London Conference (1867)
The London Conference from May 7th to 11th 1867 was a meeting in the British capital London, which decided on the future of Luxembourg. The text of the conference agreement is also called the Second London Treaty .
Representatives of the six major European powers, Great Britain , France , Prussia , Austria , Italy and Russia, met . It was about the delimitation of their spheres of interest in relation to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , which was led in personal union by the Dutch king.
prehistory
The conference was the result of the so-called Luxembourg crisis , a dispute over the intended purchase of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg by the French government under Emperor Napoleon III. in 1866 by the Netherlands under King Wilhelm III. for 5,000,000 guilders. The fortress in Luxembourg City from 1816 was an important part of the German federal fortress to secure the western border of the German Confederation with France, which is why the Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck protested against the annexation , although at first he did not seem averse to this idea for France To secure neutrality towards a German unification.
decisions
- France does not acquire Luxembourg, the sovereign remains the Dutch king.
- For this, Prussia withdraws its garrison from the fortress and this is destroyed as far as the King-Grand Duke deems necessary. (It will take 16 years to implement this point.)
- Luxembourg is to remain neutral in future conflicts and is declared independent.
- The guarantee powers of the first London treaty: France, Great Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia are to watch over the observance of this treaty also this time.
See also
Web links
- Contract text (French)
- Tract of May 11, 1867 regulating the circumstances of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (German)