Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
H
Hague Peace Conferences
(1899, 1907)
Two conferences called by
NICHOLAS
II to discuss
universal peace and disarmament, which met in
The Hague, capital of the Netherlands. The czar's
original appeal for a conference to consider reduc-
ing excessive armaments was met with skepticism
and ridicule by many, who considered it a propa-
ganda ploy by a government that was hard-
pressed to keep up with an arms race with Austria
yet pursued aggressive policies in the Far East.
Nevertheless, the idea of a peace conference
struck a chord with European public opinion. The
First Hague Peace Conference met from May to
June 1899 and was attended by representatives of
20 European nations and Japan, China, Siam,
Persia, Mexico, and the United States. While the
conference failed to agree on disarmament or
compulsory arbitration of disputes, it did agree to
restrictions on the use of balloon warfare, gas,
and expanding bullets, as well as the creation of a
permanent court of arbitration. The Second
Hague Peace Conference met from June to Octo-
ber 1907 and focused on issues of international
law. A third convention was planned for 1915 but
never met, because of World War I. Although the
initial lofty goals were not achieved, the two con-
ferences advanced the acceptance of arbitration in
solving international disputes, served as the fore-
runners of a long series of international confer-
ences on peace and disarmament, and influenced
the form of the future League of Nations.
prince who by accident of fate was involuntarily
brought to St. Petersburg at an early age. Hanni-
bal was born in Lagona, Ethiopia, the son of a
reigning prince. At the age of nine he was kid-
napped and brought to Turkey. Accounts differ
on the means by which he came to the court of
PETER I
the Great. Some note that he was bought
by Russian agents, others that he was kidnapped
by them, and others that he was presented,
together with two other African boys, to the czar
by the Ottoman sultan. Peter adopted the boy,
nicknamed him Hannibal, and baptized him,
hence his Russian name Avram Petrovich Gan-
nibal (Hannibal). For the next 10 years Hannibal
followed Peter faithfully in his many travels.
Skilled in mathematics and engineering, he took
part in the construction of the Kronstadt naval
base. Peter took an interest in his studies and in
1716 sent him to France for further training.
While abroad, he took part in the War of the
Spanish Succession (1704-14), in which he was
wounded. After six years, he returned to Russia.
Hannibal's fortunes changed in 1725 with Peter's
death. He fell out of favor and was banished to
Siberia, where he worked on the construction of
the Selechinsk fortress. In 1730, he was allowed
to return to European Russia and his honors
were restored. Later in life, he was promoted to
general.
Helfand, Aleksandr Lazarevich
(1876-1924)
(Parvus)
revolutionary entrepreneur
Aptly named “the merchant of revolution” by
his biographers, Helfand was a talented and
flamboyant personality who, in the decade
Hannibal, Avram Petrovich
(1697-1781)
engineer and general
The great-grandfather of Russia's greatest poet,
Alexander
PUSHKIN
, Hannibal was an Ethiopian
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