Urban League, National, voluntary nonpartisan community service agency, founded in 1910, whose goal is to help end racial segregation and discrimination in the United States, especially toward African Americans, and to help economically and socially disadvantaged groups to share equally in every aspect of American life. It provides direct service in the areas of employment, housing, education, social welfare, health, family planning, mental retardation, law and consumer affairs, youth and student affairs, labor affairs, veterans affairs, and community and minority business development. Considered more conservative in outlook than the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Urban League has 50,000 members in 115 affiliates in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

Union League Clubs, in U.S. history, organizations formed throughout the North in the Civil War after the military defeats and Republican election losses of 1862. A convention at Cleveland (May, 1863) provided for national headquarters of the Union League at Washington. The clubs distributed war literature, raised money for soldier relief, and recruited both white and black volunteers for the army. In the South after the war, the league, led by officials of the Freedmen's Bureau, carpetbaggers, and scalawags, developed into a strong Republican political organization that controlled the black vote. Its influence was curtailed by the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and vanished with the end of Reconstruction. The Union League Clubs of New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago survived as conservative social organizations.

Three Emperors' League, informal alliance among Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia, announced officially in 1872 on the occasion of the meeting of emperors Francis Joseph, William I, and Alexander II. The chief architects of the alliance were Julius Andrássy, Otto von Bismarck, and Prince Gorchakov. The aims of the league were to preserve the social order of the conservative powers of Europe and to keep the peace between Austria-Hungary and Russia. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 shook the alliance (see Berlin, Congress of). Although the agreement was secretly renewed in 1881, it was disrupted again in 1885 as a result of the Balkan flareup. However, it remained in force until 1887, when it was eclipsed by the German-Austrian alliance of 1879, which after the adherence of Italy (1882) became the Triple Alliance. From 1887 to 1890 all that remained of the Three Emperors' League was a Russo-German reinsurance treaty. The German chancellor Graf von Caprivi refused to renew even this in 1890, thus opening the way for the Franco-Russian rapprochement and the creation of the Triple Entente (see Triple Alliance and Triple Entente).

Swabian League, association of Swabian cities and other powers in SW Germany for the protection of trade and for regional peace. The Swabian League of 1488-1534 is the best known of the long series dating from the 14th cent. Supported by the Holy Roman emperor as an instrument of imperial power, it comprised more than 26 cities and many nobles, knights, and prelates. The league had a court, a powerful army, and a formal constitution (renewed in 1496, 1500, 1512, and 1522). It backed the election (1519) of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and it used its military power to expel Duke Ulrich I from Württemberg. The league played a leading role in putting down the knights' revolt led by Franz von Sickingen, and it helped defeat the peasants in the Peasants' War. The dissolution (1534) of the league resulted from the opposition of interests between its feudal members and its cities and from the religious split caused by the Reformation. Many Protestant members in 1531 joined the Schmalkaldic League. Later attempts by Charles V to restore the Swabian League failed.

Solemn League and Covenant: see Covenanters.

Schmalkaldic League, alliance formed in 1531 at Schmalkalden by Protestant princes and delegates of free cities. It was created in response to the threat (1530) by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to stamp out Lutheranism. Led by Philip of Hesse and John Frederick I of Saxony, the league grew rapidly. Under its protection the Reformation spread through most of Germany. In an effort to crush the independence of the states of the empire and to restore unity to the Roman Catholic Church, Charles initiated the so-called Schmalkaldic War against the league. At the battle of Mühlberg (1547), the league was defeated.

Peloponnesian League: see Sparta.

Nonpartisan League, in U.S. history, political pressure group of farmers and workers organized in 1915 and led by a former socialist, Arthur C. Townley, who believed that the solution to the farmers' troubles lay in united political action. Feeding on agrarian discontent with falling prices and political boss rule, the Nonpartisan League spread through the Western wheat belt from Wisconsin to Washington and to the Southwest; its greatest strength was in Minnesota and the Dakotas. The group demanded state-owned grain elevators, flour mills, and packing houses as well as low-cost public housing for farmers and workers. Although it was not a political party in the usual sense, it exercised its power by endorsing and even nominating candidates of the major parties. It never attracted support from industrial workers, and other means for expressing the farmers' desires opened. After World War I it declined sharply, although it retained prominence in some areas, particularly North Dakota.

Muslim League, political organization of India and Pakistan, founded 1906 as the All-India Muslim League by Aga Khan III. Its original purpose was to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in India. An early leader in the League, Muhammad Iqbal, was one of the first to propose (1930) the creation of a separate Muslim India.

