The London Naval Conference (4 December 1908 – 26 February 1909) was a continuation of the debates of the 2nd Hague Conference, with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

hoping for the formation of an International Prize Court. Ten nations sent representatives, the main naval powers of Europe and 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

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The conference met from December 4, 1908 to February 26, 1909. The agreements were issued as the

Declaration of London The London Declaration concerning the Laws of Naval War was a proposed international code of maritime law, especially as it relates to wartime activities, in 1909 at the London Naval Conference by the leading European naval powers, the United Sta ...

, containing seventy-one articles it restated much existing international maritime law. The signatories' governments did not all ratify the Declaration and it never went into effect. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the neutral United States under President Wilson pushed for the major antagonists to respect the treaty, hoping that the good protection in the Declaration for neutral vessels would be enforced. The most influential figures at the conference were Renault of France, Kriege of Germany, and Crowe of Great Britain.

References

External links

''The London Naval Conference - Final Protocol''
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Naval Conference (1908-1909) Naval conferences Diplomatic conferences in the United Kingdom 20th-century diplomatic conferences 1908 in international relations 1909 in international relations 1908 conferences 1909 conferences