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margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #782121; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#782121"><b>The white man's burden</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Imperialism" title="Imperialism"><font size="4" color="#FFFFFF"><b>Imperialism</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#D86868;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Imperialism" title="Category:Imperialism"><img alt="Icon imperialism.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/c/c3/Icon_imperialism.svg/100px-Icon_imperialism.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/c/c3/Icon_imperialism.svg/150px-Icon_imperialism.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/c/c3/Icon_imperialism.svg/200px-Icon_imperialism.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#782121; text-align:center;"><b>The empires strike back</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#D86868;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Imperialism" title="Imperialism">Imperialism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_Russia" title="United Russia">United Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Discovery_doctrine" title="Discovery doctrine">Discovery doctrine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mexican-American_War" title="Mexican-American War">Mexican-American War</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#782121; text-align:center;"><b>Veni, vidi, vici</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#D86868;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Henry_Kissinger" title="Henry Kissinger">Henry Kissinger</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ronald_Reagan" title="Ronald Reagan">Ronald Reagan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aleksandr_Dugin" title="Aleksandr Dugin">Aleksandr Dugin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Francisco_Franco" title="Francisco Franco">Francisco Franco</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nicol%C3%A1s_Maduro" title="Nicolás Maduro">Nicolás Maduro</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Benjamin_Netanyahu" title="Benjamin Netanyahu">Benjamin Netanyahu</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Imperialism" title="Template:Imperialism">v</a> - <a href="/w/index.php?title=Template_talk:Imperialism&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Template talk:Imperialism (page does not exist)">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Imperialism&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I call it the Madman Theory, Bob. I want the North Vietnamese to believe I've reached the point where I'll do anything to end the <a href="/wiki/Vietnam_War" title="Vietnam War">war</a>. We'll just let slip the word to them that, 'for God's sake don't you know Nixon is obsessed with <a href="/wiki/Communists" class="mw-redirect" title="Communists">communists</a>. We can't restrain him when he's angry — and he's got his finger on the <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_war" title="Nuclear war">nuclear button</a>', and Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two weeks begging for <a href="/wiki/Peace" class="mw-redirect" title="Peace">peace</a>.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Richard_Nixon" title="Richard Nixon">Richard Nixon</a> to H.R. Haldeman.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space:nowrap;">:83</sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Gunboat diplomacy</b> is the use of military force (or the direct threat thereof) to maintain hegemony over a sphere of influence, usually associated with the age of <a href="/wiki/Imperialism" title="Imperialism">imperialism</a> and colonialism. The term originates from the Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911 when the <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a> sent the gunboat <i>Panther</i> to the Moroccan port of Agadir in a precursor to <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a>. <a href="/wiki/French" class="mw-redirect" title="French">French</a> interests interpreted the <s>naval incursion</s> friendly ceremonial visit of the <i>Panther</i> as a militaristic response to a diplomatic dispute.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> </p><p>In practical terms, gunboat diplomacy means (for example): when the peasants revolt against the <a href="/wiki/United_Fruit_Company" class="mw-redirect" title="United Fruit Company">United Fruit Company</a> in <a href="/wiki/Latin_America" title="Latin America">Latin America</a> — send in the <a href="/wiki/US_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="US Army">Marines</a>. When a small <a href="/wiki/Republic" title="Republic">republic</a> or an obscure kingdom has a <i><a href="/wiki/Coup_d%27etat" class="mw-redirect" title="Coup d'etat">coup d'etat</a></i> that you don't like the results of — send in the Marines. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt" title="Theodore Roosevelt">Theodore Roosevelt</a> famously described this policy in 1900 as "a big stick". </p><p>Smedley Butler (1881-1940), a retired Marine Corps general, wrote the booklet <i>War is a Racket</i> (1935) detailing how gunboat diplomacy works. In a famous quote from the book: </p> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup></div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <p>Very few U.S. <a href="/wiki/POTUS" class="mw-redirect" title="POTUS">presidents</a> since the late-19th century have not resorted to gunboat diplomacy. The five who notably eschewed it were <a href="/wiki/Warren_G._Harding" title="Warren G. Harding">Warren G. Harding</a>, <a href="/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge" title="Calvin Coolidge">Calvin Coolidge</a>, <a href="/wiki/Gerald_Ford" title="Gerald Ford">Gerald Ford</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Jimmy_Carter" title="Jimmy Carter">Jimmy Carter</a>. <a href="/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt" title="Franklin D. Roosevelt">FDR</a> promoted the "good neighbor policy" with regard to Latin America (which would mean fewer interventions), but ultimately became more occupied with <a href="/wiki/Great_Depression" title="Great Depression">other</a> <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">matters</a>. </p><p><a href="/wiki/George_W._Bush" title="George W. Bush">George W. Bush</a> took gunboat diplomacy to <a href="/wiki/War_on_Terror" title="War on Terror">a new level of stupid</a> after <a href="/wiki/9/11" title="9/11">9/11</a>. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Examples_of_gunboat_diplomacy">Examples of gunboat diplomacy</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Gunboat_diplomacy&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Examples of gunboat diplomacy">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Tr_great_white_fleet_from_photo_nh100349_USS_Connecticut_1907.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Tr_great_white_fleet_from_photo_nh100349_USS_Connecticut_1907.jpg/250px-Tr_great_white_fleet_from_photo_nh100349_USS_Connecticut_1907.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="165" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Tr_great_white_fleet_from_photo_nh100349_USS_Connecticut_1907.jpg/375px-Tr_great_white_fleet_from_photo_nh100349_USS_Connecticut_1907.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Tr_great_white_fleet_from_photo_nh100349_USS_Connecticut_1907.jpg 2x" data-file-width="458" data-file-height="303" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Tr_great_white_fleet_from_photo_nh100349_USS_Connecticut_1907.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>US Atlantic fleet on world tour, 1907.</div></div></div> <ul><li>The Opening of <a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan</a>, 1854 - perhaps the most literal example (and arguably an example of how gunboat diplomacy can be used for good); Commodore Matthew Perry convinced the Tokugawa Shogunate to open up trade and establish relations with the US by threatening to use his ships' guns to destroy the city of Edo (now Tokyo). This ended Japan's <a href="/wiki/Isolationism" title="Isolationism">isolationism</a>; today, Japan is the third largest economy in the world and a leading technological powerhouse.</li> <li>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_crisis" class="extiw" title="wp:Baltimore crisis" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Baltimore crisis">Baltimore crisis</span></a>,<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> 1891.</li> <li>US naval role in the overthrow of the Kingdom of <a href="/wiki/Hawaii" title="Hawaii">Hawaii</a>.</li> <li>Teddy Roosevelt's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_White_Fleet" class="extiw" title="wp:Great White Fleet" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Great White Fleet">Great White Fleet</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> world tour in 1907.</li></ul> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Harry_S._Truman_Carrier_Strike_Group_participates_in_a_strait_exercise_in_the_Atlantic_Ocean..jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/The_Harry_S._Truman_Carrier_Strike_Group_participates_in_a_strait_exercise_in_the_Atlantic_Ocean..jpg/250px-The_Harry_S._Truman_Carrier_Strike_Group_participates_in_a_strait_exercise_in_the_Atlantic_Ocean..jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="167" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/The_Harry_S._Truman_Carrier_Strike_Group_participates_in_a_strait_exercise_in_the_Atlantic_Ocean..jpg/500px-The_Harry_S._Truman_Carrier_Strike_Group_participates_in_a_strait_exercise_in_the_Atlantic_Ocean..jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="4963" data-file-height="3309" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Harry_S._Truman_Carrier_Strike_Group_participates_in_a_strait_exercise_in_the_Atlantic_Ocean..jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>US carrier strike group in the Atlantic, 2019.</div></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Gunboat_diplomacy&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/American_exceptionalism" title="American exceptionalism">American exceptionalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chiquita" title="Chiquita">Chiquita</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Smedley_Butler" title="Smedley Butler">Smedley Butler‎‎</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chickenhawk" title="Chickenhawk">Chickenhawk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/MIC" class="mw-redirect" title="MIC">MIC</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine" title="Monroe Doctrine">Monroe Doctrine</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Gunboat_diplomacy&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>The Ends of Power</i> by H. R. Haldeman (1978) Times books. ISBN 0812907248.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos137.htm">The Morocco Crisis of 1911</a>, Mount Holyoke</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">The newspaper "Common Sense" 1935, according to <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler">Wikiquote</a></span> </li> </ol></div></div>    </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Gunboat_diplomacy&oldid=2662511">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Gunboat_diplomacy&oldid=2662511</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" 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