Anglo-Russian Convention
Signed | 31 August [O.S. 18 August] 1907 |
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Location | Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
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Anglo-Russian Convention at Wikisource |
The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 (Russian: Англо-Русская Конвенция 1907 г., romanized: Anglo-Russkaya Konventsiya 1907 g.), or Convention between the United Kingdom and Russia relating to Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet (Конвенция между Соединенным Королевством и Россией относительно Персии, Афганистана, и Тибета; Konventsiya mezhdu Soyedinennym Korolevstvom i Rossiyey otnositel'no Persii, Afghanistana, i Tibeta),[1] was signed on August 31, 1907, in Saint Petersburg. It ended the longstanding rivalry in Central Asia and enabled the two countries to outflank the Germans, who were threatening to connect Berlin to Baghdad with a new railroad that could potentially align the Ottoman Empire with Imperial Germany.
The Convention ended the long dispute over Persia. Great Britain promised to stay out of northern Persia, and Russia recognized southern Persia as part of the British sphere of influence. Russia also promised to stay out of Tibet and Afghanistan. In exchange, London extended loans and some political support.[2][3] The convention brought shaky British–Russian relations to the forefront by solidifying boundaries that identified respective control in Persia,[4][5] Afghanistan, and Tibet. This agreement would eventually lead to the formation of the Triple Entente.[6]
Background
During the last third of the nineteenth century, the
...if Russia accepts, cordially and whole-heartedly, our intention to preserve the peaceable possession of our Asiatic possessions, then I am quite sure that in this country no government will make it its business to thwart or obstruct Russia's policy in Europe. On the contrary, it is urgently desirable that Russia's position and influence be re-established in the councils of Europe.
and later, writing to his ambassador to Russia Sir Arthur Nicolson:[8]
It is not for us to propose changes with regard to the treaty conditions of the Dardanelles. I think some change in the direction desired by Russia would be admissible and we should be prepared to discuss the question if Russia introduces it.
In early 1907,
Rise of Germany
Events leading to World War I |
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On May 20, 1882, Germany entered into the Triple Alliance with Italy and Austria-Hungary, complementing its industrial and socio-political ascendance in the world arena. Furthermore, Germany dramatically increased its military output from the early 1900s up to the outbreak of the First World War. Under the unified German state, Otto von Bismarck worked to increase the nation's global influence and reach what was then the zenith of German power. While Britain and Russia were hostile to German designs in the region, members of the Triple Alliance were in turn opposed to Anglo-Russian influence in Asia. Thus, military and territorial expansion was Germany's key to making itself a major player in the international arena of power. Germany's interest in the Middle East took a secondary position, one subordinate to Germany's primary policy toward Europe, throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While of secondary importance, it was a tool that was used to manipulate the Middle Eastern attempt to play off the Western powers against each other. Berlin peacefully made inroads into the Ottoman Empire and had few colonial aspirations in the region.[10]
Trouble in Persia
In 1905, revolutionary activity spread throughout
To facilitate their goals in Persia, the British and the Russian governments discussed splitting it into three zones. The agreement stipulated that it would "allocate the north, including
Terms
The Anglo-Russian Convention formalized the spheres of influence of the Russian Empire and the British Empire in Persia, Afghanistan and Tibet.[13]
Persia
This article cites its page references.(August 2021) ) |
The agreement recognized the country's sovereignty but also divided it into three separate zones. The agreement designated all of northern Iran, which bordered Russia's possessions in
For Britain and Russia, the agreement was important in establishing a diplomatic alignment that endured until the
]Afghanistan
With the Anglo-Russian Convention Russia acknowledged that Afghanistan was in the British
Tibet
The Anglo-Russian Convention acknowledged the "Chinese suzerainty" over Tibet, and the United Kingdom pledged not to deal with Tibet unilaterally without the approval of the Chinese government. The United Kingdom thought that this convention would put a stop to Russia's expansionist efforts, which were threatening India, and with the development of Anglo-Russian ties in the early 1900s, both the United Kingdom and Russia acknowledged Tibet's role as a buffer in the Anglo-Russian Convention that also recognized the suzerainty of China over Tibet, although China did not accept the term "suzerainty" and instead used the term "sovereignty" to describe its status in Tibet since 1905.[20] The conclusion of the Anglo-Russian Convention followed the British expedition to Tibet of 1903-1904, the Convention of Lhasa of 1904, and the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1906 which essentially reestablished China's role as Tibet's controlling power.[21]
See also
References
- G. P. Gooch and H Temperley. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1929. pp 618–621. Appendix I – Full Text of Convention between the United Kingdom and Russia relating to Persia (Iran), Afghanistan, and Tibet, Signed At St Petersburgh, August 31, 1907 (in French)
- ^ Barbara Jelavich, St. Petersburg and Moscow: Tsarist And Soviet Foreign Policy, 1814–1974 (1974), pp 247–49, 254–56.
