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| 1899, May 18–July 29 |
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| FIRST HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCE, which met at the invitation of the Russian tsar (Aug. 24, 1898). The general idea was regarded with mistrust and dislike by most powers. Twenty-six states were represented. The conference produced conventions for the peaceful settlement of international disputes and the definition of the laws of war (prohibition for five years of the use of projectiles thrown from balloons, prohibition of gas warfare and dumdum bullets, provision of better treatment of war prisoners and wounded, etc.). Nothing was done about disarmament, and compulsory arbitration was rejected, but a permanent court of arbitration was provided for. | 1 |
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| Sept. 6 |
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| OPEN DOOR NOTE of the American secretary of state, John Hay. Following the division of China into spheres of influence, the note proposed that Britain, Germany, and Russia not interfere with treaty ports and should not charge higher harbor or railroad dues on foreign goods than they would on their own within their spheres. The interested powers agreed. The note had little immediate importance but set up an ideal policy often referred to later. | 2 |
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| Oct. 9 |
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| Outbreak of the BOER WAR, following the failure of negotiations between Britain and the Boer republics in South Africa. | 3 |
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| Nov. 1 |
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| Anglo-German agreement regarding the Samoan Islands. Following a period of rivalry among Britain, Germany, and the United States for control of the islands and considerable internal Samoan fighting, the conflicts were resolved by the abolition of the Samoan monarchy and the division of the islands among the three powers. | 4 |
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| Nov. 25 |
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| Baghdad Railway concession granted to German syndicate. This followed years of economic schemes and negotiations. The Ottomans had given a German company the concession (1888) to build a railroad from the Bosporus to Angora (Ankara), which was completed in 1892. British competition was withdrawn as a result of diplomatic pressure. The German company received additional concessions, and German ascendancy in this area was confirmed by a successful state visit by Emperor William II to Constantinople and Palestine. The French cooperated with German interests, and Britain protected their interests in the Persian Gulf region by establishing a special relationship with the sheik of Kuwait in 1899. The Germans obtained the preliminary concession for the final stage of the rail project, Konia to Baghdad, on Nov. 25, 1899. | 5 |
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