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

1. 2. Aspects of Contempt and Duplicity in American Diplomacy
A close look at the very particular circumstances which surrounded the
first American diplomatic mission to Algiers reveal a number of elements
which undoubtedly were the direct cause that brought about the failure of
negotiations but also were responsible for much of the distrust and suspicions
that ensued. First, the special envoy Lamb was chosen not because of his
competence but because of his acquaintances. He was poorly educated and
spoke only one language, English, which in itself was a serious handicap for an
envoy to a foreign country which official languages were Turkish and Arabic
and in which Italian and “Lingua Franca” were widely in use. 29 According to
Jefferson, the only qualification retained for his appointment was that because
“he has followed for many years the Barbary trade, and seems intimately
acquainted with those States.” 30 Lamb’s acquaintance, however, seemed to be
more with the mules of Barbary than with men who governed those states as
reflected in his muling “grasp of spelling and punctuation, even in an age when
there was little standardization in these matters.” 31 The mule trade was then a
prosperous activity for Americans who exported them from Morocco to the
Americas. 32 Very early, Jefferson thought Lamb’s “manners and appearance
not promising” but concluded to his possessing “some talents which may be
29 “Lingua Franca” is an informal jargon composed of a mixture of Turkish, Italian, and Spanish
languages. USDC, 3:88, From John Lamb to Thomas Jefferson, May 20, 1786. For further information
see Alan D. Corré, “A Glossary of Lingua Franca,” 5th edition, 2005. (Accessed 28 July 2008).
http://www.uwm.edu/~corre/franca/go.html
30 Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson: Being his Autobiography, Correspondence,
Reports, Messages, Addresses, and other Writings, edited by H. A. Washington, 9 vol. (New York: H.
W. Derby, 1861), 1:438, To John Adams, September 24, 1785. (Hereafter cited as WTJ1).
31 Peskin, “Lessons of Independence,” p. 305.
32 USDC, 2:703, From Thomas Barclay to Messrs. Adams and Jefferson, November 10, 1786.
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