They Called It Peace

Worlds of Imperial Violence

Lauren Benton

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Hardback

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English

Princeton University Press
01 June 2024

History; General & world history; European history; Colonialism & imperialism; Military history; International relations

Imperial conquest and colonisation depended on pervasive raiding, slaving, and plunder. European empires amassed global power by asserting a right to use unilateral force at their discretion. They Called It Peace is a panoramic history of how these routines of violence remapped the contours of empire and reordered the world from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries.

In an account spanning from Asia to the Americas, Lauren Benton shows how imperial violence redefined the very nature of war and peace. Instead of preparing lasting peace, fragile truces ensured an easy return to war. Serial conflicts and armed interventions projected a de facto state of perpetual war across the globe. Benton describes how seemingly limited war sparked atrocities, from sudden massacres to long campaigns of dispossession and extermination. She brings vividly to life a world in which warmongers portrayed themselves as peacemakers and Europeans imagined 'small' violence as essential to imperial rule and global order.

Holding vital lessons for us today, They Called It Peace reveals how the imperial violence of the past has made perpetual war and the threat of atrocity endemic features of the international order.

By: Lauren Benton
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780691248479
ISBN 10: 0691248478
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 June 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Lauren Benton is the Barton M. Biggs Professor of History at Yale University and recipient of the Toynbee Prize for significant contributions to global history. Her books include A Search for Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European Empires, 1400-1900 and (with Lisa Ford) Rage for Order: The British Empire and the Origins of International Law, 18001850.

Reviews for They Called It Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence

"""A New Yorker Best Book We've Read This Year"" ""A nimble and provocative history.""---Michael Ledger-Lomas, Jacobin ""A thoughtful short history of imperial violence. . . . Recommended."" * Choice Reviews * ""The book spans centuries of history, delving into accounts of imperialist violence from Asia to South America, often focusing on lesser-known victims of imperialist violence.""---Sophie Squire, Socialist Worker ""Highly original.""---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer"