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

d’Affaires Guillaume Otto to write to Jefferson saying: “the hostilities of the
Barbarian corsairs have made a great sensation in America.” 67
That ‘algiersmania’ reached a climax at the height of the Constitutional
Convention in 1787 with the publication of an anonymously written book The
Algerine Spy in Pennsylvania, a work which forecasted the collapse of the USA
if the different states would not unite under the new constitution. 68 The book
consists of a series of letters—24 letters—supposedly written by an Algerian
spy, ‘Mehemet,’ to his friend Solyman, an official of the Divan at Algiers. 69
In
his letters, he allegedly proposed a plan for infiltrating the Shaysist rebels and
suggested proposing protection to Rhode Island against the other states by
sending an army of 100,000 janizaries. 70
In that way, he argued, the latter
would be to Muslims what Malta was to Christians, i.e.: a Muslims’ spearhead
in Christian lands and source of constant next-door Muslim attacks against
Christian America. The book was highly influential and circulated mainly
among the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Ultimately, it helped
lean the balance for those who were in favor of federalism. 71 Although the style
and arguments used are typical of the literature of the federalists, contemporary
67 As quoted in Peskin, “Lessons of Independence,” p. 298.
68 Later, the book was attributed to American poet and playwright Peter Markoe (1752–1792); a new
edition was published recently (June 2008). The edition used for this work is that of 1787. Peter
Markoe, The Algerine Spy in Pennsylvania: or Letters Written by a Native of Algiers on the Affairs of
the United States of America, from the Close of the Year 1783 to the Meeting of the Convention, 3 rd
edition (Philadelphia, PA: Prichard & Hall, 1787). For a literary analysis of the work see Lotfi Ben
Rejeb, “Observing the Birth of a Nation: The Oriental Spy/Observer Genre and Nation Making in Early
American Literature.” Council on Middle East Studies, 5: 9 (2007), pp. 256-273.
69 According to the publisher, the letters were originally written in Arabic, translated anonymously, and
deposited in a bundle at his doorstep. Markoe, The Algerine Spy, p. ix.
70 Markoe, The Algerine Spy, pp. 103-105. Shays Rebellion (1786-87), was a protest movement that
was principally directed against the aristocratic ruling class in Massachusetts; and Rhode Island refused
to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention, therefore both were seen as threats to the future
constitution.
71 The book went through three editions for the single year 1787.
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