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

leave favorable impressions at Algiers about the Americans. The Algerian
officials believed that the Americans lacked sincerity; therefore, they were not
trustworthy. That attitude was slightly perceptible in 1786 but nine years later it
was plainly expressed by the new Dey Hassan Pasha to the American envoys
who decided to reappear at Algiers. When an Algerian Muslim culture and
diplomacy that were sincere, straightforward, and respectful of its engagements
and traditions met with an American culture and diplomacy that were
opportunistic, dubious, adventurous, and denude from the least form of
diplomatic tradition—like the respect due to a head of a state—forcibly that
could but lead to tensions.
1. 3. The ‘Algerine Scare’
Although privateers—not to say pirates—and slaveholders per
excellence, 51
the capture of the American ships hypocritically shocked the
American mind and caused an anti-Algerian campaign in the United States; the
rupture of negotiations worsened it. For the next four years, the United States
plunged into internal chaos: inefficacy of Government, bad credit, “a spirit of
licentiousness, a reluctance to taxes, an impatience of government, a rage for
property… together with a desire of equality in all things” among unsatisfied
Americans infected the country. 52
“In short,” as Jay summarized it, the United
States was “in a very unpleasant situation. Changes are necessary”; and
51 For the paradox of continuing slavery at an age of revolutionary ideals see Gary B. Nash, The
Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of Revolution (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 2006).
52 USDC, 3:114, From John Jay Jo Thomas Jefferson, October 27, 1786.
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