Chapter XXXV: Front Matter (35)

"The first treaty of 1795, with Algiers, which was negotiated
during Washington's administration, cost the United States,
for the ransom of American captives, and the Dey's
forbearance, a round $1,000,000, in addition to which an
annuity was promised. Treaties with other Barbary States
followed, one of which purchased peace from Tripoli by the
payment of a gross sum. Nearly $2,000,000 had been squandered
thus far in bribing these powers to respect our flag, and
President Adams complained in 1800 that the United States had
to pay three times the tribute imposed upon Sweden and
Denmark.
{264}
But this temporizing policy only made matters worse. Captain
Bainbridge arrived at Algiers in 1800, bearing the annual
tribute money for the Dey in a national frigate, and the Dey
ordered him to proceed to Constantinople to deliver Algerine
dispatches. 'English, French, and Spanish ships of war have
done the same,' said the Dey, insolently, when Bainbridge and
the American consul remonstrated. 'You pay me tribute because
you are my slaves.' Bainbridge had to obey. ... The lesser
Barbary States were still more exasperating. The Bashaw of
Tripoli had threatened to seize American vessels unless
President Adams sent him a present like that bestowed upon
Algiers. The Bashaw of Tunis made a similar demand upon the
new President [Jefferson]. ... Jefferson had, while in
Washington's cabinet, expressed his detestation of the method
hitherto favored for pacifying these pests of commerce; and,
availing himself of the present favorable opportunity, he sent
out Commodore Dale with a squadron of three frigates and a
sloop of war, to make a naval demonstration on the coast of
Barbary. ... Commodore Dale, upon arriving at Gibraltar [July,
1801], found two Tripolitan cruisers watching for American
vessels; for, as had been suspected, Tripoli already meditated
war. The frigate Philadelphia blockaded these vessels, while
Bainbridge, with the frigate Essex, convoyed American vessels
in the Mediterranean. Dale, in the frigate President,
proceeded to cruise off Tripoli, followed by the schooner
Experiment, which presently captured a Tripolitan cruiser of
14 guns after a spirited action. The Barbary powers were for a
time overawed, and the United States thus set the first
example among Christian nations of making reprisals instead of
ransom the rule of security against these commercial
marauders. In this respect Jefferson's conduct was applauded
at home by men of all parties."

_J. Schouler, History of the U. S.,
chapter 5, section 1 (volume 2)._

ALSO IN:
_R. L. Playfair, The Scourge of Christendom, chapter 16._

BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1803-1805.
American War with the pirates of Tripoli.

"The war with Tripoli dragged tediously along, and seemed no
nearer its end at the close of 1803 than 18 months before.
Commodore Morris, whom the President sent to command the
Mediterranean squadron, cruised from port to port between May,
1802, and August, 1803, convoying merchant vessels from
Gibraltar to Leghorn and Malta, or lay in harbor and repaired
his ships, but neither blockaded nor molested Tripoli; until
at length, June 21, 1803, the President called him home and
dismissed him from the service. His successor was Commodore
Preble, who Sept. 12, 1803, reached Gibraltar with the
relief-squadron which Secretary Gallatin thought unnecessarily
strong. ... He found Morocco taking part with Tripoli. Captain
Bainbridge, who reached Gibraltar in the 'Philadelphia' August
24, some three weeks before Preble arrived, caught in the
neighborhood a Moorish cruiser of 22 guns with an American
brig in its clutches. Another American brig had just been
seized at Mogador. Determined to stop this peril at the
outset, Preble united to his own squadron the ships which he
had come to relieve, and with this combined force, ... sending
the 'Philadelphia' to blockade Tripoli, he crossed to Tangiers
October 6, and brought the Emperor of Morocco to reason. On
both sides prizes and prisoners were restored, and the old
treaty was renewed, This affair consumed time; and when at
length Preble got the 'Constitution' under way for the
Tripolitan coast, he spoke [to] a British frigate off the
Island of Sardinia, which reported that the 'Philadelphia' had
been captured October 21, more than three weeks before.
Bainbridge, cruising off Tripoli, had chased a Tripolitan
cruiser into shoal water, and was hauling off, when the
frigate struck on a reef at the mouth of the harbor. Every
effort was made without success to float her; but at last she
was surrounded by Tripolitan gunboats, and Bainbridge struck
his flag. The Tripolitans, after a few days work, floated the
frigate, and brought her under the guns of the castle. The
officers became prisoners of war, and the crew, in number 300
or more, were put to hard labor. The affair was in no way
discreditable to the squadron. ... The Tripolitans gained
nothing except the prisoners; for at Bainbridge's suggestion
Preble, some time afterward, ordered Stephen Decatur, a young
lieutenant in command of the 'Enterprise', to take a captured
Tripolitan craft renamed the 'Intrepid,' and with a crew of 75
men to sail from Syracuse, enter the harbor of Tripoli by
night, board the 'Philadelphia,' and burn her under the castle
guns. The order was literally obeyed. Decatur ran into the
harbor at ten o'clock in the night of February 16, 1804, boarded
the frigate within half gun-shot of the Pacha's castle, drove
the Tripolitan crew overboard, set the ship on fire, remained
alongside until the flames were beyond control, and then
withdrew without losing a man."

_H. Adams, History of the United States: Administration of
Jefferson, volume 2, chapter 7._

