Blood and Ink: The Barbary Archive in Early American Literary History

Algerian piracy in the Mediterranean threatened the young republic, leading to the Barbary Crises (1784–1815). Blood and Ink explores the influence of these conflicts on publicity, print culture, and racial and national identity, connecting them to the development of American abolitionism and representations of transatlantic African and Jewish identities.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 22 December 2023
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Algerian piracy in the Mediterranean loomed large in the American imagination. An estimated seven hundred American citizens, sailors, and naval officers were taken captive over the course of the Barbary Crises (1784–1815), and this overseas danger threatened to grow and irreparably harm the young republic.

Blood and Ink: Reconstructing the Forgotten Influence of Early American Conflicts with North Africa on Publicity, Print Culture, and Racial and National Identity from Independence to the Civil War explores the extensive archive of texts inspired by these conflicts. From captivity narratives, novels, plays, and poems to broadsides, travel narratives, children's literature, newspaper articles, and visual ephemera, Jacob Crane connects anxieties surrounding North African piracy and white slavery to both the development of American abolitionism and representations of transatlantic African and Jewish identities in the early national and antebellum periods.

The Barbary Wars (1801–1815) were a series of conflicts between the United States and the Barbary States, a collection of North African kingdoms that practiced piracy on the high seas. The United States began to intervene in these conflicts in 1801, when President Thomas Jefferson sent the USS Philadelphia to attack Tripoli, the capital of the Barbary States. The Philadelphia was successful in its mission, and the United States declared war on the Barbary States in 1805.

The Barbary Wars were a significant event in American history, as they marked the first time that the United States engaged in a military conflict outside of its borders. They also had a significant impact on American public opinion, as they helped to shape the country's attitudes towards foreign policy and the use of military force.

The conflict between the United States and the Barbary States was primarily driven by economic interests. The Barbary States had been harassing American merchant ships, stealing their cargo and enslaving their sailors. This piracy was a significant threat to American commerce, and the United States sought to end it through military force.

In addition to economic interests, the Barbary Wars were also driven by a desire to promote American values and ideals. The United States saw itself as a champion of freedom and democracy, and it believed that it was its duty to protect these values from those who would threaten them. The conflict with the Barbary States was seen as a way to demonstrate the strength and power of the United States and to show that it was not afraid to stand up to aggression and tyranny.

The Barbary Wars also had a significant impact on American print culture. The conflict was widely reported in the American press, and it helped to shape public opinion on the issue. Newspapers and magazines published articles and essays on the conflict, and they helped to promote a sense of national unity and pride.

The Barbary Wars also had a significant impact on American racial and national identity. The conflict was seen as a way to demonstrate the strength and power of the United States and to show that it was not afraid to stand up to aggression and tyranny. It also helped to promote a sense of national unity and pride, as Americans came together to support their country in its conflict with a foreign power.

In conclusion, the Barbary Wars were a significant event in American history, as they marked the first time that the United States engaged in a military conflict outside of its borders. They were driven by economic interests, a desire to promote American values and ideals, and a sense of national unity and pride. The conflict had a significant impact on American print culture, racial and national identity, and the country's attitudes towards foreign policy and the use of military force.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781625347411