42 Monuments for Peace Treaties
Click here for Wikipedia article on treaties in general. | Click here for peace conferences.
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LMay 15, 1648 - Friedenssall / Peace Hall, Rathaus / City Hall, Osnabrück, Lower Saxony (Germany). This room and a similar room in Münster became "unintentional monuments" with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands after the first modern diplomatic congress -- thereby initiating a new political order in central Europe based upon the concept of a sovereign state governed by a sovereign. The Osnabrück City Hall was built from 1487 to 1512 in late Gothic style. It is one of the major landmarks and influential buildings in the city of Osnabrück and is still used as a city hall building.
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LLOctober 24, 1648 - Friedenssall / Peace Hall, Rathaus / City Hall, Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). This room and a similar room in Osnabrück became "unintentional monuments" with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands after the first modern diplomatic congress -- thereby initiating a new political order in central Europe based upon the concept of a sovereign state governed by a sovereign. Lower image is "Die Gesandten beschwoeren den Frieden zu Muenster / Ratification of the Treaty of Münster" by Gerard Ter Borch [1617-1681] which hangs in the National Gallery, London (England).
1682 - Great Elm Tree, Sackamaxon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). Also called Treaty Elm. Unintentional monument. At place where proprietor William Penn [1644-1718] signed peace treaty with Delaware Indians. Blew down in a storm on March 5, 1810. Left image is what? Right image by Thomas Birch [1779-1851] was engraved & published in 1804. An Elm Tree descendant was planted here on May 6, 2010. Also see 1827 (obelisk), 1893 (park), 1976 (marker), 1982 (statue) & 2010 (second tree). 1700
1722 - Fredensborg Slot Castle, near Copenhagen (Denmark).While the building was still under construction Denmark and Sweden negotiated a peace treaty, which was signed July 3, 1720 on the site of the unfinished palace. To commemorate the signing, the palace was named Fredens Borg / Palace of Peace.
1771 (left image) - "William Penn's Treaty with the Indians when he founded the Province of Pennsylvania in North America," Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 118 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA (USA). Painted by Benjamin West [1738-1820] at request of Thomas Penn [1702-1775].
c1840-44 (right image) - "Penn's Treaty with the Indians," Philadelphia Museum of Art, west end of Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA (USA). Painted by Edward.Hicks [1780-1849]. Also at National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
Both paintings show proprietor William Penn [1644-1718] signing peace treaty with the Delaware Indians at Sackamaxon in 1682.
Penn's "Peaceable Kingdom" came to an end with the Conestoga Massacre by the "Paxton Boys" on December 14 & 27, 1763.
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TAbout 1783 - "Peace of Paris, 1783", Diplomatic Reception Rooms (Top Floor), US Department of State, Washington, DC (USA). Shows American delegation at the Treaty of Paris: John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens [1724-1792], and William Temple Franklin [1760-1823]. By Benjamin West [1738-1820]. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed. (The preliminary articles, signed in Paris on November 30, 1782, were only effective when a similar treaty was signed by Britain and France, which French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes [1717-1787], quickly negotiated. France signed preliminary articles of peace with Great Britain on January 20, 1783, which were followed by a formal Peace of Paris signed on September 3, 1783.) 1800
"The Treaty of Fontainebleau was established in Fontainebleau, France, on 11 April 1814, between Napoleon I [1769-1821] & representatives from the Austrian Empire, Russia & Prussia. The treaty was signed at Paris on 11 April, by the plenipotentiaries of both sides & ratified by Napoleon on 13 April. With this treaty, the allies ended Napoleon's rule as emperor of France and sent him into exile on Elba." /// "Napoleon's initial defeat [was] the short-lived peace proclaimed on 27 June 1814 when Napoleon was imprisoned on Elba. The peace was celebrated in Paris, but [King George IV] the Prince Regent [1762-1830] invited the allied sovereigns to continue their celebrations in England. The offer was enthusiastically taken up. June 1814 must have been the only time in Oxford's history when it hosted an emperor, a king, four future kings, a chancellor of the Austrian empire, two future and two past British prime ministers, many world-famous generals, and enough peers to burst the House of Lords... And one of the things they wanted to do was to visit the famous university town of Oxford, one of the very few places in the country, incidentally, where the Prince Regent could rely on a warm welcome. At the prospect, 'every heart fluttered with expectation and delight.'" -- From "Big Junket" by Christopher Danziger (2015). Thus Oxford played a unique role in the Peace of 1814, and its two modest 1814 peace monuments -- see below -- have quietly marked this momentous event for over 200 years. This puts the two Oxford monuments among the earliest examples of "peace monuments" anywhere & makes them contemporaries of the Stoodley Pike Monument in West Yorkshire (qv).
