James Madison, Hater of Pirates

James Madison, Fourth President of the United States of America would be 257 this year and his positions on foreign policy are seminal in the United States early diplomatic history and the United States first interactions with the Muslim World.

Madison, serving as secretary of state under President Jefferson, advocated waging war against the brutes. In 1801, the U.S. refused to hand over any more money, and battles ensued, according to the Montpelier Foundation, whose mission is to preserve Madison’s legacy. By 1805, the Marines had successfully defeated the pirates and the payoffs ceased.

European nations had entered into treaties with the Barbary States whereby they were at peace, but the European nations paid a yearly tribute to ensure the safe release of any hostages taken. The United States chose to not pay, and sent the first marines to battle the corsairs into submission and to release their hostages in the First Barbary War. In the end, the United States won handily and came to a treaty with the Bashaw of Tripoli that ended the war in exchange for ransoming the hostages. The treaty was a questionable triumph for the Jefferson administration and after the war of 1812 a Second Barbary War that included a coalition of European forces along with the US changed the acceptability of the Corsairs in the Mediterranean.

James Madison's is considered the loudest hawkish voice in Jefferson's cabinet that pushed the young country into this battle. His position eventually led to the downfall of the Corsair empires of North Africa.
Today, "the shores of Tripoli" are immortalized in the U.S. Marine Corps's anthem and in monuments such as the Tripoli Monument at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Book Review: Pirate Utopias

Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs and European Renegadoes
by Peter Lamborn Wilson

I simply cannot get enough of this book. Wilson is a renowned resource on Sufism and the Muslim World and in this tome he takes a stab at Barbary Corsairs, Early Democracy and the interplay between Islam and Christianity in 11th century Europe.

An excellent entry point into the concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, Wilson finds ways to incorporate the beauty and majesty of Islamic poetry and the sensuous feeling of Moroccan culture and the excitement of the freedom and cacophony of the Barbary Capitals: Libertalia, Tunis, Algiers, Salee.

A few years ago I was able to see Peter Lamborn Wilson speak at a party for a New York City Secession Movement. His charming style and command of his subject matter kept the audience rapt and I found this book to have a similar highly entertaining, often funny voice. A non-fiction book that you can't put down is a rare bird indeed and I felt as soon as I'd opened it I was transported to a time of possibility and hardship, when men were carving political power out of raw chaos and a new religion was drawing the dregs of Europe and forging the basis for modern governments.

Five out of Five Hooks
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An Essential Part of any Pirate Library