"Commodore Preble, in the meantime, hurried his preparations
for more serious work, and on July 25th arrived off Tripoli
with a squadron, consisting of the frigate Constitution, three
brigs, three schooners, six gunboats, and two bomb vessels.
Opposed to him were arrayed over a hundred guns mounted on
shore batteries, nineteen gunboats, one ten-gun brig, two
schooners mounting eight guns each, and twelve galleys.
Between August 3rd and September 3rd five attacks were made,
and though the town was never reduced, substantial damage was
inflicted, and the subsequent satisfactory peace rendered
possible. Preble was relieved by Barron in September, not
because of any loss of confidence in his ability, but from
exigencies of the service, which forbade the Government
sending out an officer junior to him in the relief squadron
which reinforced his own. Upon his return to the United States
he was presented with a gold medal, and the thanks of Congress
were tendered him, his officers, and men, for gallant and
faithful services. The blockade was maintained vigorously, and
in 1805 an attack was made upon the Tripolitan town of Derna,
by a combined land and naval force; the former being under
command of Consul-General Eaton, who had been a captain in the
American army, and of Lieutenant O'Bannon of the Marines. The
enemy made a spirited though disorganized defence, but the
shells of the war-ships drove them from point to point, and
finally their principal work was carried by the force under
O'Bannon and Midshipman Mann. Eaton was eager to press
forward, but he was denied reinforcements and military stores,
and much of his advantage was lost.
{265}
All further operations were, however, discontinued in June,
1805, when, after the usual intrigues, delays, and
prevarications, a treaty was signed by the Pasha, which
provided that no further tribute should be exacted, and that
American vessels should be forever free of his rovers.
Satisfactory as was this conclusion, the uncomfortable fact
remains that tribute entered into the settlement. After all
the prisoners had been exchanged man for man, the Tripolitan
Government demanded, and the United States paid, the handsome
sum of sixty thousand dollars to close the contract. This
treaty, however, awakened the conscience of Europe, and from
the day it was signed the power of the Barbary Corsairs began
to wane. The older countries saw their duty more clearly, and
ceased to legalize robbery on the high seas."

_S. Lane-Poole, Story of the Barbary Corsairs, chapter 20._

ALSO IN:
_J. F. Cooper, History of the U. S. Navy,
volume 1, chapter 18 and volume 2, chapter 1-7._

_J. F. Cooper, Life of Preble._

_A. S. Mackenzie, Life of Decatur, chapter 3-7._

BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1815.
Final War of Algiers with the United States.
Death-blow to Algerine piracy.

"Just as the late war with Great Britain broke out, the Dey of
Algiers, taking offense at not having received from America
the precise articles in the way of tribute demanded, had
unceremoniously dismissed Lear, the consul, had declared war,
and had since captured an American vessel, and reduced her
crew to slavery. Immediately after the ratification of the
treaty with England, this declaration had been reciprocated.
Efforts had been at once made to fit out ships, new and old,
including several small ones lately purchased for the proposed
squadrons of Porter and Perry, and before many weeks Decatur
sailed from New York with the Guerrière, Macedonian, and
Constellation frigates, now released from blockade; the
Ontario, new sloop of war, four brigs, and two schooners. Two
days after passing Gibralter, he fell in with and captured an
Algerine frigate of 44 guns, the largest ship in the Algerine
navy, which struck to the Guerrière after a running fight of
twenty-five minutes. A day or two after, an Algerine brig was
chased into shoal water on the Spanish coast, and captured by
the smaller vessels. Decatur having appeared off Algiers, the
terrified Dey at once consented to a treaty, which he
submitted to sign on Decatur's quarter deck, surrendering all
prisoners on hand, making certain pecuniary indemnities,
renouncing all future claim to any American tribute or
presents, and the practice, also, of reducing prisoners of war
to slavery. Decatur then proceeded to Tunis and Tripoli, and
obtained from both indemnity for certain American vessels
captured under the guns of their forts by British cruisers
during the late war. The Bey of Tripoli being short of cash,
Decatur agreed to accept in part payment the restoration of
liberty to eight Danes and two Neapolitans held as slaves."

_R. Hildreth, History of the U. S., Second Series, chapter 30
(volume 3)._

ALSO IN:
_A. S. Mackenzie, Life of Decatur, chapter 13-14._

BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1816.
Bombardment of Algiers by Lord Exmouth.
Relinquishment of Christian slavery in Algiers, Tripolis and
Tunis.

"The corsairs of Barbary still scoured the Mediterranean; the
captives, whom they had taken from Christian vessels, still
languished in captivity in Algiers; and, to the disgrace of
the civilized world, a piratical state was suffered to exist
in its very centre. ... The conclusion of the war [of the
Coalition against Napoleon and France] made the continuance of
these ravages utterly intolerable. In the interests of
civilization it was essential that piracy should be put down;
Britain was mistress of the seas, and it therefore devolved
upon her to do the work. ... Happily for this country the
Mediterranean command was held by an officer [Lord Exmouth]
whose bravery and skill were fully equal to the dangers before
him. ... Early in 1816 Exmouth was instructed to proceed to
the several states of Barbary; to require them to recognize
the cession of the Ionian Islands to Britain; to conclude
peace with the kingdoms of Sardinia and Naples; and to abolish
Christian slavery. The Dey of Algiers readily assented to the
two first of these conditions; the Beys of Tripolis and Tunis
followed the example of the Dey of Algiers, and in addition
consented to refrain in future from treating prisoners of war
as slaves. Exmouth thereupon returned to Algiers, and
endeavoured to obtain a similar concession from the Dey. The
Dey pleaded that Algiers was subject to the Ottoman Porte,"
and obtained a truce of three months in order to confer with
the Sultan. But meantime the Algerines made an unprovoked
attack upon a neighbouring coral fishery, which was protected
by the British flag, massacring the fishermen and destroying
the flag. This brought Exmouth back to Algiers in great haste,
with an ultimatum which he delivered on the 27th of August. No
answer to it was returned, and the fleet (which had been
joined by some vessels of the Dutch navy) sailed into battle
range that same afternoon. "The Algerines permitted the ships
to move into their stations. The British reserved their fire
till they could deliver it with good effect. A crowd of
spectators watched the ships from the shore; and Exmouth waved
his hat to them to move and save themselves from the fire.
They had not the prudence to avail themselves of his timely
warning. A signal shot was fired by the Algerines from the
mole. The 'Queen Charlotte' replied by delivering her entire
broadside. Five hundred men were struck down by the first
discharge. ... The battle, which had thus begun at two o'clock
in the afternoon, continued till ten o'clock in the evening.
By that time half Algiers had been destroyed; the whole of the
Algerine navy had been burned; and, though a few of the
enemy's batteries still maintained a casual fire, their
principal fortifications were crumbling ruins; the majority of
their guns were dismounted." The Dey humbled himself to the
terms proposed by the British commander. "On the first day of
September Exmouth had the satisfaction of acquainting his
government with the liberation of all the slaves in the city
of Algiers, and the restitution of the money paid since the
commencement of the year by the Neapolitan and Sardinian
Governments for the redemption of slaves." He had also
extorted from the piratical Dey a solemn declaration that he
would, in future wars, treat all prisoners according to the
usages of European nations. In the battle which won these
important results, "128 men were killed and 690 wounded on
board the British fleet; the Dutch lost 13 killed and 52
wounded."

