1919 - Treaty of Versailles

1919 Paris peace treaties: the Treaty of versailles

In 1919 in Paris was held the peace conference which was attended by participants of the victorious countries with representatives such as: Wilson (USA), Clemenceau (France), Orlando (Italy), Lloyd George (England), took the reins of the speech marked on peace negotiations. Before the Treaties, the President Wilson pointed to the guidelines (stakes) that were to be the basis for peace negotiations.

Lines Wilson pointed were bestowed in 14 points:
- He insisted on the need to respect the freedom of the seas, free trade.
- Respect for the right of self-determination of peoples (ability of a people to make decisions resulting in the end of colonization and imperialism. A people must never submit to another. This is because Wilson had understood that all wars were created by strong imperialist tendencies )
- Respect of nationality (a state can not be the object of conquest by another state)
- It also pointed to the need to create a European body that took the name of "society of nations" to ensure to all European peace and independence (1919 until 1930 and then will be replaced in 45 to 46 by the UN).
The task was then to give peace and economic independence by eliminating all barriers and any arms race and then had to intervene in case of disagreements. It had a real armed militia, had not only the opportunity to intervene militarily but only condemning states that were still avid to the arms race, speaking with penalties and sanctions. Will also against the Italian government when in full fascism Mussolini give way to a policy of expansion in Africa (Ethiopia), the "League of Nations" punishing Italy intervenes in the economy. The points of Wilson were incisive and aimed at helping eliminate the expansionist. The removal of economic barriers would promote free trade considered indispensable for restarting the economies of the various countries, while in Europe there is autarky (closed). These principles of Wilson were not respected by the victors who were determined to make the losers pay the consequences of the war (Germany and Austria) and draw more money and also had to pay the damages of war. Peace treaties were mainly 5, The first is the Treaty of Versailles signed precisely in Versailles. Generally all the treaties are signed in towns near Paris. After that we have the Treaty of Versailles Saint-Germain, Neuilly, Trianon and Seuvres. The first concerns the conditions for peace established with Germany (June 1919). The conditions were very strong against Germany. Germany is obliged to make a return of territories such as Alsace and Lorraine which are sold to France (taken during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870), then as other condition is that much of Posen and West Prussia go Poland. The countries had to go back to being independent, is then adhered to the principle of the independence of Wistoniano nationality. Also another condition was that the city of Gdansk was made a free city of Danzig under the authority of the League of Nations and Poland. And finally all the German colonies in Africa were divided between France and England. Italy is out of the division, as it will be held out by the other advantages of the Treaty of London, which is in addition to the African colonies, the islands of Dodeganeso and other territories, but this was not maintained and Orlando left the negotiating table. This event was very serious because it allowed the French and British to divide the territories. After he returned to the table he found the already accomplished fact, asked for an explanation and they answered that it was necessary to respect the principles of Wilson by appealing to the fact that it was for all nations not only European since it was not specified, while Italy had interpreted as only one thing about the European nations and then Italy does not receive anything. In addition, the French and the English were distributed well as merchant ships that belonged to the Germans. Still he condemned Germany to pay a sum of 132 billion marks in gold or mineral resources and this was a compensation to be paid in 30 years. This was enshrined in the Treaty of Versailles.