Treaty of London (1861)
| Type | Military alliance |
|---|---|
| Drafted | 23 September 1861 – 11 October 1861 |
| Signed | 31 October 1861 |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Effective | 31 October 1861 |
| Condition | forces meet at Vera-Cruz |
| Expiration | 18 April 1862 |
| Signatories |
Francisco Javier de Istúriz y Montero Earl John Russell comte Charles Joseph |
| Parties |
 Second French Empire Kingdom of Spain United Kingdom
|
| Ratifiers |
Isabella II of Spain Napoleon III Queen Victoria (37th Congress) |
| Depositary | London, United Kingdom Document No. 100. pp. 134–137,Vol. VIII. House Executive Documents, 2nd session, 37th Congress. |
| Languages | French, English |
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. Though this violated the main tenet of the Monroe Doctrine (European non-intervention in the Western Hemisphere), the United States could not offer much opposition as it was engulfed in its own civil war.
It led the three countries to put pressure on Mexico through blockades. After France's invasion, Spain and the United Kingdom, realising France's intention to colonise Mexico, pulled troops from the region. 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.
The Convention of London was preceded by a quadrilateral convention in 1860, by which France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Prussia threatened intervention in Mexico unless the incapacity of its government was changed. The parties to the convention also invited the United States to seek a solution to the financial and social chaos in Mexico. The stalemate between the Mexican political parties, both of whose actions depended on the support of the said European nations and the United States, resulted in a six-year civil war and rendered the country bankrupt. Earlier in May the English navy had disembarked a 400-men strong contingent at San Blas to secure the Mexican Pacific coast custom houses. The ongoing civil war from 1858 resulted in both Mexican political parties becoming indebted. Aside from the country's previous loan contracts the opposing sides ran out of funds and tried to cover their expenses in any way possible. Miguel Miramón of the conservatives chose to apply for a disadvantageous loan lent by creditor firm Jecker and Company. It was composed of 15,000,000 pesos in internal bonds, 619,000 pesos in cash and 368,000 in military clothing. These loans formed the basis of the long-term French claims, which led to the French Intervention in Mexico. In 1860 Miramón took a step further and seized a British deposit of 660,000 pesos reserved for the British bondholders by the Liberal cabinet of Benito Juárez. The same year Juárez also crossed the line by illegally seizing 1,100,000 pesos at Laguna Seca that constituted the property of mainly western European merchants. He immediately returned one third of the plunder and promised to pay 12% interest on the rest after the liberals' victory in the civil war. After their victory Juárez expelled the Spanish minister for allegedly supporting the Miramón faction and his navy seized the Spanish steam frigate La Concepción. On 11 June 1861 Mexico passed the recompensation deadline of the Lacuna Seca incident and was still not ready to repay the withheld money. Next month the Mexican Government suspended to transfer payments for two years.
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