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

started, they immediately collapsed due to the divergent views and realities that
prevailed at that time.
The context in which the first diplomatic contacts between Algiers and
the United States occurred was not of a nature to facilitate the progress of
negotiations. Algiers was evolving in a centuries-old Mediterranean system that
was shaped by constant warring between two utterly different cultures: Muslim
and Christian. The historical, religious, and geopolitical constraints were
formidable but relations with European countries were meticulously ballasted
by treaties and traditions so as to avoid excessive tensions and therefore
prevent wars. On its side, while an offspring of European culture, the United
States did not grasp the subtleties which so far maintained a precarious balance
of power between the two flanks of the Mediterranean. Add to that an
egotistical and aggressive new diplomacy, doubled with insurmountable
Confederation weaknesses which were certainly a handicap for the promotion
of good relations with Algiers. All those differing elements had already laid an
uneasy basis for whatsoever rapprochement between the two countries.
Even though Congress had resolved to negotiate a peace treaty with
Algiers as early as May 1784, the implementation of the decision dragged on
for a long time. 10
By the time that diplomatic move was put afoot, the
prospective negotiations became even more complicated because, by then,
seizure of ships and enslavement of captives were involved. Half-way between
a cheap treaty and seizures for which Congress did not make provisions, Lamb
10 SJ, 3:489, May 7, 1784.
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