By 1940, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it had gained such power that, for the first time, it demanded the establishment of a Muslim state (Pakistan), despite the opposition of the Indian National Congress. During World War II the Congress was banned, but the League, which supported the British war effort, was allowed to function and gained strength. It won nearly all of the Muslim vote in the elections of 1946. The following year saw the division of the Indian subcontinent and the Muslim League became the major political party of newly formed Pakistan. By 1953, however, dissensions within the League had led to the formation of several different political parties.

Between 1958 and 1962, while martial law was in force under Muhammad Ayub Khan, the League was officially defunct. Later, the League reformed into two separate factions: the Convention Muslim League (under Ayub) and the Council Muslim League. This latter group joined a united front with other political parties in 1967 in opposition to the group led by Ayub. The Convention Muslim League ceased to exist when Ayub Khan resigned in 1969. The Council Muslim League, which had brought about the founding of Pakistan, was virtually eliminated from the political scene in the elections of 1970.

Since the lifting of restrictions on political parties in 1985 a number of parties have used the name Pakistan Muslim League, but they have little real connection with the original Muslim League. The Muslim League survived as a minor party in India after partition, and since 1988 has splintered into several groups, the most important of which is the Indian Union Muslim League.

Lombard League, an alliance formed in 1167 among the communes of Lombardy to resist Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I when he attempted to assert his imperial authority in Lombardy. Previously the communes had been divided, some favoring the emperor and others favoring the pope. However, after Frederick proclaimed his sovereignty in Italy at the Diet of Roncaglia (1158), twice invaded Italy (1158, 1166), and appointed German officials in all Lombard towns, even the imperial cities joined the coalition against him. The league was supported by Pope Alexander III, for whom its fortified city of Alessandria was named. In 1176 the league defeated Frederick at Legnano. After the peace of Constance (1183), which confirmed the freedom of the cities, the alliance tended to break again into rival factions. The league was revived in 1226 against Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who in 1237 defeated it at Cortenuova. The Lombard communes then ranged themselves on opposing sides in the quarrels between the popes and the Hohenstaufen.

League of Women Voters, voluntary public service organization of U.S. citizens. Organized in 1920 in Chicago as an outgrowth of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, it had as its original nucleus the leaders of the latter organization. The league was organized to educate American women in the intelligent use of their newly won suffrage. At its founding the league was primarily concerned with the status and rights of women, but it later broadened its interests to encompass the improvement of the entire political, economic, and social structure of the nation. It has directed its educational and research campaigns to those ends on local, state, and national levels. Formerly limited to female membership, the league voted in 1974 to accept men as full members. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., the organization has some 110,000 members.

League of Nations, former international organization, established by the peace treaties that ended World War I. Like its successor, the United Nations, its purpose was the promotion of international peace and security. The League was a product of World War I in the sense that that conflict convinced most persons of the necessity of averting another such cataclysm. But its background lay in the visions of men like the duc de Sully and Immanuel Kant and in the later growth of formal international organizations like the International Telegraphic Union (1865) and the Universal Postal Union (1874). The Red Cross, the Hague Conferences, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (Hague Tribunal) were also important stepping-stones toward international cooperation.

The Covenant: The Basis of the League

At the close of World War I, such prominent figures as Jan Smuts, Lord Robert Cecil, and Léon Bourgeois advocated a society of nations. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson incorporated the proposal into the Fourteen Points and was the chief figure in the establishment of the League at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The basis of the League was the Covenant, which was included in the Treaty of Versailles and the other peace treaties.

The Covenant consisted of 26 articles. Articles 1 through 7 concerned organization, providing for an assembly, composed of all member nations; a council, composed of the great powers (originally Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan, later also Germany and the USSR) and of four other, nonpermanent members; and a secretariat. Both the assembly and the council were empowered to discuss "any matter within the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world." In both the assembly and the council unanimous decisions were required.

Articles 8 and 9 recognized the need for disarmament and set up military commissions. Article 10 was an attempt to guarantee the territorial integrity and political independence of member states against aggression. Articles 11 through 17 provided for the establishment of the Permanent Court of International Justice (see World Court), for arbitration and conciliation, and for sanctions against aggressors. The rest of the articles dealt with treaties, colonial mandates, international cooperation in humanitarian enterprises, and amendments to the Covenant.

Members

The original membership of the League included the victorious Allies of World War I (with the exception of the United States, whose Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles) and most of the neutral nations. Among later admissions to membership were Bulgaria (1920), Austria (1920), Hungary (1922), Germany (1926), Mexico (1931), Turkey (1932), and the USSR (1934). Through the efforts of Sir Eric Drummond, the first secretary-general of the League, a truly international secretariat was created. Geneva, Switzerland, was chosen as the League headquarters.

