erranean Sea,--has often been conquered.
The Romans reduced Numidia and Mauritania into Roman provinces.
This beautiful garden of the world was afterwards conquered by the
Vandals; then by the Greeks, during the reign of Justinian, under
Belisarius; and, finally, three times by the Arabs, viz. in the
647th year of Christ, by Abdallah and Zobeer; in the year 667, by
Ak'bah for the Kalif Moawiah; and in the year 692, by Hassan, the
governor of Egypt, for the Kalif Abd Elmelik. Not one of the armies
of these warriors ever exceeded 50,000 men.

After these general conquests, the partial conquests of the
Portuguese and Spaniards, about the end of the fifteenth and
beginning of the sixteenth century, were effected by a mere handful
of men; and, in 1509, the latter rendered the kingdom of Algiers
tributary to them: but, afterwards, they lost it by the ferocity of
459 their chiefs, and by the fanaticism of their soldiers and priests;
and, finally, by their perfidy and intolerance, they made
themselves enemies to the various (_Kabyles_) tribes of Mauritania,
and thereby lost their conquest.

The repeated insults, offered by these ruffians to civilised
Europe, cannot be efficiently punished by a bombardment; a measure
which punishes many innocent subjects for the insults offered by
their government. No one acquainted with the character of the
natives of Barbary will maintain, that the destruction of a few
thousands of the peaceable inhabitants, or the burning of many
houses, is a national calamity in the eyes of a Muselman chief; who
would himself commit the same ravage and destruction that was so
gallantly effected by the British fleet, under Lord Exmouth, for
half the money it cost to accomplish it.

When Lord St. Vincent was off Cadiz with the British fleet, and
could not obtain the object which he sought of the Emperor of
Marocco; his Lordship, after refusing to comply with the Emperor's
request, communicated to his Lordship by the Emperor's envoy, or
agent, Rais Ben Embark, told the Rais to inform his Emperor, that,
if he did not change his conduct very soon, he would begin a war
with him, and such a war as he had neither seen nor read of before.
When the Rais reported this to the Emperor Soliman, he enquired
what kind of war an admiral could wage ag