 Representatives of the Balkan states | |
| Date | September 1912 – August 1913 |
|---|---|
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Also known as | London Peace Conference |
| Type | Conference |
| Motive | To arbitrate between the warring powers as to territorial acquisitions, and also to determine the future of Albania |
| Participants | |
| Outcome | Establishment of thePrincipality of Albania |
TheLondon Conference of 1912–1913, also known as theLondon Peace Conference or theConference of the Ambassadors, was an internationalsummit of the sixGreat Powers of that time (Austria-Hungary,France,Great Britain,Germany,Italy, andRussia) convened in December 1912 due to the successes of theBalkan League armies against theOttoman Empire in theFirst Balkan War. In particular, the conference intended to arbitrate between the warring powers as to territorial acquisitions, and also to determine the future ofAlbania, whose independencewas proclaimed during the conflict.
An armistice to end theFirst Balkan War had been signed on 3 December 1912. The London Peace Conference was attended by delegates from the Balkan allies (including Greece) who had not signed the previous armistice, as well as the Ottoman Empire.
The Conference started in September 1912 at theSt James's Palace under the chairmanship of SirEdward Grey.[1] Further sessions of the conference began on 16 December 1912, but ended on 23 January 1913, when the1913 Ottoman coup d'état (also known as the Raid on the Sublime Porte) took place.[2] Coup leaderEnver Pasha withdrew the Ottoman Empire from the Conference.
On 30 May 1913, without the Ottoman Empire being present, the conference signed theTreaty of London (1913), an agreement under which Ottoman Empire would give up all territory west of the Enos-Midia line. After much discussion, the Ambassadors reached a formal decision on 29 July 1913, to establish thePrincipality of Albania as a sovereign state independent of the Ottoman Empire.[3]
As a result of the decisions taken and because of pressures fromGreece andSerbia, half of the territory claimed by thenewly established Albanian state, and between 30%[4] and 40% of the total Albanian population, was left out of the newly establishedPrincipality of Albania; in particular the Albanian-inhabited region ofKosovo Vilayet was given toSerbia and much of southernChameria to Greece.[5] Concerning the Greco-Albanian frontier, the only time the Great Powers intervened, was when Austria-Hungary and Italy forbid a Greek occupation ofVlorë, after the Greek navy had shelled the town on 3 December; as a result no Great Power opposed the cession ofIoannina to Greece (as long as they could take it).[6]
A special boundary commission was sent to delineate the Greek-Albanian border. However, being unable to delineate the area on an ethnographic basis, it fell back upon economic, strategic and geographical arguments, which resulted in the decision of the London Conference to cede most of the disputed area to Albania. This turn of event catalyzed anuprising among the local Greek population, who declared theAutonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.[7]
The situation of theAromanians was also discussed. The Aromanians are a small ethnic group scattered throughout the Balkans. In the London Conference, it was proposed that all the lands inhabited by Aromanians, such as thePindus and its area around, be granted to the new Albanian state to protect them from Greek and Serbian (as Serbia had annexedVardar Macedonia) assimilatory policies. Such proposals were supported by theKingdom of Romania. On the simultaneousAlbanian Congress of Trieste, the Aromanians also demanded regional autonomy within Albania, but this was rejected as the Aromanians within the new fixed borders of Albania, excluding expansion proposals, did not live in compact areas. In the end, the Aromanians were neither annexed to Albania nor were they given autonomy.[8]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)... about 30 percent of the Albanian population were excluded from the new state
But because of strong pressures from Albania's neighbors, the Great Powers gave the Albanian-inhabited region of Kosova to Serbia and much of the southern Çamëria region to Greece. Roughly half of the predominantly Albanian territories and 40% of the population were left outside the new country's borders.
The Austrian-Hungarians, however, were not overly concerned about the southern frontiers of Albania. Since they had no conflict with Greece, they were not so vigilant about the future Greco-Albanian frontier. The only time the Austrians and Italians bestirred themselves about the southern frontier of Albania was to forbid a Greek occupation of Vlorë after the Greek navy had shelled the town on 3 December. The Greeks had no Great Power opponent and no Great Power patron to press their interests in southern Albania. The Greek navy imposed a blockade on the Albanian coast, isolating the Albanian Provisional Government in Vlore. As a result, no Great Power made any serious effort in London to deny Janina to the Greeks so long as they could take it.