Misplaced Pages

#364635

67-529: Pax Britannica (Latin for "British Peace", modelled after Pax Romana ) refers to the relative peace between the great powers in the time period roughly bounded by the Napoleonic Wars and World War I . During this time, the British Empire became the global hegemonic power, developed additional informal empire , and adopted the role of a " global policeman ". Between 1815 and 1914,

134-620: A balance of power in continental Europe. In this era, the Royal Navy provided services around the world that benefited other nations, such as suppressing piracy and blocking the slave trade . The Slave Trade Act 1807 had banned the trade across the British Empire, after which the Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron and the government negotiated international treaties under which they could enforce

201-548: A central principle that Britain practiced by the 1840s. It played a key role in Britain's economic growth and financial dominance . From the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 until World War I in 1914, the United Kingdom played the role of global hegemon (most powerful actor). Imposition of a "British Peace" on key maritime trade routes began in 1815 with the annexation of British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Under

268-518: A great event; indeed, the only real event in international relations between the Battle of Sedan and the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese war". Taylor emphasizes the long-term impact: Britain traded goods and capital extensively with countries around the world, adopting a free trade policy after 1840. The growth of British imperial strength was further underpinned by the steamship and

335-465: A mixed group of free trade activists and anti-slavery advocates who saw the only way to end the trade being the establishment of legitimate commerce with Africa. Their leader, Thomas Fowell Buxton , advocated a renewed naval effort until this could be achieved. In 1839, he published The African Slave Trade and its Remedy , which contained a top-to-bottom critique of the British efforts thus far. The work

402-698: A motion in the Commons to end all naval activity, which came close to ending the West Africa Squadron and also the career of Prime Minister John Russell , who threatened resignation should the motion be carried. To prevent a repeat of this, swift action was taken. Brazil was still one of the largest slave trading nations and continued to defy British diplomatic calls to put an end to the practice. In 1846, Palmerston returned as foreign secretary and in 1850 permitted Royal Naval vessels to enter Brazilian waters in order to blockade slavers on both sides of

469-547: A period referred to as Britain's "imperial century", around 26,000,000 square kilometres (10,000,000 sq mi) of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire. Victory over Napoleonic France left the British without any serious international rival, other than perhaps Russia in Central Asia . When Russia tried expanding its influence in the Balkans , the British and French defeated them in

536-462: A problem making peace an acceptable mode of life for the Romans , who had been at war with one power or another continuously for 200 years. Romans regarded peace not as an absence of war, but as a rare situation which existed when all opponents had been beaten down and lost the ability to resist. Augustus' challenge was to persuade Romans that the prosperity they could achieve in the absence of warfare

603-573: A proclamation early in 1815 granting him and his men pardons for their misdeeds. The United States Navy's Africa Squadron, Brazil Squadron , and Home Squadron were assigned the task of intercepting ships that were bringing Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the slave markets, where black ivory found numerous customers. Since the War of Independence had been costly, no American warships were constructed between 1783 and 1795. The Navy Department

670-409: Is a simple formula for propaganda , but a difficult subject for research." The Pax Romana began when Octavian (Augustus) defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium on 2 September 31 BC and became Roman emperor. He became princeps , or first citizen . Lacking a good precedent of successful one-man rule, Augustus created a junta of the greatest military magnates and stood as

737-681: Is undocumented, but Inez Scott Ryberg (1949) and Gaius Stern (2006) have persuasively dated the third closure to 13 BC with the commissioning of the Ara Pacis . At the time of the Ludi Saeculares in 17 BC the Concept of Peace was publicized, and in 13 BC was proclaimed when Augustus and Agrippa jointly returned from pacifying the provinces. The order to construct the Ara Pacis was no doubt part of this announcement. Augustus faced

SECTION 10

#1732765972365

804-531: The 13th Amendment . The Royal Navy squadron remained in operation until 1870. The Slave Trade Act 1807 stated that: The African Slave Trade, and all manner of dealing and trading in the Purchase, Sale, Barter, or Transfer of Slaves, or of Persons intended to be sold, transferred, used, or dealt with as Slaves, practised or carried on, in, at, to or from any Part of the Coast or Countries of Africa, shall be, and

