Customer Reviews

The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World

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Lambert's book provides just enough detail to understand the historical context and understand the motivation of the pirate communities of North Africa at that time.
One can see from this aspect of early foreign policy how the Articles of Confederation were insufficient for the young republic, for the United States didn't even have the power to tax so as to raise a navy to fight the Barbary threat. The book also explains how the Barbary Wars fit into the changing relationship with Great Britain and France, the impressment of seamen, and the events that led to the War of 1812.
Those who are reading or have read any of the Patrick O'Brian "Master and Commander" books, Lambert's book is likewise relevant, for these books are all talking about the same historical time period and geographic location.

Lambert is a well known scholar who has written very good scholarly monographs on religion in colonial America and politics in the Revolution. Recently, he has been producing well written and well grounded books on historical topics of current relevance aimed at a wider readership. He wrote a very good book on religion in the Colonial, Revolutionary, and early Republican periods. He has now produced a solid book on the Barbary Wars. These episodes from the early history of our Republic have been the subject of some recent books and journalism because of our abrupt and somewhat involuntary close involvement with the Muslim world. Lambert points out that most of these publications suffer from anachronistic perspectives, saying more about the present than the past. I've read one of the books he references, Joseph Wheelan's misleading Jefferson's War, and I agree with his polite but negative assessment of this recent literature.
Lambert provides a well written and documented analysis of the background of the Barbary Wars. He provides a good overview of the nature of piracy in the Barbary States, its role in the international system of the time, and the nature of the particular challenge it presented to the young USA. Lambert does equally well in covering the relevant political and cultural history of American responses to the Barbary States, including a good view of the relevant party politics. There is a good discussion of the major American actors, like Jefferson, and a nice concise narrative of the wars themselves. For Lambert, the Barbary Wars were partly wars of economic necessity for the fledgling USA and partly driven by ideology. The nature of the ideological conflict was not religous, however, but instead driven by the American republican ideology that emphasized free trade and American independence.

Mr. Lambert has written a thoroughly enjoyable and informative book on America's involvment in the Barbary Wars. What is so fascinating is the relevance to todays events. The talk of Holy Wars, Infidels, and the total lack of cultural understanding between Muslims and Christians. The book is not a blow by blow military strategem. The actual battles are contained in a few pages but the buildup and political intrigue is what makes this a fascinating story. The emergence of the US Navy and a country willing to fight for it's rights are the emotional core of the book. There are American heroes, Stephen Decatuer and overboard Americana exuberance but ultimately what makes the book so compelling is the process of a nation trying to do the right thing and finding it's courage in the process.

Full of important historical information and interesting tidbits of trivia, The Barbary Wars provides an excellent overview of the foreign policy challenges faced by a young and idealistic United States in exporting its revolutionary (and necessary) economic ideas. It also explores the often difficult job of making good foreign policy decisions in the face of seemingly unrelated, but nonetheless complicating, domestic politics. Lambert offers a work that should be viewed as important by historians and contemporary political scientists.

The setting of this book is the United States of America has recently become a sovereign nation. However, unlike the major colonialist powers of Europe (e.g., Britain, France, Spain, etc.), the U.S. lacks a formidable navy and a respected presence in the high seas. At this time, the Mediterranean sea is overrun by ruthless pirates whose activities are endorsed, if not outright ordered by the quasi-independent ruling heads of Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, which are collectively known as the Barbary states. As a result, U.S. merchant ships are plundered, U.S. gun ships are commandeered, the U.S. itself is extorted to paying an annual tribute and U.S. citizens are routinely either held for ransom or sold into slavery.

If you want an informative, engaging and concise book on the U.S.' wars with the Barbary pirates, look no further than this. In this book, you will learn about:

* All of the major tariff laws which led up to the Declaration of Independence (i.e., Navigation Acts, Revenue (Sugar) Act, Stamp Act, Townshed Duties and the Tea Act).