_S. Walpole, History of England from 1815,
chapter 2 (volume 1)._

ALSO IN:
_H. Martineau, History of the Thirty Years Peace,
book 1, chapter 6 (volume l)._

_L. Hertslet, Collection of Treaties and Conventions,
volume 1._

{266}

BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1830.
French conquest of Algiers.

"During the Napoleonic wars, the Dey of Algiers supplied grain
for the use of the French armies; it was bought by merchants
of Marseilles, and there was a dispute about the matter which
was unsettled as late as 1829. Several instalments had been
paid; the dey demanded payment in full according to his own
figures, while the French government, believing the demand
excessive, required an investigation. In one of the numerous
debates on the subject, Hussein Pasha, the reigning dey,
became very angry, struck the consul with a fan, and ordered
him out of the house. He refused all reparation for the
insult, even on the formal demand of the French government,
and consequently there was no alternative but war." The
expedition launched from the port of Toulon, for the
chastisement of the insolent Algerine, "comprised 37,500 men,
3,000 horses, and 180 pieces of artillery. ... The sea-forces
included 11 ships of the line, 23 frigates, 70 smaller
vessels, 377 transports, and 230 boats for landing troops.
General Bourmont, Minister of War, commanded the expedition,
which appeared in front of Algiers on the 13th of June, 1830."
Hussein Pasha "had previously asked for aid from the Sultan of
Turkey, but that wily ruler had blankly refused. The beys of
Tunis and Tripoli had also declined to meddle with the
affair." The landing of the French was effected safely and
without serious opposition, at Sidi-Ferruch, about 16 miles
west of Algiers. The Algerine army, 40,000 to 50,000 strong,
commanded by Aga Ibrahim, son-in-law of the dey, took its
position on the table-land of Staoueli, overlooking the
French, where it waited while their landing was made. On the
19th General Bourmont was ready to advance. His antagonist,
instead of adhering to the waiting attitude, and forcing the
French to attack him, on his own ground, now went out to meet
them, and flung his disorderly mob against their disciplined
battalions, with the result that seldom fails. "The Arab loss
in killed and wounded was about 3,000, ... while the French
loss was less than 500. In little more than an hour the battle
was over, and the Osmanlis were in full and disorderly
retreat." General Bourmont took possession of the Algerine
camp at Staoueli, where he was again attacked on the 24th of
June, with a similar disastrous result to the Arabs. He then
advanced upon the city of Algiers, established his army in
position behind the city, constructed batteries, and opened,
on the 4th of July, a bombardment so terrific that the dey
hoisted the white flag in a few hours. "Hussein Pasha hoped to
the last moment to retain his country and its independence by
making liberal concessions in the way of indemnity for the
expenses of the war, and offered to liberate all Christian
slaves in addition to paying them for their services and
sufferings. The English consul tried to mediate on this basis,
but his offers of mediation were politely declined. ... It was
finally agreed that the dey should surrender Algiers with all
its forts and military stores, and be permitted to retire
wherever he chose with his wives, children, and personal
belongings, but he was not to remain in the country under any
circumstances. On the 5th of July the French entered Algiers
in great pomp and took possession of the city. ... The spoils
of war were such as rarely fall to the lot of a conquering
army, when its numbers and the circumstances of the campaign
are considered. In the treasury was found a large room filled
with gold and silver coins heaped together indiscriminately,
the fruits of three centuries of piracy; they were the coins
of all the nations that had suffered from the depredations of
the Algerines, and the variety in the dates showed very
clearly that the accumulation had been the work of two or
three hundred years. How much money was contained in this vast
pile is not known; certain it is that nearly 50,000,000
francs, or £2,000,000 sterling, actually reached the French
treasury. ... The cost of the war was much more than covered
by the captured property. ... Many slaves were liberated. ...
The Algerine power was forever broken, and from that day
Algeria has been a prosperous colony of France. Hussein Pasha
embarked on the 10th of July with a suite of 110 persons, of
whom 55 were women. He proceeded to Naples, where he remained
for a time, went afterwards to Leghorn, and finally to Egypt."
In Egypt he died, under circumstances which indicated poison.

_T. W. Knox, Decisive Battles Since Waterloo, chapter 5._

ALSO IN:
_R. L. Playfair, The Scourge of Christendom, chapter 19._

_E. E. Crowe, History of the Reigns of Louis XVIII. and
Charles X., volume 2, chapter 13._

BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1830-1846.
The French war of Subjugation in Algeria with Abd-el-Kader.

