Treaty of Windsor (1899)

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In the secret Treaty of Windsor (also Windsor Treaty ), a colonial crisis between Great Britain and Portugal was resolved on October 14, 1899 . Both states recognized each other's possessions. Great Britain undertook to defend the integrity of the Portuguese overseas territories and received the right to move troops freely through the territory of the Portuguese colonies in Africa.

Historical context

The Treaty of Windsor was of great importance to Portugal because there had been contacts between the German Empire and Great Britain beforehand . The subject of these agreements was a delimitation of the respective interests in South Africa in the event that Portugal had to sell or pledge the colonies due to its poor financial situation.

As a precautionary measure, both colonial powers signed the Angola Treaty on August 30, 1898 , which provided for the division of the colonies of Mozambique and Angola in the event of Portuguese insolvency. The British expressed their particular interest in Delagoa Bay and the port city of Lourenço Marques . Most of Angola, the northern part of Mozambique and the Portuguese part of Timor in the South Pacific, however, should be added to the German Empire.

When Germany and Great Britain were exploring a renewal of their 1898 treaty in 1913, British Foreign Secretary Edward Gray proposed that the treaty be published along with the Angola and Windsor treaties, which the German government refused.

rating

In fact , the great powers had already begun to consider the division of the Portuguese colonial empire. It is fitting that during the Spanish-American War the USA also considered annexing the Portuguese Azores alongside the Spanish possessions ( Philippines , Cuba ) . The Windsor Treaty ended this danger and Portuguese rule in Mozambique and Angola was consolidated.

See also

literature

  • Gregor Schöllgen, Friedrich Kießling: The age of imperialism. 5th edition, Oldenbourg, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-486-58868-2 , p. 77.
  • Christian Wipperfürth: From Sovereignty to Fear: British Foreign Policy and Social Economy in the Age of Imperialism. Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-515-08517-3 , p. 109.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang J. Mommsen : The Age of Imperialism. Fischer Weltgeschichte Vol. 28, Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1969, ISBN 3-596-60028-6 , p. 265.