How Jefferson Fought the Barbary Pirates

On June 4, 1805, Tripoli was forced to conclude peace with US after a war over tribute. This ended the First Barbary War. From the article:

"The Barbary pirates, who had been marauding off the coast of Africa for centuries, encountered a new enemy in the early 19th century: the young United States Navy.

The North African pirates had been a menace for so long that by the late 1700s most nations paid tribute to ensure that merchant shipping could proceed without being violently attacked.

In the early years of the 19th century, the United States, at the direction of President Thomas Jefferson, decided to halt the payment of tribute. A war between the small and scrappy American Navy and the Barbary pirates ensued.

A decade later, a second war settled the issue of American ships being attacked by pirates. The issue of piracy off the African coast seem to fade into the pages of history for two centuries until resurfacing in recent years when Somali pirates clashed with the U.S. Navy."