The Barbary War and the Apotheosis of the American Power : a Materialist View

Abstract

The present research is an attempt to shed light on one of the important events that has impacted greatly on the American foreign policy. It stands mainly as a response to the research made by Christopher Hitchens (2007) where he advances the idea that suggets the primary claim where the young American nation of Thomas Jefferson was pushed by the idea of freedom as defined by the French Revolution to wage war abroad, namely what is known later on as the first Barbaresque War. Relying on the Marxist approach to history, ie. Historical Materialism, we intend to show that the essential reason for this overseas hegemonic exercise by the United States of America is the Will to Power. Surfing on the background of the late XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX century, we apply to give a more detailed account of the event that took place in the Mediterannean Sea, emphasing the conceptual elements of power relation. It is noted that these techniques of power has been used extensively and genuienly by the young Republic of Jefferson. This paper comes with the conclusion that this historical moment, although it is scarcely well-known in the popular knowledge, happens to be the heralding years of the American hegemony in the modern world.