Clayton–Bulwer Treaty

Clayton–Bulwer Treaty

▪ United States-United Kingdom [1850]
      compromise agreement (signed April 19, 1850) designed to harmonize contending British and U.S. interests in Central America. Because of its equivocal language, it became one of the most discussed and difficult treaties in the history of Anglo-U.S. relations. It resulted from negotiations between Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, British minister to Washington, and John M. Clayton, U.S. secretary of state.

      The treaty provided that the two countries should jointly control and protect the canal that they expected soon to be built across the Isthmus of Panama. The treaty's introductory article pledged a neutralized Central America, which neither signatory would “occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over. . . .” The interpretation of this clause became the subject of a bitter dispute between the two governments. The United States held that the pledge not to “occupy” required renunciation on Britain's part of certain interests, viz., a protectorate over the Mosquito Coast, a settlement in British Honduras and the Bay Islands. Britain's counterposition on these matters was that the treaty recognized the status quo. When, after several decades, the canal was still unbuilt, there was popular demand in the United States for abrogation of the agreement to make possible a U.S.-controlled canal. The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty was finally superseded in 1901 with the conclusion of the second Hay–Pauncefote Treaty (q.v.) by which Britain agreed that the U.S. should construct and control the canal.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Clayton–Bulwer Treaty — The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty was a treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, negotiated in 1850 by John M. Clayton and Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, later Lord Dalling. It was negotiated in response to attempts to build the Nicaragua Canal …   Wikipedia

  • Clayton-Bulwer Treaty — (1850)    Negotiated and signed in Washington, D.C. by American Secretary of State John Clayton and the British Minister to the United States, Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, the treaty was a compromise between competing Anglo American imperial… …   Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914

  • Clayton-Bulwer Treaty — /klayt n bool weuhr/ an agreement between the U.S. and Great Britain in 1850 guaranteeing that any canal built to connect the Atlantic and Pacific across Central America would be jointly controlled, open to all nations, and unfortified. Cf. Hay… …   Universalium

  • Clayton-Bulwer Treaty — /klayt n bool weuhr/ an agreement between the U.S. and Great Britain in 1850 guaranteeing that any canal built to connect the Atlantic and Pacific across Central America would be jointly controlled, open to all nations, and unfortified. Cf. Hay… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Bulwer, Henry Lytton — ▪ British diplomat Baron Dalling And Bulwer Of Dalling  born February 13, 1801, London died May 23, 1872, Naples       diplomat who, as British ambassador to the United States, negotiated the controversial Clayton–Bulwer Treaty (April 19, 1850),… …   Universalium

  • Clayton, John Middleton — born July 24, 1796, Dagsboro, Del., U.S. died Nov. 9, 1856, Dover, Del. U.S. politician. He served as Delaware s secretary of state (1826–28) and chief justice (1837). He also represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate (1829–36, 1845–49). As U.S.… …   Universalium

  • Bulwer, Sir (William) Henry Lytton (Earle) — later Baron Dalling and Bulwer of Dalling born Feb. 13, 1801, London, Eng. died May 23, 1872, Naples, Italy British diplomat. In the diplomatic service from 1829, he negotiated the Ponsonby Treaty (1838), which was advantageous to British trade… …   Universalium

  • Bulwer — /bool weuhr/, n. Sir Henry (William Henry Lytton Earle Bulwer; Baron Dalling and Bulwer),1801 72, British diplomat and author. * * * (as used in expressions) Clayton Bulwer Treaty Bulwer Sir William Henry Lytton Earle Baron Dalling and Bulwer of… …   Universalium

  • treaty — /tree tee/, n., pl. treaties. 1. a formal agreement between two or more states in reference to peace, alliance, commerce, or other international relations. 2. the formal document embodying such an international agreement. 3. any agreement or… …   Universalium

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