TheTreaties of Tilsit (French:Traités de Tilsit), also collectively known as thePeace of Tilsit (German:Friede von Tilsit;Russian:Тильзитский мир,romanized: Tilzitski mir), were twopeace treaties signed by French EmperorNapoleon in the town ofTilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of hisvictory at Friedland, at the end of theWar of the Fourth Coalition. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian EmperorAlexander I, when they met on a raft in the middle of theNeman river. The second was signed withPrussia on 9 July. The treaties were made at the expense of KingFrederick William III of Prussia, who had already agreed to a truce on 25 June after theGrande Armée hadcaptured Berlin and pursued him to the easternmost frontier of his realm.
In Tilsit, Prussia ceded about half of its pre-war territories.[1][page needed][2][page needed][3] From these territories, Napoleon had created Frenchclient states, which were formalized and recognized at Tilsit: theKingdom of Westphalia, theDuchy of Warsaw and theFree City of Danzig; the other ceded territories were awarded to existing French client states and to Russia.
Napoleon not only cemented his control ofCentral Europe but also had Russia and the truncated Prussia ally with him against his two remaining enemies, theUnited Kingdom andSweden, triggering theAnglo-Russian andFinnish wars. Tilsit also freed French forces for thePeninsular War. Central Europe became a battlefield again in 1809 whenAustria engaged France in theWar of the Fifth Coalition.
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The treaty ended the war between Imperial Russia and the French Empire and began an alliance between the two empires that rendered the rest of continental Europe almost powerless. The two countries secretly agreed to aid each other in disputes. France pledged to aid Russia against theOttoman Empire while Russia agreed to join theContinental System against theBritish Empire. Napoleon also convinced Alexander to enter into theAnglo-Russian War and to instigate theFinnish War against Sweden to force Sweden to join the Continental System. More specifically, the Tsar agreed to evacuateWallachia andMoldavia, which had been occupied by Russian forces as part of theRusso-Turkish War, 1806-1812. TheIonian Islands and Cattaro (Kotor), which had been captured by Russian admiralsUshakov andSenyavin, were to be handed over to the French. In recompense, Napoleon guaranteed the sovereignty of theDuchy of Oldenburg and several other small states ruled by the Tsar's German relatives.
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The treaty withPrussia stripped the country of about half its territory:Cottbus passed toSaxony, the left bank of theElbe was awarded to the newly createdKingdom of Westphalia,Białystok was given toRussia (which led to the creation of theBelostok Oblast), and most of the Polish lands in Prussian possession since the Second and Third Partitions became the quasi-independentDuchy of Warsaw. Prussia was to reduce the army to 43,000[4] and on 9 March 1808, France fixed its tribute to be levied from Prussia at 154,500,000 francs (=Prussian dollar 41.73 mio.),[5] deducting 53,500,000, which had been raised so far during the ongoing French occupation. The sum was lowered in two steps to 120 million francs by 1 November 1808.
Talleyrand had advised Napoleon to pursue milder terms; the treaties marked an important stage in his estrangement from the emperor. Until 1812, the French occupants requisitioned in money and kind from various corporations and persons, especially by billetting soldiers on cities, further contributions additionally amounting to between 146 and 309 million francs, according to different calculations.[5] The Prussian government indebtedness soared between 1806 and 1815 by thaler 200 million to altogether 180.09 million interest-bearing debts, 11.24 million non-interest-bearing unconsolidatedtreasury notes and another 25.9 million formerprovincial debts assumed by the royal government.[6] The cities' debts, especially those of Berlin often billetted on, were not assumed by the Prussian government. Since the creditors deemed Prussia to be over-indebted in 1817, the 4-per cent state bonds were traded at thebourses with adisagio of 27 to 29 percent, in 1818 even with a discountor of 35 percent, causing the effective interest to rise to 6.15 percent.[7] At restructuring part of the debts in 1818 by a £5 million loan (= thaler 30 million) at 5% at the London financial market, the Prussian government had to accept a disagio of 28⅓%, thus paying an annual effective rate of 6.98%.[7]
When the Treaty was being formulated, it was noted by an observer that the Prussian king was pacing on the bank of the Neman river; Napoleon had to "but raise his hand, and Prussia would cease to exist" (McKay).[citation needed] Hence, many observers in Prussia and Russia viewed the treaty as unequal and as a national humiliation. The Russian soldiers refused to follow Napoleon's commands, as theLisbon Incident demonstrated to all Europe. Napoleon's plans to marry the tsar's sister were stymied by Russian royalty. Cooperation between Russia and France eventually broke down in 1810 when the tsar began to allow neutral ships to land in Russian ports.[citation needed] In 1812, Napoleon crossed the Neman river andinvaded Russia, ending any vestige of alliance.
