The First World War changed the balance of power among imperialist countries, and the national strategic pattern changed greatly. Britain, France, Italy and other European imperialist powers were hit hard in the war and their strength was weakened, but they still tried to continue to dominate the world. The United States and Japan rose in the war and longed for world hegemony. On the issue of German reparations and European security, there have always been contradictions and struggles between victorious countries, victorious countries and defeated countries. Re-dividing spheres of influence and establishing a new international order are embodied in the ideas of countries on the post-war political map.
Britain's vision is to expand the territory of its colonial empire as much as possible to safeguard its own best interests. In Europe, we should continue to carry out the policy of "continental balance", so as not to make France too strong and Germany too weak, so as to benefit from the confrontation between France and Germany.
France's vision is to weaken Germany as much as possible to ensure its absolute advantage in the European continent. In addition, it is hoped that countries to the east of Germany can form an alliance system with France as the leader, replace former ally Russia, let France control Eastern and Central Europe, set foot in the Balkans, consolidate France's position in Africa and West Asia, and establish European hegemony.
Italy's vision is to expand mainly in southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Japan's vision is to legalize the interests it seized in the war and seek hegemony in the Far East and the Pacific.
The vision of the United States is to establish an international alliance controlled by the United States and strengthen its influence on international affairs through the international alliance. In Latin America, we will vigorously consolidate our dominant position. In western Europe, Germany should not be weakened too much, so that it can compete with Britain and France on the European continent and become an anti-Soviet stance. In Southeast Europe, an alliance of Balkan countries controlled by the United States alone will be established, so as to realize its dream of entering Europe and establish control over the whole of Europe. In the Far East and the Pacific Ocean, it divided anglo-japanese alliance, weakened Japan and seized German islands in the Pacific Ocean, thus establishing its hegemony in China and the Pacific Ocean.
After the war, the above ideas of countries were quite different because of their different interests, and even tit for tat, which led to the cognitive struggle at the Paris Peace Conference.
Paris Peace Conference
1919 65438+10 18 From June 28th, the victorious allies held a peace conference in the suburbs of Paris to solve various post-war problems. Representatives from 27 countries attended the meeting, and China was also represented. Allies such as Soviet Russia and defeated Germany, which withdrew from the war halfway, were banned from attending the meeting.
The meeting was mainly controlled by American President Wilson, French Prime Minister clemenceau, British Prime Minister Lloyd George and Italian Prime Minister Orlando. In the meantime, because Italy's demands were not met, Orlando once returned to China and the meeting was manipulated by the "Big Three" of the United States, Britain and France. The Paris Peace Conference was full of contradictions and struggles from beginning to end. The peace treaty with Germany is the central topic of the meeting, including Germany's border issues, reparations issues, armaments issues, colonial issues and so on. When discussing every issue, all major countries tried their best to safeguard their own interests and launched a fierce struggle. After finally reaching an agreement, they signed the defeated country. Representatives of other 27 countries only participate in the discussion when the content of the treaty is inconsistent with their interests.
When discussing the Shandong issue, China and Japan clashed fiercely at the peace conference. Japan tried to make Germany's rights and interests in Shandong and Germany's islands in the Pacific recognized, so as to establish and consolidate its hegemony in the Far East and the Pacific. As one of the victors, China should recover all the territories and rights occupied by the defeated German in China. At the meeting, China advocated that all German rights and interests in Shandong should be directly returned to China. The United States is worried that the expansion of Japan's influence in China will affect its interests in the Far East and the Pacific Ocean, and opposes Japan's demands, claiming that all German rights and interests in Shandong belong to the Allies. In order to prevent the United States from strengthening its control over the Far East and China, Britain and France favored and supported the Japanese. Finally, the "Big Three" of the United States, Britain and France made a decision to hand over Germany's rights and interests in Shandong to Japan and write it into the Treaty of Versailles. The failure of China's diplomacy and the trading of power politics greatly angered the people of China and triggered the May 4th Movement. Under the national people's anti-imperialist patriotic movement, the representative of China refused to sign the peace treaty.
Treaty of Versailles
After months of fierce quarrels and consultations, the imperialist powers had to compromise on some issues and finally reached an agreement. On June 28th, 2009, 19 19, the Treaty of Versailles was signed.
The signing of the Treaty of Versailles was mainly to punish and weaken Germany. Its content is quite complicated, divided into 15 parts, with ***432 articles. Among them, the first part, article 26, is the Covenant of the League of Nations, which mainly stipulates the composition and purpose of the League of Nations, the rights and obligations of member States and the provisions on establishing the appointment system. The remaining ***406 part is the peace treaty with Germany, including war responsibility, German territory, German colonies, German armaments, economy, compensation and other issues.
