Jade Treaty

TheJade Treaty(German:Jade-Vertrag) of 20 July 1853 between theKingdom of Prussiaand theGrand Duchy of Oldenburgprovided for the handover of 340 hectares of Oldenburg territory at what is nowWilhelmshaven,Germany,on the western shore of theJade Bight,a bay of theNorth Seawest ofBremerhaven.It was considered the best natural deep-water port in the German North Sea coast, and a good place for the naval base Prussia wished to build. The navy base built there became the nucleus of today's Wilhelmshaven.

The Jade Bight held the potential of a fine deep water port.

Since before 1848Prince Adalbert of Prussiahad worked to build a Prussian navy. During theFirst Schleswig Warof 1848-51, Prussia had virtually no navy. Within a few days theDanish navyhad destroyed German maritime commerce in the North Sea and theBaltic Sea.By 1852 Prussia had started to expand its fleet and needed a good port on the North Sea, which it had lacked since theCongress of Vienna.

The Wilhelmshaven and Jade Bight area as developed today.

The Jade Bight area offered deep water, a good anchorage and no ice in winter.Oldenburg welcomed the Prussian idea as a powerful ally and needed money to end the Bentinck succession dispute. From 1854, Prussia established the fortress, naval base and city of Wilhelmshaven, which would be useful in theSecond Schleswig Warof 1864.