871-764: The British Residency of the Persian Gulf , local Arab rulers agreed to a number of treaties that formalised Britain's protection of the region. Britain imposed an anti-piracy treaty, known as the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 , on all Arab rulers in the region. By signing the Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853, Arab rulers gave up their right to wage war at sea in return for British protection against external threats. The global superiority of British military and commerce

938-654: The Crimean War (1853–1856), thereby protecting the weak Ottoman Empire . Britain's Royal Navy controlled most of the key maritime trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power . Alongside the formal control exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled access to many regions, such as Asia , North America , Oceania , and Africa . British merchants, shippers and bankers had such an overwhelming advantage over those of other empires that in addition to its colonies Britain had an informal empire . After losing

1005-714: The German Empire 's imperial peace of 1871 (over its internal components like Saxony ) slowly evolved into the later German state. As a counter-example, the imperial peace of Alexander the Great 's empire dissolved because the Greek city states maintained their political identity. Aron notes that during the Pax Romana, the First Jewish–Roman War was a reminder that the overlapping of the imperial institutions over

1072-744: The Lyons–Seward Treaty of 1862 , the United States gave the UK full authority to crack down on the Atlantic slave trade when carried on by US ships. With the end of hostilities the UK and the US would continue cooperating, and in 1867, Cuba, under much pressure from the two nations, gave up its trade. The United States Constitution of 1787 had protected the importation of slaves for twenty years. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society held its first meeting at

1139-714: The Po Valley after 190 [BC]; most of the Iberian Peninsula after 133 [BC]; North Africa after 100 [BC]; and for ever longer stretches of time in the Greek East ." The first known record of the term Pax Romana appears in a writing by Seneca the Younger in AD 55. The concept was highly influential, and the subject of theories and attempts to copy it in subsequent ages. Arnaldo Momigliano noted that " Pax Romana

1206-781: The Roman Empire achieved its greatest territorial extent in AD 117 (Emperor Trajan ), and its population reached a maximum of up to 70 million people, which was around 33% of the world's population. According to Cassius Dio , the dictatorial reign of Commodus , later followed by the Year of the Five Emperors and the Crisis of the Third Century , marked the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust". The Pax Romana, spanning from 27 BC to 180 AD, stands as one of

1273-763: The Thirteen Colonies , a significant part of British America , in the American Revolution , Britain turned towards Asia, the Pacific and later Africa with subsequent exploration leading to the rise of the Second British Empire (1783–1815). The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the late 18th century and new ideas emerged about free markets, such as Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations (1776). Free trade became

1340-600: The United Kingdom outlawed the Atlantic slave trade , making it illegal for British ships to transport slaves. The Royal Navy immediately established a presence off Africa to enforce the ban, called the West Africa Squadron . Although the ban initially applied only to British ships, Britain negotiated treaties with other countries to give the Royal Navy the right to intercept and search their ships for slaves. The 1807 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves abolished

1407-584: The telegraph , new technologies invented in the second half of the 19th century, allowing it to control and defend the empire. By 1902, the British Empire was linked together by a network of telegraph cables, the so-called All Red Line . The Pax Britannica was weakened by the breakdown of the continental order which had been established by the Congress of Vienna. Relations between the Great Powers of Europe were strained to breaking point by issues such as

SECTION 20

#1732765972365

1474-448: The 1830s. Frustrated with the lack of progress, in 1839, the British government subjected Portuguese vessels to British jurisdiction and did the same to Brazilian vessels in 1845. This was an unprecedented step, which subjected foreign vessels to the much more stringent British law and much stricter penalties for slave trading. However, some nations, such as the United States, resisted British coercion. The US believed strongly in freedom of

1541-467: The Atlantic. By 1852, the Brazilian trade could be said to be extinct. "For Palmerston … the naval campaign on the coast of Brazil had brought the long drawn-out saga of the Brazilian slave trade to a resolution within twelve months". The many years of British pressure on the United States to join vigorously in fighting the Atlantic slave trade had been neutralised by the southern states. However, with

