Author: LAUREN BENTON

Imperial conquest and colonization 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 15th to the 20th 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.