Algeria -

September 5 of each year is considered an immortal historical moment in Algerian-American relations, which the two countries evoke annually as a common memory that establishes the roots of bilateral memory, which extends back to the early years of the independence of the American Republic from the British crown in 1783, following its official recognition by the Algeria is among the first countries in the world, so what is the story of this day?

At the beginning of the 19th century, the American diplomat William Schiller described the Algerian naval power, saying, "The Algerians were at the height of their power and reputation, to the extent that the greatest maritime nations were asking for their friendship...Today they boast that their naval greatness is comparable to none other than the Navy of Great Britain."

European writers themselves agree that "Algeria's maritime and political influence extended to the western basin of the Mediterranean on the one hand, and to the shores of Western Europe on the other hand," according to what historian Abu al-Qasim Saadallah (1930/2013) recorded in the first part of his encyclopedia "Research and Opinions". in the history of Algeria.

During the Ottoman era, the Algerian fleet roamed the Atlantic Ocean from Britain and Iceland to the Canary Islands and the Azores, which "made its navy and chiefs constitute the ghost of the seas and oceans that frighten and chase European sailors."

Countries competed to win Algeria’s friendship and friendship by concluding treaties with it, in order to guarantee the safety of its navy and ships, as confirmed by historian Zakia Zahra, in her academic work on “French-English rivalry over Algeria 1792/1830.”

Abu al-Qasim Saadallah: After its independence, America was actually forced to sign a peace treaty or war with Algeria (Al-Jazeera Net)

friendship or war

Among the most prominent of these agreements is the “Treaty of Friendship and Peace” with the United States of America, which, after its independence from the British Kingdom, was forced to sign it after it failed to form a European-American alliance against Algeria.

Saadallah, a former professor of Western civilization at the University of Eau Claire, says, "When America was still a group of colonies under British, French or Spanish influence, Algeria treated its ships according to the flag of the concerned country, based on its relations with it."

However, the declaration of the American Revolution “made Algeria free to deal with America’s new ships, which forced it to either sign a treaty of friendship or face war.” Instead of appealing for peace directly, it turned to its European friends to help it achieve this, and with the failure of efforts by European countries, America began Led by diplomat Thomas Jefferson - who will later become the third president of the republic - an international campaign against Algeria with the aim of forming a European-American alliance to fight it, according to historian Saadallah.

This prompted Algeria to declare war on America and seize the ships "Maria" and "Dauphin" in the Atlantic Ocean (1785).

Here, the Americans did not find a way out except to open direct negotiations to release the detained prisoners, by authorizing the John Lamb mission, but Algeria stipulated $60,000 in exchange for the liberation of 21 detainees, which led to the failure of the swap.

Subsequently, the prisoners sent reports to their countries proposing “to follow the same method of European countries with Algeria, recognizing it control of the Mediterranean, and paying tribute (protection rights),” as stated in a letter from one of the detainees to Jefferson in 1786.

George Washington's decision

Envoy Lamb's report to his government stated that "the United States of America has no power to impose peace on Algeria," while Secretary of State John Adams said, "The war will sabotage the economy, and it is not a wise move," and President George Washington agreed with him.

This opened the door again to negotiations between the two countries, starting in 1791, under the slogan “peace at any cost,” especially after the Algerians seized 11 other American ships carrying 119 prisoners, forcing Washington to allocate $40,000 to free the detainees, in addition to 25 Alpha annual dues to Algeria.

After hard negotiations, the two parties reached a treaty of peace and friendship on Safar 21, 1210 corresponding to September 5, 1795.

The terms of the agreement and the echo of history

The aforementioned treaty contained 22 articles related to the terms and organization of dealings between the two countries in trade, passports, international relations in the event of war and peace, property matters, and so on.

In application of the text of the treaty, Algeria released the American prisoners in June 1796, in exchange for America’s pledge to build ships for Algeria, the most important of which are the ships “Hilal, Hassan Pasha, Lalla Aisha, praise be to God” and finally “Skgoldbrand”, according to US Navy documents printed in 1939.

It also stipulated that the United States would pay about one million dollars, including 21,600 dollars in annual dues in the form of marine equipment to Algeria.

While the latter pledges to protect American trade in the Mediterranean basin, and also to carry out its efforts to the Pasha (governors) of Tripoli and Tunisia, to achieve peace with them for the benefit of the Americans.

And the American historian Erwin Abrams recorded in his book “The History of American Barbarian Diplomatic Relations” the following: “Although this treaty with Algeria included a sacrifice in the national dignity of the United States of America, and burdensome to its finances, it had at least 3 main benefits, on top of which is the establishment of peace with the strongest The countries of the Maghreb and the most dangerous affair.

Turkish historian Yilmaz Istona says in his book "The History of the Ottoman Empire" that this document "is the only treaty in a foreign language (other than English) signed by the United States of America during its history, and at the same time it is the only one in which it pledged to pay an annual tax to a foreign country."

Mohamed Belghith: Algerian-American relations have historical imprints that remain, especially since the 1776 revolution (Al-Jazeera Net)

private fingerprints

For his part, Algerian historian and academic Mohamed El-Amine Belghith considers the peace treaty between Algeria and the United States of America a "good outcome of tense relations between the two countries."

He explained that it is not only due to Algeria's recognition of the July 1776 revolution, but America was so weak that it gave others the protection of its merchant ships in the western basin of the Mediterranean.

He said in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net that the Algerian-American peace contract in 1795 constituted a new station in the relations between the two countries until 1816, when the balance of power for the two sides changed.

Belghith added that the Algerian-American relations remain special historical imprints, as the Algerians can never forget the role of John F. Kennedy in recognizing the Algerian cause, as a senator and then president, and Abraham Lincoln's strong admiration for the personality of Prince Abdelkader Al-Jazaery.

Then these relations culminated in the great role of independent Algeria in solving the dilemma of American diplomats in Iran in the early eighties of the last century, which reflects the image of Algerian diplomacy towards America, as he put it.

He stressed that the Algerian-American relations are distinctly present in the annals and books of Algerians, through the memoirs of the presidents of the United States of America, especially the period of the Algerian revolution.