1814 - Peace Stone, Carfax, Oxford (England). Inscribed: "'PEACE was proclaim’d In the CITY of OXFORD JUNE 1814.' There is a more modern inscribed stone immediately below the peace stone, which adds no information whatsoever: 'THE STONE ABOVE COMMEMORATES THE PEACE OF 1814.' In 1814 this peace stone was set in the north side of the tower of the original [11th century] medieval Church of St. Martin at Carfax. This church was in the centre of the City of Oxford where four roads meet, and it was also the City Church."
1814 - Peace Stone, Plain Roundabout, Oxford (England). Now the pedestal of a street lamp. Inscribed "PEACE was proclaimed in the City of OXFORD JUNE 27 1814." The roundabout marked the eastern entrance to Oxford from the London direction in 1814 (St. Clement's was not taken into the city until 1835). Information courtesy of Stephanie Jenkins & Tim Myatt.
After 14 June 1814 - Vase of Siberian Jasper, Merton College, Oxford University, Oxford (England). Danziger's article also depicts a "vase of Siberian jasper sent to Merton College by Tsar Alexander I [1777-1825] & his sister Ekaterina Pavlovna [1788-1819] in thanks after lodging there [during the peace celebration] on the night of 14 June 1814." (This is similar to the vase [qv] given by Russia to the Peace Palace in The Hague 100 years later.)
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GCirca 1815 - "Peace" (Allegory of the Treaty of Ghent) by John Rubens Smith [1775-1849], Library of Congress, Washington, DC (USA). The Treaty of Ghent (now in Belgium) was signed December 24, 1814, and ended the War of 1812 between the USA and Great Britain.
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1819 - "Congress of Vienna," Musee du Louvre, Paris (France). By Jean-Baptiste Isabey [1767-1855]. "The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by the Austrian statesman Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815."
November 1827 - Obelisk, Penn Treaty Park, Delaware (Columbus) Avenue & Beach Street, Fishtown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). Remained tucked away in the NW corner of a lumber yard...until actions were taken to create Penn Treaty Park (qv). Inscribed "Treaty ground of William Penn, and the Indian Nations, 1682, Unbroken faith. William Penn, Born 1644, Died 1713. Pennsylvania, Founded, 1681, by Deeds of Peace. Placed by the Penn Society, A.D. 1827, to mark the site of the Great Elm Tree." Also see 1682 (tree), 1893 (park), 1976 (marker), 1982 (statue) & 2010 (tree).
