First Mediterranean Agreement
King of Italy, and the ratifications shall be exchanged as soon as
possible.
In witness whereof the undersigned, the Sieur Gustavus
Count Kálnoky of Körös-Patak, Chamberlain and Actual Privy
Councillor, Minister of the Imperial Household and of Foreign
Affairs of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of
Bohemia, etc., and Apostolic King of Hungary, Lieutenant-
Fieldmarshal, and the Sieur Constantine Count de Nigra,
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of His Majesty
the King of Italy to His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of
Bohemia, etc., and Apostolic King of Hungary, have signed the
present Act and have affixed thereto the seal of their arms.
Done at Vienna, the fifteenth day of the month of May in the
year of grace one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight.
L.S. Kálnoky.
L.S. Nigra.
3.1197 First Mediterranean Agreement
Alliance Members:Great Britain, Italy, and Austria-Hungary
Signed On:February 12, 1887, in the city of London. In force until
January 20, 1897, when Britain decided not to honor the agreement.
Alliance Type:Entente (Type III)
Source:Key Treaties for the Great Powers, 1814–1914,vol. 2, p. 635.
SUMMARY
The eventual sides of World War I were not yet apparent by 1887, as
Great Britain signed an agreement with erstwhile Central Powers to
protect the status quo in the Mediterranean, where Britain had won
control of Cyprus from the Turks. Britain also won support from Italy
for its Egypt policy in return for supporting Italian policy in North
Africa. Britain chiefly feared potential action in the region by France
or Russia, with whom Britain would eventually ally in World War I.
The entente’s foundation for common action would never prove nec-
essary, however, and the agreement effectively dissolved by 1897, when
it became clear that the Central Powers represented a greater threat to
British hegemony than either France or Russia.
Exchange of Notes
Italian Note to the British Government in regard to a
Mediterranean Agreement. London, February 12, 1887.
DESPATCH OF COUNT CORTI TO LORD SALISBURY.
February 12, 1887.
The undersigned, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipo-
tentiary of His Majesty the King of Italy, has received from his
Government instructions to bring to the attention of His Excel-
lency the Marquess of Salisbury, Principal Secretary of State of
Her Britannic Majesty for Foreign Affairs, the following:
The Government of His Majesty the King, animated by the
desire of establishing with that of Her Majesty the Queen an
understanding upon various questions concerning their inter-
ests, is of the opinion that this object could be attained by the
adoption of the following bases:
I. The status quo in the Mediterranean as well as in the Adri-
atic, the Aegean Sea, and the Black Sea shall be maintained so
far as possible. Care must be taken in consequence to watch,
and, if need be, to prevent any change, which, under form of
annexation, occupation, protectorate, or in any other manner
whatsoever, would affect the present situation to the detriment
of the two Powers.
II. If the maintenance of the status quo becomes impossible,
they shall so act that no modification whatsoever shall occur
except after a previous agreement between the two Powers.
III. Italy is entirely ready to support the work of Great
Britain in Egypt. Great Britain in her turn is disposed, in case of
encroachments on the part of a third Power, to support the
action of Italy at every other point whatsoever of the North
African coast districts, and especially in Tripolitania and Cyre-
naica.
IV. In general, and to the extent that circumstances shall per-
mit, Italy and England promise one another mutual support in
the Mediterranean in every difference which may arise between
one of them and a third Power.
In expressing the confidence that these bases will receive the
assent of the Government of Her Britannic Majesty the Queen,
the undersigned avails himself, etc.British Note to the Italian Government in regard to a
Mediterranean Agreement. London, February 12, 1887.
NOTE OF LORD SALISBURY TO COUNT CORTI.
Secret.
The statement of Italian policy which is contained in your
Exc.’s dispatch of the 12thof February has been received by H.
M.’sGovernment with great satisfaction, as it enables them to
reciprocate cordially Count Robilant’s friendly sentiments and
to express their own desire to coöperate generally with the Gov-
ernment of Italy in matters of common interest to the two
countries. The character of that coöperation must be decided by
them, when the occasion for it arises, according to the circum-
stances of the case.
In the interest of peace and of the independence of the terri-
tories adjacent to the Mediterranean sea, Her Majesty’s Govern-
ment wish to act in the closest concert and agreement with that
of Italy. Both powers desire that the shores of the Euxine, the
Aegean, the Adriatic and the northern coast of Africa shall
remain in the same hands as now. If, owing to some calamitous
events, it becomes impossible to maintain the absolute status
quo, both powers desire that there shall be no extension of the
domination of any other Great Power over any portion of those
coasts. It will be the earnest desire of H. M.’sGovernment to give
their best coöperation, as hereinbefore expressed, to the Govern-
ment of Italy in maintaining these cardinal principles of policy.