Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with ... - Bibliothèque

according to which the draft treaties were molded. Up to 1785, confusion was
such that accreditation letters of the commissioned agents had to be corrected
to take into account the titles of the Barbary sovereigns. 127 But despite that, and
contrary to the cunning European states, the United States attained peace
treaties with the easy-going Muslims states of North Africa relatively easily,
albeit later, but only after it gave those hard times. With Morocco, for example,
Congress chose to ignore, or at least not to answer correspondence of various
agents who were acting on behalf of its ruler. As early as 1778 the King was
“willing to sign a treaty of peace and commerce” and had literally to ‘invite’
them repeatedly for making peace before they conceded to start negotiations in
1786. 128 Negotiations nonetheless were successful and Morocco became the
first non-European country to sign a treaty of commerce and amity with the
USA in 1787.
Of the four North African states, however, the road to a treaty with
Algiers was the longest and most intricate. The reasons were numerous: the
American ministers were already apprehensive about Algiers as they had
already reported it as being “the most formidable of the piratical states,”
therefore they anticipated that “the price of their peace” would be higher. 129
Probably that stand explains why the Americans decided to put an abrupt end
to negotiations with Algiers shortly after they started. Negotiations also
127 USDC, 1:502; LDC, 22:243, Charles Thomson to John Jay, March 3, 1785.
128 USRDC, 4:170-71, From D’Audibert Caille to Jay, April 21, 1780; DCAR, 4:135-136, Giacomo F.
Crocco to B. Franklin, July 15, 1783.
129 Ibid., 1:576, Fifth Report of the Commissioners to Congress, Addressed to John Jay, Secretary For
Foreign Affairs, April 13, 1785.
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