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E1828 - Place des Victoires-Nationaux / National Victories Square, Paris (France). With an equestrian statue of Louis XIV. Designed as a memorial to the Treaties of Nijmegen concluded in 1678-79. "In 1793, the Place was renamed, & a wooden pyramid was erected on the site of the destroyed statue. In 1810, under the rule of Napoléon Bonaparte, a nude statue of General Louis Desaix replaced the pyramid. However, following the abdication of Napoléon, the statue was taken down, & its metal was used to create a new statue of Henry IV on the nearby Pont Neuf. In 1828, the restored Bourbon king, Charles X, commissioned the current equestrian statue, which was sculpted by François Joseph Bosio. Louis XIV, dressed as a Roman emperor, sits on a proud horse rearing on its hind legs. An iron fence encircles the 12-meter-high statue." 1850
1850 - Paulskirche, Frankfurt (Germany). "Seat of course of the 1848-49 parliament [the first publicly and freely elected body of Germany], but also of the August 1850 international peace congress (of the peace movement). If I remember well, there are some reminders of this inside the building. I visited it at least once, when I received an invitation to attend the award of Germany’s most important peace prize, the one awarded by the German book trade (Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels). The annual ceremony is being held here. In my view, it comes second, after the Nobel, in terms of the elaborateness of the ceremony, the dignity of the occasion, the standing in the country, the documentation which is produced, etc. It follows the Nobel at some distance, but that is inevitable (no royalty involved, the prize money is less, the outside world hardly takes notice, etc.). It has interesting origins, not long after World War II."
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L1864 & 1872 - Salle de l'Alabama / Hall of the Alabama, Hotel de Ville / City Hall, Geneva (Switzerland). On August 22, 1864, the [First] Geneva Convention was signed here, founding the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and beginning Geneva's role as an internaitonal city." On September 14, 1872, an international tribunal meeting here settled the so-called "Alabama Claims" of the USA against the UK about actions of the CSS Alabama & other raiders during the US Civil War, thus establishing the principle of international arbritration.
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L1879 - Indian Treaty Room, Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, DC (USA). Originally the Navy Department Library & Reception Room, the Navy vacated the building between 1918 & 1921. By 1930 the building was renamed for the Department of State, and by 1949 it was renamed the Executive Office Building. The Treaty Room was used for presidential press conferences 1955-1961. The name "Indian Treaty Room" came about sometime during the 1930's, and it is still not clear why, despite extensive research. Some say it's because the War Department stored papers there in the 1930's, including treaties with the American Indian nations. Treaties signed in this room include Bretton Woods (establishing the IMF), peace treaties with Rumania, Italy & Hungary after WW-II, and the UN Charter.
October 28, 1893 - Penn Treaty Park, Delaware (Columbus) Avenue & Beach Street, Fishtown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). Alleged site of famous peace treaty signed by William Penn [1644-1718] & the Delaware Indians in 1683. See associated virtual PennTreatyMusuem.org. Mentioned by Tom Flores (2008). Also see 1682 (tree), 1827 (obelisk), 1976 (marker), 1982 (statue) & 2010 (tree). 1900
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Y1907 - Jungmyeongjeon Hall, Seoul (Korea). "Built by Aleksey Seredin Sabatin (1860---1921) between 1897 and 1901, the Jungmyeongjeon Hall --- originally part of Deoksugung Palace --- was used as a royal library. It was also where the Eulsa Treaty was signed in 1905 and where Emperor Gwangmu (King Gojong) gave credentials to his special envoys before dispatching them to the Hague Peace Conference in 1907. The recently completed restoration has brought the building back to its original condition." "In 1907, Emperor Kojong names Yi Chun, Yi Sang-sol and Yi Ui-jong [right image] as special envoys to the Hague international Peace Conference in order to expose the injustice of Japan's occupation of Korea to the rest of the world. However, the efforts failed due to strong interference by the Japanese."
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RJuly 2, 1908 - Holston Treaty Marker, Criminal Court Building, Courthouse Square, 300 West Main Street, Knoxville, Tennessee (USA). Erected by Sons of the American Revolution (SAR).
