Borders of the Balkan states after the Treaty of London and the Treaty of Bucharest | |
Signed | 30 May 1913 |
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Location | London, United Kingdom |
Signatories | Bulgaria Ottoman Empire Serbia Greece Montenegro Italy Germany Russia Austria-Hungary |
The Treaty of London was signed on 30 May during the London Conference of 1913. It dealt with the territorial adjustments arising out of the conclusion of the First Balkan War.
Contents |
History
The combatants were the victorious Balkan League (Serbia, Greece, Kingdom of Bulgaria, and Montenegro) and the defeated Ottoman Empire. Representing the Great Powers were Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.
Hostilities had ceased on 2 December 1912. Three principal points were in dispute:
- the status of the territory of present-day Albania, the vast majority of which had been overrun by Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece
- the status of the Sanjak of Novi Pazar formally under the protection of Austria-Hungary since the Treaty of Berlin in 1878
- the status of the other territories taken by the Allies: Kosovo; Macedonia; and Thrace
The Treaty was negotiated in London at an international conference which had opened there in December 1912, following the declaration of independence by Albania on 28 November 1912.
Austria-Hungary and Italy strongly supported the creation of an independent Albania. In part, this was consistent with Austria-Hungary's previous policy of resisting Serb expansion to the Adriatic; Italy had designs on the territory, manifested in 1939. Russia supported Serbia and Montenegro. Germany and Britain remained neutral. The balance of power struck between the members of the Balkan League had been on the assumption that Albania would be among the conquered lands shared between them.
Terms
The terms enforced by the Great Powers were:[1]
- All European territory of the Ottoman Empire west of the line between Enos on the Aegean Sea and Midia on the Black Sea was ceded to the Balkan League, except Albania.
- The Ottoman Empire ceded Crete, while it was left to the Great Powers to determine the fate of the other islands in the Aegean Sea.
- The borders of Albania and all other questions concerning Albania were to be settled by the Great Powers.
- No definitive decision was taken about the division of the territory ceded to the Balkan league.
As a result of the shortcomings of the Treaty of London, the Second Balkan War broke out between the combatants in June 1913. A final peace was agreed at the Treaty of Bucharest on 12 August 1913.
The delineation of the exact boundaries of the Albanian state under the Protocol of Florence (17 December 1913) was highly unpopular among the local Greek population of Southern Albania (or Northern Epirus for Greeks), who after their revolt managed to declare the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus, which was internationally recognized as an autonomous region inside Albania under the terms of the Protocol of Corfu.[2]
See also
References
- ^ (HIS,P) Treaty of Peace between Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia on the one part and Turkey on the other part. (London) May 17/30, 1913
- ^ Stickney, Edith Pierpont (1926). Southern Albania or Northern Epirus in European International Affairs, 1912–1923. Stanford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780804761710. http://books.google.com/books?hl=el&id=n4ymAAAAIAAJ&q=%22By+the+terms+of+the+agreement+of+Corfu+the+Epirotes+obtained+the+autonomy+for+which+they+had+struggled%22#v=snippet&q=%22By%20the%20terms%20of%20the%20agreement%20of%20Corfu%20the%20Epirotes%20obtained%20the%20autonomy%20for%20which%20they%20had%20struggled%22&f=false. "By the terms of the agreement of Corfu the Epirotes obtained the autonomy for which they had struggled"
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