On the issue of war responsibility. The Peace Treaty holds that the defeated country should bear the full responsibility of the war, that is, Article 23 1 of the Peace Treaty states: "The Allies and the governments allied with them must believe that, at the same time, Germany also acknowledges that Germany and its allies should be responsible for all losses and damages caused by the consequences of the war imposed on the Allies and the governments allied with them and their people due to their aggression."
On the territorial issue of Germany. The peace treaty stipulates that the German border should be redrawn. In the west, it returned to the state of 1870- 187 1 year. Alsace and Lorraine were returned to France; The Saar coal mining area is mined by France, and its administration is managed by the League of Nations. 15, its ownership will be decided by referendum. Auburn and Malmedi belong to Belgium. German territory on the west bank of the Rhine River was divided into three occupied areas, which were occupied by allied forces for 5 years, 10 and 15 years respectively. The east coast is a demilitarized zone and cannot be fortified. In the East, Germany recognized Poland's independence and returned the territory that originally belonged to Poland. In the south, Germany recognized Austrian independence and refused to allow anschluss. In the north, the Schleswig-Holstein region between Germany and Denmark was returned to Denmark. In this way, Germany lost about 1/8 territory and110 population.
Questions about German colonies. Germany's overseas colonies were carved up by the victorious countries, that is, as pointed out in Article 1 19 of the Peace Treaty, Germany gave up "all rights and ownership of overseas territories" and was carved up by the victorious countries in the form of "mandated rule". Africa and the Middle East are partly owned by countries such as Britain and France, and most islands in the Pacific Ocean are occupied by Japan. In this way, the divided German colony covers an area of about 3 million square kilometers, with a population of more than130,000.
About German armament. The peace treaty stipulates that Germany must accept strict restrictions and dissolve the German General Staff and other similar organizations. Abolish Germany's universal compulsory military service system. In terms of the total number of army places, the army does not exceed 65,438+10,000, including no more than 4,000 officers; The navy shall not exceed 1.5 million, among which, the officers shall not exceed 1.5 million. In terms of weapons and equipment, the Germans are not allowed to own heavy guns and tanks; German navy shall not own capital ships and diving ships; Germany cannot have an air force.
About economy and compensation. The peace treaty stipulates that Germany's tariff should not be higher than that of other countries, and the victorious country's import of goods from Germany is not restricted. To set up a compensation committee, it must be established that Germany will pay all the compensation within 30 years before 1 921May1; 1 921May1Recently, Germany will pay off 20 billion gold marks in cash, commodities, ships and other materials. The peace treaty also stipulates that Germany should bear all the maintenance costs of the occupying forces in Germany.
The Peace Treaty also transferred the privileges and interests of railways, mines and telecommunications facilities occupied by Germany in Shandong, China, and land leased in Jiaozhou to Japan.
From the above, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles consolidated the dominant position of Britain and France in Europe, maintained Britain's strong maritime advantage, especially in the Mediterranean, and promoted Japan's expansion interests in the Far East. America's attempt to seize world hegemony failed. Although the representative of the United States signed the peace treaty, it was not approved by the Senate, so it was invalid. 1921On August 25th, the United States and Germany signed a separate peace treaty.
After signing a peace treaty with Germany, the Allies signed peace treaties with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Turkey respectively. The Treaty of Versailles, together with these treaties, became the "Versailles System". The system formed by this series of peace treaties has established an imperialist new international order in Europe, West Asia and Africa, thus bringing the politics, economy and military affairs of these areas back into its control track.
Adjustment of international relations in the Far East and the Pacific
The signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the formation of the Versailles system only adjusted the interests of imperialist powers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, while the contradictions and conflicts between the Far East and the Pacific also needed to be adjusted in order to establish a new post-war order.
Before the First World War, Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Japan and the United States launched fierce competition in the Far East and the Pacific. After World War I, Russia perished and Germany was defeated. France was busy healing the wounds of war and consolidating its interests in Europe. In the Far East and the Pacific, it is mainly contested by the United States, Britain and Japan. There are conflicts of interest between Britain and the United States and between Britain and Japan, but the contradiction between the United States and Japan is the most prominent, and the center of contention is China.
For the United States, the Far East market has far-reaching significance. After the war, the struggle for the Far East, especially for China, played an important role in American foreign policy. In order to capture China's financial market and commodity market, the United States is determined to break up the Japan-Britain alliance to eliminate the potential danger of their confrontation with the United States in this region.