1608-577: The Pax Romana are known as the " Five Good Emperors ". Roman trade in the Mediterranean increased during the Pax Romana. Romans sailed East to acquire silks, gems, onyx and spices. Romans benefited from large profits, and incomes in the Roman empire were raised due to trade in the Mediterranean. As the Pax Romana of the western world by Rome was largely contemporaneous to the Pax Sinica of

1675-480: The Royal Navy. In 1815, Portugal strengthened their anti-slavery legislation by abolishing all trade north of the equator, allowing the Royal Navy a much freer hand. With the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain obtained treaties with several other powers, including France, which abolished its trade entirely in 1815 (but did not commit to right of search), and Spain, which agreed to cease trade north of

1742-576: The State of Vermont gave notice that he should, on Monday next, move for leave to bring in a bill to prohibit the importation of certain persons therein described "into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States, from and after the first day of January", which will be "in the year of our Lord 1808". His words would be repeated many times by the legislators in the ninth Congress. The certain persons were described as being slaves on Monday, 16 December 1805. Wary of offending slaveholders to

1809-469: The UK were taken to Courts of Mixed Commission. Mixed Commission Courts had representation from both the UK and the other nation in question, to ensure a fair trial. Many were established at key points along the coast of Africa and its islands. However, the reluctance of other powers greatly curtailed the ability of the courts to operate. Sometimes, the foreign representation would never arrive, or arrive exceptionally late. The Brazilian ambassador, in spite of

1876-463: The UK's enemies during the Napoleonic Wars . The original 1807 Act only allowed for British ships to be searched and applied only to British subjects. The slave trade on the African coast therefore continued, though without the presence of British slavers, at least on a legal basis. However, in 1810, under considerable diplomatic pressure, a convention with Portugal was signed, widening the mandate of

1943-540: The US Congress, and John Forsyth said in 1841 that "the persistence" of British cruisers was "unwarranted", "destructive to private interests", and "[would] inevitably destroy the harmony of the two countries". In 1842, there was a thaw in diplomatic relations, and the US allowed visitation to US vessels, but only if a US officer was also present. With the beginning of the 1850s, Portugal had completely ceased slave trading (1836) and Spain had all but ceased, but Cuba

2010-533: The United States was called "piracy" by an Act of Congress that punctuated the Era of Good Feelings in 1819. Any citizen of the United States found guilty of such "piracy" might be given the death penalty. The role of the Navy was expanded to include patrols off the coasts of Cuba and South America. The naval activities in the western Atlantic bore the name of "The African Slave Trade Patrol of 1820–61". The blockade of Africa

2077-563: The West Africa Squadron. In spite of Britain's best efforts to pursue suppression through diplomatic means, the trade persisted. Public opinion was beginning to turn against the anti-slavery efforts due to their huge costs, the diplomatic repercussions they created, and the damage caused to other trade. Opposition in the Commons emerged from anti-coercionists, who were opposed to the use of British coercion of other nations and prolonged military action against slavers. The anti-coercionists were

Pax Britannica - Misplaced Pages Continue

2144-403: The anti-coercionist cause became much more radical and much less concerned with the plight of Africans; this "new generation" of anti-coercionists did not include abolitionists. Free trade advocates such as William Hutt were vehemently opposed to naval actions and argued the trade would eventually die naturally and the UK's interference was unwarranted. Such was their influence that there was even

2211-709: The ban. Sea power, however, did not project on land. Land wars fought between the major powers include the Crimean War , the Franco-Austrian War , the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War , as well as numerous conflicts between lesser powers. The Royal Navy prosecuted the First Opium War (1839–1842) and Second Opium War (1856–1860) against Imperial China . The Royal Navy was superior to any other two navies in

2278-507: The brig Storm King on 8 August 1860, off the mouth of the Congo River , with 619 Africans on board. In her final act, USS  Constitution captured H.N. Gambrill in 1853. The Navy attempted to intercept slave ships from 1808 (or 1809) to 1866. A small number of ships were accosted; some of them were carrying Africans destined to be sold into slavery, while others, which had no slaves on board, were captured and escorted away from