Successes and Failures

The League quickly proved its value by settling the Swedish-Finnish dispute over the Åland Islands (1920-21), guaranteeing the security of Albania (1921), rescuing Austria from economic disaster, settling the division of Upper Silesia (1922), and preventing the outbreak of war in the Balkans between Greece and Bulgaria (1925). In addition, the League extended considerable aid to refugees; it helped to suppress white slave and opium traffic; it did pioneering work in surveys of health; it extended financial aid to needy states; and it furthered international cooperation in labor relations and many other fields.

The problem of bringing its political influence to bear, especially on the great powers, soon made itself felt. Poland refused to abide by the League decision in the Vilnius dispute, and the League was forced to stand by powerlessly in the face of the French occupation of the Ruhr (1923) and Italy's occupation of Kérkira (1923). Failure to take action over the Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931) was a blow to the League's prestige, especially when followed by Japan's withdrawal from the League (1933). Another serious failure was the inability of the League to stop the Chaco War (1932-35; see under Gran Chaco) between Bolivia and Paraguay.

In 1935 the League completed its successful 15-year administration of the Saar territory (see Saarland) by conducting a plebiscite under the supervision of an international military force. But even this success was not sufficient to offset the failure of the Disarmament Conference, Germany's withdrawal from the League (1933), and Italy's successful attack on Ethiopia in defiance of the League's economic sanctions (1935). In 1936, Adolf Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland and denounced the Treaty of Versailles; in 1938 he seized Austria.

Faced by threats to international peace from all sides—the Spanish civil war, Japan's resumption of war against China (1937), and finally the appeasement of Hitler at Munich (1938)—the League collapsed. German claims on Danzig (see Gdańsk), where the League commissioner had been reduced to impotence, led to the outbreak of World War II. The last important act of the League came in Dec., 1939, when it expelled the USSR for its attack on Finland.

In 1940 the League secretariat in Geneva was reduced to a skeleton staff; some of the technical services were removed to the United States and Canada. The allied International Labor Organization continued to function and eventually became affiliated with the United Nations. In 1946 the League dissolved itself, and its services and real estate (notably the Palais des Nations in Geneva) were transferred to the United Nations. The League's chief success lay in providing the first pattern of permanent international organization, a pattern on which much of the United Nations was modeled. Its failures were due as much to the indifference of the great powers, which preferred to reserve important matters for their own decisions, as to weaknesses of organization.

League of Arab States: see Arab League.

League City, city (1990 pop. 30,159), Galveston co., SE Tex.; inc. 1961. The aeronautics industry is of prime importance; NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is nearby. There is also diversified light manufacturing.

League or Holy League, in French history, organization of Roman Catholics, aimed at the suppression of Protestantism and Protestant political influence in France. It was foreshadowed as early as 1561 by the formation of the triumvirate of Anne, duc de Montmorency; François, 2d duc de Guise (see under Guise, family); and Marshal Saint-André. After the outbreak of the Wars of Religion (see Religion, Wars of), local and provincial leagues were formed. Finally, when the Protestants, or Huguenots, won unprecedented concessions at the Peace of Monsieur (1576), a declaration calling for a national League of Catholics was issued by Henri, 3d duc de Guise. King Henry III, fearing the ambitious Guise, proclaimed himself its head. A Huguenot uprising soon followed. After a successful campaign that enabled him to withdraw some of his previous concessions to the Huguenots, Henry III dissolved (1577) the League. It was revived in 1585, soon after the Protestant Henry of Navarre (later King Henry IV) had become the heir presumptive to the throne. Having taken up arms, Guise forced the king (July, 1585) to issue an edict for the conversion or exile of Protestants and the exclusion of Henry of Navarre from the succession. In the war that followed (the War of the Three Henrys), the League and the king were technically allied, but the League assumed the right to dictate, forcing the king to leave Paris (1588) and to renew his previous concessions. This dictation led Henry to order the assassination of Henri de Guise, who was succeeded at the head of the League by his brother Charles, duc de Mayenne. After the accession (1589) of Henry IV, the League controlled all the large cities, including Paris, and had the active support of Philip II of Spain, who sent Alessandro Farnese to Mayenne's aid. It split into two factions, however, over the question of Spanish interference, and it was weakened by Henry's military successes. Henry's victory at Ivry (1590), his abjuration of Protestantism (1593), and his entry into Paris (1594) brought the League's organized resistance to an end, and by 1598 the last important League member had submitted to Henry. For the Holy League in Italian history, see Holy League.