"When Louis Philippe ascended the throne [of France, A. D.
1830] the generals of his predecessor had overrun the country
[of Algiers]--though they did not effectually subdue it;
their absolute dominion not extending far round Algiers--from
Bona, on the east, in latitude 36° 53' North, longitude 7° 46'
West, to Oran, on the west--nearly the entire extent of the
ancient Libya. ... There was always a party in the chamber of
deputies opposed to the conquest who deprecated the
colonisation of Algeria, and who steadily opposed any grants
of either men or money to be devoted to the African
enterprise. The natural result followed. Ten thousand men
could not effect the work for which 40,000 were required; and,
whilst the young colony languished, the natives became
emboldened, and encouraged to make that resistance which cost
the French so dear. Marshal Clausel, when entrusted with the
government of the colony, and the supreme command of the
troops ... established a series of fortified posts, which were
adequately garrisoned; and roads were opened to enable the
garrisons promptly to communicate with each other. These
positions, rapidly acquired, he was unable to maintain, in
consequence of the home government recalling the greater part
of his force. To recruit his army he resolved to enlist some
corps of the natives; and, in October, 1830, the first
regiment of zouaves was raised." ... In 1833 we "first hear of
Abd-el-Kader. This chief was the son of a marabout, or priest,
in the province of Oran. He united consummate ability with
great valour; was a devout Mohammedan; and when he raised the
standard of the prophet, he called the Arabs around him, with
the fullest confidence of success.
{267}
His countrymen obeyed his call in great numbers; and,
encouraged by the enthusiasm they displayed, he first, at the
close of 1833, proclaimed himself emir of Tlemsen (the former
name of Oran), and then seized on the port of Arzew, on the
west side of the gulf of that name; and the port of
Mostaganem, on the opposite coast. The province of Mascara,
lying at the foot of the Atlas, was also under his rule. At
that time General Desmichels commanded at Oran. He had not a
very large force, but he acted promptly. Marching against
Abd-el-Kader, he defeated him in two pitched battles; retook
Arzew and Mostaganem; and, on the 26th of February, 1834,
entered into a treaty with the emir, by which both parties
were bound to keep the peace towards each other. During that
year the terms were observed; but, in 1835, the Arab chief
again commenced hostilities. He marched to the east, entered
the French territories, and took possession of Medeah, being
received with the utmost joy by the inhabitants. On the 26th
of June, General Trezel, with only 2,300 men, marched against
him. Abd-el-Kader had 8,000 Arabs under his command; and a
sanguinary combat took place in the defiles of Mouley-Ismael.
After a severe combat, the French forced the passage, but with
considerable loss. ... The French general, finding his
position untenable, commenced a retrograde movement on the
28th of June. In his retreat he was pursued by the Arabs; and
before he reached Oran, on the 4th of July, he lost all his
waggons, train, and baggage; besides having ten officers, and
252 sous-officers and rank-and-file killed, and 308 wounded.
The heads of many of the killed were displayed in triumph by
the victors. This was a severe blow to the French, and the
cause of great rejoicing to the Arabs. The former called for
marshal Clausel to be restored to his command, and the
government at home complied; at the same time issuing a
proclamation, declaring that Algeria should not be abandoned,
but that the honour of the French arms should be maintained.
The marshal left France on the 28th of July; and as soon as he
landed, he organised an expedition against Mascara, which was
Abd-el-Kader's capital. ... The Arab chieftain advanced to
meet the enemy; but, being twice defeated, he resolved to
abandon his capital, which the French entered on the 6th of
December, and found completely deserted. The streets and
houses were alike empty and desolate; and the only living
creature they encountered was an old woman, lying on some
mats, who could not move of herself, and had been either
forgotten or abandoned. The French set fire to the deserted
houses; and having effected the destruction of Mascara, they
marched to Mostaganem, which Clausel determined to make the
centre of French power in that district."

_Thomas Wright, History of France, volume 3, pages 633-635._

"A camp was established on the Taafna in April 1836, and an
action took place there on the 25th, when the Tableau states
that 3,000 French engaged 10,000 natives; and some of the
enemies being troops of Morocco, an explanation was required
of Muley-Abd-er-Rachman, the emperor, who said that the
assistance was given to the Algerines without his knowledge.
On July 6th, 1836, Abd-el-Kader suffered a disastrous defeat
on the river Sikkak, near Tlemsen, at the hands of Marshal
Bugeaud. November 1836, the first expedition was formed
against Constantina. ...After the failure of Clauzel, General
Damrémont was appointed governor, February 12th, 1837; and on the
30th of May the treaty of the Taafna between General Bugeaud
and Abd-el-Kader left the French government at liberty to
direct an their attention against Constantina, a camp being
formed at Medjoy-el-Ahmar in that direction. An army of 10,000
men set out thence on the 1st of October, 1837, for
Constantina. On the 6th it arrived before Constantina; and on
the 13th the town was taken with a severe loss, including
Damrémont. Marshal Vallée succeeded Damrémont as governor. The
fall of Constantina destroyed the last relic of the old
Turkish government. ... By the 27th January, 1838, 100 tribes
had submitted to the French. A road was cleared in April by
General Negrier from Constantina to Stora on the sea. This
road, passing by the camps of Smendou and the Arrouch, was 22
leagues in length. The coast of the Bay of Stora, on the site
of the ancient Rusicada, became covered with French settlers:
and Philippeville was founded Oct. 1838, threatening to
supplant Bona. Abd-el-Kader advancing in December 1837 to the
province of Constantina, the French advanced also to observe
him; then both retired, without coming to blows. A
misunderstanding which arose respecting the second article of
the treaty of Taafna was settled in the beginning of 1838. ...
When Abd-el-Kader assumed the royal title of Sultan and the
command of a numerous army, the French, with republican
charity and fraternal sympathy, sought to infringe the Taafna
treaty, and embroil the Arab hero, in order to ruin his rising
empire, and found their own on its ashes. The Emir had been
recognised by the whole country, from the gates of Ouchda to
the river Mijerda. ... The war was resumed, and many French
razzias took place. They once marched a large force from
Algiers on Milianah to surprise the sultan's camp. They failed
in their chief object, but nearly captured the sultan himself.
He was surrounded in the middle of a French square, which
thought itself sure of the reward of 100,000 francs (£4,000)
offered for him; but uttering his favourite 'en-shallah' (with
the will of God), he gave his white horse the spur, and came
over their bayonets unwounded. He lost, however, thirty of his
bodyguard and friends, but killed six Frenchmen with his own
hand. Still, notwithstanding his successes, Abd-el-Kader had
been losing all his former power, as his Arabs, though brave,
could not match 80,000 French troops, with artillery and all
the other ornaments of civilised warfare. Seven actions were
fought at the Col de Mouzaia, where the Arabs were overthrown
by the royal dukes, in 1841; and at the Oued Foddha, where
Changarnier, with a handful of troops, defeated a whole
population in a frightful gorge. It was on this occasion that,
having no guns, he launched his Chasseurs d'Afrique against
the fort, saying, 'Voilà mon artillerie!' Abd-el·Kader had
then only two chances,--the support of Muley-Abd-er-Rahman,
Emperor of Morocco; or the peace that the latter might
conclude with France for him. General Bugeaud, who had
replaced Marshal Vallée, organised a plan of campaign by
movable columns radiating from Algiers, Oran, and Constantina;
and having 100,000 excellent soldiers at his disposal, the
results as against the Emir were slowly but surely effective.
{268}
General Negrier at Constantina, Changarnier amongst the
Hadjouts about Medeah and Milianah, Cavaignae and Lamoricière
in Oran,--carried out the commander-in-chiefs instructions
with untiring energy and perseverance; and in the spring of
1843 the Duc d'Aumale, in company with General Changarnier,
surprised the Emir's camp in the absence of the greatest part
of his force, and it was with difficulty that he himself
escaped. Not long afterwards he took refuge in Morocco,
excited the fanatical passions of the populace of that empire,
and thereby forced its ruler, Muley-Abd-er-Rahman, much
against his own inclination, into a war with France; a war
very speedily terminated by General Bugeaud's victory of Isly,
with some slight assistance from the bombardment of Tangier
and Mogador by the Prince de Joinville. In 1845 the struggle
was maintained amidst the hills by the partisans of
Abd-el-Kader; but our limits prevent us from dwelling on its
particulars, save in one instance. ... On the night of the
12th of June, 1845, about three months before Marshal Bugeaud
left Algeria, Colonels Pelissier and St. Arnaud, at the head
of a considerable force, attempted a razzia upon the tribe of
the Beni-Oulell-Hiah, numbering, in men, women, and children,
about 700 persons. This was in the Dahra. The Arabs escaped
the first clutch of their pursuers; and when hard pressed, as
they soon were, took refuge in the cave of Khartani, which had
some odour of sanctity about it: some holy man or marabout had
lived and died there, we believe. The French troops came up
quickly to the entrance, and the Arabs were summoned to
surrender. They made no reply. Possibly they did not hear the
summons. ... As there was no other outlet from the cave than
that by which the Arabs entered, a few hours' patience must
have been rewarded by the unconditional surrender of the
imprisoned tribe. Colonels Pelissier and St. Arnaud were
desirous of a speedier result; and by their order an immense
fire was kindled at the mouth of the cave, and fed sedulously
during the summer night with wood, grass, reeds, anything that
would help to keep up the volume of smoke and flame which the
wind drove, in roaring, whirling eddies, into the mouth of the
cavern. It was too late now for the unfortunate Arabs to offer
to surrender; the discharge of a cannon would not have been
heard in the roar of that huge blast-furnace, much less
smoke-strangled cries of human agony. The fire was kept up
throughout the night; and when the day had fully dawned, the
then expiring embers were kicked aside, and as soon as a
sufficient time had elapsed to render the air of the silent
cave breathable, some soldiers were directed to ascertain how
matters were, within. They were gone but a few minutes; and
they came back, we are told, pale, trembling, terrified,
hardly daring, it seemed, to confront the light of day. No
wonder they trembled and looked pale. They had found all the
Arabs dead--men, women, children. ... St. Arnaud and Pelissier
were rewarded by the French minister; and Marshal Soult
observed, that 'what would be a crime against civilisation in
Europe might be a justifiable necessity in Africa.' ... A
taste of French bayonets at Isly, and the booming of French
guns at Mogador, had brought Morocco to reason. ... Morocco
sided with France, and threatened Abel-el-Kader, who cut one
of their corps to pieces, and was in June on the point of
coming to blows with Muley-Abd-el-Rahman, the emperor. But the
Emperor of Morocco took vigorous measures to oppose him,
nearly exterminating the tribes friendly to him; which drew
off many partisans from the Emir, who tried to pacify the
emperor, but unsuccessfully." In December, 1846, "he asked to
negotiate, offered to surrender; and after 24 hours'
discussion he came to Sidi Brahim, the scene of his last
exploits against the French, where he was received with
military honours, and conducted to the Duke of Aumale at
Nemours. France has been severely abused for the detention of
Abd-el-Kader in Ham."

