Legal Definitions - efforcialiter

Efforcialiter is a historical legal term that means forcibly. It was primarily used to describe actions carried out with significant physical compulsion, often involving military power or state-sanctioned force.

Here are some examples to illustrate its meaning:

• Imagine a medieval kingdom facing a rebellion in one of its provinces. The king might issue a decree stating that his royal army would suppress the uprising efforcialiter. This means the army would use military force to put down the rebellion, compelling submission through strength and combat.

  This example demonstrates "efforcialiter" by showing a sovereign power using its military to forcibly quell dissent, directly aligning with the term's historical association with military force.

• Consider a historical scenario where a powerful lord wanted to expand his territory by seizing a neighboring castle. If he were to attack and capture the castle through a siege and direct assault, taking it by storm, his actions would be described as having been carried out efforcialiter. He would have used overwhelming force to achieve his objective.

  Here, the term illustrates the forceful acquisition of property or territory through military means, emphasizing the use of physical power to overcome resistance.

• In the past, if a monarch decreed a new, unpopular tax, and certain towns refused to pay, the monarch might dispatch soldiers to collect the taxes efforcialiter. The soldiers would use their presence and the threat or application of force to compel the townsfolk to comply with the tax collection.

  This example shows "efforcialiter" in the context of enforcing state authority or law through the application of physical force, even if not a full-scale battle, still relying on the power of armed personnel to ensure compliance.