Diplomacy or War : The Guyana - Venezuela Border Controversy

Signed, inscribed & dated by the author, Jai Narine Singh, on the title page. Book in excellent condition - light wear. All detail inquiries welcome.

In 1841 Venezuela disputed the British delineation, claiming territorial delineations established at the time of their independence from Spain. Venezuela claimed its borders extended as far east as the Essequibo Riverùan effective claim on two-thirds of British GuianaÆs territory. When gold was discovered in the disputed territory, Great Britain sought to further extend its reach, claiming an additional 33,000 square miles west of the Schomburgk Line, an area where gold had been discovered. In 1876 Venezuela protested, broke diplomatic relations with Great Britain, and appealed to the United States for assistance, citing the Monroe Doctrine as justification for U.S. involvement. For the next 19 years Venezuela repeatedly petitioned for U.S. assistance, calling on its neighbor to the north to intervene by either sponsoring arbitration or intervening with force. The United States responded by expressing concern, but did little to facilitate a resolution. In 1895, invoking the Monroe Doctrine, newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State Richard Olney sent a strongly-worded note to British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Lord Salisbury, demanding that the British submit the boundary dispute to arbitration. Salisbury response was that the Monroe Doctrine had no validity as international law. The United States found that response unacceptable and in December 1895, President Grover Cleveland asked Congress for authorization to appoint a boundary commission, proposing that the commissionÆs findings be enforced ôby every means.ö Congress passed the measure unanimously and talk of war with Great Britain began to circulate in the U.S. press. In this book, J.N. Singh shows that the question was extremely complex - an issue truly worthy of the troubled political times.