Editing Treaty of Frankfurt (1871)

{{Short description|1871 peace treaty ending the Franco-Prussian War}}{{About|the Treaty of Frankfurt of 1871|other treaties|Treaty of Frankfurt (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox document
|document_name        = Treaty of Frankfurt
|image                = Frieden von Frankfurt am Main.jpg
|image_size           = 220px
|image_caption        = 
|date_created         = 10 May 1871
|date_ratified        =
|location_of_document = Archiv der Otto-von-Bismarck-Stiftung in [[Friedrichsruh]]
|writer               =
|signers              = 
|purpose              = Ended [[Franco-Prussian War]]
|orig_lang_code       = fr
the [[Franco-Prussian War]]
}}
The '''Treaty of Frankfurt''' ({{langx|fr|Traité de Francfort}}; {{langx|de|Friede von Frankfurt}}) was a [[peace treaty]] signed in [[Frankfurt]] on 10 May 1871, at the end of the [[Franco-Prussian War]].

== Summary ==
[[File:Elsass-Lothringen in France.svg|thumb|right|alt=Ceded areas.|''[[Alsace-Lorraine]]'']]
The treaty did the following:
* Established the frontier between the [[French Third Republic]] and the [[German Empire]], which involved the ceding of 1,694 French villages and cities to Germany in:
** [[Alsace]]: the French [[Departments of France|departments]] of [[Bas-Rhin]] and [[Haut-Rhin]], except for the city of [[Belfort]] and its [[Territoire de Belfort|territory]];
** [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]]: most of the French department of [[Moselle (department)|Moselle]], one-third of the department of [[Meurthe (department)|Meurthe]], including the cities of [[Château-Salins]] and [[Sarrebourg]], and the [[Cantons of France|cantons]] [[Saales]] and [[Schirmeck]] in the department of [[Vosges (department)|Vosges]]. 
* Gave residents of the [[Alsace-Lorraine]] region until 1 October 1872 to decide between keeping their French nationality and emigrating, or remaining in the region and becoming German citizens.
* Set a framework for the withdrawal of German troops from certain areas.
* Regulated the payment of France's war [[French indemnity|indemnity]] of five billion francs (due within five years).
* Recognized the acceptance of [[Wilhelm I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I of Prussia]] as [[German Emperor]].
* Required military occupation in parts of France until the indemnity was paid (France paid the indemnity quicker than the agreed time).

The treaty also established the terms for the following:

* The use of navigable waterways in connection to Alsace-Lorraine 
* Trade between the two countries
* The return of prisoners of war

== Factors that influenced the boundary ==
=== Strategy ===
The German military spoke up for control of the Alsace region, up to the Vosges (mountain range) and the area between Thionville (Diedenhofen) and Metz as a requirement for the protection of Germany. Most importantly, the German military regarded control of the route between Thionville and Metz as the most important area of control if there were ever to be a [[World_War_I|future war]] with France.<ref>Hawthorne, 217</ref>
[[File:Treaty of Frankfurt.jpg|thumb|
Watched by [[Otto von Bismarck|Bismarck]], [[Jules Favre]], French Minister of Foreign Affairs, puts his seal on the Treaty of Frankfurt.]]
=== Politics ===
Without a westward shift in the boundary, the new empire's frontier with France would have been largely divided between the states of [[Baden]] and [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]] whose governments were less than enthusiastic with the prospect of having a vengeful France on their doorstep. It also would have necessitated the stationing of substantial imperial forces within these states' borders, possibly compromising their ability to exercise the considerable autonomy that the southern states were able to maintain in the [[Constitution of the German Empire|unification treaty]].  A shift in the frontier alleviated these issues.

=== Nationalism ===
The new political border largely (though not entirely) followed the linguistic border.  The fact that the majority of the population in the new Imperial Territory (''Reichsland'') territory spoke [[Germanic dialects]], and had previously been a part of the German-focused [[Holy Roman Empire]] until they had been gradually obtained by France over the previous two centuries, allowed Berlin to justify the annexation on nationalistic grounds. However, the conquest of French-speaking areas such as the city of [[Metz]] sparked outrage in France, and was used as one of the main arguments for French [[revanchism]].

=== Economy ===
Natural resources in [[Alsace-Lorraine]] (iron ore, and coal) do not appear to have played a role in Germany's fight for the areas annexed.<ref>Hawthorne, 248</ref> Military annexation was the main stated goal along with unification of the German people.
At the same time, France lost 1,447,000 hectares, 1,694 villages and 1,597,000 inhabitants. It also lost 20% of its mining and steel potential.
The treaty of trade of 1862 with Prussia was not renewed but France granted Germany, for trade and navigation, a [[Most favoured nation|most-favoured nation]] clause. France would respect the clauses of the Treaty of Frankfurt in their entirety until 1914.

France also had to pay a full payment of 5,000,000,000 francs in gold, with one billion in 1871, before any German forces withdrawal (which occurred in September 1873).<ref>[http://gander.chez.com/traite-de-francfort.htm Treaty of Francfort Full Text (fr) ]</ref>

==Legacy==
This treaty polarized French policy towards Germany for the next 40 years. The reconquest of [[Alsace-Lorraine]], the "lost provinces," became an obsession characterized by a [[revanchism]] which would be one of the most powerful motives in France's involvement in [[World War I]].

In 1918, U.S. President [[Woodrow Wilson]] advocates the transfer of the territories to France as [[Fourteen_Points#Text|Point 8]] in his [[Fourteen Points]] speech. Thus going against the right of self-determination. Alsace-Lorraine returned to France under the [[Treaty of Versailles|1919 Treaty of Versailles]]. The Germans did surrender under the terms of the American proposal.

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

== References ==
*Hartshorne, Richard (Jan, 1950). "The Franco-German Boundary of 1871", World Politics, pp. 209–250.
*Eckhardt, C.C. (May, 1918). "The Alsace-Lorraine Question", The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 431–443.

{{Great power diplomacy}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1871 in France]]
[[Category:1871 in Germany]]
[[Category:Aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War]]
[[Category:Peace treaties of France]]
[[Category:Military history of Frankfurt]]
[[Category:Alsace–Lorraine]]
[[Category:Treaties involving territorial changes]]
[[Category:1871 treaties]]
[[Category:Treaties of the German Empire|Frankfurt]]
[[Category:Treaties of the French Third Republic|Frankfurt]]
[[Category:France–Germany border]]
[[Category:19th century in Frankfurt]]
[[Category:May 1871]]