Land League: see Irish Land Question.

Iroquois League: see Iroquois Confederacy.

Holy League, in Italian history, alliance formed (1510-11) by Pope Julius II during the Italian Wars for the purpose of expelling Louis XII of France from Italy, thereby consolidating papal power. Venice, the Swiss cantons, Ferdinand II of Aragón, Henry VIII of England, and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I were the chief members of the league. The Swiss, who did most of the fighting, routed the French at Novara (1513), but in the same year Julius II died and the league fell apart. The French victory (1515) at Marignano reestablished the French in Lombardy.

Hanseatic League, mercantile league of medieval German towns. It was amorphous in character; its origin cannot be dated exactly. Originally a Hansa was a company of merchants trading with foreign lands. After the German push eastward and the settlement of German towns in the Slavic lands of the Baltic, the merchant guilds and town associations led (13th cent.) to leagues. Most notable was the company of German merchants with headquarters at Visby; pushing east, they founded a branch at Novgorod. In London, where German merchants had traded since the 11th cent., the privileges granted to Cologne merchants were extended to other Germans, and a Hansa of German merchants was formed (see Steelyard, Merchants of the). A major impetus to the league's development was the lack of a powerful German national government to provide security for trade. In order to obtain mutual security, exclusive trading rights, and, wherever possible, trade monopoly, the towns drew closer together. In 1241 Lübeck and Hamburg concluded a treaty of mutual protection. Other cities joined this association, and a strong league grew up led by Lübeck. Ports and inland towns from Holland to Poland entered the league, but the north German cities remained the principal members. The league vigorously extended its operations, founding principal foreign branches at Bruges and Bergen. The Hansa towns reached their summit in their victories over Waldemar IV of Denmark, gaining in the Treaty of Stralsund (1370) a virtual trade monopoly in Scandinavia. Their Baltic hegemony continued through numerous wars until their defeat by the Dutch in 1441. Despite its success, the league suffered from lack of organization. Although assemblies of the league met irregularly at Lübeck, many towns did not send representatives, and decisions were subject to review by the individual towns. The number of members fluctuated, probably from less than 100 to over 160. By the 16th cent. internal dissension, curtailment of freedom by the German princes, growth of centralized foreign states and consequent loss of Hanseatic privileges, advances of Dutch and English shipping, and various changes in trade all operated against the league. The last diet was held in 1669, but the league was never formally dissolved. Lübeck, Hamburg, and Bremen are still known as Hanseatic cities.

Evangelical League: see Protestant Union.

Delian League, confederation of Greek city-states under the leadership of Athens. The name is used to designate two distinct periods of alliance, the first 478-404 B.C., the second 378-338 B.C. The first alliance was made between Athens and a number of Ionian states (chiefly maritime) for the purpose of prosecuting the war against Persia. All the members were given equal vote in a council established in the temple of Apollo at Delos, a politically neutral island, where the league's treasury was kept. The assessments to be levied on the members were originally fixed by Athens, and the fairness with which these were apportioned contributed much toward maintaining the initial enthusiasm. States contributed funds, troops, and ships to the league. After Persia suffered a decisive defeat at Eurymedon (468 B.C.), many members supported dissolution of the league. Athens, however, which had profited greatly from the league, argued that the danger from Persia was not over. When Naxos attempted to secede, Athens, taking the leadership from the assembly, forced (c.470 B.C.) Naxos to retain allegiance. Soon Thasos attempted the same maneuver and was likewise subdued (463 B.C.) by the Athenian general Cimon. The Athenians were so successful in their aims, using both force and persuasion, that by 454 B.C. the league had grown to c.140 members. An invasion by the league's enemies, Sparta and its supporters, was averted in 457 B.C., and Thebes, the traditional enemy of Athens, was subjected (456 B.C.). In 454 B.C., because of the real or pretended danger of Persian attack, the treasury was transported from Delos to the Athenian Acropolis. The league had in effect become an Athenian empire. However, its unity was not very stable, and in 446 B.C. Athens lost Boeotia. Gradually Athens lost its prestige as well as many of its alliances, and, with the Peloponnesian War (404 B.C.), the league came to an end. In 394 B.C., Conon reestablished the Athenian mastery of the sea at Cnidus. Proffers of alliance reached Athens, and in 378 B.C. the second Athenian confederacy was formed. Two years later Athens won a naval victory over Sparta near Naxos; the Athenians and Spartans compromised with a treaty that left Athens supreme on the sea and Sparta supreme on the mainland of Greece. In 371 B.C., Thebes withdrew from the alliance and gained predominance over Boeotian land that had been occupied (387 B.C.) by Sparta. A treaty was made between Athens and Sparta. By 351 B.C., however, the status of the league had been seriously weakened in the north and in the east, and in 338 B.C. the league was utterly destroyed by the victory of Philip II of Macedon in the battle of Chaeronea.

