The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty was a treaty signed in 1850 between the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

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. The treaty was negotiated by John M. Clayton and Sir Henry Bulwer, amidst growing tensions between the two nations over

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, a region where the British had traditionally held strong influence but also saw increasing American expansion into the area. The treaty proved instrumental in preventing the outbreak of war between the two nations by resolving tensions over American plans to construct a

Nicaraguan Canal Attempts to build a canal across Nicaragua to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean stretch back to the early colonial era. Construction of such a shipping route—using the San Juan River (Nicaragua), San Juan River as an access ro ...

that would connect the

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and the

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. There were three main provisions in the treaty: neither nation would build such a canal without the consent and cooperation of the other; neither would fortify nor found new colonies in the region; when a canal was built, both powers would guarantee that it would be available on a neutral basis for all shipping. Construction on the proposed canal never came to fruition, although the treaty remained in effect until 1901. Britain had indefinite territorial claims in three regions:

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

(modern-day

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

), the

Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as Mosquitia, is a historical and Cultural area, geo-cultural region along the western shore of the Caribbean Sea in Central America, traditionally described as extending from Cabo Camarón, Cape Camarón to the C ...

(part of modern-day

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

) and the Bay Islands (now part of modern-day Honduras). The United States, while not making any territorial claims, held in reserve, ready for ratification, treaties with Nicaragua and Honduras which gave the United States a certain diplomatic advantage with which to balance the pre-eminent British influence in the region. With it soon becoming apparent to American negotiators that agreement on these points would be impossible and agreement on the canal question was possible, the latter was put into the foreground during the negotiations.Van Alstyne, 1939 By 1857, however, the British had ended their diplomatic opposition to American western expansion, while steadfastly maintaining their rights to a potential Nicaraguan canal.

Essential points of the treaty

The resulting treaty had four essential points:Pletcher, 1998 # It bound both parties not to "obtain or maintain" any exclusive control of the proposed canal, or unequal advantage in its use. #It guaranteed the neutralization of the canal. #It declared that the parties agreed "to extend their protection by treaty stipulation to any other practicable communications, whether by canal or railway, across the isthmus which connects North and South America." #Finally, it stipulated that neither signatory would ever "occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua,

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, the

or any part of Central America", nor make use of any

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

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, present or future, to such ends.

Signature and ratification

The treaty was signed on April 19, 1850, and was ratified by both governments, but before the exchange of ratifications the British Prime Minister

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

, on June 8, directed Bulwer to make a " declaration" that the British government did not understand the treaty "as applying to Her Majesty's settlement at Honduras, or its dependencies." Clayton made a counter-declaration which recited that the United States did not regard the treaty as applying to "the British settlement in Honduras commonly called British-Honduras. .. nor the small islands in the neighborhood of that settlement which may be known as its dependencies"; that the treaty's engagements did apply to all the Central American states, "with their just limits and proper dependencies" (referring to the Mosquito Coast and the Bay Islands); and that these declarations, not being submitted to the

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, would in no way affect the legality of the treaty.

Disagreement

The interpretation of the declarations soon became a matter of contention. The phraseology reflects the effort made by the United States to render impossible ownership of the canal by the United Kingdom through the territory held by the British at its mouth, just as the explicit prohibitions of the treaty rendered impossible such control politically by either power.

British view

The United Kingdom contended that the excepted "settlement" at Honduras was the "Belize" covered by the furthest British claim; that the Bay Islands were a dependency of Belize; and that, as for the Mosquito Coast, the abnegatory clauses being wholly prospective in

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, Britain was not required to abandon her protectorate.

American view

The United States asserted that the Bay Islands were not the "dependencies" of Belize, which were the small neighboring islands mentioned in the same treaties, and nothing else; that the excepted "settlement" was the British-Honduras of definite extent and narrow purpose recognized in British treaties with

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; that the United States had not confirmed by recognition the large, indefinite and offensive claims whose dangers the treaty was primarily designed to lessen; and that, as to the Mosquito Coast, the treaty was retrospective, and mutual in the rigor of its requirements. The claims to a part of Belize and the Bay Islands were very old in origin, but were heavily clouded by interruptions of possession, contested interpretations of Spanish–British treaties, and active controversy with the Central American States. The claim to some of the territory was new and still more contestable.

Analysis

Binding both nations not to "occupy" any part of Central America or the Mosquito Coast necessitated the abandonment of British colonies and protectorates in Central America, and the

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demanded the British completely abandon their Central American colonies and protectorates, which Britain demurred in doing so. Britain violated the treaty in 1852 when it transformed the Bay Islands into a British colony, as this was an infraction of the terms of the treaty. In regards to Belize, the British diplomatic arguments were stronger; as regards to the Mosquito Coast, disregard the fact that the protectorate was recognized by the treaty, do demand its absolute abandonment was unwarranted, although to satisfy the treaty Britain was bound materially to weaken it and also to give grant to the Hay–Sasha Treaty 1923.

Treaties of 1859–1860

In 1859–1860, via British treaties with Central American states, the Bay Islands and Mosquito questions were settled nearly in accord with the American contentions. (Britain ceded the Bay Islands to Honduras in 1860 and ceded

suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...

over the Mosquito Coast to Nicaragua the same year, although they would continue to maintain a presence there until 1895). However, by the same treaties Belize was accorded limits much greater than those contended for by the United States. This settlement the United States accepted without complaint for many years.Bourne, (1961)

The Hay–Pauncefote Treaty

Until 1866 the policy of the United States was consistently for interoceanic canals open equally to all nations, and unequivocally neutralized; indeed, until 1880 there was practically no official divergence from this policy. But in 1880–1884 a variety of reasons was advanced why the United States might justly repudiate at will the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty. The new policy was based on national self-interest. The arguments advanced on its behalf were quite indefensible in law and history, and although the position of the United States in 1850–1860 was in general the stronger in history, law and

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, that of the United Kingdom was even more conspicuously the stronger in the years 1880–1884. Among the arguments advanced by the United States was that circumstances had changed fundamentally since the signing of the treaty, therefore invalidating it. Although ultimately this argument was not successful, it is noteworthy as the first time the American government invoked this principle in its handling of international law.Mahmood M. Poonja, ''Termination of Treaties Owing to Fundamental Change of Circumstances (Clausula Rebus Sic Stantibus): A Doctoral Dissertation'' uris Doctor dissertation, Charles University, Prague, 1977(Rawalpindi: Abbas Arts, 1982), p. 18. In 1885 the United States government reverted to its traditional policy, and the Hay–Pauncefote Treaty of 1901, which replaced the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, adopted the rule of neutralization for the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

Notes

References

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