Barbary Warsとは 意味・読み方・使い方

The Barbary Wars were a series of wars between the United States of America and the Barbary States of North Africa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At issue was the Barbary pirates' demand of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. If ships failed to pay, pirates would attack the ships and take their goods, and often hold crew for ransom. United States naval power attacked the fortified pirate cities and extracted concessions of fair passage from their rulers. The administrations of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison undertook the actions against the Barbary States. Jefferson led the first, from 1801-1805, against pirates' cities in what are today Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria. Madison directed forces for the second war in 1815.