Founding of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty)
- Date
- 4 April 1949
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- North Atlantic (Western Europe / North America)
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
On 4 April 1949 twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C., establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The founding members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. The treaty created a transatlantic collective-defence alliance whose Article 5 declared that an armed attack against one member would be considered an attack against all. Forged amid early Cold War tensions following the Czechoslovak coup and the Berlin Blockade, NATO was intended to deter Soviet expansion in Europe, anchor the United States to European security and discourage renewed nationalist militarism. The treaty entered into force on 24 August 1949 after ratification. NATO became the principal Western military and political alliance of the Cold War; the admission of West Germany in 1955 directly prompted the Soviet Union to form the rival Warsaw Pact, formalising the bipolar military division of Europe.
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Empires active in 4 April 1949
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Solomonic dynasty1270 CE – 1974 CE
Related military & conflict events
- Creation of Israel and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War14 May 1948 (war May 1948 – July 1949)
- Korean War25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953
- Cuban Missile Crisis16–28 October 1962
- Fall of Saigon and reunification of Vietnam30 April 1975 (reunified 1976)
- Khmer Rouge Seize Cambodia and Declare Year Zero1975
- The Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi7 April – 19 July 1994
Further reading
The wider story
Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
Fast-paced narrative of Portugal's seaborne empire.
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