Erik de Lange | Utrecht University (original) (raw)
Uploads
Books by Erik de Lange
New ideas of security spelled the end of piracy on the Mediterranean Sea during the nineteenth ce... more New ideas of security spelled the end of piracy on the Mediterranean Sea during the nineteenth century. As European states ended their military conflicts and privateering wars against one another, they turned their attention to the 'Barbary pirates' of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. Naval commanders, diplomats, merchant lobbies and activists cooperated for the first time against this shared threat. Together, they installed a new order of security at sea. Drawing on European and Ottoman archival records – from diplomatic correspondence and naval journals to songs, poems and pamphlets – Erik de Lange explores how security was used in the nineteenth century to legitimise the repression of piracy. This repression brought European imperial expansionism and colonial rule to North Africa. By highlighting the crucial role of security within international relations, Menacing Tides demonstrates how European cooperation against shared threats remade the Mediterranean and unleashed a new form of collaborative imperialism.
Papers by Erik de Lange
The Historical Journal, 2021
The Congress system that arose in Europe after the Napoleonic Wars facilitated European imperial ... more The Congress system that arose in Europe after the Napoleonic Wars facilitated European imperial expansionism throughout the nineteenth century. Yet, the ties between that system and expansionism have rarely been unwound and studied in detail. Taking the French invasion of Algiers in 1830 as a case in point, this article shows how the Congress system's shared discourses of security and threat perceptions as well as its common practices of concerted diplomacy fostered European imperialism in North Africa. The article emphasizes obscured continuities and understudied multilateral diplomatic efforts. It uncovers the ways in which the post-1815 system decisively shaped the aims, justifications, and execution of the French war against Algiers. European, North African, and Ottoman actors each furthered or contested the idea that the invasion was part of an international legacy dating back to the Congress of Vienna, related to the concerted repression of North African ‘Barbary piracy’. In bringing these connections to light, it becomes apparent that the post-1815 international system cannot be understood in isolation from nineteenth-century imperialism.
On 27 August 1816, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet bombarded Algiers. Following the devastating cann... more On 27 August 1816, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet bombarded Algiers. Following the devastating cannonade, Regent dey Omar Agha saw himself forced to issue a declaration forever renouncing ‘Christian slavery’. Contemporaries lauded the result as a victory of European significance. It was hailed as a feat that finally abated the shared threat posed by the Barbary corsairs. In this chapter, I therefore situate the bombardment of 1816 within the context of post-Napoleonic continental politics. The attack on Algiers was, I argue, linked to the establishment and management of European peace and security. By clarifying how Anglo-Dutch cooperation came about, I indicate that smaller power politics and the pressures of public opinion impacted the dynamics of the new European order. This chapter recasts the history of Dutch foreign affairs, not only by stressing the role of non-state actors, but also by drawing attention to Dutch involvement in the overlooked imperial interventions that were carried out under the moniker of security.
Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, 2016
Recent events have brought to light the possible links between nineteenth-century imperialism and... more Recent events have brought to light the possible links between nineteenth-century imperialism and current-day security issues. In the relevant literature, however, there has been little attempt to analyse the historical relationship between security and empires. The conference ‘Security and empire. Mechanics of securitization in imperial spaces’, held in Marburg (Germany) 16-18 March 2016, was perhaps a founding moment of imperial security studies. Taking this conference as a starting point, I discuss the current state of affairs in the historiography and indicate the potential to analyse security in imperial contexts. In bringing together the historicizing of security and a comparative approach to imperial history, the conference in Marburg can help us to grasp security in empire.
Original title: 'Imperiale angsten. Veiligheid en wereldrijken in de historiografie', full text in Dutch: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/aup/tg/2016/00000129/00000004/art00006.
Book Reviews by Erik de Lange
This book on the French-British rivalry in the Western Mediterranean of the 1790s is, in the auth... more This book on the French-British rivalry in the Western Mediterranean of the 1790s is, in the author’s own words, a book of „false starts, missteps, contradictions, and dissonances.“ (p. 4) Misdirected ventures, mistaken expectations, and the misdemeanour of various officials are the very stuff that shape this narrative of diplomacy and warfare. In this revision of his dissertation, Joshua Meeks provides a refreshing take on the complicated, muddled beginnings of what we now call the Revolutionary Wars. He problematizes seemingly neat delineations between Revolution and Counter-Revolution, between French policies of radicalization and British agendas of stabilization, while flipping the script on the supposed dominance of great over small powers. This book is thus far from a false start. It poses the right questions at the right moment and neatly complements historiography’s recent attempts to understand the French Revolution and the accompanying wars anew, matching the ongoing effort to go beyond Franco-, Anglo- or Eurocentric readings of the period.
