Pirates Play an Important Role Throughout American and Moroccan Histories

     Morocco was once what was referred to as the Barbary coast. This was home to pirates. They were extremely good at stealing money from ships from  various countries. They were so good at what they did, that Spain, among other countries, would just pay them off every year so that their ships would remain unharmed.

     Once the United States became its own country, and was not protected by Britain or Spain, the Barbary pirates decided that they would start pillaging American ships as well. Spain warned the United States that this would start to happen to them, and advised them to pay the ransom every year. The problem was, the United States was a brand new country. They could not afford to pay off the pirates, nor did they want to. Thus, under Thomas Jefferson, the United States decided to create a force to protect them against the pirates; the United States Navy and Marines were created to stop pirates!. In fact, if you listen to the Marines’ anthem, “...to the shores of Tripoli…” this is near where the Barbary pirates once were.