Collingwood made no
attempt to deal with the Algerine difficulty, beyond sending a
civilian agent and a present of a watch, which the Dey consigned to
his cook. The British victories appear to have impressed the pirates'
mind but slightly; and in 1812 we find Mr. A'Court (Lord Heytesbury)
condescending to negotiate terms between the Corsairs and our allies
the Portuguese, by which the latter obtained immunity from molestation
and the release of their countrymen by the payment altogether of over
a million of dollars, and an annual tribute of $24,000.

To the United States of America belongs the honour of having first
set an example of spirited resistance to the pretensions of the
Corsairs. So long as they had been at war with Great Britain, the
States were unable to protect their commerce in the Mediterranean; and
they were forced to fall in with the prevailing custom and make peace
with the robbers on the basis of a bribe over a million of Spanish
dollars, and a large annual tribute in money and naval stores. But as
soon as the Treaty of Ghent set them free in 1815 they sent a squadron
to Algiers, bearing Mr. William Shaler as American consul, and
Captains Bainbridge and Stephen Decatur as his assessors in the
impending negotiations. The result was that after only two days a
Treaty was concluded on June 30, 1815, by which all money payment was
abolished, all captives and property were restored, and the United
States were placed on the footing of the most favoured nation. The
arguments of the Americans appear to have been more eloquent than
British broadsides.

Shamed by this unexpected success, the English Government at length
sent Lord Exmouth (formerly Sir Edward Pellew) to obtain favourable
terms for some of the minor Mediterranean Powers, and to place the
Ionian Islands, as British dependencies, on the same footing as
England. Yet he was evidently not authorized to proceed to extreme
measures or demand unconditional surrender of existing pretensions. He
arranged terms for Naples, which still included tribute and presents.
Sardinia escaped for a sum down. The Ionians were admitted on the
English footing. Then Lord Exmouth went on to Tunis and Tripoli, and
obtained from the two Beys the promise of the total abolition of
Christian slavery.

His proceedings at Tunis were marked by much firmness, and rewarded
with commensurate success. He arrived on the 12th of April, 1816,
shortly after a Tunisian Corsair, in devast