- ^ Ewen W. Edwards, "The Far Eastern Agreements of 1907." Journal of Modern History 26.4 (1954): 340–355. Online
- ^ British Documents on the Origins of the War 1898–1914, Volume IV, The Anglo-Russian Rapprochement 1903-7. Edited by G.P. Gooch and H Temperley. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1929. p618-621. Appendix IV – Revised Draft of Agreement Concerning Persia, Sent to Sir A. Nicholson by Sir Edward Grey on June 6, 1907
- ^ Yale Law School: "Agreement concerning Persia" (in English)
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Anglo-Russian Entente
- ISBN 978-1-85043-371-2.
- ^ a b c Langer 1929, p. 68.
- ^ Langer 1929, p. 67.
- ^ Erich Eyck, Bismarck and the German Empire (1963) pp 261–297. online.
- . p. 283.
- ^ Beryl J. Williams, "The Strategic Background to the Anglo-Russian Entente of August 1907." Historical Journal 9#3 (1966): 360–73. online.
- ^ ISBN 9781789140194.
- ^ Kazemzadeh, Firuz. Russia and Britain in Persia, 1864–1914: A Study in Imperialism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1968.[page needed]
- ^ Siegel, Jennifer. Endgame: Britain, Russia, and the Final Struggle for Central Asia. London and New York: Tauris, 2002.[page needed]
- ^ White, John Albert. Transition to Global Rivalry: Alliance Diplomacy and the Quadruple Entente, 1895–1907. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
- ^ Kazemzadeh, Firuz. Russia and Britain in Persia, 1864–1914: A Study in Imperialism. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1968.[page needed]
- ^ Siegel, Jennifer. Endgame: Britain, Russia, and the Final Struggle for Central Asia. London and New York: Tauris, 2002.[page needed]
- ^ White, John Albert. Transition to Global Rivalry: Alliance Diplomacy and the Quadruple Entente, 1895–1907. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.[page needed]
- ^ Dolma, Tenzin (2020). Reviews on Tibetan Political History: A Compilation of Tibet Journal Articles. Library of Tibetan Works & Archives. p. 76.
- ^ Ray, Jayanta (2007). Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World. Pearson Education. p. 197.
Further reading
- "The Recent Anglo-Russian Convention" The American Journal of International Law (1907) pp 979–984 online
- Abrahamiam, Ervand, A History of Modern Iran (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
- Adelson, Roger, London and the Invention of the Middle East: Money, Power, and War, 1902–1922 (St. Edmundsbury Press, 1995)
- Churchill, Platt Rogers. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 (1939).
- Habberton, William. Anglo-Russian Relations Concerning Afghanistan, 1837–1907 (U. of Illinois, 1937).
- Klein, Ira (1971), "The Anglo-Russian Convention and the Problem of Central Asia, 1907–1914", Journal of British Studies, 11 (1): 126–147, S2CID 145507675
- Langer, William L. (1929). "Russia, the Straits Question, and the European Powers, 1904–8". The English Historical Review. 44 (173): 59–85. JSTOR 552495.
- Mahajan, Sneh. British foreign policy 1874–1914: The role of India (Routledge, 2003).[ISBN missing]
- Palmer, A. W. "The Anglo-Russian Entente" History Today (Nov 1957) 7#11 pp 748–754.
- Sicker, Martin. The Bear and the Lion: Soviet Imperialism and Iran (Praeger Publishers, 1988).
- Siegel, Jennifer, Endgame: Britain, Russia and the Final Struggle for Central Asia (New York: I.B. Tauris, 2002)
- Soroka, Marina. Britain, Russia and the Road to the First World War: The Fateful Embassy of Count Aleksandr Benckendorff (1903–16) (Routledge, 2016).
- Tomaszewski, Fiona K. A Great Russia: Russia and the Triple Entente (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002)
- Williams, Beryl J. "The Strategic Background to the Anglo-Russian Entente of August 1907." Historical Journal 9#3 (1966): 360–73. online.
External links
- Brigham Young University library website. The Anglo-Russian Entente