Traditionally war came with loot. This loot took a lot of forms, ranging from slaves (definitely not allowed today), to enemy military equipment, and whatever you could plunder from the enemies cities and countryside. We still have a few vestiges of these sorts of takings that are "legal" in warfare today. Andrew Clapham argues that we should almost completely ban these sorts of prize-taking, along with blockades and other tools of warfare. I'd actually argue that they are not all bad, and we have a pretty good debate about the topic on this podcast.

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Email me at: usnavalhistorypodcast@gmail.com

When the biggest country in the world and the most powerful country in the world can't even talk to each other, how can they possibly avoid war? Well, in the case of the Chinese and British in the early 19th Century... they didn't!

In this episode of the U.S. Naval History Podcast, I interview Professor Henrietta Harrison on the leadup to war that in some ways parallels our world today.

We discuss:

- The difficulty in getting the right information to the country's leaders and the dangers when this does not happen well

- How difficult it is to translate not only languages, but cultures and worldview between Anglo-American English and Chinese

- How just being close enough to do the direct translation in often seen. as inherently suspicious

- The not-so-great fates of the two key interpreters between England and China

- The First Opium War

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Why did the United States fight the Barbary Wars? How did early American diplomacy, economics, and naval power converge to confront North Africa's Barbary states?

In this episode of the U.S. Naval History Podcast, Chase Dalton interviews Professor Abby Mullen from the United States Naval Academy, author of To Fix a National Character: The United States in the First Barbary War, 1800-1805. Together, they explore the Barbary Wars through the lens of diplomacy, economic strategy, and naval action.

We discuss:

- The diplomatic landscape between the United States, Barbary states, and European powers,

- The importance of trade routes and the Mediterranean post-Independence,

- How American naval captains operated under minimal guidance, acting as both diplomats and warriors,

- The ideological motivations driving early U.S. foreign policy, and

- The role of European powers and international relations in shaping the outcome of the Barbary Wars.

We also dive into how the U.S. Navy developed through these conflicts and the lessons learned for future engagements.

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Email me at: usnavalhistorypodcast@gmail.com

Buy To Fix A National Character here! (https://www.amazon.com/Fix-National-Character-Barbary-1800-1805/dp/1421449269)