Treaties of Tilsit

Meeting of Napoleon I and Alexander I on the Neman, 25 June 1807, by Adolphe Roehn (1808)

The Treaties of Tilsit (French: Traités de Tilsit), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (German: Friede von Tilsit, Russian: Тильзитский мир, romanizedTilzitski mir), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War of the Fourth Coalition. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander I, when they met on a raft in the middle of the Neman river. The second was signed with Prussia on 9 July. The treaties were made at the expense of King Frederick William III of Prussia, who had already agreed to a truce on 25 June after the Grande Armée had captured Berlin and pursued him to the easternmost frontier of his realm.

In Tilsit, Prussia ceded about half of its pre-war territories.[1][page needed] [2][page needed] [3] From these territories, Napoleon had created French client states, which were formalized and recognized at Tilsit: the Kingdom of Westphalia, the Duchy of Warsaw and the Free City of Danzig; the other ceded territories were awarded to existing French client states and to Russia.

Napoleon not only cemented his control of Central Europe but also had Russia and the truncated Prussia ally with him against his two remaining enemies, the United Kingdom and Sweden, triggering the Anglo-Russian and Finnish wars. Tilsit also freed French forces for the Peninsular War. Central Europe became a battlefield again in 1809 when Austria engaged France in the War of the Fifth Coalition.

  1. ^ Lefebvre, Georges (1969). Napoleon: From 18 Brumaire to Tilsit, 1799–1807.
  2. ^ Lieven, Dominic (2009). Russia against Napoleon: the battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814. Penguin UK.
  3. ^ Zawadzki, Hubert (2009). "Between Napoleon and Tsar Alexander: The Polish Question at Tilsit, 1807". Central Europe. 7 (2): 110–124. doi:10.1179/147909609X12490448067244. S2CID 145539723.

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