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TIL: The Barbary wars marked the beginning of Americas global military campaigns. American merchant ships were captured and by North African states and then the Americans went to war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Wars#Effect_in_United_...

Also, what pre-superpower days looked like:

The US used to pay them annual tributes to leave the ships alone.. ".. by 1797, the United States had paid out $1.25 million or a fifth of the government's annual budget then in tribute.[12] These demands for tribute had imposed a heavy financial drain and by 1799 the U.S. was in arrears of $140,000 to Algiers and some $150,000 to Tripoli".

What percentage of the revenue of American commercial shipping activity would that be? 1%? 10%? 50%? I'm curious if America felt forced to act because the tributes were literally breaking the bank, or of it was just a cost/benefit analysis(ie we pay $2M/yr but we can blow up their fleet for a one time cost of $3M), or an ethical one.
While I found this short piece to be fascinating, I had figured since it was in Lapham's it'd be a bit longer. I was surprised when I reached the final sentence and scrolled down that there wasn't a beginning to another section...I suppose I'll have to read the book to learn more :)