Pacification (military action)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In a military context, the term pacification refers to a process by which the cooperation or surrender of a population is secured by military force or other means of coercion.[1] The term originated in the Roman Empire where it saw popular usage in the context of the Roman ideal of pax (peace) and Roman imperial expansion.[2][3] According to historian Myles Lavan, the Latin term pacare (to pacify) evoked to the Romans a grand project of peace-making while, in English, "pacified" has since crystallised as a euphemism for the suppression of resistance to state power.[4]
From 1880 onward the term saw popular usage by colonial empires as a pretext for war under the guise of protecting populations, alongside the colonial concept of protectorates.[5] The term pacification is therefore often presented in quotation marks by contemporary historians.[6]
- Dutch pacification campaign on Formosa (1635-1636)
- Pacification of Lanun (17th-18th centuries), anti-piracy operations by the Bruneian Empire
- Ten Great Campaigns, specifically the Qing campaigns against the Dzungars (1755–1757) and Xinjiang (1758–1759)
- Pacification of Algeria (1835-1903), French military operations which aimed to put an end to various tribal rebellions
- Occupation of Araucanía (1861–1883), also Pacification of the Araucanía, the actions which led to the incorporation of Araucanía into Chile
- Pacification of Tonkin (1885-1886), a military and political campaign undertaken by the French in northern Vietnam
- Dutch intervention in Lombok and Karangasem or Pacification of Lombok in 1894
- Campaigns of Pacification and Occupation (late 19th century–early 20th century), Portuguese military campaigns in their African colonies
- Pacification of Samar (1901-1902), a counterinsurgency operation during the Philippine-American War
- Kuomintang Pacification of Qinghai (1917-1949), a series of military campaigns against Tibetan tribes
- Pacification of Libya (1923-1932), an Italian military campaign against the Libyan resistance
- Pacification of Sarhad (1928-1934), Persian campaign against the Yarahmadzai tribe in Balochistan
- Pacification of Ukrainians in Eastern Galicia (1930), a punitive action by Polish police against the Ukrainian minority in Poland
- Pacification of Manchukuo, a campaign during the Second Sino-Japanese War (March 1932 – 1941)
- Pacification operations in German-occupied Poland, the use of German military force to suppress Polish resistance during World War II
- Pacification of Rabaul (1943-1945), an Allied campaign against Imperial Japanese forces
- Pacification of Wujek (1981), a strike-breaking action against miners in Katowice, Poland
- East Timor genocide#Indonesian pacification operations (1981–1983)
- Maré, Rio de Janeiro#Pacification efforts (2014), raids by Brazilian security forces in the lead up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup