Peace of Westphalia

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7/21/2019 Peace of Westphalia http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/peace-of-westphalia-56d96e437a607 1/14 Peace of Westphalia, European settlements of 1648, which brought to an end the Eighty Years’ War between Spain and the utch and the !erman phase of the "hirty Years’ War# "he peace was negotiated, from 1644, in the Westphalian towns of $%nster and &snabr%c'# "he Spanish( utch treaty was signed on )anuary *+, 1648# "he treaty of &ctober 4, 1648, comprehended the -oly .oman emperor /erdinand 000, the other !erman princes, /rance, and SwedenEnglandoland, .ussia, and the &ttoman Empire were the only European powers that were not represented at the two assemblies# Some scholars of international relations credit the treaties with pro2iding the foundation of the modern state system and articulating the concept of territorial so2ereignty# The delegates "he chief representati2e of the -oly .oman emperor was $a3imilian, !raf count5 2on "rauttmansdorff , to whose sagacity the conclusion of peace was largely due# "he /rench en2oys were nominally under-enri 00 d’&rlans, duc de 7ongue2ille , but the maruis de Sabl and the comte d’92au3 were the real agents of /rance# Sweden was represented by )ohn &3enstierna, son of the chancellor of that name, and by )ohn 9dler Sal2ius, who had pre2iously acted for Sweden in negotiating the "reaty of -amburg 16415# "he papal nuncio was /abio :higi, later ope 9le3ander ;00<randenburg, represented by )ohann, !raf 2on Sayn(Wittgenstein, played the foremost part among the rotestant states of the empire# &n )une 1, 164=, /rance and Sweden  brought forward propositions of peace, which were discussed by the estates of the empire from &ctober 164= to 9pril 1646# "he settlement of religious matters was effected between /ebruary 1646 and $arch 1648# "he war continued during the deliberations# The decisions >nder the terms of the peace settlement, a number of countries recei2ed territories or were confirmed in their so2ereignty o2er territories# "he territorial clauses all fa2oured Sweden, /rance, and their allies# Sweden obtained western omerania with the city of Stettin5, the port of Wismar, the archbishopric of <remen, and the bishopric of ;erden# "hese gains ga2e Sweden control of the <altic Sea and the estuaries of the &der,Elbe, and Weser ri2ers# /rance obtained so2ereignty o2er 9lsace and was confirmed in its possession of $et?, "oul, and ;erdun, which it had sei?ed a century before@ /rance thus gained a firm frontier west of the .hine .i2er# <randenburg obtained eastern omerania and se2eral other smaller territories# <a2aria was able to 'eep the >pper alatinate, while the .henish alatinatewas restored to :harles 7ouis, the son of the elector palatine /rederic' ;# "wo other important results of the territorial settlement were the confirmation of the >nited ro2inces of the Aetherlands and theSwiss :onfederation as independent republics, thus formally recogni?ing a status which those two states had actually held for many decades# 9part from these territorial changes, a uni2ersal and unconditional amnesty to all those who had been depri2ed of their possessions was declared, and it was decreed that all secular lands with specified e3ceptions5 should be restored to those who had held them in 1618# E2en more important than the territorial redistribution was the ecclesiastical settlement# "he eace of Westphalia confirmed the eace of 9ugsburg 1===5, which had granted 7utherans religious tolerance in the empire and which had been rescinded by the -oly .oman emperor /erdinand 00 in his Edict of .estitution 16B5# $oreo2er, the peace settlement e3tended the eace of 9ugsburg’s pro2isions forreligious toleration to the .eformed :al2inist5 church, thus securing toleration for the three great religious communities of the empireC.oman :atholic, 7utheran, and :al2inist# Within these limits the member states of the empire were

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Peace of Westphalia,  European settlements of 1648, which brought to an end the Eighty Years’

War  between Spain and the utch and the !erman phase of the "hirty Years’ War # "he peace

was negotiated, from 1644, in the Westphalian towns of  $%nster  and &snabr%c' # "he Spanish(utch treaty was signed on )anuary *+, 1648# "he treaty of &ctober 4, 1648, comprehended the

-oly .oman emperor /erdinand 000, the other !erman princes, /rance,

and Sweden# England, oland, .ussia, and the &ttoman Empire were the only European powersthat were not represented at the two assemblies# Some scholars of international relations credit

the treaties with pro2iding the foundation of the modern state system and articulating the concept

of territorial so2ereignty#

The delegates"he chief representati2e of the -oly .oman emperor  was $a3imilian, !raf count5 2on

