Convention of London (1861)
The Convention of London was a treaty, signed by France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, on 31 October 1861. The purpose of the treaty was to agree on a course of action towards obtaining loan repayments from Mexico.: 552 Although this went against the main tenet of the Monroe Doctrine (European non-intervention in the Americas), the United States was not in a position to offer much opposition as it was engulfed in its own civil war.
| Type | Military alliance |
|---|---|
| Drafted | 23 September 1861 – 11 October 1861: 27 |
| Signed | 31 October 1861 |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Effective | 31 October 1861 |
| Condition | Forces meet at Vera-Cruz: 33 |
| Expiration | 18 April 1862: 89 |
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| Depositary | London, United Kingdom Document No. 100. pp. 134–137, Vol. VIII. House Executive Documents, 2nd session, 37th Congress.: 315 |
| Languages | French, English: 315 |
It led the three countries to dispatch an expedition to Mexico to seek a complete repayment of their debt. After the French made aggressive and unreasonable demands towards the Mexican government, Spain and Britain, realising France's intention to turn Mexico into a puppet state, pulled their troops from Mexico and quickly signed treaties with Mexico allowing them an indefinite hold on the repayment of debt. The resulting struggle is known as the French intervention in Mexico by the army of the Second French Empire, also known as the Maximilian Affair and The Franco-Mexican War.: 553