Julie Kalman, "The Kings of Algiers: How Two Jewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World During the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond" (Princeton UP, 2023)

48m · Asian Review of Books · 14 Mar 08:00

On July 27th, 1827, thedeyof Algiers struck the French consul over his country’s refusal to pay back its debts–specifically, to two Jewish merchant families: the Bacris, and the Busnachs. It was an error of judgment: France blockaded Algiers, and later invaded, turning Algeria into a French colony. The unpaid debt has festered as a diplomatic issue for almost 30 years. Foreign consuls in the corsairing capital of Algiers sent missives back to their superiors complaining about the Bacris and Busnachs and the doggedness they had in pursuing their debts. Julie Kalman writes about these two families–and their inter-familial business dealing and squabbles–inThe Kings of Algiers: How Two Jewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World during the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond(Princeton University Press, 2023). In this interview, Julie and I talk about the Bacris and the Busnachs, the strange relationships between Algiers, Britain, France and the U.S., and what “sanctions” and “debt diplomacy” looked like in the early nineteeth century. Julie Kalman is Associate Professor of history at Monash University. She has published widely on the history of French Jewry in the nineteenth century, and in the post-war period. She is also the author ofOrientalizing the Jew: Religion, Culture and Imperialism in Nineteenth-Century France(Indiana University Press: 2017), andRethinking Antisemitism in Nineteenth-Century France(Cambridge University Press: 2010). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays atThe Asian Review of Books, including its review ofThe Kings of Algiers. Follow on Twitter at@BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-review

The episode Julie Kalman, "The Kings of Algiers: How Two Jewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World During the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond" (Princeton UP, 2023) from the podcast Asian Review of Books has a duration of 48:06. It was first published 14 Mar 08:00. The cover art and the content belong to their respective owners.