LON timeline Flashcards
what happened the 8th of january 1918
woodraw wilson outlined the idea of the LON in his ‘14 points speech’
who was woodraw wilson
US president
what was the 14 point speech
a proposal to congress made 8th of january 1918 by woodrow wilson to outline his vision to end the war so that nothing of the sort would happen again T
when were the clashes of teschen
1919 january
what were the clashes of teschen
When Czechoslovakia and poland both thought they should control Teschen so fighting broke out between them, killing 1,000 people
how did the league react to the Teschen dispute
the league divided the region between the two countries, with Czechoslovakia gaining most of the coal mines
result of the Teschen dispute?
The fighting stopped, but Poland refused to accept the decision and bad feeling continued between the two countries until the Second World War.
where and what is Teschen
a coal-mining region, was located between Poland and Czechoslovakia after the break-up of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires.
when was the official inauguration of the LON
10th january 1920
what were some of the 14 points of the speech (4)
All national groups should have their own country. This is called self-determination
All countries should follow a policy of disarmament to avoid war in the future
All countries should discuss their issues openly and not sign secret treaties
All countries should remove trade tariffs and cooperate economically
aims of the LON (4)
To solve disputes that could cause armed conflict
To achieve world disarmament
To encourage nations to trade freely with each other
To improve the standard of living across the world
what was the Paris peace conference in 1919
Wilson attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as a member of the ‘Big Three’. Wilson argued for the creation of the League of Nations with all nations as members. In the Versailles Settlement, all five treaties legalised the Covenant of the League of Nations.
after the WW1, the USA developed a policy of
isolationism
did the USA ever become a member
No
what happened in march 1920
US congress refused for the second time to join the league
what happened in april 1920
vilna was seized by poland
why was Vilna seized by Poland
because Poland refused to recognise Lituania’s sovereignity over it
what were European countries worried about (about LON)
the League would interfere too much or be too weak.
what happened 1921, march
upper silesia plebiscite
What was the dispute in Upper Silesia?
The League became involved when there was a dispute between Germany and Poland in 1921 over Upper Silesia.
Where is Upper Silesia?
Upper Silesia was an industrial area on the border between Germany and Poland.
Who was involved in the dispute over Upper Silesia?
Poland and Germany disputed the territory in 1921. Upper Silesia was awarded to Poland in the Treaty of Versailles, but most of the region’s population was German.
Why was there a dispute between Germany and Poland over Upper Silesia?
(3)
As a result of the Paris Peace Settlement, the boundaries of many countries were redrawn.
❖Upper Silesia was on the border of Germany and Poland and both nationalities lived there, which caused conflict.
❖It was also an important area for iron and steel production. Both countries wanted to make a claim on this.
What were the key events in the dispute between Germany and Poland over Upper Silesia? (6)
In 1921 a plebiscite was organised by the League to decide whether Upper Silesia would become German or Polish territory. Britain and France sent troops to ensure the vote was democratic.
❖Germany won 60% of the votes, but Poland argued that many of those that voted for Germany did not live in Upper Silesia.
❖The League chose to split the area into regions based on the vote. Poland received many of the industrial areas, while Germany received the rural areas.
❖At first this was accepted by both Poland and Germany.
❖However, the final settlement was considered unfair by the Polish, who argued that Poland had half the population of Upper Silesia but only one third of the land.
❖Germany claimed it had lost three quarters of the coal mines under the agreement.
❖Germany complained to the League and was awarded the right to import coal at a discounted rate.
How did the League react to the dispute over Upper Silesia?
The League’s actions included a plebiscite, investigations, consultation and measures to help improve the economic outlook of Poland and Germany.
What was the result of the dispute over Upper Silesia?
Both sides accepted the arrangements the League made regarding Upper Silesia, but they ended in 1925 and relations between Poland and Germany deteriorated.
What was significant about the dispute over Upper Silesia?
The dispute is a significant case study of success for the League. Both countries protested but were willing to accept the League’s judgement, and therefore were able to find an acceptable compromise.
What was the Aaland Islands dispute?
The League of Nations got involved in a dispute between Finland and Sweden in 1921 over who controlled the Aaland Islands.
Where are the Aaland Islands?
The Aaland Islands are located between Finland and Sweden, in the Baltic Sea.
Who was involved in the dispute over the Aaland Islands?
Finland and Sweden disagreed over who controlled the Aaland Islands.
Why was there a dispute between Sweden and Finland over the Aaland islands?
The peace settlement at the end of the war changed the geography of Europe and affected the borders of many countries. Both Sweden and Finland claimed the Aaland Islands. Historically, the islands were Finnish but the population wanted to be Swedish.
How did the League react to the dispute over the Aaland Islands?
The countries asked the League to investigate. It ruled that the islands should remain Finnish, but as a safeguard no military personnel or arms could be located there.
What was the result of the dispute over the Aaland Islands?
Both sides accepted the decision.
What was significant about the dispute between Sweden and Finland over the Aaland Islands?
The dispute over the Aaland Islands is a significant case study of success for the League of Nations. Both nations accepted the authority of the League and its decision.
what happened february 1922
washington naval agreement
When was the Washington Naval Agreement signed?
Negotiations for the Washington Naval Agreement began in 1921. It was finally signed on 6th February, 1922.
Who was involved in the Washington Naval Agreement?
The conference where the agreement was decided upon was organised and hosted by the USA and attended by Britain, France, Italy and Japan. An additional agreement also involved Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and China.
