History Main / BindingAncientTreaty

* In ''The Road to Omaha'', a former US General finds an ancient Indian Treaty that states that an obscure Native American tribe owns everything within several hundred bowshots of a located in what is now Omaha, Nebraska (Essentially most of the city, including the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command) and goes to the Supreme Court on their behalf purely to embarrass the United States government.

* This is a major issue in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series regarding the Seanchan. A thousand years ago, Artur Hawkwing united the continent under his rule. His empire dissolved with his death, but the son who led an expedition to another continent managed to conquer that land, and a new empire arose claiming to be descended from Hawkwing's blood. When the Seamchan finally returned to the main continent, they expected everyone to bow down to them immediately, rather than viewing them as a foreign invasion force.
* In ''The Road to Omaha'', a former US General finds an ancient Indian Treaty that states that an obscure Native American tribe owns everything within several hundred bowshots of a point now located in Omaha, Nebraska (Essentially most of the city, including the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command) and goes to the Supreme Court on their behalf purely to embarrass the United States government.

** The prequel game ''VideoGame/HomeworldDesertsOfKharak'' reveals that the ban wasn't completely forgotten but has merely [[LegendFadesToMyth passed into myth]]. The [[KnightTemplar religious fanatics]] of Kiith Gaalsien oppose the [[TheAlliance Northern Coalition]]'s space program and attempts to reach the Prime Anomaly because of their belief that their god Sajuuk will punish everyone for this.

* Subverted in VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}: When the Kushan test the Hyperdrive for the first time, they unknowingly broke a 4,000 year old treaty forbidding them to do so. This results in the Taiidan Empire committing genocide on the Kushan.

* In the ''Literature/NightWatch'' books, the Dark and the Light [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals Others]] had once fought a devastating war that was only stopped, because they realized that they would destroy the world. Both sides signed the Grand Treaty that severely limits what they can do and enforces the balance between the two sides. The Treaty also demands the creation of the Night Watch (composed of Light Others) to monitor the actions of the Dark Others and the Day Watch being its Dark Other equivalent. There is also the Inquisition, composed of former members of both sides (who have grown disillusioned with their side's philosophy) to act as a neutral party and judge high-level Treaty violations. While both sides honor the treaty on the surface, the ancient and powerful leaders of both sides tend to play long games to try to earn advantages to their side.

* It seems like the humans in ''Film/HellboyII: The Golden Army'' really ought to have remembered and honored their treaty with the elf king to leave the forests (and the supernatural creatures that live there) alone. Of course, that treaty was written hundreds of years ago. As it stood, they risked an unstoppable army of [[{{Golem}} magic]] [[{{Magitek}} robots]] descending upon the human world.

* Uhtred notes that the church tries this a lot in TheSaxonStories. True to form as an unrepentant and profoundly anti authoritarian worshipper of Thor, he ignores them. Since he has a reputation as being a BadAss, no one is overly inclined to push him on it.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance oldest diplomatic alliance still in force]] began with the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Windsor_1386 Treaty of Windsor]], signed between UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}} and UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} - the agreement having been established in 1373 and the actual treaty being signed in 1386. The British invoked it (with other incentives and reasons) to coax Portuguese assistance in both World War I (in which Portugal contributed troops to the Allies) and World War II (in which Portugal--by then a conservative/quasi-fascist dictatorship--[[WorldWarII/TheNeutralNations remained neutral]] but gave the Allies critical help, particularly the use of the Azores and Madeira as mid-Atlantic resupply stations). The Portuguese had less luck invoking it when India invaded Portuguese-held Goa (Britain cited many things to counter Portugal there, like how India was part of UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealth). That said, the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance is less of this trope than most think, as it was repeatedly reaffirmed over the centuries, and was supported by a strong trading relationship throughout; Portugal was a good market for English textiles, and the English aristocracy has long absolutely adored port wine, to the point that most port houses have English names. Not for nothing did English economist David Ricardo's seminal 1817 treatise on the concept of comparative advantage use the example of English woolens and Portuguese wine. [[note]]Perhaps coincidentally, Ricardo himself came from a Sephardic Jewish family of Portuguese origin.[[/note]]

** Arguably, it was reinstated when Scotland merged with England into Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, and then France reconciled with Britain and formed an alliance that arguably dates back to at least the CrimeanWar or a bit earlier, making it another case of this trope altogether.

