Millions for Credit: Peace with Algiers and the Establishment of America’s Commercial Reputation Overseas, 1795–96
In September 1795, the United States of America agreed to pay a large sum of money to the independent Ottoman regency of Algiers so that Algiers would not interfere with its trade in and around the Mediterranean. This trade was of great importance for American farmers and merchants, who hoped to meet warring European armies’ increased demand for grain, as well as for the American commercial fleet, which sought to increase its share of the Mediterranean carrying trade. For the next thirteen months, however, the United States struggled to make the payment, and the Dey of Algiers repeatedly threatened to cancel the treaty.  American historians usually describe this series of events as a diplomatic crisis and national disgrace, during which the United States was forced to pay protection money to safeguard its ships from the Algerian corsair fleets mistakenly termed “pirates.” This article argues, however, that the American payment to Algiers benefited the United States by establishing American commercial credit and political credibility overseas. As the treaty payment left the Bank of the United States in Philadelphia, entered the London financial markets, and passed through the hands of merchant houses in Cadiz and Livorno, a diverse group of international creditors became invested in American success. When the payment at last arrived as specie in Algiers, government leaders, diplomats, merchants and insurers around Europe and the Mediterranean had new reason to believe that the credit of the new republic was good.
Fish and Flour for Gold: Southern Europe and the Colonial American Balance of Payments
A neglected trade and its commodities are emphasized in Professor Lydon's consideration of the colonial merchants' search for profitable returns to England.
Protecting Marine Biodiversity on the Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles
States are expending significant effort to chart the extent of their continental shelves where these extend beyond 200 nautical miles. As more is understood about marine biodiversity on the outer continental shelf, states may wish to regulate the use of biodiversity for the purposes of conservation or for future exploitation. This article identifies potential threats to marine biodiversity on the continental shelf, explores whether conservation is a legitimate purpose for exercising coastal state rights over the outer continental shelf under the Law of the Sea Convention, and considers the various legal rules that coastal states may use to protect marine biodiversity. The article concludes that the continental shelf regime is undesirably vague in some instances but that coastal states have a legal basis for taking action to regulate activities that impact the marine biodiversity of the outer continental shelf.