Neutral Protectors. The Comité Hispano-Néerlandaisand the Fight for Belgium, 1917–1918

Abstract

During the First World War, Allies, Central Powers and neutrals collaborated to keep a keyhole in their respective blockades open to allow food and other relief aid for the Belgian civilian population through. American neutrality backed by American power were essential in producing an agreement that, during more than four years of war, sent a steady stream of ships carrying goods for the Committee for Relief of Belgium. But both fell away by 1917, after which America’s duties were taken up by a committee of Spanish and Dutch official diplomats. This article details how they managed to keep Belgium and Northern France fed despite a lack of clear diplomatic precedent, protected occupied populations from forcible displacement by the German army, and thwarted German attempts to seize control of Belgian relief and split the Belgian state in two. It also highlights how neutral state agents set an important precedent for the key role of neutrals, neutrality and neutral states in future humanitarian operations. Neutrals – Americans, but also Dutchmen and Spaniards – were indispensable honest brokers, privileged observers, and key conduits for diplomatic backchannels between belligerents, even in the midst of the Great War.