Yusuf (ibn Ali) Karamanli, Caramanli or Qaramanli or al-Qaramanli (most commonly Yusuf Karamanli), (1766 – 1838) was the longest-reigning

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...

of the Karamanli dynasty of

Tripolitania Tripolitania ( ar, طرابلس '; ber, Ṭrables, script=Latn; from Vulgar Latin: , from la, Regio Tripolitana, from grc-gre, Τριπολιτάνια), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province o ...

(in present-day

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

). He is noted for his role in the

Barbary Wars The Barbary Wars were a series of two wars fought by the United States, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Sicily against the Barbary states (including Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli) of North Africa in the early 19th century. Sweden had been at wa ...

against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Assumption of the throne

Born in Tripoli in 1766, Karamanli, a member of the Karamanli dynasty (named after the

Karamanids The Karamanids ( tr, Karamanoğulları or ), also known as the Emirate of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman ( tr, Karamanoğulları Beyliği), was one of the Anatolian beyliks, centered in South-Central Anatolia around the present-day Karaman Pr ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

), was originally of Turkish origin.. His brother, Hamet Karamanli, was deposed from leadership in 1793 by

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

officer Ali Pasha, who proceeded to exile the Karamanli family and claim Ottoman rule over Tripoli. In 1795, Hamet and Yusuf returned to Tripoli, and with the aid of Hammuda Pasha of the neighboring Barbary state of

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, recaptured it from Ali Pasha. Yusuf then had his brother exiled to

Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

and claimed the throne for himself.

Barbary Wars

In 1796, Karamanli drafted and signed the

Treaty of Tripoli The Treaty of Tripoli (''Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary'') was signed in 1796. It was the first treaty between the United States and Tripoli (now Libya) to secur ...

, which permitted the passage of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

commercial ships through Tripolitanian waters. In 1801, Karamanli allegedly violated the treaty by demanding a tribute of $225,000 from third American

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

. Jefferson, confident in the ability of the fledgling

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

(newly reinforced with the building of six heavy frigates beginning in 1797) to protect American shipping, refused the Pasha's demands. This lead the Pasha to unofficially declare war in May 1801 by chopping down the flagpole with the American flag before the U.S. consulate. The U.S. Navy attempted to blockade Tripoli's harbors with a squadron sent by President Jefferson in 1803. After some initial military successes, most notably the capture of the grounded American frigate USS ''Philadelphia'' in October 1803, the Pasha soon found himself threatened after a raid led by US Navy lieutenant

Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unit ...

to burn and scuttle the ''Philadelphia'' in Tripoli's harbor. By 1805, following a defeat at the

Battle of Derna The Battle of Derna at Derna, Cyrenaica, was the decisive victory in April–May 1805 of a mercenary army recruited and led by United States Marines under the command of U.S. Army Lieutenant William Eaton, diplomatic Consul to Tripoli, and U ...

as well as the allied recruitment of his deposed brother Hamet Karamanli by American army officer and diplomatic consul

William Eaton William Eaton or Bill Eaton may refer to: * William Eaton (soldier) (1764–1811), United States Army soldier during the Barbary Wars * William Eaton (athlete) (1909–1938), British long-distance runner * William Eaton (guitarist), American luth ...

, Karamanli was forced to capitulate. He signed a treaty with American emissary Tobias Lear of the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

that officially ended the war on 10 June 1805.

Al-Jawazi massacre

On 5 September 1817, Yusuf Karamanli invited the leaders of the al-Jawazi tribe of

to his castle in

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη ('' Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghaz ...

, following a dispute regarding tribute and an al-Jawazi uprising against his rule. Consequently, the Pasha ordered the execution of all attendees and of all other tribe members, which resulted in a massacre of at least 10,000 people. Survivors eventually sought refuge in neighboring countries, especially in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

Decline of the Karamanli dynasty

By 1819, the various treaties of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

had forced the Barbary states to give up corsair activity almost entirely, and Tripoli's economy began to crumble. Karamanli attempted to compensate for lost revenue by encouraging the

trans-Saharan slave trade During the Trans-Saharan slave trade, slaves were transported across the Sahara desert. Most were moved from Sub-Saharan Africa to North Africa to be sold to Mediterranean and Middle eastern civilizations; a small percentage went the oth ...

, but with

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

sentiment on the rise in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and to a lesser degree in the United States, this failed to salvage Tripoli's economy. As Karamanli weakened, factions sprung up around his three sons; though Karamanli abdicated in 1832 in favor of his son Ali II, civil war soon resulted. Ottoman Sultan

Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

sent in troops ostensibly to restore order, but they instead deposed and exiled Ali II, marking the end of both the Karamanli dynasty and an independent Tripoli.

References

Notes

# Hume 311.
US Country Studies

Bibliography

References

*Folayan, Kola Tripoli during the reign of Yusuf Pasha Qaramanli. Ife, Nigeria: University of Ife Press, 1979. *Hume, L. J. "Preparations for Civil War in Tripoli in the 1820s: Ali Karamanli, Hassuna D'Ghies and Jeremy Bentham." ''The Journal of African History'' 21.3 (1980): 311–322. * London, Joshua E. ''Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation''. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005. *McLachlan, K. S. "Tripoli and Tripolitania: Conflict and Cohesion during the Period of the Barbary Corsairs (1551-1850)." ''Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series'' 3.3 (1978): 285–294.

Books

* LAFI (Nora)
Une ville du Maghreb entre ancien régime et réformes ottomanes. Genèse des institutions municipales à Tripoli de Barbarie (1795-1911)
Paris, L'Harmattan, 2002, 305 p.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karamanli, Yusuf 1766 births 1838 deaths 18th-century Libyan people 19th-century Libyan people People of the Barbary Wars Pashas Genocide perpetrators Turkic rulers Ottoman Tripolitania Libyan people of Turkish descent