European Plans for the Subjugation of the Tripolitanian Navy (1815–1832 AD)

Abstract

This research examines the systematic European strategies aimed at neutralizing the Tripolitanian naval power between 1815 and 1832 AD, a period marking the decline of the Karamanli Dynasty. During the reign of Yusuf Pasha Karamanli, the Regency of Tripoli exerted significant maritime influence, imposing levies and taxes on European vessels to ensure safe passage in the Mediterranean. This study highlights how the Congress of Vienna (1815) and the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818) served as pivotal diplomatic and military turning points, shifting the European stance from paying tributes to active collective confrontation. The findings demonstrate that British and French naval pressures, under the guise of abolishing the slave trade and piracy, were strategically designed to dismantle the economic foundation of the Regency. This external strangulation led to a severe fiscal crisis, characterized by the collapse of the local currency, excessive internal taxation, and heavy reliance on foreign loans. Consequently, the resulting internal instability and family disputes over power weakened the state, facilitating the return of direct Ottoman rule in 1835. The study concludes that the European "maritime security" agenda was a precursor to broader colonial ambitions in North Africa.