London, Treaty of (1871)
LONDON, TREATY OF (1871)
Pact restoring Russian access to the Black Sea.
Articles XI–XIII of the 1856 Peace of Paris restricted Russian access to the Turkish Straits and forced a demilitarization of the Black Sea. Czar Alexander II (1855–1881) never accepted this defeat of Russian interests, and in 1870, he finally found an opportunity to amend the galling Black Sea clauses. With the French faring badly in the Franco-Prussian War, in October 1870 Alexander instructed his foreign minister, Prince Aleksandr Gorchakov, to announce that Russia no longer wished to abide by Articles XI–XIII. The French agreed to an international conference to discuss the proposed Russian revision. The conference opened in London in January 1871, and an agreement was reached by March. The Treaty of London annulled the Black Sea naval rearmament. However, in compensation, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire was given greater latitude to close the straits in times of war.
Bibliography
Anderson, M. S. The Eastern Question, 1774–1923: A Study in International Relations. London: Macmillan, and New York: St. Martin's, 1966.
Hurewitz, J. C., ed. The Middle East and North Africa in World Politics: A Documentary Record, 2nd edition. 2 vols. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1975–1979.
zachary karabell
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa Karabell, Zachary
London, Treaty of (1913)
LONDON, TREATY OF (1913)
Pact securing Italian claims in the Middle East.
Signed on 26 April, this treaty paved the way for Italy's entry into World War I on the side of the Entente (France and Britain). In return for its support, Italy was promised territory in the Balkans and Anatolia as well as the right to annex Libya, which it had occupied in 1914, and the Dodecanese Islands, part of Greece and formerly, when taken by Italy in 1912, part of the Ottoman Empire.
Bibliography
Anderson, M. S. The Eastern Question, 1774–1923: A Study in International Relations. London: Macmillan; and New York: St. Martin's, 1966.
Hurewitz, J. C., ed. The Middle East and North Africa in World Politics: A Documentary Record, 2nd edition. 2 vols. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1975–1979.
zachary karabell
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa Karabell, Zachary
London, Treaty of
LONDON, TREATY OF
LONDON, TREATY OF (1604), brought to an end the formal warfare that had been waged since 1585 between England and Spain, endangering all English colonizing projects in the New World. The treaty temporarily eradicated this danger and, among other things, reopened "free commerce" between the two kingdoms "where commerce existed before the war." Spain intended this clause to exclude English merchants from its colonies overseas, but the English gave it the opposite interpretation, causing continued warfare "beyond the Line" and the rise of the buccaneers. Three years later, with the Spanish threat no longer pressing, King James I authorized the first permanent English settlement in the New World.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andrews, Charles M. The Colonial Period of American History. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1934.
Davenport, Frances G. European Treaties Bearing on the History of the United States and Its Dependencies to 1648. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution, 1937.
Raymond P.Stearns/a. g.
See alsoColonial Policy, British ; Colonial Settlements ; Colonial Wars ; Piracy .
Dictionary of American History Stearns, Raymond P.
London, treaty of
London, treaty of, 1518. The victory of Francis I, the young king of
France, over the Swiss at Marignano in 1515 threatened the
balance of power in western
Europe.
Wolsey and Henry VIII began constructing an anti-French alliance which soon collapsed. In 1518 they switched policy to a
rapprochement with Francis and the treaty of London followed. Tournai, captured by the English in 1513, was to be handed back for compensation; Mary, Henry's 2-year-old daughter, was to marry the dauphin; France was not to support the anti-English party in
Scotland; there was to be a treaty of universal peace and a crusade against the
Turks. Though endorsed by the meeting of Francis and Henry in 1520 at the
Field of Cloth of Gold, the peace did not hold and the
rapprochement did not prosper. By 1521 Wolsey was negotiating for a marriage between Mary and Charles V, the
Habsburg emperor, and a visit by Charles in 1522 agreed plans for an attack upon France.
J. A. Cannon
The Oxford Companion to British History JOHN CANNON
London, treaty of
London, treaty of, 1831. The settlement of the Belgian question was the first test for
Palmerston on becoming foreign secretary in Lord
Grey's administration.
