Description
Book Synopsis The Central American port of Greytown was destroyed by the U.S. Navy in 1854 to avenge an insult to the American Minister to Nicaragua, according to official history. Two weeks later, the New York Tribune reported the intrigues that really doomed the port: Greytown had been a hindrance to the supremacy of a U.S.-owned steamboat company and to the colonization plans of American land speculators. Both interests used pretexts to convince the U.S. government to level the town. When an American sued for damages, he lost, resulting in a case law still cited to justify military interventions without the Congressional approval required by the Constitution. This book corrects the record regarding the causes of Greytown''s destruction, and challenges the case law, based as it is on a gross misapprehension of events.
Trade ReviewThis gem of a book uncovers the truth behind a long-misunderstood episode of American 'gunboat diplomacy.' Deeply researched and rich in atmosphere, it is also an object lesson in the ways corporations can mobilize the military power of the United States to promote their interests."—Stephen Kinzer, former
New York Times foreign correspondent, senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments viii
- Preface
- 1. "I Must Shoot the Fellow!"
- 2. "Impaired by the Folly of an Individual"
- 3. "Git the English Banks to Help Us"
- 4. "It Will Be an American Town"
- 5. "A Mortal Feud Had Arisen"
- 6. "I Shall … Bombard the Town"
- 7. "Act of … Cruelty … Upon a Helpless … Village"
- 8. "The Great Theatre of Speculation"
- 9. "I Will See the President Again Today"
- 10. "The Greatest Confidence Trick of All Time"
- 11. "Am Grateful … And Entirely Satisfied"
- 12. "They Might Take His Office & Stick It"
- 13. "I Shall Surely Hang Him"
- 14. "No Capacity to Transfer … Title"
- 15. "Make Certain Officials at Washington Wince"
- 16. "The Mormons Had Better Go"
- 17. "As If 'Usurpers' Had Taken Possession"
- 18. "Regarding Constituent Will Soper's Claim"
- 19. "Too Valuable … To Waive or Impair It"
- 20. Whither the Principals? An Epilogue
- Chapter Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
