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

expressed his friendship for Americans, Eaton sarcastically interjected that a
Cherokee chief would do the same “for a bottle of rum and a rifle.” 16
When Eaton stopped-over at Algiers in February 1799, the new Dey
Mustafa Pasha (r. 1798-1805) had been ruling for nearly one year then and
American state papers do not even refer to him at that early period. Yet, Eaton,
armed with his frontier experience and prejudice, made “a very
uncomplimentary description” of the Dey that has since been repeated in all
American specialized writings. 17
The description in fact was a stereotyped
approach to North African culture which inspired much of the policies that
were undertaken by the American government afterwards. In his report to the
Secretary of State, Eaton literally described El-Djenina, the Dey’s palace, as a
‘cave’ or ‘den’ of a ‘beast’ and portrayed the Dey as “a huge, shaggy beast,
sitting on his rump” who, at the sight of American consuls, “reached out his
fore paw as if to receive something to eat.” Eaton proceeded to say that after a
while, “the animal seemed … to be in a harmless mode; he grinned several
times, but made very little noise.” For Eaton, his meeting with the Dey was a
violation of “the second command of God” and an offence to “common
decency.” 18
16 Sedgwick, “William Eaton, a Sanguine Man,” p. 109; Allison, The Crescent Obscured, p. 163.
17 Parker, Uncle Sam in Barbary, p. 126.
18 Eaton wrote describing his presentation to Dey Mustafa Pasha: “… we took off our shoes, and
entering the cave (for so it seemed), we were shown to a huge, shaggy beast, sitting on his rump upon a
low bench, covered with a cushion of embroidered velvet, with his hind legs gathered up like a tailor or
a bear. On our approach to him he reached out his fore paw as if to receive something to eat. Our guide
exclaimed, “Kiss the Dey’s hand!” The consul-general bowed very elegantly and kissed it, and we
followed his example in succession. The animal seemed at that moment to be in a harmless mode; he
grinned several times, but made very little noise. Having performed this ceremony, and standing a few
moments in silent agony, we had leave to take our shoes and other property, and leave the den, without
any other injury than the humility of being obliged, in this involuntary manner, to violate the second
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