Barbary States once lay along the coast of North Africa. This area is now part of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. The terms Barbary and Berber, the name of the people who make up a large part of the north African population, come from the Latin word barbari. Barbari was the name given in Roman times to peoples who lived at the fringes of the Roman Empire.
From the early 1500’s to the early 1800’s, the Barbary States licensed corsairs (sea raiders) to attack the ships of other nations in the Mediterranean waters. From 1795 to 1801, the United States paid large sums of money to the Barbary States for protection against these corsairs. After Thomas Jefferson became president, the United States fought against Tripoli (1801-1805), and later against Algeria. In 1815, the Barbary rulers promised to stop the raids against United States ships.
During the 1800’s and early 1900’s, the Barbary States were ruled by France, Spain, and Italy. Algeria was made a part of France. Tunis became a protectorate of France. Most of Morocco became a protectorate of France except for a small part which was given to Spain. Tripoli became a part of Libya, which was an Italian colony. In 1943, Allied forces used Barbary ports as bases from which to invade southern Europe.
Libya gained independence in 1951. In 1956 Morocco and Tunisia followed. Algeria won its independence from France in 1962.