* The two major wars with the Barbary states. The first, which is known as the Tripolitian War (1801-1805) and the second, which is known as the Algerine War (1815).

* The Tripolitan capture of the U.S. 36 gun frigate, a top-of-the-line gunship that would have been devastating under pirate control. To counter this deadly advantage, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur lead a daring and successful incursion into the Tripolitan harbor to burn the the USS Philadelphia, so that it can never be used by the pirates against the U.S. In particularly, you will learn about how Decatur surreptitiously disguised his vessel as a distressed, anchorless merchant ship that needs to be docked on shore.

* William Eaton's courageous 500-mile march through Libyan desert to launch a surprise attack on Derne, a coastal fortress which was not prepared for a land attack. This was the decisive victory in the Tripolitan War.

* The overt contrast between the treaty of the Tripolitan war and the Algerine War. The first treaty was the result of negotiation (with the soon-to-be-infamous Tobias Lear representing the U.S.). For example, it declared that the Tripolitans reduce the amount of the tribute that they demanded by 90% (Thus, conceding that forcing the U.S. to pay tribute, in principle, was still acceptable.) Even though Jefferson evidently approved of such limited terms, this was an outrage to the U.S. domestically as well as to the war heroes such as Eaton and Decatur.

In contrast, the terms of second treaty were dictated by the U.S. In particular, Decatur demanded that the pirates:
- disavow all demands of tribute and ransom.
- return all American prisoners and property captured through piracy.
- allow all ships with a U.S. flag pass unmolested in the Mediterranean.

Interestingly enough, the Dey of Algiers wanted to deliberate on the treaty overnight. Decatur famously replied that he would allow "not a minute; if your squadron appears in sight before the treaty is actually signed [...] ours will capture them." The terms that Decatur obtained in the treaties were unimaginable before the war, considering the decades of harassment that the U.S. faced at the hand of the Barbary pirates.

This is an amazing book.

Lambert is a professional historian and thus devotes much space to background. His account is fair and balanced and will offend fox news fans. this is a good, readable narrative of a major aspect of a vital era. the thirty year span of the Barbary conflicts witnessed major changes. in the early 1780s the united states lacked the power to create a navy or generate revenue. The resultant situation was one of the factors behind the creation of the constitution. by 1815 the u.s. had a navy and could demonstrate its independence in the mediterranean.
the wars had little action; the changes in the nation were more important. That change is L.'s focus. Not recommended for advocates of state rights or weak government. Islamophobes will take offense.

Great book easy to read not to long. But in the same time you will find out some great history of the US in its early days.

I would highly recommend this book for all History buffs to polish up on the forgotten campaigns to help protect freedom of the seas and international shipping.

This book looked more promising than it turned out to be. The first issue I have with it is that is not a smooth, enjoyable read. It does not flow well and fails to produce any desire to keep going. to put is bluntly, I had no problem putting it down. The second issue I have with it is that it is filled with statements describing the motives of people and nations with very, very little, to no references to back up those conclusions. The footnotes are quite thin and often refer to short, rather uninteresting and inconsequential quotes.

I was afraid of this when I read the first few pages of the intro where the author lets us know what his agenda seems to be. It seems he had an 'opinion' that he wanted to express and thought that 'his' historical perspective should simply be accepted as fact without reference.

This book was a gift to me. Coincidentally I happened to pick up on my own a copy of "Six Frigates" by Ian W. Toll. While I cannot comment on the other books that Amazon offers up I can definitely recommend Toll's book. I found Lambert's book to be somewhat off putting in its attitude. I cannot say that Lambert's book is inaccurate, although I did notice one clear factual error. Lambert at one point refers to the Hapsburg court governing Spain at the time. The Hapsburg line of Spanish kings died off without heirs earlier in the 18th century giving rise to the War of the Spanish Succession. At the time of the incidents covered by Lambert's book a Bourbon king ruled Spain. This is a minor error but it raises concerns about the accuracy of other parts of Lambert's book. If you really want to learn about this era in US history, read Toll's book.