_J. R. Morell, Algeria, chapter 22._

BARBARY STATES: A. D. 1881.
Tunis brought under the protectorate of France.

See FRANCE: A. D.1875-1889.

----------BARBARY STATES: End----------

BARBES.--BARBETS.

The elders among the early Waldenses were called barbes, which
signified "Uncle." Whence came the nickname Barbets, applied
to the Waldensian people generally.

_E. Comba, History of the Waldenses of Italy, page 147._

BARCA.

See CYRENE.

BARCELONA: A. D. 713.
Surrender to the Arab-Moors.

See SPAIN: A. D. 711-713.

BARCELONA: A. D. 1151.
The County joined to Aragon.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1035-1258.

BARCELONA: 12th-16th Centuries.
Commercial prosperity and municipal freedom.

"The city of Barcelona, which originally gave its name to the
county of which it was the capital, was distinguished from a
very early period by ample municipal privileges. After the
union with Aragon in the 12th century, the monarchs of the
latter kingdom extended towards it the same liberal
legislation; so that, by the 13th, Barcelona had reached a
degree of commercial prosperity rivalling that of any of the
Italian republics. She divided with them the lucrative
commerce with Alexandria; and her port, thronged with
foreigners from every nation, became a principal emporium in
the Mediterranean for the spices, drugs, perfumes, and other
rich commodities of the East, whence they were diffused over
the interior of Spain and the European continent. Her consuls,
and her commercial factories, were established in every
considerable port in the Mediterranean and in the north of
Europe. The natural products of her soil, and her various
domestic fabrics, supplied her with abundant articles of
export. Fine wool was imported by her in considerable
quantities from England in the 14th and 15th centuries, and
returned there manufactured into cloth; an exchange of
commodities the reverse of that existing between the two
nations at the present day. Barcelona claims the merit of
having established the first bank of exchange and deposit in
Europe, in 1401; it was devoted to the accommodation of
foreigners as well as of her own citizens. She claims the
glory, too, of having compiled the most ancient written code,
among the moderns, of maritime law now extant, digested from
the usages of commercial nations, and which formed the basis
of the mercantile jurisprudence of Europe during the Middle
Ages. The wealth which flowed in upon Barcelona, as the result
of her activity and enterprise, was evinced by her numerous
public works, her docks, arsenal, warehouses, exchange,
hospitals, and other constructions of general utility.
Strangers, who visited Spain in the 14th and 15th centuries,
expatiate on the magnificence of this city, its commodious
private edifices, the cleanliness of its streets and public
squares (a virtue by no means usual in that day), and on the
amenity of its gardens and cultivated environs.
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But the peculiar glory of Barcelona was the freedom of her
municipal institutions. Her government consisted of a senate
or council of one hundred, and a body of regidores or
counsellors, as they were styled, varying at times from four
to six in number; the former intrusted with the legislative,
the latter with the executive functions of administration. A
large proportion of these bodies were selected from the
merchants, tradesmen, and mechanics of the city. They were
invested not merely with municipal authority, but with many of
the rights of sovereignty. They entered into commercial
treaties with foreign powers; superintended the defence of the
city in time of war; provided for the security of trade;
granted letters of reprisal against any nation who might
violate it; and raised and appropriated the public moneys for
the construction of useful works, or the encouragement of such
commercial adventures as were too hazardous or expensive for
individual enterprise. The counsellors, who presided over the
municipality, were complimented with certain honorary
privileges, not even accorded to the nobility. They were
addressed by the title of magnificos; were seated, with their
heads covered, in the presence of royalty; were preceded by
mace-bearers, or lictors, in their progress through the
country; and deputies from their body to the court were
admitted on the footing and received the honors of foreign
ambassadors. These, it will be recollected, were
plebeians,--merchants and mechanics. Trade never was esteemed
a degradation in Catalonia, as it came to be in Castile."

