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Imperialist Concerns 01/04/2011 04:18:00

British Concerns

Very much for their empire, they had the largest empire in theworld at the time,

o Had 80 million muslims under their rule as well Concerned for the security of their borders as well as the threat

from Soviet Russia as well as the potential for the threat from

the Ottoman empire.

o Lord Curzon spoke of this in May 1919, arguing that thebody (of the Turkish Empire) may not want to be a corpse

o Also spoke out about the need for a protective cordonaround the Soviet Union

More concerned about this than self-determination ofthe Balkans

Whilst Lloyd George claimed I am a believer in little nations hewas being more pragmatic than nationalist. An enlarged Greek

state with British alliance could play a holding role in the East

BUT did seek to address the minority issues in treaties followingthe Paris Peace Treaties

o Does show that there were some concerns for itemsbeyond imperialism

Overtly, Britain agreed with Wilsons 14 pointso They needed Wilson on-side in terms of his entry to the

war and now with him personally heading up the American

delegation, both British and French supported him whilst

giving priority to their own national interests

i.e. Britain signed off on all the points except thefreedom of the seas

Wasnt too keen on the destruction of the Habsburg empire giventhe monarchical links both in blood and in terms of a similar

monarchical system of government

o The replacments for both the Habsburg and Ottomanempires were therefore more of a punishment to the old

empires and to advance british and French economic

interests

o The following treaties, in the guise of self-determination,crushed the economic powers of the Central Powers by

redrawing their borders and by forcing reparations on them.

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We can see this in the large ethnic mixing thatoccurred

i.e. Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia Policy of punishment and reward contradicted the

Wilsonian points on which the treaties were meant to

be built upon

Serbia, Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia werewinners

Bulgaria, Ottomans, Albania were losers No Plebiscites were allowed to contest the mixup of

ethnic groups in these areas.

French

Wanted to weaken the German military and exact revenge onthem for the French losses in WWI

o Came in the form of reparations and harsh militarypenalties such as no military occupation of the Rhineland

and troop (100,000) and navy limitations (15,000)

Wilson

Inexperienced and nave Hupchick, was often circumventedby the more experienced Lloyd George and Clemencau

His inexperience lay more in just diplomatic circles, he didntunderstand the complexities of the Balkan states.

o Didnt know what Transylvania was or what Romanianclaims to it were

o Point 9 concerns Italian borders along lines of nationalitybut he didnt specific anywhere on the Dalmation coast

except Triesta, but these had already been promised to

Italy in the Treaty of London in 1915

o Point 10 argues for free development of successor statesfrom the Habsburgs, but the same point argues for the

positon of the Habsburg empire in Europe

o Point 11 argues that Habsburg troops leave areas such asMontenegro and the establishment of state lines

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There were no state lines after 500 years of Milletrule

o Point 12 wanted the breakup of ottoman empire but didntsuggest any way of doing this

America was also not a world power at this point, he did not havthe bargaining power that he wanted

He lost power in America during this time, had to return andultimately the League of Nations was not ratified in the Senate.

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Nationalist Concerns 01/04/2011 04:18:00

Wilson

The 14 points aimed towards a period of self-determination forthe Balkan nations

Wilson did listen to the concerns of the Balkan states he justdidnt understand them fully.

o Must not consider this an active dismissal of the nationalistideals though.

o when I gave utterances to those words, I said themwithout knowledge that nationalities existed. Moynihan

Proclaimed against secret treaties promising territories such asthe Treaty of London with Italy in 1915, which Wilson had

overturned

o Highlights an active attempt to remove the secrecy of theImperialist powers from diplomacy

Also wanted an American led League of Nations, this would havevery little interest in the imperial and strategic powers of Europe,

as Wilson had very little love for the old Colonial powers of

France and England

The fact that the new nations were guaranteed by the League of Nations

highlights a certain level of commitmentAlso the Balkan states did receive a large amount of land from the Centrla

Powers, with Romania receiving 32% of Hungary in the settlements

Harold Nicolson We came to Paris convinced that a new order was

about to be established, we left convinced that the new order had merely

fouled the old

Arguably, Take Ionescu was probably the most proactive leader in trying

to form a Balkan alliance all the way to Poland in order to make sure that

the treaty of Versailles was revised, but disputes between Poland and

Czechoslovakia stopped this from occurring.

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4/1/2011 4:18:00 AM