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

1. 2. 1. Algiers Relations with Europe in 1793
The circumstances of that new eruption in corsairing at a time it was on
the eve of extinction are a matter of controversy. Although interpretations of
what happened exactly diverge, the historical context, although complex,
remains the same. In 1793, France was at war with almost all the countries of
Europe and depended heavily on Algiers for wheat supplies to feed its starving
population of the Midi and invading armies in southern Europe. Britain,
leading a coalition of monarchies against the Directoire, 31 attempted through its
consul Logie to persuade the Dey to suspend its wheat shipments to France but
in vain. About that circumstance, the French consul at Algiers J. A. Vallière
wrote his government: “with indignation I learned from the Dey that the
English had dared asking him to refuse us his help so that we would perish in
famine.” 32 As the British consul insisted, the Dey declared steadfastly that he
would not abandon his old ally and, to the displeasure of Britain, he even
heeled another request of Vallière and concluded a peace treaty with Genoa,
the arch enemy of Algiers, to facilitate wheat deliveries. 33
Meanwhile,
American exports benefited from Europe’s political and economic turmoil.
Enjoying the benefit of neutrality, the Americans expanded their share of trans-
Atlantic carrying trade and consequently re-export trade in the Mediterranean
also flourished. 34 Across the Atlantic, American ships carried wheat to the
31 French revolutionary government set up after the fall of monarchy which from November 1795 to
November 1799.
32 As cited in Grammont, Histoire d’Alger, p. 348.
33 For the unrelenting British, French, and Jew machinations over the wheat issue see ibid., pp. 348-51.
34 Charles A. Keene, “American Shipping and Trade, 1798-1820: The Evidence from Leghorn.” The
Journal of Economic History, 38: 3 (Sep., 1978), pp. 681-82.
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