Anglo-japanese alliance was formed before World War I, when it was mainly to cope with Russian expansion in the Far East. In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904- 1905, Japan defeated Russia, and its expansion trend soared. In the First World War, Japan further expanded its influence in the Far East and the Pacific, threatening the interests of Britain and the United States in this region. Before and during the war, anglo-japanese alliance benefited both sides, and Japan gained more. After the war, British and Japanese investments in China were equal. Britain felt that Japan threatened to push itself out of the Far East, and the United States became its new ally in the Far East.
Competing for commodity market, investment scope and raw material producing area is the main economic contradiction between the United States and Britain. Britain, as the first imperialist country to invade China, brought the richest Yangtze River basin and South China into its sphere of influence. After the war, although the United States is also infiltrating into the Far East, especially China, in order to contain Japan's expansion and protect its own interests, Britain also hopes to form a partnership with the United States to contain Japan. The United States also needs the support of Britain to limit Japan and realize its desire for hegemony. In this way, anglo-japanese alliance has become a prominent issue in the Anglo-American political struggle. Anglo-japanese alliance was the first to sign the contract on 1902, 1905 and191. In order to improve relations with the United States, Britain accepted the request of the United States. When the alliance expires in July of 192 1 year, Britain will not renew it.
The naval arms race is another prominent issue in the political struggle between the United States and Britain. The navy is the main tool of imperialist foreign aggression and expansion and world hegemony. After the First World War, the naval arms race between Britain, the United States and Japan in the Pacific replaced the pre-war competition between Britain and Germany in the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, which was an important aspect of the adjustment of international relations in the Far East and the Pacific. Britain still maintains the strongest naval strength and can compete with the United States and Japan in the Pacific region. The United States first challenged Britain's naval superiority. 19 18 12. Wilson proposed to Congress to allocate 600 million dollars to expand the navy. After this plan is realized, the United States will become the world's first naval power beyond Britain. Both Britain and Japan regard each other as the main obstacle to hegemony in the Far East and the Pacific, but they are deeply uneasy about the American plan. Not to be outdone, Britain accelerated its plan to expand its naval armament, and its naval expenditure tripled compared with that before the war. Japan followed closely, and the naval appropriation of 192 1 year increased five times compared with that before the war, accounting for about 1/3 of the national budget. Against the background of the first post-war economic crisis, the fierce naval arms race crushed Britain and Japan. Although the economic strength of the United States is said to be very strong, it will not happen overnight to truly realize maritime hegemony. In order to limit opponents, it has become a plan to solve the naval arms race through diplomatic channels.
Washington conference
Under the influence of the October Revolution in Russia, the national liberation movements in other countries are surging, and the imperialist colonial system in the east of the world has been seriously impacted. The awakening of the Chinese nation and China's stance and attitude against the arbitrary domination of imperialist powers during the Paris Peace Conference also forced the imperialists to consider their interests in China and the division of the sphere of influence in the whole Pacific region. In this way, the convening of the Washington Conference was put on the international agenda. After careful consideration and preparation, the Washington Conference sponsored by the United States was held in the American capital from 10/2 to February 6. Representatives from the United States, Britain, Japan, China, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal attended the meeting.
There are two main topics at the meeting: first, the issue of limiting naval armaments; The second issue is the Pacific Ocean and the Far East. To this end, the Arms Limitation Committee, attended by representatives of five naval powers, namely Britain, the United States, Japan, France and Italy, and the Committee on Pacific and Far East Issues, attended by representatives of nine countries, were established to discuss relevant issues respectively.
In order to be different from the Paris Peace Conference, the speeches of the representatives of this conference were published in newspapers and periodicals to show openness. But in fact, the decision-making power of the whole meeting is still manipulated by the United States, Britain and Japan, and all major issues are discussed and solved in secret by two special committees under their control.
The meeting adopted a series of conventions and agreements such as the Four-Nation Treaty, the Five-Nation Naval Treaty and the Nine-Nation Convention.
The Washington Conference is another important conference after the Paris Peace Conference. A series of treaties and agreements adopted at the meeting adjusted the conflicts of interests of imperialist powers in the Far East and the Pacific Ocean, and constituted the Washington system.
At this point, the new pattern of post-war international relations reflected by the Versailles-Washington system has finally taken shape.