_W. H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Ferdinand and
Isabella, introduction, section 2._

BARCELONA: A. D. 1640.
Insurrection.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1640-1642.

BARCELONA: A. D. 1651-1652.
Siege and capture by the Spaniards.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1648-1652.

BARCELONA: A. D. 1705.
Capture by the Earl of Peterborough.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1705.

BARCELONA: A. D. 1706.
Unsuccessful siege by the French and Spaniards.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1706.

BARCELONA: A. D. 1713-1714.
Betrayal and desertion by the Allies.
Siege, capture and massacre by French and Spaniards.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1713-1714.

BARCELONA: A. D. 1842.
Rebellion and bombardment.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1833-1846.

----------BARCELONA: End----------

BARCELONA, Treaty of.

See ITALY: A.D. 1527-1529.

BARCIDES, OR BARCINE FAMILY, The.

The family of the great Carthaginian, Hamilcar Barca, father
of the more famous Hannibal. The surname Barca, or Barcas,
given to Hamilcar, is equivalent to the Hebrew Barak and
signified lightning.

_R. B. Smith, Carthage and the Carthagenians, chapter 7._

BARDS.

See FILI.

BARDULIA, Ancient Cantabria.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1026-1230.

BARÉ, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: GUCK OR COCO GROUP.

BAREBONES PARLIAMENT, The.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1653 (JUNE-DECEMBER).

BARERE AND THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1793 (MARCH-JUNE); (SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER);
TO 1794-1795 (JULY-APRIL).

BARKIAROK, Seljouk Turkish Sultan, A. D. 1092-1104.

BARMECIDES, OR BARMEKIDES, The.

The Barmecides, or Barmekides, famous in the history of the
Caliphate at Bagdad, and made familiar to all the world by the
stories of the "Arabian Nights," were a family which rose to
great power and wealth under the Caliph Haroun Alraschid. It
took its name from one Khaled ibn Barmek, a Persian, whose
father had been the "Barmek" or custodian of one of the most
celebrated temples of the Zoroastrian faith. Khaled accepted
Mahometanism and became one of the ablest agents of the
conspiracy which overthrew the Ommiad Caliphs and raised the
Abbasides to the throne. The first of the Abbaside Caliphs
recognized his ability and made him vizier. His son Yahya
succeeded to his power and was the first vizier of the famous
Haroun Alraschid. But it was Jaafar, one of the sons of Yahya,
who became the prime favorite of Haroun and who raised the
family of the Barmecides to its acme of splendor. So much
greatness in a Persian house excited wide jealousy, however,
among the Arabs, and, in the end, the capricious lord and
master of the all powerful vizier Jaafar turned his heart
against him, and against all his house. The fall of the
Barmecides was made as cruel as their advancement had been
unscrupulous. Jaafar was beheaded without a moment's warning;
his father and brother were imprisoned, and a thousand members
of the family are said to have been slain.

_R. D. Osborn, Islam under the Khalifs of Baghdad,
part 2, chapter 2._

ALSO IN: _E. H. Palmer, Haroun Alraschid, chapter 3._

BARNABITES.--PAULINES.

"The clerks-regular of St. Paul (Panlines), whose congregation
was founded by Antonio Maria Zacharia of Cremona and two
Milanese associates in 1532, approved by Clement VII. in 1533,
and confirmed as independent by Paul III. in 1534, in 1545
took the name of Barnabites, from the church of St. Barnabas,
which was given up to them at Milan. The Barnabites, who have
been described as the democratic wing of the Theatines,
actively engaged in the conversion of heretics, both in Italy
and in France and in that home of heresy, Bohemia."

_A. W. Ward, The Counter Reformation, page 29._

BARNBURNERS.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1845-1846.

BARNET, Battle of (A. D. 1471).

The decisive battle, and the last but one fought, in the "Wars
of the Roses." Edward IV., having been driven out of England
and Henry VI. reinstated by Warwick, "the King-maker," the
former returned before six months had passed and made his way
to London. Warwick hastened to meet him with an army of
Lancastrians and the two forces came together on Easter
Sunday, April 14, 1471, near Barnet, only ten miles from
London. The victory, long doubtful, was won for the white rose
of York and it was very bloodily achieved. The Earl of Warwick
was among the slain.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1455-1471.

BARNEVELDT, John of, The religious persecution and death of.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1603-1619.

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BARON.

"The title of baron, unlike that of Earl, is a creation of the
[Norman] Conquest. The word, in its origin equivalent to
'homo,' receives under feudal institutions, like 'homo'
itself, the meaning of vassal. Homage (hominium) is the
ceremony by which the vassal becomes the man of his lord; and
the homines of the king are barons. Possibly the king's thegn
of Anglo-Saxon times may answer to the Norman baron."

_William Stubbs, Constitutional History of England, chapter 11,
section 124._

BARON, Court.

See MANORS.

BARONET.

