The Wars of the Barbary Pirates: To the shores of Tripoli: the rise of the US Navy and Marines (Guide to...)

"The wars against the Barbary pirates not only signaled the determination of the United States to throw off its tributary status, liberate its citizens from slavery in North Africa, and reassert its right to trade freely upon the seas: they enabled America to regain its sense of national dignity. The wars also served as a catalyst for the development of a navy with which America could project its newly acquired power thousands of miles away. By the time the fighting was over the young republic bore the unmistakable marks of a nation destined to play a major role in international affairs."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Cover; Contents; Introduction; Chronology; Background to war - Historical origins; Warring sides - Opposing forces; Outbreak - Extortion on a grand scale; The fighting - To the shores of Tripoli; Portrait of a sailor - Commodore Stephen Decatur, United States Navy; The world around war - Lewis and Clark explore the American West, 1804-06; Portrait of a civilian - John Foss: white slave in Algiers; How the wars ended - The Algerine Wars (1815-16) and the French expedition to North Africa (1830); Conclusion and consequences - The Barbary Wars in perspective; Further reading; Imprint