What was the Washington Naval Agreement?
The Washington Naval Agreement was also known as the Five Power Naval Limitation Treaty. In it, the participants agreed limits on the size of their naval forces.
Why was the Washington Naval Agreement decided?
The Washington Naval Agreement was reached in order to reduce tension in the Asia-Pacific region.
Where was the Washington Naval Agreement decided?
The Washington Naval Agreement was signed at the Washington Naval Conference. This is sometimes referred to as the International Conference of Naval Limitation.
What were the terms agreed under the Washington Naval Agreement?
The agreement set out terms stating Britain and America could have equivalent navies. For every 5 tonnes their battleships weighed, Japan would be allowed 3 tonnes.
What was significant about the Washington Naval Agreement?
(3)
The League was committed to encouraging disarmament as one of its aims but was not involved in the first conference aimed at addressing this.
Britain, France and Japan were 3 of the League’s most powerful members, yet they attended the conference as individual countries rather than sending delegates through the League.
The conference actually encouraged a new arms race in the building of lighter warships and submarines, and was the catalyst for a new naval building programme in the USA and Japan.
april 1922
rapallo pact
What was the Rapallo Treaty?
The Rapallo Treaty was an agreement between Germany and the USSR.
When was the Rapallo Treaty agreed between Germany and Russia?
The Rapallo Treaty was agreed in 1922.
Where was the Rapallo Treaty agreed between Germany and Russia?
The Rapallo Treaty was agreed at a meeting between representatives of Germany and the USSR in Rapallo, Italy.
Who was involved in the Rapallo Treaty?
The Rapallo Treaty was agreed between the USSR and Germany. At the time, neither were members of the League of Nations.
Why was the Rapallo Treaty agreed between Germany and the USSR?
Both countries wanted to rebuild their international presence.
The USSR wanted to renegotiate the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which had seen the vast annexation of Soviet land by Germany.
The USSR was also forced to make huge reparation payments to Germany under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
What were the results of the Rapallo Treaty?
Germany agreed to return the reparations and land taken under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to the USSR. Both countries also agreed to cooperate in the future.
What was significant about the Rapallo Treaty agreed between Germany and Russia?
The Rapallo Treaty was significant because it undermined the work of the League. It was supposed to lead the way in encouraging cooperation between countries, yet the League was not involved at all.
what happened in 1923
french invasion of ruhr
why did invasion of ruhr happen
because Germany failed to pay the reparations instalment at the end of 1922.
what was the invasion of ruhr
a period of military occupation by France and Belgium of the Ruhr region in Germany
what was the ruhr
a region of Germany which contained resources such as factories
what happened in september 1927
italian troops withdrawed from ruhr
What was the Corfu dispute?
The dispute over the Greek island of Corfu in 1923, between Italy and Greece, was one of the most important disputes of the 1920s.
Why did Italy and Greece argue over Corfu?
(4)
Following the First World War, the border was redrawn between Greece and Albania. The Italian general, Tellini, had the job of patrolling it.
In 1923, Tellini and some Italian soldiers were murdered on the border.
In response the Italian fascist leader, Mussolini, demanded 50 million lira in compensation and the execution of those responsible. Greece refused.
In retaliation, Italy invaded the Greek island of Corfu. Greece appealed to the League for help.
How did the League react to the Corfu dispute? (4)
Italy did not accept action by the League in Corfu.
The League responded quickly and ordered Italy to leave Corfu.
Italy refused and demanded the question be passed to the Conference of Ambassadors, which was responsible for overseeing the peace settlement.
The Conference of Ambassadors also ordered Italy to leave Corfu, but agreed that Greece should pay compensation.
What was the result of the Corfu dispute? (4)
It revealed the League would give preferential treatment to powerful and aggressive members, like Italy.
It led to the Geneva Protocol, which was an attempt to make the League of Nations fairer.
It also highlighted that when Britain and France did not stand united, they showed weakness.
It proved the League could be ignored and overruled by other international groups.
24 july 1924
mosul league commision
what happened in mosul agreement
the League of Nations set up a commission to settle the dispute between Turkey and Iraq over Mosul. The commission decided that Mosul should remain part of Iraq, which was under British control. The decision was based on the majority Kurdish population and economic factors like oil resources.
Turkey opposed the decision but eventually accepted it in the Treaty of Ankara (1926)
when was the border clash between greece and bulgaria
1925
Who was involved in the Greek-Bulgarian dispute?
In October 1925 there was an incident on the Bulgarian border and, as a result, a Greek military officer was killed. Bulgaria appealed to the League for help when it was invaded by Greece.
Why was there a dispute between Greece and Bulgaria?
The dispute happened due to a shoot-out between Greek and Bulgarian soldiers on the Bulgarian border, resulting in the death of a Greek soldier. The Greeks invaded in retaliation.
How did the League react to the Greek-Bulgarian dispute?
(5)
It reacted quickly to the invasion.
It promptly called a meeting in Paris.
It reached the decision that both sides should stand down, and Greek forces should leave Bulgaria immediately.
After further investigation, the League decided it favoured Bulgaria’s version of events.
Greece was forced to pay £45,000 in compensation and threatened with sanctions.
What was the result of the Greek-Bulgarian dispute?
The Greeks complained the League had one rule for Italy, as during the Corfu dispute, and another rule for them. They felt the League had been hypocritical but nevertheless agreed.
when was locarno pact
december 1925
when was kellog briand pact
1928 august
when was wall street crash
october 1929