"One approaches with reluctance the modern title of baronet.
... Grammatically, the term is clear enough; it is the
diminutive of baron: but baron is emphatically a man, the
liege vassal of the king; and baronet, therefore,
etymologically would seem to imply a a doubt. Degrees of honor
admit of no diminution: a 'damoisel' and a 'donzello' are
grammatical diminutives, but they do not lessen the rank of
the bearer; for, on the contrary, they denote the heir to the
larger honor, being attributed to none but the sons of the
prince or nobleman, who bore the paramount title. They did not
degrade, even in their etymological signification, which
baronet appears to do, and no act of parliament can remove
this radical defect. ... Independently of these
considerations, the title arose from the expedient of a needy
monarch [James I.] to raise money, and was offered for sale.
Any man, provided he were of good birth, might, 'for a
consideration,' canton his family shield with the red hand of
Ulster."

_R. T. Hampson, Origines Patriciæ, pages 368-369._

BARONS' WAR, The.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1216-1274.

BARONY OF LAND.

"Fifteen acres, but in some places twenty acres."

_N. H. Nicolas, Notitia Historica, page 134._

BARRIER FORTRESSES, The razing of the.

See NETHERLANDS (HOLLAND): A. D. 1746-1787.

BARRIER TREATIES, The.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1709,
and NETHERLANDS (HOLLAND): A. D. 1713-1715.

BARROW.

A mound raised over the buried dead. "This form of memorial,
... as ancient as it has been lasting, is found in almost all
parts of the globe. Barrows, under diverse names, line the
coasts of the Mediterranean, the seats of ancient empires and
civilisations. ... They abound in Great Britain and Ireland,
differing in shape and size and made of various materials; and
are known as barrows (mounds of earth) and cairns (mounds of
stone) and popularly in some parts of England as lows, houes,
and tumps."

_W. Greenwell, British Barrows, pages 1-2._

ALSO IN: _Sir J. Lubbock, Prehistoric TIMES, chapter 5._

BARTENSTEIN, Treaty of.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1807 (FEBRUARY-JUNE).

BARWALDE, Treaty of.

See GERMANY. A. D. 1631 (JANUARY).

BASHAN.

See JEWS: ISRAEL UNDER THE JUDGES.

BASHI BOZOUK, OR BAZOUKS.

For the suppression of the revolt of 1875-77 in the Christian
provinces of the Turkish dominions (see TURKS: 1861-1876),
"besides the regular forces engaged against the Bulgarians,
great numbers of the Moslem part of the local population had
been armed by the Government and turned loose to fight the
insurgents in their own way. These irregular warriors are
called Bashi Bozouks, or Rottenheads. The term alludes to
their being sent out without regular organization and without
officers at their head."

_H. O. Dwight, Turkish Life in War Time, page 15._

BASIL I. (called the Macedonian), Emperor in the East (Byzantine, or Greek), A. D. 867-886.

Basil, or Vassili, I., Grand Duke of Volodomir, A. D. 1272-1276

Basil II., Emperor in the East (Byzantine, or Greek), A. D. 963-1025.

Basil, or Vassili, II., Grand Prince of Moscow, A. D. 1389-1425.

Basil III. (The Blind), Grand Prince of Moscow, A. D. 1425-1462.

Basil IV., Czar of Russia, A. D. 1505-1533.

BASILEUS.

"From the earliest period of history, the sovereigns of Asia
had been celebrated in the Greek language by the title of
Basileus, or King: and since it was considered as the first
distinction among men, it was soon employed by the servile
provincials of the east in their humble address to the Roman
throne."

_E. Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chapter 13.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25717_

BASILIAN DYNASTY, The.

See BYZANTINE EMPIRE: A. D. 820-1057.

BASILICÆ.

"Among the buildings appropriated to the public service at
Rome, none were more important than the Basilicæ. Although
their name is Greek, yet they were essentially a Roman
creation, and were used for practical purposes peculiarly
Roman,--the administration of law and the transaction of
merchants' business. Historically, considerable interest
attaches to them from their connection with the first
Christian churches. The name of Basilica was applied by the
Romans equally to all large buildings intended for the special
needs of public business. ... Generally, however, they took
the form most adapted to their purposes--a semi-circular apse
or tribunal for legal trials and a central nave, with arcades
and galleries on each side for the transaction of business.
They existed not only as separate buildings, but, also as
reception rooms attached to the great mansions of Rome. ... It
is the opinion of some writers that these private basilicæ,
and not the public edifices, served as the model for the
Christian Basilica."

_R. Burn, Rome and the Campagna, introduction._

ALSO IN: _A. P. Stanley, Christian Institutions,
chapter 9._

BASILIKA, The.

A compilation or codification of the imperial laws of the
Byzantine Empire promulgated A. D. 884, in the reign of Basil
I. and afterwards revised and amplified by his son, Leo VI.

_G. Finlay, History of the Byzantine Empire, from 716 to
1057, book 2, chapter 1, section 1._

BASING HOUSE, The Storming and Destruction of.

"Basing House [mansion of the Marquis of Winchester, near
Basingstoke, in Hampshire], an immense fortress, with a feudal
castle and a Tudor palace within its ramparts, had long been a
thorn in the side of the Parliament. Four years it had held
out, with an army within, well provisioned for years, and
blocked the road to the west. At last it was resolved to take
it: and Cromwell was directly commissioned by Parliament to
the work. Its capture is one of the most terrible and stirring
incidents of the war. After six days' constant cannonade, the
storm began at six o'clock in the morning of the 14th of
October [A. D. 1645]. After some hours of desperate fighting,
one after another its defences were taken and its garrison put
to the sword or taken. The plunder was prodigious; the
destruction of property unsparing. It was gutted, burnt, and
the very ruins carted away."

_F. Harrison, Oliver Cromwell, chapter 5._

ALSO IN:
_S. R. Gardiner, History of the Civil War,
chapter 37 (volume 2)._

_Mrs. Thompson, Recollections of Literary Characters and
Celebrated Places, volume 2, chapter 1._

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BASLE, Council of.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1431-1448.

BASLE, Treaties of (1795).

See FRANCE: A. D. 1794-1795 (OCTOBER-MAY),
and 1795 (JUNE-DECEMBER).

BASOCHE.--BASOCHIENS.

