Supplementary Report of the Committee of Claims, to Whom was Re-Committed, on the 12th of December Last, Their Report on the Petition of David Valenzin.

(AMERICAN JUDAICA).

1st February

n.p.

1804

Not in Rosenbach or Singerman

Relates to the rather complex case of the forced rendition to America of David Valenzin, a Jewish merchant resident of Tripoli, (the later capital of modern Libya). As a consequence of the Barbary Coast War of 1801, when the Bey of Tripoli demanded tribute from the Jefferson Administration to guarantee the safe passage of American vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, United States naval forces were dispatched to blockade Tripoli and seize all vessels and goods. In the course of one of these seizures by U.S warships, among the Tripolitan subjects on board ship, was David Valenzin, whose goods were subsequently impounded. However since Valenzin carried documents declaring his fealty to the Emperor of Germany, he insisted he had been improperly treated and demanded compensation. His case was adjudicated in the American courts, however as it dragged on, Valenzin in despair, committed suicide. Eventually the US government paid the amount due him to his surviving brother, Moses Valenzin of Alexandria, Egypt. See Marcus, United States Jewry 1776-1985, Vol. I, pp. 123-26.