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

altered the geopolitical concerns of Algerian corsairing. It was precisely that
spectacular spread of corsairing practices that gave birth to the western myth of
the ‘terrible Barbary pirate’. Unable to beat corsairs on the high seas or not
having navies yet, other European counties, particularly the Netherlands, Great
Britain, and France sought a diplomatic solution. The shift to negotiated
understandings brought about what this research work calls ‘corsairing
diplomacy’.
While investigating early Algerian diplomatic contacts with European
countries, research has revealed that a sort of diplomacy involving corsairing
activities started to take shape. By tracking down diverse elements pertaining to
corsairing in the early treaties between Algiers and major European countries
and comparing them, it became evident to the researcher that those treaties had
a common trait which distinguished them from other treaties—like those
between European countries for example. One may state here that one of the
conclusions—perhaps the most important one—this research work has
achieved is the identification of a distinct type of diplomacy, termed here
‘corsairing diplomacy’ which gave Algerian corsairing legitimacy. Corsairing
diplomacy may be defined as a form of diplomatic intercourse between Algiers
and the Christian countries which regulated bilateral relations and corsairing
activities on the basis of three major principles which included: tributes to
compensate economic privilege, high seas control based on passports, and
ransom or exchange of enslaved captives. Those principles were in fact the
pillars of corsairing diplomacy which, in addition to western laws and
398