"The Basoche was an association of the 'clercs du Parlement'
[Parliament of Paris]. The etymology of the name is uncertain.
... The Basoche is supposed to have been instituted in 1302,
by Philippe-le-Bel, who gave it the title of 'Royaume de la
Basoche,' and ordered that it should form a tribunal for
judging, without appeal, all civil and criminal matters that
might arise among the clerks and all actions brought against
them. He likewise ordered that the president should be called
'Roi de la Basoche,' and that the king and his subjects should
have an annual 'montre' or review. ... Under the reign of
Henry III. the number of subjects of the roi de la Basoche
amounted to nearly 10,000. ... The members of the Basoche took
upon themselves to exhibit plays in the 'Palais,' in which
they censured the public manners; indeed they maybe said to
have been the first comic authors and actors that appeared in
Paris. ...At the commencement of the Revolution, the
Basochiens formed a troop, the uniform of which was red, with
epaulettes and silver buttons; but they were afterwards
disbanded by a decree of the National Assembly."

_History of Paris (London: G. B. Whittaker, 1827),
volume 2, page 106._

BASQUES, The.

"The western extremity of the Pyrenees, where France and Spain
join, gives us a locality ... where, although the towns, like
Bayonne, Pampeluna, and Bilbao, are French or Spanish, the
country people are Basques or Biscayans--Basques or Biscayans
not only in the provinces of Biscay, but in Alava, Upper
Navarre, and the French districts of Labourd and Soule. Their
name is Spanish (the word having originated in that of the
ancient Vascones), and it is not the one by which they
designate themselves; though possibly it is indirectly
connected with it. The native name is derived from the root
Eusk-; which becomes Euskara when the language, Euskkerria
when the country, and Euskaldunac when the people are spoken
of."

_H. G. Latham, Ethnology of Europe, chapter 2._

ALSO IN:
_I. Taylor, Origin of the Aryans, chapter 4, section 4._

See, also, IBERIANS, THE WESTERN, and APPENDIX A, volume 1.

BASSANO, Battle of.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1796 (APRIL-OCTOBER.)

BASSEIN, Treaty of (1802).

See INDIA: A. D. 1798-1805.

BASSORAH.

See BUSSORAH.

BASTARNÆ, The. See PEUCINI.

BASTILLE, The.

"The name of Bastille or Bastel was, in ancient times, given
to any kind of erection calculated to withstand a military
force; and thus, formerly in England and on the borders of
Scotland, the term Bastel-house was usually applied to places
of strength and fancied security. Of the many Bastilles in
France that of Paris, ... which at first was called the
Bastille St-Antoine, from being erected near the suburb of
St-Antoine, retained the name longest. This fortress, of
melancholy celebrity, was erected under the following
circumstances: In the year 1356, when the English, then at war
with France, were in the neighbourhood of Paris, it was
considered necessary by the inhabitants of the French capital
to repair the bulwarks of their city. Stephen Marcel, provost
of the merchants, undertook this task, and, amongst other
defences, added to the fortifications at the eastern entrance
of the town, a gate flanked with a tower on each side." This
was the beginning of the constructions of the Bastille. They
were enlarged in 1369 by Hugh Aubriot, provost of Paris under
Charles V. He "added two towers, which, being placed opposite
to those already existing on each side of the gate, made of
the Bastille a square fort, with a tower at each of the four
angles." After the death of Charles V., Aubriot, who had many
enemies, was prosecuted for alleged crimes, "was condemned to
perpetual confinement, and placed in the Bastille, of which,
according to some historians, he was the first prisoner. After
some time, he was removed thence to Fort l'Evêque, another
prison," from which he was liberated in 1381, by the
insurrection of the Maillotins (see PARIS: A. D. 1381). "After
the insurrection of the Maillotins, in 1382, the young king,
Charles VI., still further enlarged the Bastille by adding
four towers to it, thus giving it, instead of the square form
it formerly possessed, the shape of an oblong or
parallelogram. The fortress now consisted of eight towers,
each 100 feet high, and, like the wall which united them, nine
feet thick. Four of these towers looked on the city, and four
on the suburb of St-Antoine. To increase its strength, the
Bastille was surrounded by a ditch 25 feet deep and 120 feet
wide. The road which formerly passed through it was turned on
one side. ... The Bastille was now completed (1383), and
though additions were subsequently made to it, the body of the
fortress underwent no important change. ... Both as a place of
military defence, and as a state prison of great strength, the
Bastille was, even at an early period, very formidable."

History of the Bastille
(Chambers's Miscellany, no. 132, volume 17).

For an account of the taking and destruction of the Bastille
by the people, in 1789,

See FRANCE: A. D. 1789 (JULY).

ALSO IN:
_D. Bingham, The Bastille._

_R. A. Davenport, History of the Bastile._

BASTITANI, The.

See TURDETANI.

BASUTOS, The.

See SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1811-1868.

BATAVIA (Java), Origin of.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1594-1620.

BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, The.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1794-1795 (OCTOBER-MAY).

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BATAVIANS, OR BATAVI, The.

"The Germanic Batavi had been peacefully united with the
[Roman] Empire, not by Cæsar, but not long afterwards, perhaps
by Drusus. They were settled in the Rhine delta, that is on
the left bank of the Rhine and on the islands formed
by its arms, upwards as far at least as the Old Rhine, and so
nearly from Antwerp to Utrecht and Leyden in Zealand and
southern Holland, on territory originally Celtic--at least the
local names are predominantly Celtic; their name is still
borne by the Betuwe, the lowland between the Waal and the Leck
with the capital Noviomagus, now Nimeguen. They were,
especially compared with the restless and refractory Celts,
obedient and useful subjects, and hence occupied a distinctive
position in the aggregate, and particularly in the military
system of the Roman Empire. They remained quite free from
taxation, but were on the other hand drawn upon more largely
than any other canton in the recruiting; this one canton
furnished to the army 1,000 horsemen and 9,000 foot soldiers;
besides, the men of the imperial body-guard were taken
especially from them. The command of these Batavian divisions
was conferred exclusively on native Batavi. The Batavi were
accounted indisputably not merely as the best riders and
swimmers of the army, but also as the model of true
soldiers."

_T. Mommsen, History of Rome, book 8, chapter 4._