Bombardment of Algiers (1816)

Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the Royal Navy no longer needed the Barbary states as a source of supplies for Gibraltar and their fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.This freed Britain to exert considerable political pressure to force the Barbary states to end their piracy and practice of enslaving European Christians.In early 1816, Exmouth undertook a diplomatic mission to Tunis, Tripoli, and Algiers, backed by a small squadron of ships of the line, to convince the Deys to stop the practice and free the Christian slaves.This squadron was considered by many to be an insufficient force, but Exmouth had already unobtrusively surveyed the defences of Algiers; he was very familiar with the town and was aware of a weakness in the field of fire of the defensive batteries.In addition to the main fleet, there were five sloops (HMS Heron, Mutine, Prometheus, Cordelia, and Britomart), eight ships' boats armed with Congreve rockets, and some transports to carry the rescued slaves.[12] The day before the attack, the frigate Prometheus arrived and its captain W. B. Dashwood attempted to secretly rescue the British Consul and his wife and infant.The Algerian flotilla of 40 gunboats made an attempt to board Queen Charlotte while the sailors were aloft setting sail, but twenty-eight of their boats were sunk by broadsides, and the remaining ran themselves on shore.[14]: 392  Impregnable was isolated from the other ships and made a large and tempting target, attracting attention from the Algerian gunners who raked her fore and aft, severely damaging her.[19] The following day at noon, Exmouth sent the following letter to the Dey: "Sir, for your atrocities at Bona on defenceless Christians, and your unbecoming disregard of the demands I made yesterday in the name of the Prince Regent of England, the fleet under my orders has given you a signal chastisement, by the total destruction of your navy, storehouse, and arsenal, with half your batteries.As England does not war for the destruction of cities, I am unwilling to visit your personal cruelties upon the unoffending inhabitants of the country, and I therefore offer you the same terms of peace which I conveyed to you yesterday in my Sovereign's name.
Portrait of Sir Edward Pellew by Thomas Lawrence , 1797
Council of war on board the Queen Charlotte , 1818, Nicolaas Bauer
Sketch showing the positions of the fleet during the bombardment
The general engagement, viewed from an eminence, south of the city, painted by William Innes Pocock R.N.
Battle of AlgiersGeorge ChambersAlgiersDeylik of AlgiersUnited KingdomNetherlandsEdward PellewDavid MilneFrederick CapellenOmar AghaAli KhodjaHussein KhodjaRoyal NavyRoyal Dutch NavyAlgerine navyOdjak of AlgiersKabyle contingentsZouavesjanissariesBritainDey of AlgiersEdward Pellew, 1st Viscount ExmouthpiracyEuropeansBarbary statesenslaving Europeansslavery in AlgeriaFrench conquest of AlgeriaPortrait of Sir Edward PellewThomas LawrenceNapoleonic WarsGibraltarMediterranean SeaTripoliships of the lineCorsicanSicilianSardinianNicolaas BauerHMS Queen CharlotteImpregnableAlbionMindenSuperbspar-deckedHMS LeanderfrigatesHMS SevernHebrusbomb shipsflagshipMutineCordeliaBritomartCongreve rocketsHMS MelampusHMS DianacorvetteVice-AdmiralTheodorus Frederik van CapellenBombardment of Algiers order of battleCorps of Royal EngineersMartinus SchoumanBombardment of AlgiersThomas LunyWilliam Innes PocockHMS MindenBattle of TrafalgarJewishBarbary slave tradeCongress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818)Algiers expedition (1541)Bombardment of Algiers (1683)Bombardment of Algiers (1784)Djidjelli expeditionInvasion of Algiers (1775)Invasion of Algiers in 1830Abdeljelil TemimiC. Northcote ParkinsonSeymour DrescherWayback Machine