Tell me more ×
History Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for historians and history buffs. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 6 down vote favorite
2

For example, France invaded Mexico (both times) when Mexico stopped some of their payments. What are some other examples?

share|improve this question
1  
whoa.. are we creating a list here? – Louis Rhys Oct 13 '11 at 17:39
1  
Yes, we are. Many other stackexchange sites have questions that are asked with an intent to create a big list (they are usually tagged appropriately). – viaclectic Oct 13 '11 at 17:44
ok. Let's tag it as such and why don't you make it CW? – Louis Rhys Oct 13 '11 at 17:46
How exactly do you make it a CW? The only way I know is if you edit it like 14 times. – Dan the Man Oct 13 '11 at 17:50
1  
The author now cannot mark his questions as CW (meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/67039/…). – viaclectic Oct 13 '11 at 17:51
show 1 more comment

2 Answers

up vote 5 down vote

In 1923 the French and the Belgians occupied the Ruhr in Germany as a direct result of Germany repeatedly (and perhaps deliberately, to test French will) defaulting on reparation payments which were written into the Versailles Treaty.

Although not a "war", German civilians conducted a policy of passive resistance and several dozen were killed.

The occupation lasted two years, during which new terms were hammered out. In terms of its effectiveness, it rather backfired.

share|improve this answer
Well, speaking of "deliberately" when talking about 1923 in Germany is somewhat stretched. – Wladimir Palant Oct 14 '11 at 10:18
1  
Since they had hyperinflation anyway, what was the point of not paying? Couldn't they just print a bunch more money, while they were at it? (or was the tribute adjusted to inflation?) – Lohoris Apr 5 '12 at 9:03
1  
@Lohoris, the reparations were priced in German Gold marks. That is, they were tied to the price of gold. Simply printing more money wouldn't do any good. – Joe Jul 3 '12 at 1:24
the payments were also in part to be in manufactured goods and raw materials. Coal, iron, lumber, the production of which was draining the area bare (deliberately, the French treated the Ruhr area exactly like they treated their African colonies, except those didn't have the means to create an armed force to oppose them and eventually revert the balance of power). – jwenting Feb 5 at 7:15
up vote 5 down vote

That's roughly how Egypt ended up part of the British Empire. They owed a bunch of money to England, didn't like being forced to pay, and tried to depose the government. The Brits didn't like that, and invaded. Note this is a rather simplistic (and thus eminiently debatable) explanation. See Wikipedia's entry on the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War for a deeper discussion.

share|improve this answer
1  
Didn't the Romans do an almost similar thing to Egypt long ago? – Monster Truck Nov 24 '12 at 0:55

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.