On this week's episode of History Reconsidered, Sumantra Maitra and Jarrett Stepman discuss the Barbary Wars. Following the Spanish Reconquista, North African Muslim states turned to piracy to enrich themselves. For four centuries they relied on a system of piracy, slavery, and exacting tribute from European powers.
The Barbary pirate states reached a high point in the 18th century, but were almost entirely snuffed out in the 19th century. Why?
Maitra and Stepman discuss the American and British perspective on the Barbary Wars as well as the potential lessons for modern conflicts with Somali pirates and Houthi terrorists plaguing the Red Sea.
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