The European Powers, by acting together, prevented the Balkan conflict from spreading into a European War. But the Treaty of Bukarest was no settlement, and was a signal exposure of their inability to solve the Balkan problem, which was destined to be the spark for a world-wide conflagration.
IMPORTANT TREATIES
(OTHER THAN THOSE ALREADY MENTIONED)
The Treaty of Vienna, June 9, 1815.
Second Treaty of Paris, November 20, 1815,
Signed by Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, France at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars.France gave up certain fortresses on the frontier but retained Alsace-Lorraine. Payment of 700 million francs was exacted from France. The greater part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw fell to Russia, Posen to Prussia, and Cracow became a republic. Prussia got back nearly all her old possessions, and there was a reconstruction of German States under a Confederation. Holland, Belgium, and Luxemburg were established as an independent kingdom under the House of Orange: Switzerland was extended and her integrity guaranteed: Sardinia obtained Genoa and other territory: Austria received an extension of territory in North Italy and on the coast of the Adriatic, and became the dominant state in the German Confederation. The Pope and the King of the Two Sicilies regained their former possessions.
[The foregoing record of wars serves to show to what a small extent this treaty secured the settlement of European territorial problems.]
The Rushe-Bagot Treaty, April 1817, between Great Britain and the United States. The two powers agreed to withdraw their battleships from the Great Lakes.
It may be noted that the absence of armaments on the whole Canadian frontier cannot be said to have endangered the relations between the two countries in view of the fact that the Anglo-American peace centenary was celebrated in 1915.
The Treaty of Washington, May 8, 1871, between Great Britain and the United States. The north-western boundary was finally delimited: an attempt was made to settle the Canadian Fishery dispute, and it was agreed to refer the Alabama Claims to a tribunal of arbitration, which subsequently fixed the sum to be paid over by Great Britain as indemnity.
The Triple Alliance in 1882 was the result of Italy joining the alliance between Germany and Austria, which had grown out of the support given to Austria as against Russia at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Italy having become estranged from France after the occupation of Tunis in 1881. The Triple Alliance was renewed for five years in 1887 and in 1891, and again in 1902 it was extended for a term of twelve years.
The Berlin Act. The outcome of the Conference of Berlin, 1884–5, at which fourteen Powers were represented. The respective spheres of influence of the European Powers in Africa were delimited. The neutrality of the Congo Free State was recognized, and it was established as an independent State under the sovereignty of the King of the Belgians. An area was marked out in which there should be free trade, which should be excluded from effects of disputes between the signatory Powers, and be placed under the rule of neutrality.
The latter stipulation has, however, not been carried out.
The Suez Canal Convention signed by nine Powers at Constantinople, October 29, 1888. Lesseps obtained the preliminary concession for the construction of the Canal in 1856. The Canal was opened in 1869. Disraeli bought four million pounds’ worth of shares from the Khedive on behalf of the British Government in 1875. The Convention ensured that the Canal should always be open to vessels of commerce and war without distinction of flag. Great Britain signed with a reservation, but in the Anglo-French agreement of 1904 declared her adherence to the Convention and agreed to its being put into force.