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Article: Barbary Wars
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
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BARBARY WARS
BARBARY WARS,
a series of mostly naval conflicts between the United States and the Barbary states (Morocco, Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis), along the coast of North Africa. The Barbary nations had long plagued American and European shipping in the Mediterranean Sea through acts of piracy, taking advantage of the United States's lack of naval vessels. The war broke out with Tripoli and, later, Algiers only after the United States realized the need for a navy and began to acquire the ships and ports to support this enterprise.
The Tripolitan War occurred between 1801 and 1805. After the American Revolution, the United States, following the example of European nations, made ...