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1916-Beginnings of the League of Nations (LON)
In September 1916, British governor Robert Cecil wrote an memorandum arguing that the world could only exist if the nations cooperated with each other. This was the very beginning of the creation of the LON. -
1919-Failure of League of Nations: Italy
In 1919, Italian nationalists captured the small port of Flume. For 15 months, Flume was governed by Italian nationalists. During this time, the League did nothing. Even when the Italians bombarded Flume and forced surrender, the League did nothing to stop this act. -
1920-Failure of League of Nations: Russia and Poland
In 1920, Poland made a swift advance into Russia, and Russia had no choice but to surrender. Poland made Russia sign a treaty that would give Poland nearly 80,000 square kilometers of land. During this act, the League did nothing to stop Poland even though Poland violated a different country. -
1920-Establishment of the League of Nations (LON)
The League of Nations (LON) was created and officially put into force on January 10th, 1920. LON was created as a result of the aftermath of World War I. At this point, the Treaty of Versailles and the Covenant of the League of Nations had both been signed. The power of LON was entered into force on this day. -
1921- Success of League of Nations: Upper Silesia
The Treaty of Versailles had given the people of Upper Silesia the right to vote whether they were a part of Germany or Poland. After a very close vote, the citizens of Upper Silesia started rioting. The League settled this dispute by splitting Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland and this decision was accepted by both countries and the people. -
1923- Success of League of Nations: Turkey
After a war in Turkey, the League sent doctors from the Health Organization to check the spread of disease and spent 10 million euros on building farms and homes for the refugees. Also, work was found for 600,000 people. -
1925- Success of League of Nations: Greece and Bulgaria
In 1925, sentries patrolling the Greece-Bulgaria border fired at each other and a Greek soldier was killed. As a result, the Greek army invaded Bulgaria. The League intervened and ordered the armies to stop fighting and for Greece to pull out of Bulgaria. The League then decided that Greece was to blame and fined her 45,000 euros. Both nations accepted the decision -
1945-United Nations (UN) created
Since the League of Nations (LON) failed to prevent the Second World War, it was replaced by the UN. The UN officially came into existence when the United Nations Charter was ratified. The UN Charter states basic regulations towards preventing war and the importance of the maintenance of international peace and security. When the UN was first established, there were only 51 nations represented at the assemblies, less than half of the number of countries represented by the UN today. -
1946-League of Nations dissolved
The League of Nations (LON) was dissolved because of its replacement by the UN. The failure of LON was mainly because it could not resolve the conflict that arose in the 1920's and 1930's, as it never had its own military alliance to enforce decisions. This lack of a military alliance led to an arms race, which ultimately began World War II. -
1947-First discussions for the World Trade Organization (WTO)
In November of 1947, 56 delegates representing different nations meet in Cuba to begin negotiating the charter for a proposed "International Trade Organization". This marks the very beginning of the creation of the WTO. -
1947-First discussions for the World Trade Organization (WTO)
In November of 1947, 56 delegates representing different nations meet in Cuba to begin negotiating the charter for a proposed "International Trade Organization". This marks the very beginning of the creation of the WTO. -
1948-World Health Organization founded by the UN
On April 7th, 1948, the UN created the World Health Organization (WHO), which deals with international and public health issues. Since its creation, WHO has been the one of the leading contributors in eradicating smallpox. WHO's current priorities include eradicating diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/ AIDS. WHO is also a good example of another international organization. -
1950-Success of United Nations: Korean War
In 1950, Korea was in chaos after Japan’s invasion. Both the US and the Soviet Union wanted to help Korea regain control. During this time, the UN stepped in and issued the decision to split Korea in half. Both countries agreed to this decision. -
1968-UN approves of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The UN approved of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which helps prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. All member nations have signed the NPT with the exception of India, Israel, North Korea (who signed and then withdrew), and Pakistan. The NPT has three main "pillars": non-proliferation, disarmament, and peaceful use of nuclear technology. -
1969-IMF creates the Special Drawing Right (SDR)
The Special Drawing Right (SDR) was created by the IMF to support the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system. The SDR is allocated to countries according to their IMF loan limits, and it is based on a number of significant international currencies. -
1977-IMF drafts rules regarding currency exchange
Due to the collapse of the international gold standard and the fixed-exhange-rate system, the IMF drafted new rules regarding currency exchange rates. -
1991-Success of United Nations: Cambodia
In 1991, Cambodian parties were firing at each other for conflicts and Cambodian citizens were getting caught in the crossfire, especially through the explosion of mines. The UNAMIC was established by the UN to maintain a ceasefire between the parties and initiate mine-awareness of civilian populations. -
1995-World Trade Organization established
Negotiations for the establishment of the WTO started in 1986 and continued for 10 years. These negotiations were about the GATT, of General Agreements on Tarriffs and Trade. Finally, on the first day of 1995, the WTO officially came into existence. -
2003-WTO offers to lower medicine prices
In September 2003, the WTO announced a deal aimed at giving developing countries access to cheaper medicines. Although the developing countries were extremely accepting of this idea, other aid organizations were opposed to this.