Consumers' League, National, organization designed to promote better conditions among workers by encouraging the purchase of articles made and sold under improved working conditions. The movement started in England (1890); the U.S. group was founded (1899) by Florence Kelley and her followers. The league undertook to investigate factories and to educate consumers in purchasing habits. For many years the league used a label for goods which had passed inspection, and many consumers learned to purchase only those goods thus labeled. Many of the objectives of the league became law, e.g., shorter hours, minimum wages, payment for overtime, and the abolition in most states of child labor.

Catholic League, in French history: see Holy League.

Cambrai, League of, 1508-10, alliance formed by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, King Louis XII of France, Pope Julius II, King Ferdinand V of Aragón, and several Italian city-states against the republic of Venice to check its territorial expansion. The republic was soon on the verge of ruin. Its army was defeated by the French at Agnadello (1509); most of the territories it had occupied were lost; and Maximilian entered Venetia. The republic had to make concessions to the pope and to Ferdinand. In 1510 the pope became reconciled to Venice and began forming the Holy League against France. The republic emerged from the war having suffered serious losses but by no means crushed.

Awami League, political organization in Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was founded in 1949 as an opposition party in Pakistan and had a moderately socialist ideology. The Awami [people's] League, with cofounder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as its leader from 1953, called in 1966 for a federation of East and West Pakistan, an arrangement that would have given much greater autonomy to East Pakistan. The party's candidates won a majority in the 1970 elections, but the central government in West Pakistan banned the League after war between East and West Pakistan erupted in early 1971. When Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) won its independence in late 1971, the party was the nation's dominant political force. In 1981 and again in 1991 it was defeated in a popular election by the Bangladesh National party (BNP), but the League won the 1996 parliamentary elections, and party leader Hasina Wazed, the daughter of Mujibur Rahman, became prime minister. The League lost the 2001 elections to the BNP in a landslide.

Augsburg, League of, defensive alliance formed (1686) by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I with various German states, including Bavaria and the Palatinate, and with Sweden and Spain so far as their German interests were concerned. It was an acknowledgment of a community of German feeling against French expansion. The war that broke out after the French attack on the Palatinate in Oct., 1688, is sometimes designated the War of the League of Augsburg. In 1689 a new coalition against the French, the Grand Alliance, was formed by Austria, England, and the Netherlands. Savoy and Spain later joined the Alliance, and the war of 1688-97 is more properly known as the War of the Grand Alliance (see Grand Alliance, War of the).

Arab League, popular name for the League of Arab States, formed in 1945 in an attempt to give political expression to the Arab nations. The original charter members were Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan (now Jordan), Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. A representative of Palestinian Arabs, although he did not sign the charter because he represented no recognized government, was given full status and a vote in the Arab League. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was granted full membership in 1976. Other current members include Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea (pending in 1999), Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The league is organized into a council, special committees, and a permanent secretariat; the secretariat has its headquarters in Cairo. The constitution of the league provides for coordination among the signatory nations on education, finance, law, trade, and foreign policy, and it forbids the use of force to settle disputes among members. A joint defense treaty was signed in 1950. In 2005 an Arab Parliament was established; its members are drawn from each member nation's parliament. The issues the parliament may discuss, however, are restricted to the social, economic, and cultural spheres.

Among the most important activities of the Arab League have been its attempts to coordinate Arab economic life; efforts toward this aim include the Arab Telecommunications Union (1953), the Arab Postal Union (1954), and the Arab Development Bank (1959, later known as the Arab Financial Organization). The Arab Common Market was established in 1965 and is open to all Arab League members. The common market agreement provides for the eventual abolition of customs duties on natural resources and agricultural products, free movement of capital and labor among member countries, and coordination of economic development.

In 1945, the league supported Syria and Lebanon in their disputes with France and also demanded an independent Libya; in 1961, it supported Tunisia in a conflict with France. The league early announced opposition to the formation of a Jewish state in Palestine and demanded that Palestine as a whole be made independent, with the majority of its population Arab. When the state of Israel was created in 1948, the league countries jointly attacked it, but Israel resisted successfully. The league continued to maintain a boycott of Israel and of companies trading with Israel. The summit conferences of 1964-65 established a joint Arab military command, which proved unsuccessful in implementing a united strategy for the liberation of Palestine. Egypt's membership was suspended from 1979 to 1989 because of its treaty with Israel, and the league's headquarters were moved to Tunis. In 1988 the league endorsed the PLO's plan for a negotiated settlement with Israel, and in 1991 Cairo once again became its headquarters. In 2002 the league for the first time offered Israel normal relations with Arab countries if it met certain conditions, but many of those conditions were not acceptable to Israel.

