Congress of Paris (1856)

On the Congress of Paris in 1856 representatives of England, France, Austria, Sardinia, Turkey and Russia met for more than a month to draw up and sign the Treaty of Paris (1856), a peace treaty ending the Crimean War. The provisions affecting naval warfare included: (1) Abolition of wartime privateers; (2) Guarantee of safe passage for all enemy property, except war contraband, carried on neutral ships; (3) Guarantee of safety to all shipping on the Danube River; (4) Provision that all blockades must be effective in order to be binding on neutral shipping; (5) Black Sea opened up for the first time to commercial shipping of all nations; (6) Ban placed on all naval ships in the Black Sea and on any arsenals or fortifications on Black Sea coastal areas.