2345-401: The coast of Africa. The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 created great demand for more slaves to work in the vast new area. Jean Lafitte was a pirate who brought many slaves to the United States and sold them through an organised system established at New Orleans that included merchants from the vicinity. After he helped Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812 , President James Madison issued

2412-494: The court opening in 1826, did not arrive until 1828, and he reversed all judgements carried out in his absence upon arrival. In addition to the issues with Mixed Commission Courts, the Navy's mandate to police the trade was also found to be lacking and built on a series of complicated and often weak diplomatic treaties between other states. The agreements were signed reluctantly and were therefore very weak in practice. When policing foreign vessels, there had to be slaves on board at

2479-639: The decline of the Ottoman Empire , which led to the Crimean War , and later the emergence of new nation states in the form of Italy and Germany after the Franco-Prussian War . Both of these wars involved Europe's largest states and armies. The industrialisation of Germany , the Empire of Japan , and the United States contributed to the relative decline of British industrial supremacy in the late 19th century. The start of World War I in 1914 marked

2546-807: The eastern world by Han China , long-distance travel and trade in Eurasian history was significantly stimulated during these eras. The prominence of the concept of the Pax Romana led to historians coining variants of the term to describe other systems of relative peace that have been established, attempted, or argued to have existed. Some variants include: More generically, the concept has been referred to as pax imperia (sometimes spelled as pax imperium ), meaning imperial peace , or—less literally— hegemonic peace . Raymond Aron notes that imperial peace—peace achieved through hegemony can—sometimes, but not always— become civil peace. As an example,

2613-656: The end of the Pax Britannica . However, the British Empire remained the biggest colonial empire until the start of decolonization after World War II ended in 1945, and Britain remained one of the leading powers until the Suez Crisis in 1956, during which British and French troops were forced to withdraw from Egypt under pressure from the United States and (to a lesser extent) the Soviet Union . Pax Romana During this period of about two centuries,

2680-602: The equator in 1818, and south of the equator by 1820. A clause was also inserted into the Congress of Vienna , which called for the eventual abolition of the trade by all signatories. In 1826, Brazil signed an agreement similar to that of Portugal and ceased trade north of the equator. The UK's slave trade suppression efforts attempted to remain within the primitive international laws of the time: slavers had to be tried in courts. British vessels were taken to vice admiralty courts , and those of foreign states that had treaties with

2747-741: The first contingent of freed slaves that the American Colonization Society was resettling there. Of the 86 black emigrants sailing on the Elizabeth , only about one-third were men; the rest were women and children. In 1821, Perry commanded USS  Shark in the Africa Squadron. USS  Alligator , under the command of Lieutenant Robert F. Stockton , was also in the African Squadron in 1821 and captured several slavers. Lieutenant Stockton also convinced

Pax Britannica - Misplaced Pages Continue

2814-566: The front man. By binding together these leading magnates in a coalition, he eliminated the prospect of civil war . The Pax Romana was not immediate, despite the end of the civil wars, because fighting continued in Hispania and in the Alps . Nevertheless, Augustus closed the Gates of Janus (a ceremony indicating that Rome was at peace) three times, first in 29 BC and again in 25 BC. The third closure

2881-513: The importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States, from and after the first day of January, in the year of our Lord, 1808 . The bond measure also regulated the coastwise slave trade . The bond measure was placed before President Thomas Jefferson on 2 March 1807 for his approbation. The 1807 Act of Congress was modified and supplemented by the Fifteenth Congress. The importation of slaves into

2948-668: The incipient Pax Romana appeared during the Republic, and that its temporal span varied with geographical region as well: "Although the standard textbook dates for the Pax Romana, the famous 'Roman Peace' in the Mediterranean , are 31 BC to AD 250, the fact is that the Roman Peace was emerging in large regions of the Mediterranean at a much earlier date: Sicily after 210 [BC], the Italian Peninsula after 200 [BC];

3015-595: The intercontinental slave trade in the United States but was not widely enforced. From 1819, some effort was made by the United States Navy to prevent the slave trade. This mostly consisted of patrols of the shores of the Americas and in the mid-Atlantic, the latter being largely unsuccessful due to the difficulty of intercepting ships mid-ocean. As part of the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842, it

