paris peace treaties
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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