The Pacts of May ( es, Pactos de Mayo) are four protocols signed in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

on 28 May 1902 in order to extend their relations and resolve its territorial disputes. The disputes had led both countries to increase their military budgets and run an arms race in the 1890s. 1. - ''Acta Preliminar'': Argentina renounces the ability to intervene in the Chilean affairs in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

2. - ''Tratado general de Arbitraje'': Frames contract to define how to resolve territorial controversies 3. - ''Convención sobre Limitación de Armamentos Navales'': The most famous of the protocols is the

arms control Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Arms control is typically exercised through the u ...

treaty. It states that Chile and Argentina will sell off

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...

s they had under construction in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the disarmament of some ships already in service. As a consequence of territorial disputes both countries had begun to increase their military budgets and an arms race ensued in the 1890s. Of longer-lasting importance, the pact resolved the power projection competition by assigning each country a

sphere of influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal a ...

: Chile in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

and Argentina in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and

Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. According to Rizzo Romano, it is the first arms control pact. 4. - ''Agreement'': to ask the

Edward VII of the United Kingdom Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

the demarcation

ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...

of his award of 1902. During the Beagle Channel Arbitration Argentina brought forward the argument that the Pactos de Mayo implied a demarcation clause between both countries: Chile at the Pacific and Argentina at the Atlantic. Chile denied the argument, saying that the pacts are not a border treaty and therefore no place is named as limit between the Pacific and the Atlantic. Argentina still maintains that Cape Horn is the limit between the two oceans.

References

Bibliography

* Joseph S. Tulchin, Francisco Rojas Aravena, Ralph H. Espach, ''"Strategic Balance and Confidence Building Measures in the Americas"'', Stanford University Press, 1998, , {{ISBN, 978-0-8047-3608-4, 199 Pages
Los pactos de Mayo de 1902
in Spanish Language

in Spanish Language

with the text of the Pactos, in Spanish Language Argentina–Chile treaties 1902 in Argentina 1902 in Chile Treaties concluded in 1902 Boundary treaties Argentina–Chile border Arms control treaties

See also

References

Bibliography