To Fix a National Character: The United States in the First Barbary War, 1800–1805

by Abigail G. Mullen

A new history of the First Barbary War, a conflict that helped plant the seeds for the United States' ascent to a global superpower.

After the American Revolution, maritime traders of the United States lost the protection of Britain's navy, leading privateers from the Barbary States―Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and the Sultanate of Morocco―to prey on American shipping in the Mediterranean, kidnapping and enslaving American sailors. While most European countries made treaties to circumvent this predation, this option was fiscally untenable for the young nation, and on May 14, 1801, Tripoli declared war on the United States.

In To Fix a National Character, Abigail G. Mullen argues that the First Barbary War represented much more than the military defeat of an irritating minor power. The United States sought a much more ambitious goal: entrance to the Mediterranean community, as well as respect and recognition as an equal member of the European Atlantic World. Without land bases in the region, good relations with European powers were critical to the United States' success in the war. And because the federal government was barely involved in the distant conflict, this diplomacy fell to a series of consuls and commodores whose goals, as well as diplomatic skills, varied greatly.

Drawing on naval records, consular documents, and personal correspondences, Mullen focuses on the early years of the war, when Americans began to build relationships with their Mediterranean counterparts. This nuanced political and diplomatic history demonstrates that these connections represented the turning point of the war, rather than any individual battles. Though the war officially ended in 1805, whether the United States truly "won" the war is debatable: European nations continued to regard the United States as a lesser nation, and the Barbary states continued their demands for at least another decade.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 6, 2024

Reviews

[Kevin Keating · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was full of information. Almost too much. I learned a ton about the First Barbary War, but honestly, the war itself was not so exciting as I had thought. The best part, Eaton's capture of Derna, memorialized in the Marine Corps hymn, came at the very end. Almost everything up to that point was diplomatic intrigue and how the Navy was trying to deal with food shortages and bad crew health. But Mullen kept the story going. I had to keep in mind that this book was fleshed out of a dissertation by the author. So lots of detail.

[Jason S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A interesting book, if a somewhat dense military history. Gives insights into the origins of the Barbary War and the larger trade in the Mediterranean World at the turn of the 19th century.