"rauttmansdorff , to whose sagacity the conclusion of peace was largely due# "he /rench en2oyswere nominally under -enri 00 d’&rlans, duc de 7ongue2ille, but the maruis de Sabl and the

comte d’92au3 were the real agents of /rance# Sweden was represented by )ohn &3enstierna,

son of the chancellor of that name, and by )ohn 9dler Sal2ius, who had pre2iously acted forSweden in negotiating the "reaty of -amburg 16415# "he papal nuncio was /abio :higi, later

ope 9le3ander ;00# <randenburg, represented by )ohann, !raf 2on Sayn(Wittgenstein, playedthe foremost part among the rotestant states of the empire# &n )une 1, 164=, /rance and Sweden brought forward propositions of peace, which were discussed by the estates of the empire from

&ctober 164= to 9pril 1646# "he settlement of religious matters was effected between /ebruary

1646 and $arch 1648# "he war continued during the deliberations#

The decisions>nder the terms of the peace settlement, a number of countries recei2ed territories or were

confirmed in their so2ereignty o2er territories# "he territorial clauses all fa2oured Sweden,

/rance, and their allies# Sweden obtained western omerania with the city of Stettin5, the portof Wismar , the archbishopric of  <remen, and the bishopric of ;erden# "hese gains ga2e Sweden

control of the <altic Sea and the estuaries of the &der ,Elbe, and Weser  ri2ers# /rance obtainedso2ereignty o2er 9lsace and was confirmed in its possession of $et?, "oul, and ;erdun, which ithad sei?ed a century before@ /rance thus gained a firm frontier west of the .hine

.i2er # <randenburg obtained eastern omerania and se2eral other smaller

territories# <a2aria was able to 'eep the >pper alatinate, while the .henish alatinatewasrestored to :harles 7ouis, the son of the elector  palatine /rederic' ;# "wo other important results

of the territorial settlement were the confirmation of the >nited ro2inces of the Aetherlands and

theSwiss :onfederation as independent republics, thus formally recogni?ing a status which thosetwo states had actually held for many decades# 9part from these territorial changes, a uni2ersal

and unconditional amnesty to all those who had been depri2ed of their possessions was declared,

and it was decreed that all secular lands with specified e3ceptions5 should be restored to those

who had held them in 1618#E2en more important than the territorial redistribution was the ecclesiastical settlement# "he

eace of Westphalia confirmed the eace of 9ugsburg 1===5, which had

granted 7utherans religious tolerance in the empire and which had been rescinded by the -oly.oman emperor /erdinand 00 in his Edict of .estitution 16B5# $oreo2er, the peace settlement

e3tended the eace of 9ugsburg’s pro2isions for religious toleration to the .eformed :al2inist5

church, thus securing toleration for the three great religious communities of the empireC .oman:atholic, 7utheran, and :al2inist# Within these limits the member states of the empire were

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 bound to allow at least pri2ate worship, liberty of conscience, and the right of emigration to all

religious minorities and dissidents within their domains# "hese measures of toleration did not

e3tend to non(:atholics in the hereditary lands of the house of -absburg, howe2er#"he difficult uestion of the ownership of spiritual lands was decided by a compromise# "he year 

164 was declared the Dstandard year according to which territories should be deemed to be in

.oman :atholic or rotestant possession# <y the important pro2ision that a prince should forfeithis lands if he changed his religion, an obstacle was placed in the way of a further spread of both

the .eformation and the :ounter(.eformation# "he declaration that all protests or 2etoes of the

eace of Westphalia by whomsoe2er pronounced should be null and 2oid dealt a blow at theinter2ention of the .oman :uria in !erman affairs#

"he constitutional changes made by the treaty had far(reaching effects# /or !ermany, the

settlement ended the century(long struggle between the monarchical tendencies of the -oly

.oman emperors and the federalistic aspirations of the empire’s !erman princes# "he eace ofWestphalia recogni?ed the full territorial so2ereignty of the member states of the empire# "hey

were empowered to contract treaties with one another and with foreign powers, pro2ided that the

emperor and the empire suffered no preFudice# <y this and other changes the princes of the

empire became absolute so2ereigns in their own dominions# "he -oly .oman emperor andthe iet were left with a mere shadow of their former power#