* The North Atlantic Treaty, the document that created {{NATO}}, was signed in 1949. The threat for which it was originally designed--the Soviet Union and its puppet regimes--has not existed since approximately 1990.[[note]]1989 being the year the Wall fell, 1991 being the year the USSR collapsed.[[/note]] Article Five of the treaty states that an attack on one member (with a couple of geographic caveats to keep territories and colonies from being a trigger) is equivalent to an attack on ''all'' members, meaning that if some minor member of NATO gets into a shooting war with a major world power then it could ignite WorldWarIII. On the other hand, that very fact has likely prevented several conflicts from escalating further, and it has found new life as an organizing force when Europeans and/or the US get involved in overseas conflicts such as Libya.

** Left unclear is what would happen if war broke out ''between'' NATO members, which is more plausible than you might think given that Greece and Turkey, who have been enemies for thousands of years and still have major ongoing diplomatic disputes, are both members.

* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings: The Return of the King'', GondorCallsForAid, and Rohan answers. Leads to a very cool scene where signal fires on various mountain tops, maintained by likely very cold soldiers for hundreds of years, are lit in succession to tell the Rohirrim that Minas Tirith needs help. As befits this trope, King Théoden refuses when Aragorn first proposes this, claiming that Gondor hasn't kept up their half of the bargain when Rohan needed help. However, when the fires are lit, he personally leads the Rohirrim to help, presumably, to show that ''Rohan'' honors their agreements.

* Although newer than most of the entries on this list, the United States ratified nearly 400 treaties with various Native American tribes from 1778 to about 1850. These treaties are effectively considered to be between sovereign nations and many of them are still enforced in one way or another to this day (which is why many reservations allow gambling and have unique tax situations). Whether a certain treaty still applies, or if it even can be enforced, is a complicated enough issue that there is a specific specialization of law study for it (Tribal Law).

* In StarTrekExMachina, the Shesshran race had one of these with the Fabrini, which they honoured when the Fabrini's Yonadi descendants later wanted to colonize a world in their star system. In Shesshran culture, contracts and promises are held in the highest esteem, so even though they weren't entirely happy about it, they were quick to permit the Yonadi settlement on the neighbouring planet.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance oldest diplomatic alliance still in force]] began with the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Windsor_1386 Treaty of Windsor]], signed between UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}} and UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} - the agreement having been established in 1373 and the actual treaty being signed in 1386. The British invoked it (with other incentives and reasons) to coax Portuguese assistance in both World War I (in which Portugal contributed troops to the Allies) and World War II (in which Portugal--by then a conservative/quasi-fascist dictatorship--[[WorldWarII/TheNeutralNation remained neutral]] but gave the Allies critical help, particularly the use of the Azores and Madeira as mid-Atlantic resupply stations). The Portuguese had less luck invoking it when India invaded Portuguese-held Goa (Britain cited many things to counter Portugal there, like how India was part of UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealth). That said, the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance is less of this trope than most think, as it was repeatedly reaffirmed over the centuries, and was supported by a strong trading relationship throughout; Portugal was a good market for English textiles, and the English aristocracy has long absolutely adored port wine, to the point that most port houses have English names. Not for nothing did English economist David Ricardo's seminal 1817 treatise on the concept of comparative advantage use the example of English woolens and Portuguese wine. [[note]]Perhaps coincidentally, Ricardo himself came from a Sephardic Jewish family of Portuguese origin.[[/note]]

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance oldest diplomatic alliance still in force]] began with the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Windsor_1386 Treaty of Windsor]], signed between UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}} and UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} - the agreement having been established in 1373 and the actual treaty being signed in 1386. The British invoked it (with other incentives and reasons) to coax Portuguese assistance in both World War I (in which Portugal contributed troops to the Allies) and World War II (in which Portugal--by then a conservative/quasi-fascist dictatorship--remained neutral but gave the Allies critical help, particularly the use of the Azores and Madeira as mid-Atlantic resupply stations). The Portuguese had less luck invoking it when India invaded Portuguese-held Goa (Britain cited many things to counter Portugal there, like how India was part of UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealth). That said, the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance is less of this trope than most think, as it was repeatedly reaffirmed over the centuries, and was supported by a strong trading relationship throughout; Portugal was a good market for English textiles, and the English aristocracy has long absolutely adored port wine, to the point that most port houses have English names. Not for nothing did English economist David Ricardo's seminal 1817 treatise on the concept of comparative advantage use the example of English woolens and Portuguese wine. [[note]]Perhaps coincidentally, Ricardo himself came from a Sephardic Jewish family of Portuguese origin.[[/note]]

