The Moslem countries at that time were simultaneously engaging in trade and piracy, enslaving captured sailors and sometimes selling them back for ransom. European countries accepted this as a cost of doing business; America, under Jefferson, did not. Instead, with congressional backing, the US fought a war to prevent that practice.
Yes, the European rulers were the ones who decided. I'm sure the sailors didn't agree. The governments were actually paying annual tribute to the Barbary Coast states, in exchange for not being attacked when they passed through those waters. They got attacked anyway, but not as much. The US paid tribute too, for a few years, before the country could afford a navy.
The Moslem countries at that time were simultaneously engaging in trade and piracy, enslaving captured sailors and sometimes selling them back for ransom. European countries accepted this as a cost of doing business; America, under Jefferson, did not. Instead, with congressional backing, the US fought a war to prevent that practice.
They ALL own slaves , I mean peasants, anyway. That is why The UK has shaken our "SnowGlobe" and shuffled all their former colonies peasants.
Yes, the European rulers were the ones who decided. I'm sure the sailors didn't agree. The governments were actually paying annual tribute to the Barbary Coast states, in exchange for not being attacked when they passed through those waters. They got attacked anyway, but not as much. The US paid tribute too, for a few years, before the country could afford a navy.