Why are the Barbary Corsairs so overlooked in the American story of the United States, and more broadly European history of the 1500-1800s? The Barbary Corsairs have always been one of my favorite subjects ever since I first encountered them in my own studies. I own a copy of *Pirates of Barbary* by Adrian Tinniswood, so this is not a question about the Corsairs themselves, but rather their place in history. In all of my learning (through the American Public High School Education system then later AP US History as well as another United States History course in college), the Corsairs and the United States' interactions with them have never come up. It strikes me as odd given that I've always seen the US conflict with the Barbary Corsairs as an important step to the United States' position as a global superpower, though evidently, I am alone in this opinion. Why do these groups get overlooked so much?