Four-nation treaty, five-nation naval treaty and nine-nation convention
The anglo-japanese alliance issue is one of the important issues discussed and resolved at the Washington Conference. During the meeting, the United States, Britain, Japan and France signed the Treaty on the Dependency and Territory of Pacific Islands, referred to as the "Four-nation Treaty". The treaty stipulates that "the contracting parties agree to respect each other's island ownership and island territorial rights in the Pacific region". The treaty also stipulates that "the agreements concluded in London in July 19 1 1 13 between Britain and Japan shall be abolished immediately after they have been approved and come into effect by the governments of the contracting countries". In this way, the alliance of the United States, Britain, Japan and France replaced anglo-japanese alliance, and the United States realized its long-planned plan to break up anglo-japanese alliance. At the same time of signing the four-nation treaty, supplementary explanations and agreements related to it were also signed. The signing of the four-nation treaty and its annexes further adjusted the interests of imperialist powers in the Pacific region. For the United States, this was a great victory in its diplomatic activities, which disintegrated anglo-japanese alliance and removed a major obstacle to its hegemony in the Far East. For Britain, its rights and interests in the Pacific have been consolidated, which not only maintains the friendship between Britain and Japan, but also strengthens the relationship between Britain and the United States; For Japan, its rights and interests in the Pacific Ocean have been recognized by the United States, Britain and France, and it has become one of the four great powers, and its international status has also improved accordingly.
Limiting naval armaments was the main topic of the Washington Conference. During the meeting, the United States, Britain, Japan, France and Italy signed the Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Arms, that is, the Five-nation Naval Treaty, which respectively stipulated the gross tonnage of their respective capital ships and aircraft carriers. Its principle is that the United States and Britain are equal first, followed by Japan, France and Italy. The signing of the Five-Nation Naval Treaty is another victory of American diplomacy, which makes it equal to Britain at sea, and Britain's maritime advantage is completely lost. Although the total tonnage of Japanese warships is lower than that of the United States and Britain, the construction of its naval base is not restricted. The five-nation naval treaty is the first disarmament agreement in modern world history. Because it only makes some restrictions on the naval arms race and does not involve the air force and army arms race. Therefore, it is impossible and impossible to fundamentally eliminate the arms race among imperialist powers.
The "Far East and Pacific Issue" with China as the core is another main topic of the Washington Conference. If imperialist powers want to compete for hegemony in the Far East and the Pacific, they must compete for China. During the meeting, with the intervention of the United States, Britain and other countries, China signed a treaty with Japan on the issue of Shandong outside the meeting, and the sovereignty of Shandong was returned to China. The United States, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and China signed a policy treaty applicable to the China incident, that is, the nine-nation convention. Although the Convention advertises respect for China's sovereignty and independence, territorial and administrative integrity, it also emphasizes China's principle of "open door" and "equal opportunities" for all countries. In this way, although Japan's dominant position in China was changed, it opened the door for the United States to further pursue its expansion policy towards China and compete for hegemony in the Far East and the Pacific, bringing China back to a situation where several imperialist countries dominated each other.
The Essence of Versailles-Washington System
The establishment of the Versailles-Washington system lasted more than three years, which was the result of the constant adjustment of international relations after the First World War. On the basis of acknowledging the superiority of Britain and France, Versailles system adjusted the relationship between western imperialism. The Washington system, on the other hand, adjusted the imperialist relations between the Far East and the Pacific on the basis of benefiting the United States. Therefore, the Versailles-Washington system is an adjustment of post-war international relations through diplomatic means. On the surface, it is an "international peace system", but in essence it is to re-divide the world sphere of influence according to the strength of imperialist powers.
The post-war new international order composed of Versailles-Washington system has emerged a new crisis and is very unstable. On the one hand, the overly harsh Treaty of Versailles, which was formulated under the control of the idea of severely punishing the defeated country, is a predatory punishment and will inevitably deepen the contradiction between the defeated country and the victorious country. As a defeated country, Germany is simply unwilling and impossible to implement it. At the same time, it also stimulated a kind of revenge. German revanchists even shouted the slogan "Down with the Treaty of Versailles". Later, when the German fascists headed by Hitler launched a new war, they also used this as an excuse to incite national revenge. On the other hand, the peace treaty itself is the product of struggle and compromise between the victorious countries. Because of the disparity in interests and the uneven distribution of stolen goods, this new order lurks a new crisis. A series of treaties adopted at the Washington Conference only temporarily eased the tension between imperialist powers in the Far East and the Pacific. The United States is the biggest beneficiary. It broke up anglo-japanese alliance, prevented the Japanese from monopolizing China, and achieved the status of keeping pace with Britain at sea. Although Britain has lost its maritime superiority, it still refuses to give up its interests in the Far East and the Pacific, especially in China, and does not want the Japanese to realize its ambition of dominating China. Under the pressure of the United States and Britain, Japan was forced to make concessions on the China issue. Dominating China is an established Japanese policy, and the Washington system can't tie its hands and feet. The contradiction between the United States and Japan, Britain and Japan will inevitably lead to competition among imperialist powers on a new basis. The Versailles-Washington system is facing severe challenges, and its final collapse is only a matter of time.