The Americans at War With the Ottoman Empire ― Us Mercenary Force in the Middle East

We live in an age of proxy warfare across the Middle East, and of mercenary armies operating across Africa and on the fringes of Europe. America's current foreign policy, or at least its representation in the media, seems to suggest there has been a deep and lasting conflict between the Islamic East and the West. This book seeks to trace the origins of this idea, by uncovering a new history of American mercenary ambitions in the late 18th Century through to the modern age.

Eric Covey begins with a focus on the US army which fought the Ottoman Empire in the Tripolitan War of 1801 - Thomas Jefferson, refusing to pay tribute to the Barbary Coast states, went to war with the Pasha of Tripoli. But the conflict was not, as so often portrayed, centred around Christianity versus Islam. The war concerned trade agreements and customs, and various pirates, clientele states and smaller entities (such as the Kingdom of Naples) were involved. The East, as Covey shows, was then seen as a place of hope and adventure; where careers and fortunes could be made.

Using source work form the USA to shed light on the Ottoman empire's internal workings, Covey links this early history together with the subsequent media representations of the 'orient' in Hollywood and popular culture, and shows how America's earliest interactions with the Middle East and North Africa were based around trade, profiteering and clientelism.

Eric Covey completed his PhD at the University of Texas at Austin last year. He is currently Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Miami.