3082-697: The least degree, the Senate amended the proposed Senatorial Act, then passed it to the House of Representatives , where it was meticulously scrutinised. Ever mindful of not inciting the wrath of slaveholders, members of the House produced a bill that would explain the Senatorial Act. The two measures were bound together, with the House bill being called H R 77 and the Senate Act being called An Act to prohibit

3149-407: The local African chief to relinquish land around Cape Mesurado , where Liberia eventually formed. Stockton became the commander of the US Navy's first screw-propelled steamer, USS  Princeton , in 1843. On 26 and 27 November 1842, aboard USS  Somers in the African Squadron, commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie ordered the arrest of three crewmen who were plotting to take control of

3216-421: The local ones did not erase them and the overlap was a source of tension and flare-ups. Aron summarizes that, "In other words, imperial peace becomes civil peace insofar as the memory of the previously independent political units are effaced, insofar as individuals within a pacified zone feel themselves less united to the traditional or local community and more to the conquering state." The concept of Pax Romana

3283-434: The most enduring periods of peace in the annals of civilization. However, Walter Goffart wrote: "The volume of the Cambridge Ancient History for the years AD 70–192 is called 'The Imperial Peace', but peace is not what one finds in its pages". Arthur M. Eckstein writes that the period must be seen in contrast to the much more frequent warfare in the Roman Republic in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Eckstein also notes that

3350-425: The onset of the American Civil War , the Lincoln administration became eager to sign up, humanitarian and military objectives combined. To the North, anti-slavery was an important military tool with which to harm the Confederate economy . It also won praise, sympathy, and support on the international stage and dampened international support for the Southern States, who vehemently defended their right to keep slaves. In

3417-417: The same is hereby utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful. Under this act, if a ship was caught with slaves, there was a fine of £100 per enslaved person. This fine was usually paid by the ship's captain. In order to enforce this, two ships were dispatched to the African coast, their primary mission being to prevent British subjects from slave trading and also to disrupt the slave trades of

SECTION 50

#1732765972365

3484-413: The seas and on several occasions refused to allow the Royal Navy right of search. Knowing that many slavers would fly false US flags to avoid being boarded, some slavers were even registered in southern US states. This caused several diplomatic incidents, as frustrated officers would often board ships with US flags, directly contravening their orders, to capture slavers. There was fierce opposition to this in

3551-503: The ship. The three were hanged on 1 December. This is the only occurrence of maritime mutiny at law in the history of the United States Navy. Commodore Perry was placed in command of the African Squadron in 1843. Ships that captured slavers while deployed with the African Squadron include USS  Yorktown , USS  Constellation , and the second USS  Constellation , which captured Cora on 26 September 1860, with 705 Africans on board. The first USS  San Jacinto captured

3618-523: The squadron had grown to six ships, with a naval station established in 1819 at what is now Freetown and a supply base at Ascension Island , later moved to Cape Town in 1832. These resources were further increased: in the middle of the 19th century, there were around 25 vessels and 2,000 personnel, with a further 1,000 local sailors. Between 1808 and 1860, the West Africa Squadron captured 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans. Around 2,000 British sailors died on their mission of freeing slaves with

3685-403: The temporary capital, Philadelphia , in 1794. On 7 April 1798, the fifth Congress passed an act that imposed a $ 300-per-slave penalty on persons convicted of performing the illegal importation of slaves. It was an indication of the type of behaviour and course of events soon to become commonplace in the Congress. On Thursday, 12 December 1805, in the ninth Congress, Senator Stephen Roe Bradley of

3752-420: The time of seizure for the accused slaver to be convicted. Unlike in Britain's 1807 Act, there was no equipment clause, meaning that slave ships carrying what was obviously equipment for transporting slaves, but without slaves on board at the time of search, could not be seized. This major flaw, which greatly curtailed the navy's efforts and caused some naval officers to fall foul of the law, was not rectified until

