The Treaty of London was signed on 30 May 1913, to deal with territorial adjustments arising out of the conclusion of the First Balkan War.

Contents 1 History 2 Terms 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] History

The combatants were the victorious Balkan League (Serbia, Greece, 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.^[1]

[edit] Terms

The terms enforced by the Great Powers were:

• Albania was declared an independent state, with Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece being obliged to withdraw their armed forces.
• The Vilayet of Kosovo was divided among Serbia, Montenegro and Albania. Within this entity was the territory of the former Sanjak of Novi Pazar which was divided between Serbia and Montenegro.
• Bulgaria received Thrace, north of the line between Enos on the Aegean Sea and Midia on the Black Sea (see Greater Bulgaria).
• No definitive decision was taken about the division of the remaining Macedonian territory (outside of the regions which lay within pre-1912 Kosovo, eg. Skopje, Veles and Kumanovo) because of disagreements among the allies.

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]

[edit] References

1. ^ (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
2. ^ Stickney, Edith Pierpont (1926). Southern Albania or Northern Epirus in European International Affairs, 1912–1923. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804761710. http://books.google.com/books?id=n4ymAAAAIAAJ. 

[edit] See also

• List of treaties
• Treaties of London

[edit] External links

• Chronology of the 1913 London Peace Conference
• http://www.zum.de/psm/div/tuerkei/mowat120.php