Paris, Treaty of

   1) (1815)

   Occasionally referred to as the Second Peace of Paris, the terms imposed on France after the Hundred Days and Waterloo. After Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for the second time, his opponents - Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia - signed a peace treaty on November 20, a harsher treaty than the treaty of 1814, whose terms were still binding.

   The treaty of 1814, signed after Napoleon’s first abdication, was considered too lenient, something that was attributed to the superb diplomatic skill of French statesman Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. According to the treaty of 1815, France was to cede territories such as Saar and Savoy. The boundaries of France were reduced to those of 1790. In addition, the French were also ordered to pay 700 million francs in indemnities, a portion of it to build additional fortresses in Belgium and Germany. A corps of Allied troops, not exceeding 150,000 men, to be paid for by France, was to occupy some parts of France for five years as a precaution and temporary guarantee to neighboring countries, and the four powers confirmed their alliance against France for the next 20 years.

   See also <>.

   FURTHER READING:

    Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1773–1848. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994.

   NURFADZILAH YAHAYA

   2) (1856)

   Signed at the Congress of Paris, on March 30, 1856, the treaty ending the Crimean War between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, whose allies - France, Britain, and Sardinia-Piedmont - were also party to the treaty. The principalities of Moldavia and Walachia were granted the right to hold national assemblies and have independent constitutions, and the former gained the southern part of Bessarabia from Russia; however, the Ottomans regained nominal suzerainty over both principalities. A referendum was to decide whether residents of the two principalities favored unification. The Black Sea was made neutral; warships and military fortifications were forbidden there. On the land perimeter surrounding the Black Sea, the stationing of military weapons was also banned. The Danube River remained open to all ships regardless of national origin.

   See also <>.

   FURTHER READING:

    Baumgart, Winfried. The Peace of Paris, 1856. Translated by Ann Pottinger Saab. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 1981.

   NURFADZILAH YAHAYA

   3) (1898)

   The Treaty ending the Spanish American War and transferring control of Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines from Spain to the United States. The acquisitions of these territories gave the United States a global presence and thrust the country further into the imperial rivalries in the Far East and Latin America. Major issues at the peace conference, which lasted from October 1, 1898, to December 10, 1898, dealt with responsibility for the Cuban debt, valued at $400 million, and the status of the Philippines. The Cuban debt represented the expense of Spanish administration of Cuba, the cost of suppressing previous Cuban revolts, and the price of several other Spanish ventures in the Western Hemisphere. Although Spain wanted the United States to assume responsibility for the debt, American representatives refused to accept the responsibility or to force it on any future Cuban government. In compensation and to lessen the loss of the Philippines, the United States agreed to pay Spain $20 million.

   Acquisition of the Philippines proved controversial, especially in the U.S. Senate, and led to the formation of the American Anti-Imperialist League, which campaigned extensively for the defeat of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty seemed doomed to failure until William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate for president in 1900, urged his supporters to vote for ratification. Bryan supported the treaty because he wanted the upcoming presidential election to focus on domestic issues and because passage of the treaty would allow the issue of American imperialism and the Philippine question to be separated from the peace negotiations. The move stunned the anti-imperialists and gave the treaty the boost it needed in the Senate. The Senate approved the Treaty of Paris 57 to 27 and President McKinley signed the treaty on February 6, 1899.

   See also <>; <>.

   FURTHER READING:

    Brands, H. W. Bound to Empire: The United States and the Philippines . New York: Oxford University Press, 1992;

    Healy, David. The United States in Cuba, 1898–1902: Generals, Politicians, and the Search for Policy . Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1963.

   JAMES PRUITT