Geneva Peace Congress
1867 international peace conference
The Geneva Peace Congress, also known as the First Congress of Peace and Freedom, was the inaugural congress of the League of Peace and Freedom. Called by French republicans in 1867, in response to the burgeoning Luxembourg Crisis, its stated aim was to foment peace between European states and to establish a United States of Europe. The Congress received support from more than 10,000 people and was attended by 6,000 delegates.
It began on 9 September 1867, with a speech from Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, who called for the Congress to become an adjudicator for inter-state disputes in Europe, denounced the papacy and proclaimed that peace and freedom could only be established by democratic republics. On the second day, the Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin proclaimed that nationalism and the existing order of large, centralised states were the principle obstacles to a United States of Europe; he called for a social revolution to overthrow existing states and establish a decentralised European federation.
Debates about the social question and religion caused the congress to break down, but it was able to pass a resolution establishing the League of Peace and Freedom, which sought to abolish the conditions for war and improve the wellbeing of the working class.
Convocation
In 1866, the Kingdom of Prussia annexed the duchies of Holstein and Schleswig, creating the North German Confederation. The French Empire under Napoleon III responded by threatening to annex Luxembourg, which caused a diplomatic crisis. People throughout Europe protested the emperor's pronouncement, which French republicans took as an opportunity to put out an international call for peace and democracy. They received support from the Swiss politician James Fazy and established an organising committee, with Jules Barni as president.
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