Treaty of London, 1867
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of London often called the Second Treaty of London
after the 1839 Treaty, was an international treaty
signed on 11 May 1867. Agreed in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War
and the Luxembourg Crisis
, it had wide-reaching consequences for Luxembourg
and for relations between Europe
's Great Powers.
between the Netherlands
and Luxembourg under the House of Orange-Nassau
. The Luxembourg Crisis had erupted after French
Emperor Napoleon III
attempted to buy Luxembourg from the Dutch King William III
. Consequently, maintaining Dutch ownership of Luxembourg, free from French interference, was of paramount importance to Prussia
.
The neutrality
of Luxembourg, established by the First Treaty of London, was also reaffirmed. Those parties that did not sign the earlier treaty were to become guarantors of Luxembourg's neutrality (an exception was Belgium
, which was, itself, bound to neutrality).
To ensure Luxembourg's neutrality, the fortifications of Luxembourg City, known as the 'Gibraltar of the North
' , were to be demolished and never to be rebuilt. Dismantling the fortifications took sixteen years, cost 1.5 million gold francs
, and required the destruction of over 24 km (14.9 mi) of underground defences and 40,000 m² (10 acres) of casemate
s, batteries
, barracks
, etc. Furthermore, the Prussian garrison
, which had been sited in Luxembourg since the 1815 Congress of Vienna
, was to be withdrawn.
The Seven Weeks' War had led to the collapse of the German Confederation
. Two former members, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Duchy of Limburg
, were possessions of the Dutch king. To clarify the position in the wake of the death of the Confederation further , the Treaty of London affirmed the end of the Confederation and stated that Luxembourg and Limburg were henceforth to be considered 'integral parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands'. Luxembourg would rejoin the newly re-established German customs union
, the Zollverein
, in which it would remain until 1 January 1919.
Italy
was originally not invited, but King Victor Emmanuel II
persuaded the other kings and emperors to invite his representative. Italy had little relation to Luxembourg, and the treaty did not directly affect Italy in any appreciable manner. However, it marked the first occasion on which Italy was invited to partake in an international conference on the basis of being a Great Power
, and, therefore, was of symbolic value to the fledgling Italian kingdom.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
after the 1839 Treaty, was an international treaty
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
signed on 11 May 1867. Agreed in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
and the Luxembourg Crisis
Luxembourg Crisis
The Luxembourg Crisis was a diplomatic dispute and confrontation in 1867 between France and Prussia over the political status of Luxembourg. The confrontation almost led to war between the two parties, but was peacefully resolved by the Treaty of London....
, it had wide-reaching consequences for Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and for relations between Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's Great Powers.
Effects
The immediate effect of the treaty, established in Article I, was the reaffirmation of the personal unionPersonal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
between the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Luxembourg under the House of Orange-Nassau
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau , a branch of the European House of Nassau, has played a central role in the political life of the Netherlands — and at times in Europe — since William I of Orange organized the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War...
. The Luxembourg Crisis had erupted after French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Emperor Napoleon III
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
attempted to buy Luxembourg from the Dutch King William III
William III of the Netherlands
William III was from 1849 King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg until his death and the Duke of Limburg until the abolition of the Duchy in 1866.-Early life:William was born in Brussels as son of William II of the Netherlands and...
. Consequently, maintaining Dutch ownership of Luxembourg, free from French interference, was of paramount importance to Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
.
The neutrality
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
of Luxembourg, established by the First Treaty of London, was also reaffirmed. Those parties that did not sign the earlier treaty were to become guarantors of Luxembourg's neutrality (an exception was Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, which was, itself, bound to neutrality).
To ensure Luxembourg's neutrality, the fortifications of Luxembourg City, known as the 'Gibraltar of the North
Gibraltar of the North
The 'Gibraltar of the North' is an historical nickname for Luxembourg City, the capital of Luxembourg. It refers to the city's coveted former fortifications, and the fortress' importance to the control of the Left Bank of the Rhine and the approaches between France and Germany...