3819-423: The transatlantic slave trade. In addition to the West Africa Squadron, the Africa Squadron had the same duties to perform. However, they faced a problem with finding enough sailors. The Liberian coastal Kru people were hired, which allowed the West African Squadron to patrol the coast of Africa effectively. Following the 1807 Act, two ships had been dispatched to the African coast for anti-slavery patrol. By 1818,

3886-472: The world, combined. Between 1815 and the passage of the German naval laws of 1890 and 1898, only France was a potential naval threat. Apart from the Crimean War, it did not engage in any major warfare from 1815 to 1914. The most decisive event emerged from the Anglo-Egyptian War , which resulted in the British occupation of Egypt for seven decades, even though the Ottoman Empire retained nominal ownership until 1914. Historian A. J. P. Taylor says that this "was

3953-423: Was agreed that both countries would work together on the abolition of the slave trade, which was deemed piracy , and to continue the blockade of Africa. US Navy involvement continued until the beginning of the American Civil War , in 1861. The following year, the Lincoln administration gave the UK full authority to intercept US ships. Slavery was not abolished in the United States until 1865, when Congress ratified

4020-408: Was aided by a divided and relatively weak continental Europe, and the presence of the Royal Navy on all of the world's oceans and seas. Even outside its formal empire, Britain controlled trade with many countries such as China, Siam , and Argentina. Following the Congress of Vienna , the British Empire's economic strength continued to develop through naval dominance and diplomatic efforts to maintain

4087-493: Was better for the Empire than the potential wealth and honor acquired when fighting a risky war. Augustus succeeded by means of skillful propaganda. Subsequent emperors followed his lead, sometimes producing lavish ceremonies to close the Gates of Janus , issuing coins with Pax on the reverse, and patronizing literature extolling the benefits of the Pax Romana. After Augustus' death in AD 14, most of his successors as Roman emperors continued his politics. The last five emperors of

SECTION 60

#1732765972365

4154-409: Was created on 30 April 1798. On 27 March 1794, following communication with President Washington, Congress authorised the purchase or construction of six frigates. These ships included the first USS Constellation , launched 7 September 1797, and USS Constitution , a ship that would be briefly employed in the African Squadron. Few new ships were built in the United States after 1801 until USS Guerriere

4221-426: Was highly influential and gave Buxton a leading role in the planning of the Niger expedition of 1841 , an attempt to establish trading posts along the Niger River to create an alternative to slave trading. Although the plan had offered a long-term solution to the slave trade, the expedition ended in abject failure, with many of the Europeans falling ill. In 1845, Buxton died, with his ambitions unfulfilled. From 1845,

4288-539: Was highly influential, and there were attempts to imitate it in the Byzantine Empire , and in the Christian West , where it morphed into the Peace and Truce of God ( pax Dei and treuga Dei ). A theoretician of the imperial peace during the Middle Ages was Dante Aligheri . Dante's works on the topic were analyzed at the beginning of the 20th century by William Mitchell Ramsay in the book The Imperial Peace: An Ideal in European History (1913). Blockade of Africa The Blockade of Africa began in 1808 after

4355-417: Was launched on 20 June 1814; it proved to be an effective warship in the war with the Barbary pirates in 1815. At the same time as this effort was taking place, other important tasks, such as the War of 1812 , the ongoing troubles with the Barbary pirates, the extermination of the pirates in the West Indies from 1819 to 1827, the protection of American shipping in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru in

4422-433: Was still an active slave port. Brazil continued to defy British intervention, and the Brazilian trade was not extinguished until 1852, when Palmerston began using force under the Pax Britannica doctrine. The British Royal Navy commissioned the West Africa Squadron in 1807, and the United States Navy did so as well in 1842. The squadron had the duty to protect Africa from slave traders, and it effectively aided in ending

4489-416: Was still being performed in the eastern Atlantic at the same time. American naval officer Matthew Calbraith Perry was the executive officer aboard HMS  Cyane in 1819, which had escorted the Elizabeth , whose passengers included former slaves moving from the United States to Africa. President James Monroe had the Secretary of the Navy order the American vessel to convoy the Elizabeth to Africa with

#364635