The Prussian state was diminished by more than half under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit, from 5,700 square miles to 2,800 square miles.[5] Compared to the 9.75 million inhabitants Prussia had prior to the Treaties of Tilsit, no more than 4.5 million inhabitants remained within the new boundaries of the Prussian state.[5]
The staterevenue, which formerly amounted to forty million dollars per year, was decreased in a even greater proportion. The ceded provinces were rich and fertile, and many millions had been spent on their improvement. Almost all that Prussia had gained by thepartitions of Poland (1772–1795) was taken away from Prussia. TheKingdom of Saxony, a former confederate of Prussia, was the recipient of the provinces. Russia, the more powerful of its erstwhile allies, gained territory with a population of 200,000 inhabitants. The following is a tabulation of the territorial and population losses that Prussia sustained, but not accounting for the Prussian acquisitions since 1772, under the terms of the Tilsit Treaties:[8]
| Westphalian possessions | Prussian sq. miles | Inhabitants |
|---|---|---|
| County of Mark, with Essen, Werden, and Lippstadt, | 51=2,893.65 km2 (1,117.24 sq mi) | 148,000 |
| Principality of Minden, | 18.5=1,049.66 km2 (405.28 sq mi) | 70,363 |
| County of Ravensberg, | 16.5=936.18 km2 (361.46 sq mi) | 89,938 |
| Lingen and Tecklenburg, | 13=737.6 km2 (284.8 sq mi) | 46,000 |
| Cleve, on the eastern side of the Rhine, | 20.5=1,163.14 km2 (449.09 sq mi) | 54,000 |
| Principality of East Frisia, | 56.5=3,205.71 km2 (1,237.73 sq mi) | 119,500 |
| Principality of Münster, | 49=2,718.18 km2 (1,049.50 sq mi) | 127,000 |
| Principality of Paderborn, | 30=1,702.15 km2 (657.20 sq mi) | 98,500 |
| Lower Saxon possessions | Prussian sq. miles | Inhabitants |
| Magdeburg, with that part of the duchy on the left bank of the Elbe, Halle, &c. | 54=3,063.87 km2 (1,182.97 sq mi) | 160,000 |
| County of Mansfeld, | 1.0=56.74 km2 (21.91 sq mi) | 27,000 |
| Principality of Halberstadt, | 26.5=1,503.57 km2 (580.53 sq mi) | 101,000 |
| County of Hohenstein, | 8.5=482.28 km2 (186.21 sq mi) | 27,000 |
| Territory of Quedlinburg, | 1.5=85.11 km2 (32.86 sq mi) | 13,400 |
| Principality of Hildesheim and Goslar. | 40=2,269.53 km2 (876.27 sq mi) | 114,000 |
TheWar of the Fourth Coalition was over. ThePeninsular War began on 19 November 1807 and theWar of the Fifth Coalition began in 1809.
The Neman was crossed at the outset of the 1812French invasion of Russia.
Following the end of theNapoleonic Wars in 1815, theCongress of Vienna would restore many Prussian territories.
By signing these treaties, France left Persia and the Ottomans, who had previously hoped for France's help under treaties with France (includingFinckenstein), in the face of Russian aggression, and established the loss of parts of Persia in the Caucasus, such as the present-day republics Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.[citation needed]
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