' , were to be demolished and never to be rebuilt. Dismantling the fortifications took sixteen years, cost 1.5 million gold francs
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
, and required the destruction of over 24 km (14.9 mi) of underground defences and 40,000 m² (10 acres) of casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
s, batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
, barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
, etc. Furthermore, the Prussian garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
, which had been sited in Luxembourg since the 1815 Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
, was to be withdrawn.
The Seven Weeks' War had led to the collapse of the German Confederation
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
. Two former members, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Duchy of Limburg
Duchy of Limburg
The Duchy of Limburg, situated in the Low Countries between the river Meuse and the city of Aachen, was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its territory is now divided between the Belgian provinces of Liège and Limburg , the Dutch province of Limburg , and a small part of North Rhine-Westphalia in...
, were possessions of the Dutch king. To clarify the position in the wake of the death of the Confederation further , the Treaty of London affirmed the end of the Confederation and stated that Luxembourg and Limburg were henceforth to be considered 'integral parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands'. Luxembourg would rejoin the newly re-established German customs union
Customs union
A customs union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff. The participant countries set up common external trade policy, but in some cases they use different import quotas...
, the Zollverein
Zollverein
thumb|upright=1.2|The German Zollverein 1834–1919blue = Prussia in 1834 grey= Included region until 1866yellow= Excluded after 1866red = Borders of the German Union of 1828 pink= Relevant others until 1834...
, in which it would remain until 1 January 1919.
Signatories
The treaty was signed by representatives of all of the Great Powers of Europe:- The Austrian EmpireAustrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, represented by Rudolf Apponyi - The Kingdom of BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, represented by Sylvain Van de WeyerSylvain Van de WeyerJean-Sylvain Van de Weyer was a Belgian politician, and then the Belgian Minister at the Court of St. James's, effectively the ambassador to the United Kingdom.... - The French EmpireSecond French EmpireThe Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
, represented by Prince de La Tour d'Auvergne-Lauraguais - The Kingdom of ItalyKingdom of Italy (1861–1946)The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
, represented by Marquis d'AzeglioVittorio Emanuelle TaparelliEmanuele Taparelli d'Azeglio was an Italian diplomat and politician born in Turin.-Biography:He served as a Sardinian diplomat and eventually as minister, including postings to Bavaria, Vienna, The Hague, St Petersburg, London and Paris.He was a co-founder of the St James's Club in London in 1857... - The Grand Duchy of LuxembourgLuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, represented by Baron de TornacoVictor de TornacoBaron Victor de Tornaco was a Luxembourgian politician. An Orangist, he was the fourth Prime Minister of Luxembourg, serving for seven years, from 26 September 1860 until 3 December 1867....
and Emmanuel ServaisEmmanuel ServaisLambert Joseph Emmanuel Servais was a Luxembourgian politician. He held numerous offices of national importance, foremost amongst which was in serving as the fifth Prime Minister of Luxembourg, for seven years, from 3 December 1867 until 26 December 1874.After being Prime Minister, he was a... - The Kingdom of the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, represented by Baron Bentinck - The Kingdom of PrussiaKingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, represented by Count Bernstorff-Stintenburg - The Russian EmpireRussian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, represented by Baron BrunnowPhilipp von BrunnowPhilipp Graf von Brunnow was a Russian diplomat. Brunnow represented Russia in several conferences, and held ambassadorial positions in London , Frankfurt , Berlin , and then returned to London .... - The United KingdomUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, represented by Lord StanleyEdward Stanley, 15th Earl of DerbyEdward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby KG, PC, FRS , known as Lord Stanley from 1844 to 1869, was a British statesman...
Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
was originally not invited, but King Victor Emmanuel II
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
Victor Emanuel II was king of Sardinia from 1849 and, on 17 March 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878...
persuaded the other kings and emperors to invite his representative. Italy had little relation to Luxembourg, and the treaty did not directly affect Italy in any appreciable manner. However, it marked the first occasion on which Italy was invited to partake in an international conference on the basis of being a Great Power
Great power
A great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength and diplomatic and cultural influence which may cause small powers to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions...
, and, therefore, was of symbolic value to the fledgling Italian kingdom.