TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI

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TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI

 Ed Barna

        The words in the Marine Corps Hymn “refer to  the nation’s first campaign against piracy, along the North African coast.

       The Barbary pirates, also called the Barbary Corsairs or the Ottoman Corsairs, rose as Muslim power increased. Mediterranean piracy had existed before that, and had increased during the decline of the Roman Empire to the point where their main bases were in southern Europe and they were able to sack Rome in 846. But these depredations were not as serious as those that began in the 11^th century (with the Crusades) and continued through the first half of the 19^th century, as the pirates of the Barbary Coast (a European term, derived from the Berber people who lived along part of it) sailed out from places like Tunis, Algiers, and of course Tripoli.

       With row galleys as well as sails (slaves from previous expedition often at the oars), their ships were more maneuverable than those they attacked. Not only did they take goods from ships and enslave sailors, they attacked coastal villages in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, England, the Netherlands, and even once in Iceland, where they loaded the strong young people aboard ship, forced everyone else into the church, and set it afire. Between the 16^th and 19^th centuries, when the Ottoman empire organized and venture capitalists of the day backed the raiders, various sources estimate that they captured 800,000 to 1.25 million Europeans for the slave trade, along with plundering thousands of vessels and exacting substantial bribes from countries anxious to secure safe passage for their ships.

       It was this threat that spurred the creation of the United States Navy in 1794, with the commissioning of the Constellation, the Constitution, and three frigates. In 1786, when Thomas Jefferson was ambassador to France, and John Adams was ambassador to Britain, they met in London with a visiting ambassador from Tripoli named Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja. Jefferson and Adams wanted to know why Tripoli’s ships were attacking American ships without provocation. The reply that comes down to us was that “it was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave.”

       It was America’s first encounter with radical Islam, though not its last.

It was only when the United States joined with the European powers that the Barbary Coast threat diminished. There were two Barbary Wars, one from 1801 to 1805, and one in 1815, which marked the end of tribute payments by the United States. This era is commemorated by, in addition to the Marine Corps Hymn, a folk song that tells of a naval victory over a pirate ship:

“Have mercy, have mercy,” the saucy pirates cried.

--Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we--

But the mercy that we gave them was to sink them in the tide.

--sailing down the coast of High Barbaree--

       And now we have the Somali pirates, the terrors of the western Indian Ocean, seizing ships and demanding ransoms for their cargoes and crews. If there ever was a cause around which the seafaring nations of the world could rally, this is it. I’m amazed that our spy satellites can’t determine exactly where these criminals scurry, especially when there is a mother ship releasing attack speedboats away from the shores. I’m amazed that our cruise missiles, which entered Saddam Hussein’s strongholds through the doors and exploded inside so as to minimize civilian casualties, can’t make 21^st century piracy unprofitable. Why not try Q-ships, as the British did to counter submarine attacks in World War One and both the Royal Navy and our own did in World War Two? A submarine, approaching a merchant ship to sink it with its artillery piece rather than waste precious torpedoes, would see the sides drop open and even more powerful guns open up to sink them instead. These days, the kinds of wire-guided missiles that are used in anti-tank warfare would seem to be an effective deterrent, after the first few pirate boats were blown to bits.

       As a last resort, there are always the Marines—but they’re been through enough lately. They should be sent to the shores of Montezuma instead, for a little I & I.

       How is the world ever going to stop climate change when it can’t unite enough to put an end to limited and obvious malfeasances like attacks in the Darfur and Somali piracy?