50
votes
Accepted
Was there ever a treaty between 2 entities with significantly different translations to the detriment of one party?
The Treaty of Waitangi (1840) between the British and Maori chiefs of North Island, New Zealand
This treaty has "long been the subject of debate". Wikipedia's Treaty of Waitangi article goes into ...
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42
votes
Was there ever a treaty between 2 entities with significantly different translations to the detriment of one party?
Many examples throughout history but of the top of my head I can think of-
The Treaty of Wuchale between Italy and Ethiopia, where in the Italian version Ethiopia became a vassal or protectorate, but ...
- 598
33
votes
Were secret treaties ratified? How did they become official while remaining secret?
There are some misconceptions about what ratification means. Though it is now common for treaties to be ratified by a legislature, that has never been essential to the ratification process.
In ...
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26
votes
Was there ever a treaty between 2 entities with significantly different translations to the detriment of one party?
UN Resolution 242 demanding withdrawal from the occupied territories in Palestine after the 1967 war. Wikipedia entry
The English text has a different emphasis on territories, some might fit, ...
25
votes
Accepted
What's the oldest treaty still being enforced?
Historical
Both Parties Sovereign and Remain Sovereign
Anglo-Portuguese Alliance (or Aliança Luso-Britânica), ratified at the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, between England (succeeded by the United ...
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22
votes
Accepted
Did the Soviet Union protest against Italy building or acquiring submarines after WW2?
A paper in Diplomatic History titled "From Disarmament to Rearmament: The United States and the Revision of the Italian Peace Treaty of 1947" covers the issue fairly well. The bottom line is ...
- 2,506
17
votes
Accepted
Why did the Roberts Treaty of 1833 have a Portuguese translation annexed to it?
The Portuguese were the first westerners to reside in (then) Siam (now) Thailand. The Portuguese embassy is the oldest embassy in the kingdom, and now a monument. Do mind that the relations go back ...
- 20.9k
16
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In the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was there any secret agreement on the timetable, if any, of taking the spheres of influence?
No, there were no dates formally agreed upon.
Some historians (ref. Victor Suvorov's "Icebreaker") speculate that there is indirect evidence suggesting that along with the "Communazi ...
- 1,066
15
votes
Was there ever a treaty between 2 entities with significantly different translations to the detriment of one party?
First Nations in Canada didn't really understand what they were signing for Treaty 6. The reference for this is (I quoted a bit below)
An important factor was the cultural and language differences ...
- 151
13
votes
Was it not clear to the WWI allies that they were over-reaching with the treaty of Sevres?
You are correct, the Turkish National Movement heavily resisted treaty of Sevres which culminated in the Turkish War of independence...the treaty didn't last long.
Isn't it obvious that that treaty ...
- 2,722
13
votes
Was there ever a treaty between 2 entities with significantly different translations to the detriment of one party?
Another angle would be that a treaty text is in just one language, but held ambiguous, on purpose, and the explanation of content presented to one party made unambiguous, and misleading on purpose, ...
- 80.8k
11
votes
How did recognition by Morocco influence the history of the USA?
It is indeed unfortunate that the influence of Morocco (and nearby countries of the Maghreb) on the early history of the United States was overlooked, because it was overshadowed by even larger events....
- 104k
11
votes
Compulsion for Germany to accept the Treaty of Versailles?
The armistice severely impeded the German ability to continue to wage war:
They lost their submarines so could no longer counter-blockade the UK
They lost their battle fleet so could no longer ...
- 2,372
9
votes
Were discrepancies from the 45th parallel in the US-Canadian border ratified?
CGPGrey covered this in his video Canada & The United States (Bizarre Borders Part 2).
You're basically correct. There's been a series of treaties about the US-Canada border. Rather than go into ...
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8
votes
Accepted
When did the German people learn that they had a large, powerful military, in violation of the Versailles Treaty?
If people were paying attention, March 1929 when Die Weltbühne published an account of secret German rearmament. If they weren't, rearmament was officially revealed in a speech by Hitler on March 16, ...
- 54.8k
8
votes
Was there ever a treaty between 2 entities with significantly different translations to the detriment of one party?
On July 3, 1754, British Colonel George Washington surrendered the improvised Fort Necessity to the French. The articles of capitulation that he signed were in French, and included an admission of ...
- 1,551
6
votes
Why did the Roberts Treaty of 1833 have a Portuguese translation annexed to it?
Courtesy of the Library of Congress, here are some excerpts from a transcript of the Roberts Treaty of 1833:
This Treaty is concluded on wednesday the last of the fourth month of the year 1194 called ...
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6
votes
Why did the Roberts Treaty of 1833 have a Portuguese translation annexed to it?
Portugal had trading relations in Southeast Asia going back to the 16th century. The main Portuguese outpost was Macau, off the coast of China, but Siam was also an important "port of call."
Either ...
- 104k
6
votes
What share of refugees crossed borders during WW2 and its aftermath?
Total estimates for the number of people displaced by World War II are at least as high as 60 million. The question is how many of these displaced people crossed international borders. I'm not sure, ...
- 18.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Were discrepancies from the 45th parallel in the US-Canadian border ratified?
A 4-part "Ideas" radio program by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), called "On the Line: A Journal of Exploration along the Canada - U.S. Border" (presenter Marian Fraser), aired in Nov ...
- 400
6
votes
Articles 3 & 5 of the Tripartite Pact are unclearly formulated. Was this standard for the period?
That's mostly owing to the fact that, while most defensive alliances are signed in peacetime, in this case all the parties involved were already at war.
Usually defensive alliances are made to deter ...
- 118k
6
votes
Was there ever a treaty between 2 entities with significantly different translations to the detriment of one party?
There's a European union document called 'Study on Language and Translation in International Law and EU law' which has some examples of treaties with differences because of translations. It mentions ...
- 418
5
votes
Accepted
Has there ever been a great power that offered a major concession to a non-great power from a position of strength?
I agree with the comments to the original question, so I'll answer it in more of a "popular history" manner. The first one that comes to mind is the US's surrender terms for Japan in 1945. ...
- 1,672
4
votes
Compulsion for Germany to accept the Treaty of Versailles?
Several issues came together.
Yes, there was a blockade and widespread hunger.
A "last ditch effort" military offensive had failed.
A revolution was brewing against the government.
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4
votes
Why did Britain and France not declare war against the Soviet Union when it invaded Poland in WW2?
In Book Two, Chapter 3, of The Gathering Storm, Winston Churchill quotes from his Cabinet memo of September 25, noting that he "struck a cool note".
.... They [the Russians] are now limitrophe with ...
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4
votes
Accepted
California land cases to the US Supreme Court
Most of them. I know that's kind of vague but:
...In these five years, 813 cases involving private land claims were
heard by the Commission : 604 claim were confirmed; 190 rejected; and
the rest ...
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4
votes
Accepted
Did the Vatican punish France for rejecting Tordesillas?
No, more the other way around. France was busy punishing the pope in the Italian war.
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4
votes
Accepted
When did the United States ratify the Non-Proliferation Treaty?
According to the U.S. Dept. of State, various bodies within the U.S. government performed the following steps on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT):
Signed at Washington, ...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible