428 A BRIEF SURVEY OF HUMAN HISTORY

sign the fait accompli. The deliberations were throughout
dominated by the Big Four : Clemenceau * the tiger' of
France, Lloyd George 'the Shylock' of England, Wilson 'the
Moses' of America, and Orlando 'the obscure' of Italy.
India was ' represented' by H. H. the Maharaja of Bikaner
'looking magnificent in a pale khaki turban/ What they
accomplished was little better than the achievements of the
equally historic (or equally mischievous) Congress of Vienna
(1815). They re-drew the map of the world and unsettled
its peace. " We are beginning to realise ", says Mr. Wells,
" that that conflict, terrible and enormous as it was, ended
nothing, began nothing, and settled nothing. It killed
millions of people; it wasted and impoverished the world...
The Great War lifted the threat of German imperialism from
Europe, and shattered the imperialism of Russia. It clear-
ed away a number of monarchies. But a multitude of flags
still waves in Europe, the frontiers still exasperate, great
armies accumulate fresh stores of equipment."1

The work of Versailles was a mixture of realism and
idealism. The former was rep-resented by Clemenceau and
Lloyd George, and the latter by President Wilson of America.
The redrawing of the map of the world and reparations were
due to the former, and the constitution of a League of
Nations was the achievement of the latter. To under-
stand the World To-day it is necessary to say something
about both.

The redistribution of territories was partly determined by
the promises held out by England and France to their
allies, and partly by the principle of nationality. First came
the share of the major Powers. England and France shared
between them the German colonies in Africa though only as

1. A Short History of the World, p. 244.