 Aot only was the central authority of the empire replaced almost entirely by the so2ereignty ofabout *++ princes, but the power of the empire was materially wea'ened in other ways# 0t lost

about 4+,+++ suare miles 1++,+++ suare 'm5 of territory and obtained a frontier against

/rance that was incapable of defense# Sweden and /rance as guarantors of the peace acuired theright of interference in the affairs of the empire, and Sweden also gained a 2oice in its councils

as a member of the iet5# /or many years !ermany thus became the principal theatre of

European diplomacy and war, and the natural de2elopment of !erman national unity was

delayed# <ut if the "reaty of Westphalia pronounced the dissolution of the old order in the empire,it facilitated the growth of new powers in its component parts, especially 9ustria, <a2aria, and

<randenburg# "he treaty was recogni?ed as a fundamental law of the !erman constitution and

formed the basis of all subseuent treaties until the dissolution of the -oly .oman Empire in18+6#

The Concert of Europe (also Vienna system of international relations), also known as

the Congress System after theCongress of Vienna, represented the balance of power  that existed

in Europe from the end of the Napoleonic Wars (!") to the outbreak of World War # ($%)&

Contents

• 'eriew

• 'rigins

o & *rench +eolution

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o & ol- .lliance

o &/ 0uadruple .lliance

o &% 1ifferences between the ol- .lliance and the 0uadruple .lliance

• / .greements

• % 2radual erosion (!!3$%)

o %& World War 'ne ($%3$!)

• " 4ee also

• 5 +eferences

• 6 *urther reading

• ! External links

Overview 7edit8

The Concert of Europe was founded b- the powers of   .ustria, 9russia, the +ussian Empire and

the :nited ;ingdom, who were the members of the 0uadruple .lliance that defeated Napoleon and

his *irst *rench Empire& #n time, *rance was established as a fifth member of the Concert&

 .t first, the leading personalities of the s-stem were <ritish foreign secretar- =ord Castlereagh,

 .ustrian Chancellor  ;lemens on >etternich and Tsar .lexander # of +ussia& Charles >aurice de

Talle-rand?9@rigordof *rance was largel- responsible for Auickl- returning that countr- to its place

alongside the other maBor powers in international diplomac-&

9rince >etternich, .ustrian Chancellor and an influential leader in the Concert of Europe&

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The age of the Concert is sometimes known as the Age of Metternich, due to the influence of the

 .ustrian chancellors conseratism and the dominance of .ustria within the2erman Confederation,

or as the European Restoration, because of the reactionar- efforts of the Congress of Vienna to

restore Europe to its state before the *rench +eolution& #t is known in 2erman as

the Pentarchie (pentarch-) and in +ussian as the Vienna System (DFGHIJ GKGLMI, Venskayasistema)&

The Concert of Europe had no written rules or permanent institutions, but at times of crisis an- of the

member countries could propose a conference& 78 >eetings of the 2reat 9owers during this period

included .ix?la?Chapelle (!!), Carlsbad (!$), Troppau (!O), =aibach (!), Verona (!),

=ondon (!/) and <erlin (!6!)&

The Concerts effectieness came to an end due to the rise of  nationalism, the !%! +eolutions,

the Crimean War , the unification of 2erman- and the Risorgimento in #tal-, and the Eastern

0uestion and other factors&

Origins7edit8

The idea of a European federation had been alread- raised b- figures such as 2ottfried =eibniP78 and

the =ord 2renille&7/8 The Concert of Europe, as deeloped b- >etternich, drew upon their ideas and

the notion of a balance of power in international relations, so that the ambitions of each 2reat

9ower  would be restrained b- the others

The Concert of Europe, as it began to be called at the time, had &&& a realit- in international law,which deried from the final .ct of the Vienna Congress, which stipulated that the boundaries

established in !" could not be altered without the consent of its eight signatories&7%8

French Revolution7edit8

*rom the outbreak of the *rench +eolutionar- Wars in 6$ to the exile of  Napoleon to 4aint

elena in !", Europe had been almost constantl- at war& 1uring this time, the militar- conAuests

of *rance had resulted in the spread of liberalism throughout much of the continent, resulting in

man- states adopting the Napoleonic code& =argel- as a reaction to the radicalism of the *rench

+eolution,7"8 most ictorious powers of the Napoleonic Wars resoled to suppress liberalism

and nationalism, and reert largel- to the status quo of Europe prior to 6!$&758

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Holy Alliance7edit8

The ;ingdom of 9russia and the .ustrian and +ussian Empires formed the ol- .lliance (5