For many years, closer political unity among members was hampered by a division between pro-Western member countries and neutralist or pro-Soviet ones; more recently the division has been between militant Islamic fundamentalists and Arab moderates. The league ultimately supported Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) but was divided over the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 (see Persian Gulf War). In 1993 the league issued a statement condemning all forms of terrorism.

Anti-Saloon League, U.S. organization working for prohibition of the sale of alcoholic liquors. Founded in 1893 as the Ohio Anti-Saloon League at Oberlin, Ohio, by representatives of temperance societies and evangelical Protestant churches, it came to wield great political influence. Vigorously led by James Cannon, Jr., a Methodist bishop, the League played an important role in securing the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. Its influence waned, however, especially after the repeal (1933) of prohibition. From 1950 to 1964 it was called the National Temperance League; from then it has been known as the American Council on Alcohol Problems.

Anti-Corn-Law League, organization formed in 1839 to work for the repeal of the English corn laws. It was an affiliation of groups in various cities and districts with headquarters at Manchester and was an outgrowth of the smaller Manchester Anti-Corn-Law Association. Richard Cobden and John Bright were its leading figures. The league won over Sir Robert Peel to its views, and the corn laws were repealed in 1846.

Aetolian League, confederation centering in the cities of Aetolia. It was formed in the 4th cent. B.C. and began to gain power in the 3d cent. in opposing the Achaean League and the Macedonians. At its height, the league stretched across Greece from sea to sea, including Locris, Malis, Dolopes, part of Thessaly, Phocis, and Acarnania. Its federal structure consisted of a popular assembly of all citizens, a federal council in which representation was based on the size of a community's military contingent in the Legion's army, and an inner council. The league could levy taxes, raise armies, and conduct foreign policy. The members also shared a common currency and a uniform system of weights and measures. In alliance with the Romans, the Aetolians helped to defeat Philip V of Macedon at Cynoscephalae in 197 B.C. However, the Aetolians became increasingly dissatisfied with Roman interference in Greek affairs and subsequently allied themselves with Antiochus III of Syria. His defeat (189 B.C.) by the Romans spelled the ruin of the league. Although formally it continued, its power had vanished.

Achaean League, confederation of cities on the Gulf of Corinth. The First Achaean League, about which little is known, was formed presumably before the 5th cent. B.C. and lasted through the 4th cent. B.C. Its purpose was mutual protection against pirates. The Achaeans remained aloof from the wars in Greece until they joined the opposition to Philip II of Macedon in 338 B.C. The confederation was dissolved soon after. The Second Achaean League was founded in 280 B.C. Sicyon was freed from the rule of its tyrant in 251 B.C., and it soon joined the confederation under the leadership of Aratus. Other cities outside Achaea were incorporated on terms of equality, and in 247 B.C. the Macedonians were driven from Corinth. There was some promise of liberating all Greece, but unfortunately the interference of Cleomenes III of Sparta threatened the Achaean League, and in 227 B.C. he began a war. The Achaean League then requested (224 B.C.) Macedonian aid against Sparta and the Aetolian League. The result was the eclipse of the confederation until the wars between Macedon and Rome. In 198 B.C. the Achaeans went over to Rome and with Roman aid won practically the whole Peloponnesus, forcing Sparta and Messene to join. Later suspecting the Achaeans of again looking toward Macedon, the Romans deported (168 B.C.) their leaders (including Polybius) to Italy. In 146 B.C. the Romans waged a war against the Achaeans and easily triumphed at Corinth. The Romans dissolved the confederation, thereby ending Greek liberty.

German Dreikaiserbund

Diplomatic alignment of the empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia devised by Otto von Bismarck in 1872. Its aim was to neutralize disagreement between Austria-Hungary and Russia over spheres of influence in the Balkans and to isolate Germany's enemy France. After the first Three Emperors' League (1872–78) collapsed, Bismarck succeeded in renewing it (1881, 1884). When Russia declined a third renewal, Bismarck negotiated a separate accord with Russia, the Reinsurance Treaty (1887). Seealso Austro-German Alliance.

