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Making peace: the great settlements

The settlements that ended the great wars and set the terms of the eras that followed, from Westphalia to Dayton.

Figures AbrahamBenjamin NetanyahuCharles-Maurice de TalleyrandHenry V of EnglandKlemens von MetternichLouis XVIIIMenachem BeginRichard I of EnglandShimon PeresTheodore RooseveltYitzhak Rabin

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    Treaty of Kadesh

    also in State, law, and coercion

    The earliest surviving written peace treaty, concluded between Ramesses II of Egypt and Hattusili III of the Hittite Empire after decades of war over Syria. It established peace, mutual defense, and the return of fugitives.

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    Peace of Callias

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Reported peace between Athens and the Persian Empire that ended the Greco-Persian Wars, keeping Persian ships out of the Aegean. Its existence is debated by historians.

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    Peace of Nicias

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Treaty between Athens and Sparta intended to end the first phase of the Peloponnesian War for fifty years. It quickly unraveled and fighting resumed within a few years.

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    Peace of Antalcidas

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Also called the King's Peace, this settlement dictated by Persia ended the Corinthian War and recognized Persian control over the Greek cities of Asia Minor. It made the Persian king arbiter of Greek affairs.

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    Treaty of Lutatius

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace treaty ending the First Punic War, under which Carthage evacuated Sicily and paid a large indemnity to Rome. It made Rome the dominant naval power in the western Mediterranean.

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    Treaty of Apamea

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace between Rome and the Seleucid king Antiochus III after his defeat at Magnesia. It stripped the Seleucids of Asia Minor and confirmed Roman dominance in the eastern Mediterranean.

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    Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Truce between Muhammad, representing the Muslim community of Medina, and the Quraysh of Mecca. It paused hostilities, allowed a later pilgrimage, and proved a turning point in the rise of Islam.

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    Chanyuan Treaty

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace between Song China and the Khitan Liao dynasty under which the Song paid annual tribute in silk and silver. It bought more than a century of peace on the northern frontier.

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    Treaty of Shaoxing

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace between Song China and the Jurchen Jin dynasty that ceded northern China to the Jin and made the Southern Song a tribute-paying state. It fixed the border at the Huai River for decades.

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    Treaty of Jaffa

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Truce between Richard I of England and Saladin ending the Third Crusade. Jerusalem stayed under Muslim rule but Christian pilgrims gained free access to the holy sites.

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    Treaty of Bretigny

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Treaty between England and France during the Hundred Years' War, giving Edward III large territories in France in return for renouncing his claim to the French crown. It brought nine years of peace before war resumed.

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    Treaty of Troyes

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Treaty making Henry V of England heir and regent of France, disinheriting the Dauphin, and sealing the deal with Henry's marriage to Catherine of Valois. Its collapse fueled the final phase of the Hundred Years' War.

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    Treaty of Lodi

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace between Milan, Venice, and Florence that established a balance of power among the Italian states. It brought four decades of relative stability to Renaissance Italy.

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    Treaty of the Pyrenees

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace between France and Spain ending their long war, ceding Roussillon and Artois to France and arranging the marriage of Louis XIV to the Spanish infanta. It marked the shift of European primacy from Spain to France.

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    Peace of Utrecht

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Series of treaties ending the War of the Spanish Succession, recognizing Philip V in Spain while barring union of the French and Spanish crowns, and transferring Gibraltar and large American territories to Britain. It established the balance of power as a principle of European order.

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    Treaty of Nystad

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace ending the Great Northern War between Russia and Sweden, ceding Estonia, Livonia, and Ingria to Russia. It confirmed Russia as the new great power of the Baltic.

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    Treaty of Paris (1763)

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace ending the Seven Years' War, with France ceding Canada and lands east of the Mississippi to Britain and Florida passing from Spain to Britain. It made Britain the leading colonial power in North America and India.

