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