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(1643) Agreement between the English and Scots in which the Scots agreed to support the English Parliamentarians in their disputes with the Royalists, and both countries agreed to work for a civil and religious union of England, Scotland, and Ireland under a presbyterian-parliamentary system. The Scots sent an army to England in 1644, and Charles I surrendered to them in 1646. He later agreed to the covenant and received Scottish military assistance (1647). Neither Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth nor Charles II (after the 1660 Restoration) honoured the covenant, and it was not renewed. Seealso Covenanter.

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Defensive alliance by Protestant states of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established in 1531 at Schmalkalden, Germany, to defend the newly formed Lutheran churches from attack by the Catholic emperor Charles V. Fearing that the league would ally itself with his enemy, Francis I of France, Charles gave it de facto recognition until 1544, when he made peace with Francis. Charles then moved against the league militarily and by 1547 had effectively destroyed it. Seealso Schmalkaldic Articles.

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or Spartan Alliance

Military coalition of Greek city-states led by Sparta, formed in the 6th century BC. League decisions about war, peace, or alliance were determined by congresses summoned by the Spartans. The league was a major force in Greek affairs, forming the core of resistance to the Persian invasions in 490 and 480 and fighting Athens in the Peloponnesian War. Its power declined after its defeat at Leuctra in 371, and the league disbanded in 366/365.

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Alliance of U.S. farmers to gain protection from wheat monopolies. Founded in North Dakota in 1915 by Arthur Townley, it demanded that mills, grain elevators, banks, and hail-insurance companies be state owned. In 1916 its candidate, Lynn Frazier, was elected governor of North Dakota, and the state legislature enacted its program in 1919. The league declined after the 1920s and affiliated with the Democrats in 1956.

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orig. All India Muslim League

Political group that led the movement calling for a separate Muslim country to be created out of the partition of British India (1947). The league was founded in 1906, and in 1913 it adopted self-government for India as its goal. For several decades it supported Hindu-Muslim unity in an independent India, but in 1940, fearing Hindu domination, the league called for a separate state for India's Muslims. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Muslim League (as the All Pakistan Muslim League) became Pakistan's dominant political party, but it gradually declined in popularity and by the 1970s had disappeared altogether. Seealso Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

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Italian league that resisted attempts by the Holy Roman emperors to curtail the liberties of the communes of Lombardy in northern Italy in the 12th–13th century. Founded in 1167, it was backed by Pope Alexander III, who saw it as an ally against Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. After several military setbacks at the hands of the league, Frederick was forced to grant the Lombard cities communal liberties and jurisdiction under the Peace of Constance. The league again was renewed in 1226 and resisted Frederick II's attempt to reassert imperial power in northern Italy.

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Organization for international cooperation established by the Allied Powers at the end of World War I. A league covenant, embodying the principles of collective security and providing for an assembly, a council, and a secretariat, was formulated at the Paris Peace Conference (1919) and contained in the Treaty of Versailles. The covenant also set up a system of colonial mandates. Headquartered at Geneva, the League was weakened by the failure of the U.S., which had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles, to join the organization. Discredited by its failure to prevent Japanese expansion into China, Italy's conquest of Ethiopia, and Germany's seizure of Austria, the League ceased its activities during World War II. It was replaced in 1946 by the United Nations.

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(1508–10) Alliance of Pope Julius II, Emperor Maximilian I, King Louis XII, and King Ferdinand V, formed in 1508. Ostensibly directed against the Turks, its actual aim was to attack the Republic of Venice and divide its possessions among the allies. The allies were unable to act together because of their individual ambitions, and the league collapsed in 1510, when the pope joined with Venice, while Ferdinand became neutral.

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or League of Arab States

Regional organization formed in 1945 and based in Cairo. It initially comprised Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen; joining later were Libya, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Somalia, the Palestine Liberation Organization, Djibouti, and Comoros. The league's original aims were to strengthen and coordinate political, cultural, economic, and social programs and to mediate disputes; a later aim was to coordinate military defense. Members have often split on political issues; Egypt was suspended for 10 years (1979–89) following its peace with Israel, and the Persian Gulf War (1990–91) also caused deep rifts. Seealso Pan-Arabism.

