On This Day

First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America (first US foreign war)

The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman…

The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against the United States over disputes regarding tributary payments in exchange for a cessation of Tripolitanian commerce raiding at sea. United States President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay this tribute. The First Barbary War was the first major American war fought outside the New World, and in the Arab world, besides the smaller American–Algerian War (1785–1795).

Historical Significance

The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania.

Events Before

  1. The dissolution of the Dutch East India Company comes into effect

    The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874.

  2. Napoleon I's sister Carolina marries French military leader Joachim Murat, future King of Naples

    Napoleon I's sister Carolina marries French military leader Joachim Murat, future King of Naples

  3. Alessandro Volta reports his discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Socie

    Alessandro Volta reports his discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London

  4. Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gives the first cowpox vaccination in the United States to his son to prevent smallpox

    Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gives the first cowpox vaccination in the United States to his son to prevent smallpox

  5. British politician and future Prime Minister of UK George Canning (30) weds Scottish heiress Joan Scott (24-ish) at St G

    British politician and future Prime Minister of UK George Canning (30) weds Scottish heiress Joan Scott (24-ish) at St George's Anglican Church, Hanover Square, London, until his death in 1827

Events After

  1. Congress passes an act calling for a US Capitol library

    Congress passes an act calling for a US Capitol library

  2. 1st leopard exhibited in US, Boston (admission 25 cents)

    1st leopard exhibited in US, Boston (admission 25 cents)

  3. Simon Willard patents banjo clock

    Simon Willard (April 3, 1753 – August 30, 1848) was a celebrated American clockmaker. Simon Willard clocks were produced in Massachusetts in the towns of Grafton and Roxbury, near Boston.

  4. 1st US Military Academy at West Point is established through Congressional act (opened July 4, 1802)

    The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York, that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the...

  5. Great Britain and the French Republic sign the Treaty of Amiens

    The Treaty of Amiens (French: la paix d'Amiens, lit. 'the peace of Amiens') temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the...

More from the 1800s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on May 10, 1801?
The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war against the United States over disputes regarding tributary payments in exchange for a cessation of Tripolitanian commerce raiding at sea. United States President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay this tribute.
Why is First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United S... significant?
The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania.

Explore More