TRIBUTE

Tribute is payment made to a ruling or conquering nation by subjugated people in acknowledgment of submission or as a price for protection from other countries. Derived from the Latin word tributum, referring to property tax paid by Roman citizens, the term evolved to mean taxes levied on conquered peoples. Nations increased their wealth through these taxes.

After Cortez conquered the Aztec in 1521, the American Indians had to pay a special tax called a tribute to the Spaniards. Two slightly different perspectives on tribute existed in China for centuries. The Chinese used tribute to solidify political and trade ties with neighboring nations. China also received tribute from less powerful princes in Central and Southwest Asia and Korea, but returned to those countries gifts of equal value to the tribute.

In U.S. history, tribute is associated with U.S. shipping and the Barbary States of Northern Africa, including Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. The Barbary States are part of modern-day Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Barbary Coast pirates had, since the 16th century, accepted payments or valuable presents in exchange for allowing merchant ships passage through the Mediterranean Sea. American ships ventured into the Barbary waters in the late eighteenth century. Refusing to comply with these demands, many U.S. ships were captured and their sailors enslaved. The U.S. government was too poor to buy its citizens' freedom and too weak to prevent such hostilities. The United States negotiated treaties with Morocco, Tripoli, and Tunis, and by 1802 had paid over $2 million in tributes. The piracy governments continued demanding higher tributes. Under President Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809) the United States fought against Tripoli in the Barbary Wars (1801–1805). In 1815 with warfare renewed against Algiers, a stronger United States demanded abandonment of all tribute claims. Although official payment of tribute ended in the mid-1810's, the United States occasionally paid tribute until the mid-nineteenth century.