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or League of the Iroquois

Confederation of five (later six) Indian tribes across upper New York that in the 17th–18th century played a strategic role in the struggle between the French and British for supremacy in North America. The five original nations were the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca; the Tuscarora, a non-voting member, joined in 1722. According to tradition, the confederacy was founded between 1570 and 1600 by Dekanawidah, born a Huron (see Wyandot), carrying out the earlier ideas of Hiawatha, an Onondaga. Cemented mainly by their desire to stand together against invasion, the tribes united in a common council composed of 50 sachems; each original tribe had one vote, and unanimity was the rule. At first the confederacy barely withstood attacks from the Huron and Mohican (Mahican), but by 1628 the Mohawk had defeated the Mohican and established themselves as the region's dominant tribe. When the Iroquois destroyed the Huron in 1648–50, they were attacked by the Huron's French allies. During the American Revolution, the Oneida and Tuscarora sided with the American colonists while the rest of the league, led by Joseph Brant, fought for the British. The loyalist Iroquois were defeated in 1779 near Elmira, N.Y., and the confederacy came to an end.

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(1576–98) Association of Roman Catholics during the French Wars of Religion. It was first organized under the leadership of the 3rd duke de Guise, to oppose concessions granted to the Protestant Huguenots by Henry III. In 1584, when the Huguenot leader Henry of Navarra (later Henry IV) became heir to the throne, the Holy League set up an alternative candidate, with Spain's assistance. To put an end to the league, which challenged his authority, Henry III had the duke de Guise assassinated (1588), an act that, rather than destroying the League, led to Henry's own assassination in 1589. The league opposed the accession of Henry IV, but its power waned when he became a Roman Catholic in 1593.

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or Hansa

(from German Hanse, “association”) Organization founded in the late medieval period by northern German towns and merchant communities to protect their trading interests. The league dominated commercial activity in northern Europe from the 13th to the 15th century. It protected transport of goods by quelling pirates and brigands and fostered safe navigation by building lighthouses. Most important, it sought to organize and control trade by winning commercial privileges and monopolies and by establishing trading bases overseas. In extreme cases its members resorted to warfare, as when they raised an armed force that defeated the Danes in 1368 and confirmed the league's supremacy in the Baltic Sea. Over 150 towns were at some point associated with the league, including Bremen, Hamburg, and Lübeck.

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Confederacy of ancient Greek states led by Athens and based on the island of Delos. Founded in 478 BC to combat Persia, its members included Aegean states and islands; Athens supplied commanders and assessed tributes of ships or money. It achieved a major victory in 467–466 when its fleet drove out Persian garrisons on the southern Anatolian coast. After 454 its leaders moved the treasury to Athens for safekeeping, used it to rebuild the city's temples, and treated the league as the Athenian empire. Most league members sided with Athens in the Peloponnesian War, which diverted the league from its Persian campaign. After defeating Athens in battle in 405, Sparta disbanded the league in 404. Fear of Sparta helped revive the league in the early 4th century, but it weakened as Sparta declined and was crushed by Philip II at the Battle of Chaeronea (338).

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(1609–35) Military alliance of the Catholic powers of Germany, led by Maximilian I, duke of Bavaria, and designed to stem the growth of Protestantism in Germany. Plans for a league had long been discussed, but the formation of the Protestant Union in 1608 finally caused the Catholics to unite. In alliance with the Habsburg emperors, the League's forces, led by Graf von Tilly, played a key role in the Thirty Years' War. The league was abolished by the Peace of Prague (1635).

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(1508–10) Alliance of Pope Julius II, Emperor Maximilian I, King Louis XII, and King Ferdinand V, formed in 1508. Ostensibly directed against the Turks, its actual aim was to attack the Republic of Venice and divide its possessions among the allies. The allies were unable to act together because of their individual ambitions, and the league collapsed in 1510, when the pope joined with Venice, while Ferdinand became neutral.

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Federal state of ancient Aetolia in central Greece, probably based on a looser tribal community. A leading power by circa 340 BC, the Aetolian League resisted invasions by Macedonia in 322 and 314–311, expanded into Delphi, and allied with Boeotia circa 300. It fended off the Gauls in 279 and formed an alliance with Macedonia (circa 270–240). The league's power in central Greece was confirmed with the defeat of the Boeotians (245). From the late 3rd century Aetolia began to lose power and territory to Macedonia, culminating in the sacking of the league's federal capital, Thermum, by Philip V in 220. The league then allied with Rome against Macedonia and defeated Philip at Cynoscephalae (197). Rome later forced it into a permanent alliance (189) that cost it territory, power, and independence.

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3rd-century BC confederation of towns of Achaea, an area in the northern Peloponnese of ancient Greece. Twelve cities had joined together by the 4th century BC to combat piracy, but they disbanded after the death of Alexander the Great. Ten cities renewed the league in 280 BC, later admitting non-Achaean cities to defend themselves against Macedonia, then Sparta, and finally Rome. Rome dissolved the league after defeating it in 146 BC. Later a smaller league was formed that existed into the Roman imperial age.

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