Gunboat diplomacy

[[File:Go Away Little Man Charles Green Bush.jpg|thumb|right|165px|''Go Away, Little Man, and Don't Bother Me''.]]
{{imperialism}}
{{cquote|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 [[Vietnam War|war]]. We'll just let slip the word to them that, 'for God's sake don't you know Nixon is obsessed with [[communists]]. We can't restrain him when he's angry&nbsp;— and he's got his finger on the [[Nuclear war|nuclear button]]', and Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two weeks begging for [[peace]].|||[[Richard Nixon]] to H.R. Haldeman.<ref>''The Ends of Power'' by H. R. Haldeman (1978) Times books. ISBN 0812907248.</ref>{{rp|83}}}}
'''Gunboat diplomacy''' 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 [[imperialism]] and colonialism. The term originates from the Second Moroccan Crisis of 1911 when the [[German Empire]] sent the gunboat ''Panther'' to the Moroccan port of Agadir in a precursor to [[World War I]]. [[French]] interests interpreted the 
naval incursion
 friendly ceremonial visit of the ''Panther'' as a militaristic response to a diplomatic dispute.<ref>
[https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/boshtml/bos137.htm The Morocco Crisis of 1911], Mount Holyoke</ref>

In practical terms, gunboat diplomacy means (for example): when the peasants revolt against the [[United Fruit Company]] in [[Latin America]] — send in the [[US Army|Marines]]. When a small [[republic]] or an obscure kingdom has a ''[[coup d'état]]'' that you don't like the results of — send in the Marines.

[[Theodore Roosevelt]] famously described this policy in 1900 as "a big stick".

Smedley Butler (1881-1940), a retired Marine Corps general, wrote the booklet ''War is a Racket'' (1935) detailing how gunboat diplomacy works. In a famous quote from the book:

{{cquote|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.<ref>The newspaper "Common Sense" 1935, according to [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler Wikiquote]</ref>}}

Very few U.S. [[POTUS|presidents]] since the late-19th century have not resorted to gunboat diplomacy. The five who notably eschewed it were [[Warren G. Harding]], [[Calvin Coolidge]], [[Gerald Ford]], and [[Jimmy Carter]]. [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|FDR]] promoted the "good neighbor policy" with regard to Latin America (which would mean fewer interventions), but ultimately became more occupied with [[Great Depression|other]] [[World War II|matters]].

[[George W. Bush]] took gunboat diplomacy to [[War on Terror|a new level of stupid]] after [[9/11]].

==Examples of gunboat diplomacy==
[[File:Tr great white fleet from photo nh100349 USS Connecticut 1907.jpg|thumb|right|250px|US Atlantic fleet on world tour, 1907.]]
*The Opening of [[Japan]], 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 [[isolationism]]; today, Japan is the third largest economy in the world and a leading technological powerhouse.
*The {{wpl|Baltimore crisis||,}} 1891.
*US naval role in the overthrow of the Kingdom of [[Hawaii]].
*Teddy Roosevelt's {{wpl|Great White Fleet}} world tour in 1907.
[[File:The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group participates in a strait exercise in the Atlantic Ocean..jpg|thumb|right|250px|US carrier strike group in the Atlantic, 2019.]]

==See also==
*[[American exceptionalism]]
*[[Chiquita]]
*[[Smedley Butler‎‎]]
*[[Chickenhawk]]
*[[MIC]]
*[[Monroe Doctrine]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Imperialism]]
[[Category:International relations]]
[[Category:War]]

Categories: Imperialism, International relations, War