The Wars of the Barbary PiratesAn accessible introduction to the wars against the Barbary pirates, which shaped the early United States. It not only signalled the determination of the United States to throw off its tributary status, liberate its citizens from slavery in North Africa, and reassert its right to trade freely upon the seas: they enabled America to regain its sense of national dignity. The wars also served as a catalyst for the development of a navy with which America