4eptember !") with the expressed intent of presering Christian social alues and

traditional monarchism&768

 Eer- member of the coalition promptl- Boined the .lliance, sae forthe :nited ;ingdom, a constitutional monarch- with a more liberal political philosoph-&

Quadruple Alliance7edit8

<ritain did howeer ratif- the 0uadruple .lliance, signed on the same da- as the 4econd 9eace

Treat- of 9aris (O Noember !"), which became the known 0uintuple .lliance when *rance

 Boined in !!& #t was also signed b- the same four powers that had signed the ol- .lliance on 5

4eptember !"&7!8

Differences et!een the Holy Alliance and the QuadrupleAlliance7edit8

 . lot of debate has occurred between historians as to which treat- was more influential in the

deelopment of international relations in Europe in the two decades following the end of the

Napoleonic Wars& #n the opinion of historian Tim Chapman the differences are somewhat academic

as the powers were not bound b- the terms of the treaties and man- of them intentionall- broke the

terms if it suited them&7$8

The ol- .lliance was the brainchild of Tsar .lexander #& #t gained a lot of support because most

European monarchs did not wish to offend the Tsar b- refusing to sign it, and as it bound monarchs

personall- rather than their goernments, it was eas- to ignore once signed& 'nl- three notable

princes did not sign 9ope 9ius V## (it was not Catholic enough), 4ultan >ahmud ## of 'ttoman

Empire, and the <ritish 9rince +egentbecause his goernment did not wish to pledge itself to the

policing of continental Europe, and in the opinion of =ord Castlereagh, the <ritish foreign secretar- at

the time of its inception, it was Qa piece of sublime m-sticism and nonsenseQ& 7$8  .lthough it did not fit

comfortabl- within the complex, sophisticated and c-nical web of power politics that epitomised

diplomac- of the post Napoleonic era, its influence was more long lasting than its contemporar-

critics expected and was reied in the !Os as a tool of repression when the terms of the

0uintuple .lliance were not seen to fit the purposes of some of the 2reat 9owers of Europe& 7O8

The 0uadruple .lliance, b- contrast, was a standard treat- and the four 2reat 9owers did not inite

an- of their allies to sign it& The primar- obBectie was to bind the signatures to support the terms of

the 4econd Treat- of 9aris for O -ears& #t included a proision for the igh Contracting 9arties to

Qrenew their meeting at fixed periods&&&for the purpose of consulting on their common interestsQ

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which were the Qprosperit- of the Nations, and the maintenance of peace in EuropeQ& 78 . problem

with the wording of   .rticle V# of the treat- is that it did not specif- what these Qfixed periodsQ were to

be and there were no proisions in the treat- for a permanent commission to arrange and organise

the conferences& This meant that the first conference in !! dealt with remaining issues of the

*rench wars, but after that instead of meeting at Qfixed periodsQ the meetings were arranged on anad hoc basis, to address specific threats, such as those posed b- reolutions, for which the treat-

was not drafted&78

 Agreements7edit8

The Congress of .ix?la?Chapelle (!!) resoled the issues of .llied occupation of *rance and

restored that countr- to eAual status with <ritain, 9russia, .ustria and +ussia&

#n !, the Congress of Verona met to decide the issue if *rance could interene on the side of the

4panish ro-alists in the Trienio Liberal & .fter receiing permission, =ouis RV### dispatched fie arm-

corps to restore *erdinand V## of 4pain&

#n !/O, the <elgian +eolution against the ;ingdom of the Netherlands began& *rench

ambassador Charles >aurice de Talle-rand?9@rigord presented a partition plan for the 4outhern

9roinces to the Concert, which was not adopted& Neertheless, the 2reat 9owers unanimousl-

recogniPed <elgian independence from the ;ingdom of the Netherlands at the Treat- of =ondon

(!/$)& The treat- also established <elgian neutralit-, which would last until the 2erman inasion of

<elgium in $%&

Gradual erosion (1818–1914)7edit8

#n !! the <ritish decided not to become inoled in continental issues that did not directl- affect it&

The- reBected the plan of .lexander # to suppress future reolutions&

The Concert began to weaken as the common goals of the 2reat 9owers were graduall- replaced

b- growing political and economic rialries& #t was eroded b- the European reolutionar- upheaals

of !%! with their demands for reision of the Congress of Viennas frontiers along national lines&

The Concert unraeled in the latter half of the $th centur- amid successie wars between its

participants 3 the Crimean War  (!"/3"5), the #talian War of #ndependence (!"$), the .ustro?