* Uhtred notes that the church tries this a lot in the SaxonStories. True to form as an unrepentant and profoundly anti authoritarian worshipper of Thor, he ignores them. Since he has a reputation as being a BadAss, no one is overly inclined to push him on it.

* Uhtred notes that the church tries this a lot in the Saxon Stories. True to form as an unrepentant and profoundly anti authoritarian worshipper of Thor, he ignores them. Since he has a reputation as being a BadAss, no one is overly inclined to push him on it.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance oldest diplomatic alliance still in force]] began with the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Windsor_1386 Treaty of Windsor]], signed between UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}} and UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} - the agreement having been established in 1373 and the actual treaty being signed in 1386. The British invoked it (with other incentives and reasons) to coax Portuguese assistance in both World War I (in which Portugal contributed troops to the Allies) and World War II (in which Portugal--by then a conservative/quasi-fascist dictatorship--remained neutral but gave the Allies critical help, particularly the use of the Azores and Madeira as mid-Atlantic resupply stations). The Portuguese had less luck invoking it when India invaded Portuguese-held Goa (Britain cited many things to counter Portugal there, like how India was part of UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealth). That said, the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance is less of this trope than most think, as it was repeatedly reaffirmed over the centuries, and was supported by a strong trading relationship throughout; Portugal was a good market for English textiles, and the English aristocracy has long absolutely adored port wine, to the point that most port houses have English names. Not for nothing did English economist David Ricardo's seminal 1817 treatise on the concept of comparative advantage use the example of English woolens and Portuguese wine.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance oldest diplomatic alliance still in force]] began with the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Windsor_1386 Treaty of Windsor]], signed between UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}} and UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} - the agreement having been established in 1373 and the actual treaty being signed in 1386. The British invoked it (with other incentives and reasons) to coax Portuguese assistance in both World War I (in which Portugal contributed troops to the Allies) and World War II (in which Portugal--by then a conservative/quasi-fascist dictatorship--remained neutral but gave the Allies critical help, particularly the use of the Azores and Madeira as mid-Atlantic resupply stations). The Portuguese had less luck invoking it when India invaded Portuguese-held Goa (Britain cited many things to counter Portugal there, like how India was part of UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealth). That said, the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance is less of this trope than most think, as it was repeatedly reaffirmed over the centuries, and was supported by a strong trading relationship throughout; Portugal was a good market for English textiles, and the English aristocracy has long absolutely adored port wine, to the point that most port houses have English names; not for nothing did English economist David Ricardo's seminal 1817 treatise on the concept of comparative advantage use the example of English woolens and Portuguese wine.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance oldest diplomatic alliance still in force]] began with the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Windsor_1386 Treaty of Windsor]], signed between UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}} and UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} - the agreement having been established in 1373 and the actual treaty being signed in 1386.

* Used multiple times in ''[[ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck Uncle Scrooge]]'' comics, with various factions competing to obtain symbolic artifacts that, due to ancient land ownership treaties, cede control over huge stretches of land to whoever owns the artifacts. In the end, when this results in [[spoiler: the Native Americans owning Europe]], governments are [[UnfortunateImplications finally spurred to take action]] to stop this from happening again.

** However, no other race is ok with this, especially since atmosphere-deprivation weapons are illegal. Unfortunately, since the Taiidan Empire has grown significantly in the past 4000 years, they can lord over all the other races with impunity, even if they merely pretend to be a part of the Galactic Council.

* The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Portuguese_Alliance oldest diplomatic alliance still in force]] began with the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Windsor_1386 Treaty of Windsor]], signed between UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}} and UsefulNotes/{{Britain}}.

* Naturally, these crop up on occasion in CyberNations. Usually the signatories downgrade a treaty if they're that out of touch with each other.

* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the Rohirrim have been living for five centuries in an ex-province of Gondor in return for aid in war.