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    Treaty of Kucuk Kaynarca

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace ending the Russo-Turkish War of 1768 to 1774, giving Russia territory on the Black Sea, navigation rights, and a claimed protective role over Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire. It opened a century of Russian pressure on the Ottomans.

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    Treaty of Ghent

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace treaty between Britain and the United States ending the War of 1812 and restoring prewar boundaries. News arrived after the Battle of New Orleans had already been fought.

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    Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace ending the Mexican-American War, with Mexico ceding roughly half its territory including California and the Southwest to the United States for 15 million dollars. It fixed the Rio Grande as the Texas border.

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    Convention of Peking

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Settlement imposed on China after the Second Opium War, ceding Kowloon to Britain, opening Tianjin, and confirming large Russian gains in the Amur region. It deepened the unequal treaty system.

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    Treaty of Frankfurt

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace ending the Franco-Prussian War, ceding Alsace and much of Lorraine to the new German Empire and imposing a five billion franc indemnity on France. French resentment over the lost provinces poisoned relations until 1914.

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    Treaty of Berlin (1878)

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Settlement of the Congress of Berlin revising the Russo-Turkish peace of San Stefano, recognizing Serbia, Romania, and Montenegro and splitting Bulgaria. Its compromises left grievances that fed later Balkan crises.

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    Treaty of Shimonoseki

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace ending the First Sino-Japanese War, with China recognizing Korea's independence and ceding Taiwan to Japan. It announced Japan's arrival as a great power and China's deepening weakness.

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    Boxer Protocol

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Settlement imposed on China by eight powers after the Boxer Rebellion, requiring a huge indemnity, executions, and foreign garrisons in Beijing. It marked the low point of Qing sovereignty.

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    Treaty of Portsmouth

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace ending the Russo-Japanese War, mediated by Theodore Roosevelt, giving Japan control of Korea and southern Manchuria interests. It was the first modern great-power peace brokered by the United States.

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    Treaty of Trianon

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace treaty with Hungary that transferred about two thirds of its prewar territory to neighboring states. It left large Hungarian minorities abroad and remains a national grievance.

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    Treaty of Sevres

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace treaty partitioning the Ottoman Empire among the Allies, Greece, and proposed Armenian and Kurdish entities. Rejected by Turkish nationalists, it was never implemented and was replaced at Lausanne.

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    Treaty of Lausanne

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace treaty recognizing the Republic of Turkey within essentially its modern borders, replacing the failed Treaty of Sevres. It also sanctioned a compulsory population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

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    Locarno Treaties

    multilateral treaties negotiated in Locarno, Switzerland during October 1925

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    Treaty of San Francisco

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace treaty between Japan and most of the Allied powers, ending the occupation and restoring Japanese sovereignty. The Soviet Union refused to sign and territorial ambiguities persist.

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    Evian Accords

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Agreements between France and the Algerian FLN ending the Algerian War and leading to Algerian independence. They closed one of the bloodiest wars of decolonization.

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    Lancaster House Agreement

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Agreement ending the Rhodesian Bush War and providing for elections and the internationally recognized independence of Zimbabwe. It ended the last white-minority rebellion against British decolonization.

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    Dayton Agreement

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Peace agreement ending the Bosnian War, negotiated at Dayton air base and signed in Paris, preserving Bosnia as one state with two entities. Its complex constitutional structure still governs Bosnia.

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    Good Friday Agreement

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Agreement between the British and Irish governments and Northern Ireland parties ending three decades of the Troubles, establishing power-sharing and the principle of consent. It was approved by referendums on both sides of the border.

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    Minsk II

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Package of measures brokered by France and Germany to end the war in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists. Never fully implemented, it collapsed with Russia's 2022 invasion.

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    Colombian peace agreement

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Final agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas ending more than fifty years of armed conflict. A first version was rejected by referendum before the revised text was signed and ratified by Congress.

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    Doha Agreement

    also in State, law, and coercion

    Agreement between the United States and the Taliban providing for withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban counterterrorism commitments. It preceded the collapse of the Afghan republic in 2021.

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