9russian War  (!55) and the *ranco?9russian War  (!6O36)& While the Congress 4-stem had a

further significant achieement in the form of the Congress of <erlin (!6!) which redrew the political

map of the <alkans, the old balance of power had been irreocabl- altered, and was replaced b- a

series of fluctuating alliances&

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"orld "ar #ne $%&%'(%&%)*7edit8

<- the earl- Oth centur-, the 2reat 9owers were organiPed into two opposing coalitions (the Triple

 .lliance and the Entente 9owers)& The last conference was the =ondon Conference of $?

$/ conened to discuss the <alkan Wars&7/8

 .s the $% Sul- Crisis unfolded, <ritain proposed aconference but .ustria?ungar- and 2erman- both refused to attend& 7%8 World War # would break out

in the following month& #n the aftermath of World War #, a new, permanent international organisation,

the =eague of Nations, was set up&

+eague of ,ationsCitation: C N Trueman "League Of Nations"historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 17 ar !1#. $ %ec !1#.

+eague of ,ations

-ac.ground

The =eague of Nations came into being after the end of &orl' &ar One& The

=eague of Nations task was simple 3 to ensure that war neer broke outagain& .fter the turmoil caused b- the(ersailles Treaty, man- looked to the

=eague to bring stabilit- to the world&

)merica entered World War 'ne in $6& The countr- as a whole and the

president 3 &oo'ro* &ilson in particular 3 was horrified b- the slaughter

that had taken place in what was meant to be a ciilised part of the world& The

onl- wa- to aoid a repetition of such a disaster, was to create an international

bod- whose sole purpose was to maintain world peace and which would sort

out international disputes as and when the- occurred& This would be the taskof the =eague of Nations&

 .fter the deastation of the war, support for such a good idea was great

(except in .merica where isolationism was taking root)&

The organisation of the =eague of Nations

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The =eague of Nations was to be based in Geneva, 4witPerland& This choice was natural as

4witPerland was a neutral countr- and had not fought in World War 'ne& No one could dispute this

choice especiall- as an international organisation such as the +ed Cross was alread- based in

4witPerland&

#f a dispute did occur, the =eague, under its Coenant, could do three things 3 these were known as

its sanctions

#t could call on the states in dispute to sit down and discuss the problem in an orderl- and peaceful

manner& This would be done in the =eagues .ssembl- 3 which was essentiall- the =eagues

parliament which would listen to disputes and come to a decision on how to proceed& #f one nation

was seen to be the offender, the =eague could introduce erbalsanctions 3 warning an aggressor

nation that she would need to leae another nations territor- or face the conseAuences&

#f the states in dispute failed to listen to the .ssembl-s decision, the =eague could introduceeconomic sanctions& This would be arranged b- the =eagues Council& The purpose of this sanction

was to financiall- hit the aggressor nation so that she would hae to do as the =eague reAuired& The

logic behind it was to push an aggressor nation towards bankruptc-, so that the people in that state

would take out their anger on their goernment forcing them to accept the =eagues decision& The

=eague could order =eague members not to do an- trade with an aggressor nation in an effort to

bring that aggressor nation to heel&

if this failed, the =eague could introduce ph-sical sanctions& This meant that militar- force would be

used to put into place the =eagues decision& oweer, the =eague did not hae a militar- force at its

disposal and no member of the =eague had to proide one under the terms of Boining 3 unlike thecurrent +nite' Nations& Therefore, it could not carr- out an- threats and an- countr- def-ing its

authorit- would hae been er- aware of this weakness& The onl- two countries in the =eague that

could hae proided an- militar- might were <ritain and *rance and both had been seerel-

depleted strength?wise in World War 'ne and could not proide the =eague with the backing it

needed& .lso both <ritain and *rance were not in a position to use their finances to pa- for an

expanded arm- as both were financiall- hit er- hard b-&orl' &ar One&

The =eague also had other weaknesses

The countr-, whose president, Woodrow Wilson, had dreamt up the idea of the =eague 3 .merica 3

refused to Boin it& .s .merica was the worlds most powerful nation, this was a serious blow to the

prestige of the =eague& oweer, .mericas refusal to Boin the =eague, fitted in with her desire to

hae an isolationist polic- throughout the world&

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ermany was not allowed to Boin the =eague in $$& .s 2erman- had started the war, according

to the Treaty of (ersailles, one of her punishments was that she was not considered to be a

member of the international communit- and, therefore, she was not inited to Boin& This was a great

blow to 2erman- but it also meant that the =eague could not use whateer strength 2erman- had to

support its campaign against aggressor nations&

-ussia was also not allowed to Boin as in 117, she had a communist goernment that generated

fear in western Europe, and in $!, the +ussian ro-al famil- 3 the -omano/s 3 was murdered&

