Was the US Navy created to take on pirates, as Byron Donalds said? It was a big reason.

After President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy would blockade the Strait of Hormuz to prevent the shipment of oil and other goods to and from Iran, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., defended the decision.

Iran has controlled the vital international shipping route since shortly after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks Feb. 28. When Iran said it would charge tolls for ships attempting to pass, Trump initially condemned the idea, floated a U.S.-Iran tolling "joint venture," then settled on the blockade plan. 

Donalds, who is running for the Republican nomination for Florida governor, reached back to the early 19th century for a precedent, citing a time when Ottoman Empire outposts demanded payments from U.S. shipping vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. The sporadic conflicts between 1801 and 1815 became known as the Barbary wars.

In an April 12 interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker asked Donalds how Trump’s action would lead to the reopening of the strait.

Donalds said, "Our Navy — its creation was actually to free international waters from the Barbary pirates. That’s why we have the U.S. Navy."

Historians who study the period say there are definite echoes between the two conflicts.

"The threat from the Barbary regimes was critical for the creation of the U.S. Navy," said Frederick C. Leiner, author of "The End of Barbary Terror" and "Prisoners of the Bashaw."

Donalds’ office did not respond to an inquiry for this article.

Did the Barbary threat help create the U.S. Navy?

The U.S. had a navy during the American Revolution, but after being saddled with debt from the war and operating under a weak central government, the country decided against maintaining a standing fleet. The continental navy disappeared with the sale of the Alliance warship, a 36-gun frigate, to a private merchant in 1785.

As the United States’ first president under the 1788 Constitution, George Washington did not immediately push to form a new navy. But the piracy threat from the Barbary states — particularly Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, which were loosely affiliated with the Ottoman Empire — grew during his tenure, and the British no longer had any interest in helping its former colony on the high seas. It wasn’t long before the U.S. decided it needed a naval force.

Historians describe the Barbary states’ actions as a well-developed protection racket. Countries paid hefty monetary "tributes" to the Barbary rulers to secure free passage for their ships through the Mediterranean Sea. Countries that refused to pay would risk being boarded, with crew members held hostage and cargo confiscated. (Technically, this was not "piracy," which is committed by non-state actors; the proper term for such government-backed privateering is "corsairing.")

Initially, the United States decided to pay tribute. But American leaders argued that doing so would inspire more outrageous financial demands. 

As president, Washington successfully lobbied Congress to authorize six ships. But before that order was completed, the U.S. agreed to pay a large tribute to Algiers rather than fight. This eased the pressure for U.S. shippers, so lawmakers cut back the number of ships to three, plus some smaller vessels. 

With this modest navy, the U.S. fought France — an ally during the revolution but a competitor in trade — in what became known as the Quasi War between 1798 and 1801. It was a limited conflict for the brand new naval force, but a real one. 

After Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, he rejected Tripoli's demand for payment. Tripoli countered by declaring war on the United States. 

"U.S. ships were declared a legitimate target by Barbary pirates operating out of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, hence the U.S. Navy's involvement in the area," said historian Adrian Tinniswood, author of "Pirates of Barbary."

Jefferson sent forces to the Mediterranean, and after sporadic combat, hostilities ended four years later with a negotiated settlement in which the United States paid a smaller tribute than had initially been demanded.

As happened in the current Iran war, the U.S. mounted a blockade, with Congress’ authorization. The effort was reasonably successful until a frigate, the Philadelphia, ran aground; its 307-man crew was captured and imprisoned for 19 months. At that point, Jefferson ordered more ships, and the focus turned to securing the crew’s release. Eventually, in 1805, the crew was freed after a U.S. payment of about $50 per man.

The second Barbary war, against Algiers in 1815, was much briefer, aided by the experience of fighting the War of 1812. With a few exceptions, this ended the era of piracy by the Barbary states.

"It is fair to say that the Navy was established as a permanent organization because of the Barbary pirates," said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Before the blockade of Iran, the Barbary wars were mostly remembered by modern-day Americans as the source of the lyric "to the shores of Tripoli" in the Marine Hymn.

How similar is the comparison between the two wars?

There are some differences — Iran has not held crews hostage for ransom, for instance — but there is some historical similarity.

In both cases, the U.S. intervened militarily to protect the free passage of goods against a power that sought to exact tolls or tribute. Iran has reportedly assessed tolls on certain vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, though the Iranian government has denied doing so in at least some instances.

"Just as seizing ships and holding crew for ransom, as the Barbary states did, is a form of economic warfare, if every ship that passes has to pay money to Iran to assure their safety, that adds a cost," Leiner said. "I can see the comparison as valid."

But there's another dimension of the blockade of Iran that differs from the Barbary wars: The current blockade is "as an element of a broader war with Iran that does not have a Barbary pirate parallel," Cancian said.

Our ruling

Donalds said the U.S. Navy was created "to free international waters from the Barbary pirates."

Historians say this is accurate. The long-running problem from Barbary state attacks on merchant ships drove many of the key decisions in the early United States’ creation of a standing Navy. 

Donalds’ statement is accurate but needs additional information because he did not refer to the 19th century example in isolation; he cited it in the context of today’s situation with Iran, and the two wars have important differences. For example, the Barbary wars involved holding crews hostage for ransom. 

But both the Barbary wars and the Iran war involved the U.S. acting militarily to protect trade from efforts to exact tributes or tolls.

We rate the statement Mostly True.