The Kings of Algiers: How Two Jewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World During the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond

Richard O’Brien, who became the US consul in Algiers, after being a captive in the city, designated in a letter to Secretary of State Timothy Pickering in 1797, the Bacris and Naphtali as ‘The Kings of Algiers’. The Bacris and Naphtali (Busnach), Jewish traders who rose to remarkable success and influence during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in the Mediterranean, are at the heart of Kalman’s wonderfully detailed exposition of how members of these families emerged as significant figures in Algiers. The riveting story contains numerous cases of intrigue, assassinations, internecine relations among the families and consuls of various countries, savvy business dealings, corsairing, fraud and bankruptcy. By diligently combing various archives in six different countries, Kalman was able to uncover the network of connections, financial and communal, that enabled the Jewish traders to become dominant intermediaries between the deys and consuls from various European countries.

The role played by the Bacris in this saga was definitely assisted by their intermittent role as heads of the Jewish community (muqaddam) in Algiers that brought them into close—often direct—contact with the ruling authorities in Algiers. In their prominent capacity they were able to trade during the war between France and Britain with both countries inciting at times derisive comments by officials in both countries, yet ‘the Bacris did not care about the priorities of different states, and only gave attention to their needs when prices motivated them to do so’. Moreover, their standing and image as powerful brokers with the dey provided them leverage during the war, as the regency had remained neutral, but they were to face serious challenges to their situation following Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt and the Sultan’s declaration of war against France.

In a detailed exploration of the ensuing developments that included inter alia the imprisonment of the French consular staff and the efforts of Joseph Bacri and Naphtali to improve their condition in prison, reprisals of the French towards Algerians, attempts of the Bacris to retrieve money lent to the French, and free their imprisoned families and goods in France, while pursuing trade relations with warring countries, Kalman unravels the reality of the new situation that clearly brings to light the image of the Bacris in their own eyes and in the eyes of others. Were they as powerful and influential as they and others believed? She concludes wisely: ‘The fortunes of the Bacris were…closely linked to the state of international diplomacy…(and) on the stability of the regime they had managed to establish in Algiers itself’. But, similar to what transpired with some Jewish figures who rose to financial influence in other countries (e.g. the execution of Joseph Süss Oppenheimer in 1738 in Württemberg), their status rubbed the wrong way other elements in society (in this case, janissaries) and led to the assassination of Naphtali in 1805. Following Naphtali, correctly recognized as a leading member of the Jewish community, his fate was not singular; some 40 other Jews (mostly of a lower class) were murdered, their homes and synagogue plundered by rampant janissaries.

Yet, new figures emerged on the Bacri horizon. David Bacri, Joseph’s son engineered a range of contacts and concessions. David rose to great heights, financially dealing sharply with both France and Britain while maintaining relations with several deys whose period of rule was shortened by various beheadings. Ahmed Pasha granted David unprecedented monopolies, before he too fell into the hands of his janissaries. Three years later, and following the transitions among deys, David succumbed to the hands of Hadj Ali in 1811, jealous of his possessions and suspicious of his undertakings. Even this did not end the interrelations between deys and Bacris. Kalman unravels elaborately the transition to Jacob Bacri, who continued in his unique manner to maintain relations and stature with several deys (as their periods of rule were very short), even as the political situation in Europe changed dramatically with the fall of Napoleon and following the Congress of Vienna. She shows convincingly, and again with extensive attention to archival material, that the post-war period seemingly augured well for the various competing European powers to develop their own economic stability, through shipping goods in the Mediterranean and reducing the power of the regency. Not so. Until the invasion of France in 1830 that put an end to the regency and the beginning of French occupation, Jacob Bacri and the regency were able to keep the European powers at their beck and call. Bacri held fort to secure his position by knowing in depth the norms and financial regulations of the regency. Kalman’s narrative does not end with Jacob as Bacris continued to live in Algiers albeit without the influence that existed during the regency period.

This book has much to say that is relevant to a variety of themes and problems. It is important for anyone interested in how Jews were able to become so significant in a Muslim setting, in ‘the middle space’ between the regency and Christian Europe. French and British imperialism and their constant duelling during the regency period and later are also at the heart of this study, as is the centrality of shipping in the Mediterranean during this period. But it is through the central perspective of the Bacris that Kalman is able to make a very strong case to uphold O’Brien’s depiction of these ‘liminal figures’ as Kings of Algiers.