In Full Flower 335anti- French insurgency in the Tonkin region of Vietnam. As had been the
case since time immemorial, mistreatment of diplomats could provide the
spark for armed action. Th e French conquest of Algeria, for example, was
triggered by the “fl y- whisk incident” of 1827, when an Algerian offi cial alleg-
edly struck a French offi cial with the object in question. A similar incident
took place between the United States and Nicaragua in 1854 (although not
leading, in this case, to long- term annexation). Aft er an American diplomat
was assaulted in the course of a mob disturbance in the port of Greytown on
the Ca rib be an coast, an American warship was dispatched. When a suitable
apology was refused, the American commander proceeded to bombard the
town, totally destroying it, albeit without any loss of life.
Th e single most common cause of armed reprisals, however, was an alle-
gation of injury of some kind to nationals of the enforcing state. A notable
early example was American action against the “Barbary Pirate” state of
Tripoli in 1801– 5, in response to depredations against American nationals.
Mistreatment of French nationals in Argentina led to a naval blockade of
Buenos Aires by France in 1838– 40. It has been noted that the “Opium War”
in 1839– 42 was sparked by alleged mistreatment by Chinese authorities of
British nationals accused of crimes. Th e allegedly unlawful boarding of a
British ship by Chinese authorities in 1856 led to a further round of hostili-
ties, which culminated in the notorious sacking of the Summer Palace of
China four years later by British forces. In 1863, the United States and
France took action against the rogue Japa nese principality of Choshu, when
it began a policy of fi ring on foreign ships passing through the Strait of Shi-
monoseki. Th e death of fi ve American sailors led to an armed response, re-
sulting in the sinking of two Choshu ships. Th e French formed a landing
party, which burned a village and destroyed a gun battery. It has been ob-
served that the American expedition against Korea in 1871 was in response
to the killing of some American seamen some years earlier.
One of the most famous examples of armed force deployed on behalf of
injured nationals involved Great Britain and Greece in 1850. A British sub-
ject named Don Pacifi co was apparently plundered by a mob in Greece—
with Greece then accused by Britain of being remiss in providing appropri-
ate protection. When the Greek government declined to pay compensation,
the British government dispatched a naval squadron to blockade Greek
ports and compel Greece to come to terms. Th is act sparked considerable