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EAbout 1998 - Holston Peace Treaty Monument, Treaty of Holston Park, Volunteer Landing Park, Tennessee River at mouth of First Creek, Knoxville, Tennessee (USA). Depicts 3 whites & 5 Native Americans (3 men, 1 woman & 1 child). Designed by Raymond Kaskey & carved by Malcolm S. Harlow, Jr. (Inscribed "© Kaskey 1997.") Treaty of Holston Park is a small park on the east side of the Volunteer Landing parking lot. "The Treaty of Holston was signed [on the treaty ground on the bank of the Holston River, near the mouth of the French Broad River] on July 2, 1791, by William Blount [1749-1800], governor [of] the territory of the USA south of the Ohio River & superintendent of Indian affairs for the southern district for the USA, and by 41 representatives of the Cherokee Nation." (Click here for the text of the treaty.) "After concluding the treaty, Blount announced that the territorial capital would move to newly founded Knoxville" (a short distance downstream). Click here for panorama of the monument & river. Not to be confused with marker erected July 2, 1908, by Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) on Courthouse Square.
August 16, 1914 - Fredsmonument / Peace Monument, Morokulien, between Magnor (Norway) and Eda (Sweden). Morokulien is a tiny international territory commemorating the 1905 negotiations which created peace between Norway & Sweden and led to Norwegian independence ("dissolution of the union"). Both images show the 18-meter Fredsmonument. The name Morokulien combines the Norwegian & Swedish words for "fun."
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LJune 28, 1919 - Galerie des Glaces / Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, Versailles (France). This room was constructed by King Louis XIV in 1678-1684. It became a an "unintentional monument" with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles with Germany ending the World War I (1914–1918). P
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G1919 - "Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors," Imperial War Museum, London (England). By Irish artist Sir William Orpen [1878- 1931]. Norman Stone (2009) says this "captured the political wrangling and vainglory of the gathered politicians and statesman whom Orpen came to loathe but increasingly relied upon for his post-war portrait commissions. The peace-makers look extraordinarily pleased with them- selves as they pose for rather wooden immortaliation: silkiness of mous- tache, acuteness of gaze, dignity of stance. A Maharajah and a Japanese baron look on, evidence of the peace-makers' internationalism and benevolence. Clemenceau is said to have remrked that he was between a would-be Napoleon (Lloyd George) and a would-be Jesus Christ (Wilson)... Far above the delegates reads the legend 'Le roy gouverne par lui même,' a pointed reference to their endless squabbling."
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HSeptember 6, 1921 - International Peace Arch, Peace Arch Park, US/Canadian Border, Blaine, Washington (USA), & Douglas, British Columbia (Canada). Commemorates the centennial of the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812 between the US & Great Britain. Click here for the Wikipedia article. Entry #1211 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). A
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HDate? - Peace Arch, Peace Arch Park, US/Canadian border. What is this? Added to the park after 2000?
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N1927 - Peace Hills Cairn, Highway 2A, Hobbema, near Wetaskiwin, Alberta (Canada). Commemorates the 1867 peace treaty with the Cree Indians. Wetaskiwin means "Peace Hills." Entry #1222 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).
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K1927 - Memorial Peace Park & Medicine Lodge Peace Treaty Pageant Grounds, Medicine Lodge, Barber County, Kansas (USA). Text of Kansas historical marker: "Medicine Lodge Peace Treaties. In October 1867, Kiowa, Comanche, Arapahoe, Apache and Cheyenne Indians [the Five Nations] signed a peace treaties with the Federal government. 15,000 Indians camped near by during the council, among them the famous chiefs Satanta [c1820-1878], Little Raven [d.1889] and Black Kettle [c1803-1868]. 500 soldiers acted as escort for the U.S. commissioners. Interest in this colorful spectacle was so widespread that Eastern papers sent correspondents, among them Henry M. Stanley [1841-1904], who later was to find Livingstone in Africa. While the treaties did not bring immediate peace they made possible the coming of the railroads and eventual settlement. The site of the council was at the confluence of the Medicine river and Elm creek, a little southwest of Medicine Lodge. Every five years a treaty pageant is re-enacted in this amphitheater. In Medicine Lodge there is a commemorative monument on the high school grounds." Second image shows old entrance posts. Third image shows Peace Treaty Statue in town of Medicine Lodge.
