Spring Break
Decisive action with pirates only the first step
George Maynard
Issue date: 4/13/09 Section: Commentary
Ships off the coast of Africa are in trouble. Attacks from pirates demanding increasingly larger ransoms cripple international trade in the region. The mighty navies of Europe are held at bay by small, poorly armed ships crewed by untrained fishermen and thugs. Sound familiar?
Actually, this particular description applies not only to the troubling threat of today's pirates off the coast of Somalia, but also to a situation just under 200 years ago off the Atlantic coast of Africa. In those days, France, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands and other European powers paid large tributes to pirate lords based in the Barbary States - Northwestern Africa - to ensure safe passage for their merchant vessels.
Today, we see a similar trend emerging off of Africa's eastern coast. Pirates, in small inflatable dinghies or fishing boats and armed with Soviet-era assault weapons, are holding European crews for ransom. This occurs despite the fact that European nations have some of the most advanced militaries in the world and the resources to deploy fleets of powerful, modern battleships to the area.
So what happened 200 years ago to change the pirates' minds and put an end to their activities? The United States stepped up to the plate and did what Europe wouldn't do; we put the hammer down on the Barbary corsairs and showed them that piracy wouldn't be tolerated, and ransoms wouldn't be paid.
In 1815, the United States deployed a fleet of 10 frigates to the Barbary Coast. These frigates were among the strongest and most advanced ships of their time. After a few short skirmishes with pirate vessels - which the Americans decisively won - the pirates surrendered their 10 American hostages and promised all American vessels safe passage in the area from then on. After the American battleships left, however, the pirates reneged on the treaty. More ships arrived from Great Britain, the United States and the Netherlands and delivered a nine-hour bombardment of the pirates' home port, forcing them to surrender for a second and final time.
Actually, this particular description applies not only to the troubling threat of today's pirates off the coast of Somalia, but also to a situation just under 200 years ago off the Atlantic coast of Africa. In those days, France, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands and other European powers paid large tributes to pirate lords based in the Barbary States - Northwestern Africa - to ensure safe passage for their merchant vessels.
Today, we see a similar trend emerging off of Africa's eastern coast. Pirates, in small inflatable dinghies or fishing boats and armed with Soviet-era assault weapons, are holding European crews for ransom. This occurs despite the fact that European nations have some of the most advanced militaries in the world and the resources to deploy fleets of powerful, modern battleships to the area.
So what happened 200 years ago to change the pirates' minds and put an end to their activities? The United States stepped up to the plate and did what Europe wouldn't do; we put the hammer down on the Barbary corsairs and showed them that piracy wouldn't be tolerated, and ransoms wouldn't be paid.
In 1815, the United States deployed a fleet of 10 frigates to the Barbary Coast. These frigates were among the strongest and most advanced ships of their time. After a few short skirmishes with pirate vessels - which the Americans decisively won - the pirates surrendered their 10 American hostages and promised all American vessels safe passage in the area from then on. After the American battleships left, however, the pirates reneged on the treaty. More ships arrived from Great Britain, the United States and the Netherlands and delivered a nine-hour bombardment of the pirates' home port, forcing them to surrender for a second and final time.
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Greg
posted 4/14/09 @ 9:34 AM EST
Nothing like a little propaganda to help sell the myth about America's military power. I just want to clarify what I believe this article to imply. The author is proposing that the United States should dust off manuals from the Nelson-era of naval combat and bombard pirate areas off the coast of Somalia? I imagine that plan would call for aircraft carriers with attack squadrons of F/A-18 Hornets to deliver payloads of 2000 lb bombs on fishing villages? By doing this, piracy would stop because the villagers that survive would turn on the pirates that they currently view as heroes and stop the acts which to this point have brought needed money and supplies to one of the poorest most desperate people on Earth. (Continued…)
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