in a March 28, 1786, letter from Jefferson and Adams to Congress, describing the religious justification provided by the ambassador for the attacks on American vessels.

“Resist it while you still can and before the right to complain is taken away from you which will be the next thing ” – Christopher Hitchens

https://t.co/RcPC4OKhdL

— Constantin The Sun (@SunnyConstantin) March 21, 2026

North African history: the Battle of Derna ends (1805)

The final battle of the First Barbary War.

The Second Barbary War was a brief military conflict between the United States and Algiers in 1815, aimed at ending piracy and tribute demands from the Barbary States. The war concluded with an American victory, resulting in the cessation of tribute payments and the release of American captives.

The Second Barbary War, also known as the Algerine War, was a conflict between the United States and the North African Barbary States, primarily Algiers, in 1815. This war marked the end of the United States paying tribute to pirate states for safe passage of American ships.

1. The war was primarily fought against Algiers, one of the Barbary States, which included Tripoli, Tunis, and Morocco.
2. 02The conflict was sparked by the Barbary pirates’ practice of capturing American merchant ships and demanding ransom for their crews.
3. 03The United States had previously paid tribute to the Barbary States to prevent attacks on their ships, but this practice ended with the Second Barbary War.
4. 04President James Madison declared war on Algiers on March 3, 1815, marking the beginning of the conflict.
5. Commodore Stephen Decatur led the American naval forces during the war, earning a reputation as a national hero.
6. 06Decatur’s squadron consisted of ten ships, including the flagship USS Guerriere.
7. 07The first significant battle of the war occurred on June 17, 1815, when Decatur’s squadron captured the Algerian flagship Mashouda.
8. 08Another notable engagement took place on June 19, 1815, when Decatur’s forces captured the Algerian brig Estedio.