Central America

Makers of the Modern World: The peace conferences of 1919-23 and their aftermath
By Michael Streeter

They were in the United States’ backyard, and in some cases under her direct protection. So in many ways it was little surprise when Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama and Honduras joined the war on the Allied side in 1917 and 1918. Their involvement in the war was minimal, indeed scarcely noticeable, but it was enough. It earned these small relatively powerless nations – in Haiti’s case barely a functioning state – an invitation to sit alongside the Great Powers at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and sign the Treaty of Versailles.

Michael Streeter is an experienced writer and journalist who has travelled widely in Latin America and has an MA in Latin American politics and history from the University of London. His books include a biography of General Franco and The Mediterranean; Cradle of European Culture. He has written for most British national newspapers and was editor of the Daily Express website. He also runs a news consultancy and teaches. He lives and works in France.