4uch a countr- could not be allowed to take its place in the =eague&

Therefore, three of the worlds most powerful nations (potentiall- for +ussia and 2erman-) pla-ed no

part in supporting the =eague& The two most powerful members were <ritain and *rance 3 both had

suffered financiall- and militaril- during the war 3 and neither was enthusiastic to get inoled in

disputes that did not affect western Europe&

Therefore, the =eague had a fine ideal 3 to end war for good& oweer, if an aggressor nation was

determined enough to ignore the =eagues erbal warnings, all the =eague could do was enforce

economic sanctions and hope that these worked as it had no chance or enforcing its decisions using

militar- might&

The successes of the League of Nations

#n iew of the =eagues desire to end war, the onl- criteria that can be used to classif- a success,

was whether war was aoided and a peaceful settlement formulated after a crisis between two

nations&

The =eague experienced success in

The Aaland Islands (1921)

These islands are near enough eAual distant between *inland and 4weden& The- had traditionall-

belonged to *inland but most of the islanders wanted to be goerned b- 4weden& Neither 4weden

nor *inland could come to a decision as to who owned the islands and in $ the- asked the

=eague to adBudicate& The =eagues decision was that the- should remain with *inland but that no

weapons should eer be kept there& <oth countries accepted the decision and it remains in force to

this da-&

Upper Silesia (1921)

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The Treaty of (ersailles had gien the people of :pper 4ilesia the right to hae a referendum on

whether the- wanted to be part of 2erman- or part of 9oland& #n this referendum, 6OO,OOO oted for

2erman- and "OO,OOO for 9oland& This close result resulted in rioting between those who expected

4ilesia to be made part of 2erman- and those who wanted to be part of 9oland& The =eague was

asked to settle this dispute& .fter a six?week inAuir-, the =eague decided to split :pper 4ilesia

between 2erman- and 9oland& The =eagues decision was accepted - both countries and b- the

people in :pper 4ilesia&

e!el (192")

>emel wasUis a port in =ithuania& >ost people who lied in >emel were =ithuanians and, therefore,

the goernment of =ithuania belieed that the port should be goerned b- it& oweer, the Treat- of

Versailles had put >emel and the land surrounding the port under the control of the =eague& *or

three -ears, a *rench general acted as a goernor of the port but in $/ the =ithuanians inadedthe port& The =eague interened and gae the area surrounding >emel to =ithuania but the- made

the port an international Pone& =ithuania agreed to this decision& Though this can be seen as a

=eague success 3 as the issue was settled 3 a counter argument is that what happened was the

result of the use of force and that the =eague responded in a positie manner to those (the

=ithuanians) who had used force&

Tur#e$ (192")

The =eague failed to stop a blood- war in Turke- (see =eague failures) but it did respond to the

humanitarian crisis caused b- this war&

,%OO,OOO refugees had been created b- this war with !OX of them being women and children&

T-phoid and cholera were rampant& The =eague sent doctors from the ealth 'rganisation to check

the spread of disease and it spent YO million on building farms, homes etc for the refugees& >one-

was also inested in seeds, wells and digging tools and b- $5, work was found for 5OO,OOO

people&

 . member of the =eague called this work the greatest work of merc- which mankind has

undertaken&

Greece and %ulgaria (192&)

<oth these nations hae a common border& #n $", sentries patrolling this border fired on one

another and a 2reek soldier was killed& The 2reek arm- inaded <ulgaria as a result& The

<ulgarians asked the =eague for help and the =eague ordered both armies to stop fighting and that

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the 2reeks should pull out of <ulgaria& The =eague then sent experts to the area and decided that

2reece was to blame and fined her Y%",OOO& <oth nations accepted the decision&

The failures of the League of Nations

 .rticle of the =eagues Coenant stated

'An$ ar of threat of ar is a !atter of concern to the hole League and the

League shall ta#e action that !a$ safe guard peace*

Therefore, an- conflict between nations which ended in war and the ictor of one oer the other must

be considered a =eague failure&

Ital$ (1919)