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R1931 - Historical Marker, Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association, Southwestern shore of Fish Lake, Sevier County, Utah (USA). Text: "PEACE TREATY WITH FISH LAKE INDIANS Was Made Here June 14, 1873 This treaty led up to the final treaty at Cedar Grove in Grass Valley July 1, 1873, ending the Black Hawk Indian War in Southern Utah. Present at the treaty council were: Gen. Wm. B. Pace [1832-1907] George Evans Byron Pace Albert Thurber William Jex E.R. Bean G.W. Bean Abraham Halliday Wm. Robinson Chief Tabiona and 15 others." This treaty has never been broken.
June 25, 1933 - Old Crossing Treaty Monument, Red Lake County Park, Huot, Red Lake County, Minnesota (USA). Life-sized bronze statue of a Chippewa/Ojibwe man holding a peace pipe. Sculpted by Carl C. Mose [1903-1973]. At the site of the 1863 Treaty of Old Crossing between the US government & Red Lake/Pembina Ojibwe in which the Ojibwe cede about 11,000,000 acres of the Red River Valley (an area approximately 180 miles long north-to-south & 127 miles wide) for $510,000 & various goods, provisions & presents. This same site was well-known even before the treaty. For about 30 years in the mid-1800's it was the chosen location by oxcart drivers - freighting goods on the Pembina Trail between St. Paul & today's Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada) - to cross/ford the Red Lake River. For the last 20 years, Old Crossing Treaty Park has been used by L'Association des Francais du Nord / The association of the French of the North (AFRAN) to host a multi-cultural Chautauqua & French Festival in late August. The festival involves native Americans & Canadians, Metis, Red River Valley residents of French-Canadian descent & people of other ethnic heritage."
1934 - Rush-Bagot Memorial, Old Fort Niagara, New York (USA). "An early armaments agreement was signed by the US & Great Britain in 1817. Named for its chief negotiators, Richard Rush [1780-1859] & Sir Charles Bagot [1781-1843], the treaty limited naval forces on the Great Lakes. The true monument to such efforts is today's unfortified 4,00-mile (6,400km) United States-Canada border. In clear weather the skyline of Toronto, Ontario can be seen across the 27 miles (43km) of Lake Ontario."/// Includes Unfortified Boundary Plaque on left side (upper image). Fort Niagara dates from 1726. April 29, 1935 - Rush-Bagot Memorial Tablet, Columbia Residences (former Columbia Hospital for Women), 2425 L Street, NW, Washington, DC (USA). Marks place where the Rush-Bagot agreement was signed April 18-19, 1817, to bring about the removal of armed vessels from the Great Lakes. Erected by Kiwanis International. One of 40 peace monuments on Zonia Baber's world map c.1948. Entry #1162 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). Date? - Rush-Bagot Treaty plaque, Royal Military College of Canada, General Crerar Crescent & Valour Road, Point Frederick, Kingston, Ontario (Canada). Placed by Ontario Heritage Trust.
1938 - Fountain, Peace Gardens, Sheffield (England). "Sheffield Town Hall is at the heart of the city & its beautiful architecture is complemented by the adjacent Peace Garden fountains & moden art sculptures." /// "The Gardens were first laid out in 1938, following the demolition of St Paul's Church. Originally named St Paul's Gardens, they were immediately nicknamed the "Peace Gardens", marking the contemporary signing of the Munich Agreement [signed by Germany (Hitler), France (Dedalier), the United Kingdom (Chamberlain) & Italy (Mussolini) on 30 September 1938]. The Gardens were originally intended to be replaced by an extension to the Town Hall, but due to World War II, this was never built. In 1985, the space was formally renamed the 'Peace Gardens.' The Sheffield gardens are a fine example of the network of similar gardens created between the two world wars & presage later gardens & community spaces in London & other urban centres."