Continue reading at: https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/rezbuecher-28630
Blogs by Erik de Lange
New ideas of security spelled the end of piracy on the Mediterranean Sea during the nineteenth ce... more New ideas of security spelled the end of piracy on the Mediterranean Sea during the nineteenth century. As European states ended their military conflicts and privateering wars against one another, they turned their attention to the 'Barbary pirates' of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. Naval commanders, diplomats, merchant lobbies and activists cooperated for the first time against this shared threat. Together, they installed a new order of security at sea. Drawing on European and Ottoman archival records – from diplomatic correspondence and naval journals to songs, poems and pamphlets – Erik de Lange explores how security was used in the nineteenth century to legitimise the repression of piracy. This repression brought European imperial expansionism and colonial rule to North Africa. By highlighting the crucial role of security within international relations, Menacing Tides demonstrates how European cooperation against shared threats remade the Mediterranean and unleashed a new form of collaborative imperialism.
The Historical Journal, 2021
The Congress system that arose in Europe after the Napoleonic Wars facilitated European imperial ... more The Congress system that arose in Europe after the Napoleonic Wars facilitated European imperial expansionism throughout the nineteenth century. Yet, the ties between that system and expansionism have rarely been unwound and studied in detail. Taking the French invasion of Algiers in 1830 as a case in point, this article shows how the Congress system's shared discourses of security and threat perceptions as well as its common practices of concerted diplomacy fostered European imperialism in North Africa. The article emphasizes obscured continuities and understudied multilateral diplomatic efforts. It uncovers the ways in which the post-1815 system decisively shaped the aims, justifications, and execution of the French war against Algiers. European, North African, and Ottoman actors each furthered or contested the idea that the invasion was part of an international legacy dating back to the Congress of Vienna, related to the concerted repression of North African ‘Barbary piracy’. In bringing these connections to light, it becomes apparent that the post-1815 international system cannot be understood in isolation from nineteenth-century imperialism.
On 27 August 1816, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet bombarded Algiers. Following the devastating cann... more On 27 August 1816, a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet bombarded Algiers. Following the devastating cannonade, Regent dey Omar Agha saw himself forced to issue a declaration forever renouncing ‘Christian slavery’. Contemporaries lauded the result as a victory of European significance. It was hailed as a feat that finally abated the shared threat posed by the Barbary corsairs. In this chapter, I therefore situate the bombardment of 1816 within the context of post-Napoleonic continental politics. The attack on Algiers was, I argue, linked to the establishment and management of European peace and security. By clarifying how Anglo-Dutch cooperation came about, I indicate that smaller power politics and the pressures of public opinion impacted the dynamics of the new European order. This chapter recasts the history of Dutch foreign affairs, not only by stressing the role of non-state actors, but also by drawing attention to Dutch involvement in the overlooked imperial interventions that were carried out under the moniker of security.
Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, 2016
Recent events have brought to light the possible links between nineteenth-century imperialism and... more Recent events have brought to light the possible links between nineteenth-century imperialism and current-day security issues. In the relevant literature, however, there has been little attempt to analyse the historical relationship between security and empires. The conference ‘Security and empire. Mechanics of securitization in imperial spaces’, held in Marburg (Germany) 16-18 March 2016, was perhaps a founding moment of imperial security studies. Taking this conference as a starting point, I discuss the current state of affairs in the historiography and indicate the potential to analyse security in imperial contexts. In bringing together the historicizing of security and a comparative approach to imperial history, the conference in Marburg can help us to grasp security in empire.
Original title: 'Imperiale angsten. Veiligheid en wereldrijken in de historiografie', full text in Dutch: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/aup/tg/2016/00000129/00000004/art00006.
This book on the French-British rivalry in the Western Mediterranean of the 1790s is, in the auth... more This book on the French-British rivalry in the Western Mediterranean of the 1790s is, in the author’s own words, a book of „false starts, missteps, contradictions, and dissonances.“ (p. 4) Misdirected ventures, mistaken expectations, and the misdemeanour of various officials are the very stuff that shape this narrative of diplomacy and warfare. In this revision of his dissertation, Joshua Meeks provides a refreshing take on the complicated, muddled beginnings of what we now call the Revolutionary Wars. He problematizes seemingly neat delineations between Revolution and Counter-Revolution, between French policies of radicalization and British agendas of stabilization, while flipping the script on the supposed dominance of great over small powers. This book is thus far from a false start. It poses the right questions at the right moment and neatly complements historiography’s recent attempts to understand the French Revolution and the accompanying wars anew, matching the ongoing effort to go beyond Franco-, Anglo- or Eurocentric readings of the period.
Continue reading at: https://www.hsozkult.de/publicationreview/id/rezbuecher-28630