Convention among France, Great Britain, and Spain relative to combined operations against Mexico
In witness whereof the Plenipotentiaries of the Republic of
Peru, and of the Republic of Equator, have signed the present
Treaty, and sealed it with their respective seals.
Done in duplicate in the city of Guayaquil, the 25th of Janu-
ary, 1860.
(L.S.) MANUEL MORALES.
(L.S.) NICOLAS ESTRADA.
MANUEL NICOLAS CORPANCHO.
JOSE ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ PARRA.
3.1171 Convention among France, Great
Britain, and Spain relative to combined opera-
tions against Mexico
Alliance Members:France, Great Britain, and Spain
Signed On:October 31, 1861, in the city of London. In force until
April 8, 1862, when Spain and Great Britain withdrew from the
alliance.
Alliance Type:Defense Pact (Type I)
Source:British Foreign and State Papers,vol. 51, p. 61.
SUMMARY
With the Mexican economy in ruins after more than a decade of
nearly continuous interstate and civil war, President Benito Juarez
declared in 1861 a two-year moratorium on foreign debt payments.
Concerned about receiving proper payment on their loans and about
the rise of the United States as a regional power, the British, French,
and Spanish reached an agreement on October 31, 1861, to invade and
occupy the Mexican city of Veracruz in order to compel Juarez to
relent on his moratorium.
The members of the alliance invaded Mexico in 1862, and, after brief
hostilities, British and Spanish forces withdrew although French forces
remained in Mexico through the installation and most of the brief
reign of Emperor Maximilian, which ended in 1867. The withdrawal
of British and Spanish forces by April 8, 1862, effectively brought the
alliance to an end.
Description of Terms
The allies agree to send enough troops to Mexico to gain con-
trol of the coastal fortifications. The commanders of these
forces can do as they judge necessary to realize the goals of this
convention, and especially to protect the foreign residents. The
allies promise not to acquire any territories and to let the Mexi-
can people decide their own government. A commission of
three commissaries composed of one from each allied country
will determine how to use the money recovered in Mexico. The
United States will be invited to this treaty, and this treaty will be
ratified in London in fifteen days.
3.1172 The Alvensleben Convention
Alliance Members:Germany and Russia
Signed On:February 8, 1863, in the city of St. Petersburg. In force
until February 28, 1863.
Alliance Type:Defense Pact (Type I)
Source:Imperial Russia: A Source Book, 1700–1917,3rd ed., p. 289.SUMMARY
Most European rulers of the mid-nineteenth century were sensitive to
the effects of revolutionary movements within and near their borders.
This alliance was an attempt to control Polish uprisings in 1863. The
treaty called for joint military action between Russia and Prussia to
put down Polish nationalists. Coordination was necessary because
Russian troops would have to cross through Prussian territory in order
to follow the revolutionaries; having no army, the Poles were using
guerrilla tactics against the Russian forces.
This treaty also allowed Russia to ignore the protests of Britain,
France, and Austria, each of which had signaled some support for the
Poles. Napoleon III was the loudest voice of dissent over Russia’s
actions against the Poles as he called for a congress among major states
but could not press the issue given his strained commitments in Mex-
ico (see Alliance no. 3.1171). The reaction of the Western states drew
Russia closer to Prussia, and this cooperation was to last for nearly
thirty years. The Russians finally put down the Second Polish Revolu-
tion in May of 1864.Alliance Text
The Courts of Russia and Prussia, having determined that the
recent developments in the Kingdom of Poland pose serious
threats to public and private property and can endanger the
internal order in the Prussian frontier provinces, are agreed:
That, upon the request of the Commander-in-chief of the
Russian army in the Kingdom of Poland or upon that of
Infantry General von Werder, Commander-in-chief of the first,
second, fifth, and sixth Prussian Army Corps, or at the request
of the frontier authorities of the two countries, the command-
ers of Russian and Prussian detachments are authorized to take
common action, and, in case of need, to cross the frontier in
pursuit of the rebels who may flee from one country into the
other.
Special officers will be sent by each [of the contracting] par-
ties to the General Headquarters of the two armies, as well as to
the [headquarters of] the detached corps commanders, to facil-
itate the practical application of this entente.
These officers will be kept informed of the military disposi-
tions in order that they may communicate these to their respec-
tive commanders.
The present arrangement will remain in effect as long as the
state of affairs so dictates and so long as the two Courts judge it
to be necessary.
Gorchakov
von Alvensleben