Belgium, previously the Austrian Netherlands, had been reunited with Holland in 1815 to form a barrier to French expansion, but had rebelled in August 1830 and declared itself independent. Under threat from the Dutch, the Belgians looked to
France for assistance, provoking fears of renewed French aggrandizement. A conference of the great powers in London in February 1831 recognized Belgian independence and, when the Dutch refused to submit, French troops marched in. When they proved reluctant to leave, Palmerston dropped hints of war. By the treaty of November 1831 Belgian independence and neutrality were guaranteed. The Dutch refused to accept until 1839 when a second treaty of London repeated the assurances. Palmerston had prevented any French territorial acquisitions and helped to establish a constitutional state, under Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. In accordance with the guarantee of 1839, aimed at protecting Belgium from France,
Britain declared war in 1914 when Belgium was invaded by the Germans.
J. A. Cannon
The Oxford Companion to British History JOHN CANNON
London, treaty of
London, treaty of, 1840. This was concluded with
Russia,
Austria, and
Prussia to secure the ultimate return of
Syria from
Egypt to
Turkey. While it provided for the closing of the Straits to all warships (to
Britain's disadvantage), it ended whatever unilateral advantages Russia had enjoyed under the treaty of Unkiar-Skelessi (1833).
Palmerston finally persuaded sceptical cabinet colleagues that
France, which was backing Egypt, would not risk war. Allied forces speedily restored Syria to Turkish rule. The settlement was confirmed by all the powers, including France, by the Straits Convention of 13 July 1841.
C. J. Bartlett
The Oxford Companion to British History JOHN CANNON
London, treaty of
London, treaty of, 1827. This was an attempt by Canning in company with
Russia and
France to protect British interests during the Greek revolt against Turkish rule by a partnership with Russia. It followed an earlier protocol (April 1826) which aimed at securing internal autonomy for a tribute-paying
Greece. The three powers demanded an immediate armistice, and an allied fleet under Admiral
Codrington was sent with vague instructions to prevent further fighting. In the event the Ottoman navies were destroyed at
Navarino in October 1827. The treaty was a step on the road to an independent Greece in 1832.
C. J. Bartlett
The Oxford Companion to British History JOHN CANNON
London, treaty of
London, treaty of, 1358. Draft treaty. Edward III's diplomatic hand was considerably strengthened by the capture of John II of
France at
Poitiers. This treaty, to which the latter seems to have agreed, would have given Edward Aquitaine, Poitou, Ponthieu, and Calais in full sovereignty, as well as a ransom payment of 4 million
écus, yet without obliging him to drop his claim to the French throne. It was never ratified, and Edward subsequently increased his demands in a second treaty (March 1359), to include Normandy,
Anjou, and
Maine. It may be that he had set his demands deliberately high so that the inevitable French refusal would justify the renewal of war. He invaded again in October 1359 with his largest ever army, aiming, it seems, for a coronation at Rheims.
Anne Curry
The Oxford Companion to British History JOHN CANNON
London, treaty of
London, treaty of, 1871. The treaty of
Paris, at the end of the
Crimean War, declared the
Black Sea to be neutral and demilitarized. In 1870, during the
Franco-Prussian War,
Russia took the opportunity to repudiate the clause. Since there was nothing a conference in London could do but acquiesce, it passed a pious resolution that states could ‘rid themselves of their treaty engagements’ only with the consent of the other signatories.
J. A. Cannon
The Oxford Companion to British History JOHN CANNON
London, treaty of
London, treaty of, 1604. When James I succeeded Elizabeth, he found his new kingdom at war with
Spain in support of the Dutch. After lengthy negotiations in London, a suspension of hostilities was converted into peace. James refused to recall ‘volunteers’ in the Dutch service but agreed that they should not be recruited in his dominions. The vexed question of trade with regions claimed by Spain was left unresolved. Spanish ships in distress were to be permitted to seek refuge in English ports. Englishmen in Spain would not be harassed by the Inquisition provided that they caused no public scandal. Though James reserved the right to represent the Dutch case should they wish to open negotiations, the treaty was widely regarded as abandoning them. Reconciliation with Spain remained a major objective with James for the rest of his reign.
J. A. Cannon
The Oxford Companion to British History JOHN CANNON