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RSeptember 1939 - Historical Marker #50, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Heber City, Wasatch County, Utah (USA). Text: "INDIAN PEACE TREATY. Beautiful Provo Valley, named from River and once Chief Walker's hunting ground. Was colonized 1859-60 by 18 families called by Brigham Young [1801-1877]. 1864 Indian troubles forced pioneers to build fort at Heber. Bishop Jos. S. Murdock [1822-1899] friendly with the Indians, invited Chief Tabby and tribe to his home (3 BLKs 1.1 E) Aug. 20, 1867, where peace treaty was signed and barbecue held on John Carroll's lot. This ended Indian depredations in this valley, proving Brigham Young's statement - 'It's better to feed the Indians than to fight them.' Wasatch County Camps."
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IPSeptember 2, 1945 (V-J Day) - USS Missouri, Pearl Harbor, Hololulu, Hawaii (USA). Became an unintentional monument with the singing on its deck in Tokyo Bay of the Japanese Instrument Surender, thus ending World War II (1939-1945). Ordered in 1940 and commissioned in June 1944, the Missouri (aka "Mighty Mo") was the last battleship built by the USA. It was opened as museum on January 29, 1999. Lower image shows the Japanese delegation on board the Missouri just prior to the signing. 1950
November 28, 1965 - Added plaque under original Kiwanis plaque at Peace Arch on border at Blaine, Washington (USA). Text: "IN COMMEMORATION OF one hundred and fifty years of peace, 1814-1964 between Canada and the United States of America. The signing of the Columbia River Treaty on September 16th, 1964, at this International Peace Arch Park by the president of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, and the Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honorable Lester B. Pearson P.C. Erected and dedicated to continued peace and goodwill of the peoples of Canada and the United States by Kiwanis International on November 26, 1965."
September 18, 1976 - Historical Marker, Penn Treaty Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). Marker Text "Traditional site of a treaty between William Penn and the Indians, this park is maintained by the City of Philadelphia in commemoration of the Proprietor's peaceful relations with the Indians." Also see 1682 (tree), 1827 (obelisk), 1893 (park), 1982 (statue) & 2010 (tree).
1982 - Statue of William Penn, Penn Treaty Park, Delaware (Columbus) Avenue & Beach Street, Fishtown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). "Daughters of the American Colonists commissioned Frank C. Gaylord, the sculptor who would later do the Korean War Memorial in Washington, DC." Also see 1682 (tree), 1827 (obelisk), 1893 (park), 1976 (marker) & 2010 (tree).
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EMemorial Day 1997 - “Gathering, Lasting Friendship, 1847-1997,” Vereins Kirche, Fredericksburg, Texas (USA). Dedicated as a part of the city's 150th anniversary celebration. Commemorates the signing of the Meusebach-Comanche Treaty in 1847. "The early German settlers became the only immigrant group to successfully negotiate peace with the Indians. It is said to be the only treaty between white settlers and Native Americans that was never broken." "Irene Marschall King, John Meusebach’s granddaughter, brought the original Meusebach-Comanche treaty document from Europe in 1970. She presented it to the Texas State Library, where it is now on display." Info courtesy of John Wilkins. 2000
2008 - Tartu Rahu / Tartu Peace Treaty Monument, Tartu (Estonia). "On February 2, 1920, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (brief predecessor to the USSR) renounced its rights to Estonia in perpetuity. Estonia, which had been under foreign domination for two centuries, marks this as its independence day." This is "Monday's Monument" #55.
March 6, 2010 - American Elm Tree, Penn Treaty Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). "Today, virtually all of the surrounding industry has disappeared, and the park now sits in the heart of Philadelphia's redeveloping riverfront with views of Penn's Landing, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and the city's high rise buildings. You can watch ocean freighters and local tugs in the shipping channel close to the park's shoreline." Also see 1682 (first tree), 1827 (obelisk), 1893 (park), 1976 (marker) & 1982 (statue).