#n $$, #talian nationalists, angered that the <ig Three had, in their opinion, broken promises to

#tal- at the Treat- of Versailles, captured the small port of *iume& This port had been gien to

Zugoslaia b- the Treat- of Versailles& *or " months, *iume was goerned b- an #talian nationalist

called d.nnunPio& The newl- created =eague did nothing& The situation was soled b- the #talian

goernment who could not accept that d.nnunPio was seemingl- more popular than the- were 3 so

the- bombarded the port of *iume and enforced a surrender& #n all this the =eague pla-ed no part

despite the fact that it had Bust been set up with the specific task of maintaining peace&

Teschen (1919)

Teschen was a small town between 9oland and CPechosloakia& #ts main importance was that it had

aluable coal mines there which both the 9oles and the CPechs wanted& .s both were newl- created

nations, both wanted to make their respectie economies as strong as possible and the acAuisition

of rich coal mines would certainl- help in this respect&

#n Sanuar- $$, 9olish and CPech troops fought in the streets of Teschen& >an- died& The =eague

was called on to help and decided that the bulk of the town should go to 9oland whileCPechosloakia should hae one of Teschens suburbs& This suburb contained the most aluable

coal mines and the 9oles refused to accept this decision& Though no more wholesale iolence took

place, the two countries continued to argue oer the issue for the next twent- -ears&

+ilna (192,)

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>an- -ears before $O, Vilna had been taken oer b- +ussia& istoricall-, Vilna had been the

capital of =ithuania when the state had existed in the >iddle .ges& .fter World War 'ne, =ithuania

had been re?established and Vilna seemed the natural choice for its capital&

oweer, b- $O, /OX of the population was from 9oland with =ithuanians onl- making up X ofthe cit-s population& #n $O, the 9oles seiPed Vilna& =ithuania asked for =eague help but the 9oles

could not be persuaded to leae the cit-& Vilna sta-ed in 9olish hands until the outbreak of World

War Two& The use of force b- the 9oles had won&

-ar .eteen /ussia and 0oland (192, to 1921)

#n $O, 9oland inaded land held b- the +ussians& The 9oles Auickl- oerwhelmed the +ussian

arm- and made a swift adance into +ussia& <- $, the +ussians had no choice but to sign the

Treat- of +iga which handed oer to 9oland nearl- !O,OOO sAuare kilometres of +ussian land& This

one treat- all but doubled the siPe of 9oland&

What did the =eague do about this iolation of another countr- b- 9oland[

The answer is simple 3 nothing& +ussia b- $$ was communist and this plague from the East was

greatl- feared b- the West& #n fact, <ritain, *rance and .merica sent troops to attack +ussia after the

=eague had been set up& Winston Churchill, the <ritish War >inister, stated openl- that the plan was

to strangle Communist +ussia at birth& 'nce again, to outsiders, it seemed as if =eague members

were selecting which countries were acceptable and ones which were not& The .llied inasion of

+ussia was a failure and it onl- sered to make Communist +ussia een more antagonistic to the

West&

The invasion of the /uhr (192")

The Treaty of (ersailles had ordered &eimar ermany to pa- reparations for war damages&

These could either be paid in mone- or in kind (goods to the alue of a set amount) #n $, the

2ermans failed to pa- an installment& The- claimed that the- simpl- could not rather than did not

want to& The .llies refused to accept this and the anti?2erman feeling at this time was still strong&

<oth the *rench and the <elgiums belieed that some form of strong action was needed to \teach

2erman- a lesson&

#n $/, contrar- to =eague rules, the *rench and the <elgiums inaded the +uhr 3 2erman-s most

important industrial Pone& Within Europe, *rance was seen as a senior =eague member 3 like <ritain

 3 and the anti?2erman feeling that was felt throughout Europe allowed both *rance and <elgium to

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These problems are still with us in the Cst 3 so it would be wrong to criticise the =eague for failing

to eradicate them& #f we cannot do this now, the =eague had a far more difficult task then with more

limited resources&

The greatest success the =eague had inoling these social issues, was simpl- informing the worldat large that these problems did exist and that the- should be tackled& No organisation had done this

before the =eague& These social problems ma- hae continued but the fact that the- were now being

actiel- inestigated b- the =eague and were then taken onboard b- the :nited Nations must be

iewed as a success&