Treaty of Memel
Comment: Multiple potentially contentious claims lack inline citations. Sulfurboy (talk) 15:39, 31 October 2026 (UTC)
| Type | Peace treaty |
|---|---|
| Signed | 28 January 1807 |
| Location | Memel, Prussia |
| Signatories |  Lord Hutchinson Wilhelm von Zastrow |
The Treaty of Memel (German: Vertrag von Memel) was a peace treaty signed but never fully ratified[1] during the War of the Fourth Coalition on 28 January 1807 between Prussia and the United Kingdom. The treaty would've definitely ended hostilities between the two parties.
Background
Following the Peace of Basel in 1795, Prussia pursued a policy of strict neutrality as the continent continued to find itself embroiled in conflict.[2] This neutrality would come close to ending after the Russian monarch Alexander I had persuaded the Prussian monarch Frederick William III to engage his nation in armed mediation to end the War of the Third Coalition via the Treaty of Potsdam. Napoleon decisively won the Battle of Austerlitz against Austria and Russia, ending the war outright before the provisions of Potsdam could be enacted. Prussia, no longer in an opportunistic position, found itself compelled to negotiate with Napoleon to maintain its status in the rapidly changing situation of Europe. These negotiations would culminate as the Treaty of Schönbrunn and later the Treaty of Paris. The treaties enabled the annexation of the Electorate of Hanover to Prussia in April 1806, among other provisions.[3]
Hanover had been ruled by the British via a personal union since 1714. When the Peace of Amiens broke down and the United Kingdom found itself at war with France again, the latter occupied Hanover in 1803.[4] The eventual Prussian annexation would be responded to with a declaration of war by the United Kingdom against Prussia on 11 June 1806[5] after a month of deliberations.[6] Despite Prussia making an enemy out of the United Kingdom, relations between France and Prussia would rapidly break down in tandem, culminating in a Prussian declaration of war against France and the establishment of the Fourth Coalition.
Treaty and aftermath
In spite of the fact that the United Kingdom and Prussia shared a common enemy of France, the war between the two lingered on and neither side fully committed to cooperate with each other against Napoleon.[7][8] Prussia made it known that it was already reconsidering its territorial aspirations to Hanover in hopes of securing much-needed support and subsidies from the United Kingdom.[9] The Prussian army was shattered at Jena–Auerstedt, and the subsequent fall of Berlin pushed the Prussian court to flee to Memel. From the British perspective, the misfortunes that befell Prussia were not much of its concern, and an incapacitated Prussia nevertheless was argued to not be worth any aid at all.[10] Furthermore, the duplicity of Prussian foreign policy in regard to whether they'd sign a separate peace with France made the British reluctant to actually commit to supporting Prussia.[11]
Initially, the British ministry sent Lord Morpeth to negotiate a peace with Prussia but abandoned this mission during the chaos of the Prussian retreat from Jena.[12] Lord Hutchinson, his successor, found negotiating with the Prussians difficult, as Wilhelm von Zastrow, the Prussian minister, regularly ignored his overtures.[13] Only when the financial situation grew especially worse for Prussia did Zastrow pursue negotiations with the British plenipotominy.[13] With its back against the wall, Prussia agreed to renounce all claims to Hanover and the United Kingdom agreed to lift their blockade of Prussian ports, seemingly returning the situation to the status quo ante belllum.
Unfortunately for Prussia, it was too little too late. The British cabinet was noticeably sluggish in supporting Prussia after the treaty, compounded by the exiled Hanoverian court's distrust of Prussia, which also contributed to influencing the United Kingdom's lackluster accession to the coalition with Prussia.[14] According to Hardenberg, Zastrow never sent prompt instructions to Constans Philipp Wilhelm von Jacobi-Klöst, the Prussian envoy in London, with necessary powers to fully formalize the peace and secure an alliance or subsidies.[15][16] Despite advancing a renewed understanding with Russia through the Bartenstein Treaty, adding another guarantor to Hanover's independence and vague commitments to continue the war, a grandeur coalition with the United Kingdom never materialized. Prussia was forced to capitulate after a series of further military defeats later that year. After the Treaties of Tilsit, Prussia was required to cut off all trade with the United Kingdom in accordance to Article 27, reigniting the conflict with the United Kingdom and breaching the Treaty of Memel.
References
- ↑ Schubert, Friedrich Wilhelm (1846). Handbuch der allgemeinen staatskunde von Europa [Handbook of General European Political Science] (in Deutsch). 1–2. Bornträger. p. 100. Search this book on
- ↑ Siemann, Wolfram (2019). Metternich: Strategist and Visionary. Translated by Steuer, Daniel. Harvard University Press. p. 190. ISBN 9780674743922. Search this book on
- ↑ Simms, Brendan, ed. (24 June 2010). The Hanoverian Dimension in British History, 1714-1837. Cambridge University Press. p. 80. ISBN 9780521154628. Search this book on
- ↑ Simms 2010, p. 78.
- ↑ Lewis, Charlton Thomas (1874). A History of Germany, from the Earliest Times. Harper & Brothers. p. 573. Search this book on
- ↑ Simms 2010, p. 81.
- ↑ Hall, Christopher David (1992). British Strategy in the Napoleonic War, 1803-15. Manchester University Press. pp. 135–137. ISBN 9780719036064. Search this book on
- ↑ Butterfield, Herbert (1929). The Peace Tactics of Napoleon, 1806-1808. The University Press. p. 95. Search this book on
- ↑ Bailleu, Paul (1887). Preussen und Frankreich von 1795 bis 1807: Diplomatische correspondenzen [Prussia and France from 1795 to 1807: Diplomatic correspondence] (in Deutsch). S. Hirzel. pp. 552–553. Search this book on Cite error: Invalid parameter "details" in
<ref>tag. The supported parameters are: dir, follow, group, name. - ↑ Butterfield 1929, p. 96-97.
- ↑ Butterfield 1929, p. 99-100.
- ↑ Butterfield 1929, p. 97.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Hardenberg, Karl August (1877). von Ranke, Leopold, ed. Denkwürdigkeiten des Staatskanzlers Fürsten von Hardenberg [Memoirs of State Chancellor Prince von Hardenberg] (in Deutsch). 3. Duncker & Humblot. p. 282. Search this book on
- ↑ Plew, Julius (1894). Der Bartensteiner Vertrag zwischen Preussen und Russland vom 26. April 1807 [The Treaty of Bartenstein between Prussia and Russia, dated April 26, 1807] (in Deutsch). Gedruckt bei Gebr. Karemer. p. 12. Search this book on
- ↑ von Lettow-Vorbeck, Oscar (1896). Der Krieg von 1806 und 1807 [The War of 1806 and 1807] (in Deutsch). E.S. Mittler und Sohn. p. 142. Search this book on
- ↑ On 27 June 1807, George Canning and Jacobi-Kloest signed a treaty of subsidy. However, this treaty wasn't ratified either since Prussia signed the Treaty of Tilsit with Napoleon.
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