“GOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD WITH ALL”: CONFLICT AND COOPERATION IN THE FIRST BARBARY WAR, 1801–1805 A dissertation presented by Abigail G. Mullen to The Department of History In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of History Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts April 2017 1 “GOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD WITH ALL”: CONFLICT AND COOPERATION IN THE FIRST BARBARY WAR, 1801–1805 A dissertation presented by Abigail G. Mullen ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the College of Social Sciences & Humanities of Northeastern University April 2017 2 Abstract of Dissertation This dissertation argues that when the United States went to war with Tripoli in 1801, its aims were threefold: (1) a peace settlement without tribute; (2) entrance and acceptance into the Mediterranean community; and (3) respect from the nations of the Mediterranean. The Amer- ican navy found it difficult to wage war without land bases. Thousands of miles from home, the navy could not rely on supplies, information, and advice from the government back in the United States. Instead, the navy had to rely on the good graces of the Mediterranean nations, for everything from food to repairs, from commercial information to covert intelligence. Com- plicating relations in the Mediterranean was the signing of peace between Britain and France in 1802, and then the resumption of war in 1803. Alliances were quickly formed and quickly broken as the European continent convulsed in the Napoleonic Wars. As the Americans navigated the politics of the Mediterranean, they wanted to be seen as equal with the two great powers of the region, Britain and France. Under Commodore Richard Dale, the first squadron was hamstrung by ineffective direc- tion from the federal government. Dale had to work with the American consuls to forge connec- tions that would make it possible for the squadron to operate. Dale’s successor, Richard Valentine Morris, discovered that the Mediterranean customary system was more difficult to penetrate than he had expected; he also chose to prioritize peace with Tunis and Morocco over war with Tripoli. Under Edward Preble, the focus of the war shifted to Tripoli, where Preble practiced the most aggressive tactics of the war. Samuel Barron, the fourth commodore, struggled to capitalize on the strong position Preble left for him, but with the help of Consul Tobias Lear, the United States was able to negotiate peace in June 1805. By the time peace was settled in 1805, the United States had made inroads into the Mediterranean community through both official and unofficial channels. European diplomats had been intimately involved in peace negotiations; Barbary officials had vacillated between advocacy and antagonism for the United States; European ports had supplied American naval vessels with supplies, repairs, and crew, while also sparking controversy and resentment between 3 the Europeans and the Americans. In its quest to declare independence from the Barbary tribute system, the United States found that in the Mediterranean community, cooperation and conflict went hand in hand. This dissertation includes a dataset of ship locations recorded throughout the war. 4 For Maggie 5 Acknowledgments It takes a village to make a dissertation. Many people in many different villages have stepped up to help me as I’ve pursued graduate school, and I am grateful. My professors in the Northeastern history department deserve thanks for their patience, guidance, and flexibility. First, my advisor, Bill Fowler, for whom I was also a TA for three semesters, taught me how to both teach and write history approachably. He also encouraged me in my pursuit of digital humanities. Heather Streets-Salter, as a member of my committee and chair of the history department, gave me flexi- bility that allowed me to pursue digital history while working with my unusual travel schedule. Ben Schmidt pushed me to explore different avenues of digital history for my research; even if they did not entirely pan out, the knowledge I gained while trying to do text analysis for my dissertation has proved immensely valuable. Other professors—Gretchen Heefner, Laura Frader, Tim Cresswell, and others—saw parts of my dissertation in my seminar papers and provided useful critiques. I did most of my on-site research for this dissertation in the Library of Congress and the National Archives, to whom I am grateful. I am also grateful to the Danish National Archives for searching for and finding me information about Nicholas Nissen, even though I didn’t end up using the sources. This dissertation would also not be possible without the huge number of sources available online. Of particular note are the Rotunda project, which digitized many of the Founders’ papers; the Early American Foreign Service Database, a database created by Jean Bauer that catalogs every diplomat and consul from the beginning of the diplomatic service until 1820; and the American Naval Records Society, which has digitized the document collections for the 6 Quasi-War and the Barbary Wars that were published in the 1930s and 1940s. The digitization of those collections has made my research go much more quickly than it might have. I also owe gratitude to several naval historians who have taken an interest in my work. In particular, Christopher McKee and Fred Leiner have both given me valuable feedback, as well as pointing me to sources I could not have found on my own. One of the best things that happened to me in graduate school was being assigned to the NULab for Texts, Maps, and Networks in my second semester. As one of its inaugural fellows, I joined the team working on the Viral Texts project and it transformed me. It was a real pleasure to work with Professors Ryan Cordell and David Smith, who stretched my thinking about history, literature, journalism, computer programming; trained me in professional development such as speaking at (and running) conferences and writing journal articles; and at a more basic level, encouraged me to explore questions that seemed impossible to answer. My work on Viral Texts is undoubtedly the definitive experience of my graduate school career. Viral Texts is also in no small part responsible for getting me the job I currently have at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Stephen Robertson, Sean Takats, Stephanie Westcott, and others at CHNM have encouraged me and com- miserated with me while I have finished my dissertation. Hopefully the software I’m now work- ing on, Tropy, will make other graduate students’ dissertation writing just a little easier for them. While I had amazing support from the academic community, I also had great support from friends and family in other communities. The people of Evangelical Baptist Church in Newton, MA, supported my family and me in many ways while we lived in Waltham. Now that we live in Virginia, the people of Truro Anglican Church have taken up the mantle and have been absolutely critical to my success in school and in life. Though there are too many people to thank individually, I must single out one couple, Keith and Sharon Jones, who have been there for my family during sorrow, fear, and discouragement, as well as in joy and triumph. I can never repay the debt I owe to them. Additionally, technology has enabled me to lean on far-flung friends for support. Stephanie Austin and Deborah Bitzer have hung with me, listening and encouraging 7 through late nights of euphoria and frustration. For my whole life, my family has encouraged me in my pursuit of education. My mom passed away a few months before I was accepted to Northeastern, but without her lifelong mis- sion to instill in me a curiosity about the world and a thirst for knowledge, I would not have made it into graduate school at all, much less finished. My father and stepmother have supported me and all three of my siblings as we all pursue graduate school at the same time; maybe someday soon we’ll all be finished. My parents-in-law likewise have encouraged me along the way; my father-in-law even asked to read this manuscript before it was done. My siblings have offered support both material and moral: my brother Andrew has listened to countless conundrums, complaints, and random tidbits from my sources; my sister Auria not only encouraged me, but jumped in with both feet to help me with data entry. This project would not have been completed without her. I could not have accomplished this degree without the love and support of my husband and my two children. I began graduate school just as Lincoln was finishing his PhD, so I have benefited from not only his care for me as a person, but also his experience of school and the historical profession. I’m so thankful for his constant love for me through many difficult days. Though we’ve gone through some deep waters together, we’ve always come out the other end stronger than before. My daughter Maggie was one year old when I started school at North- eastern, so she has never known life without Mommy in school. Over the last five years, she has grown into a precocious, intelligent, curious little girl who craves knowledge. She has sat in classes with me; attended meetings with me; napped in my professor’s office; read pieces of my dissertation; and even written her own fan fiction based on what she has read. I could not have asked for a better cheerleader. My son Paul is now one year old. Though it isn’t easy to research and write with a baby around, I can’t imagine doing it any other way.