1954 in the Vietnam War was a Catholic appointed to rule a country that was predominantly Buddhist. In the words of one historian, "Diệm's attractiveness to his first American patrons derived from three qualities: he was a certified anti-communist nationalist, he was a Roman Catholic, and he understood English." English language ability was rare among Vietnamese at the time. 21 July The Geneva Accords were signed in Paris. The accords called for a cease fire in the war, the independence of Vietnam, its division at the 17th parallel of latitude into two provisional states, North Vietnam and the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam), and the
Ottoman–Venetian peace treaty (1419) Ottoman–Venetian peace treaty (1419) The Ottoman–Venetian peace treaty of 1419 was signed between the Ottoman Empire and Republic of Venice, ending a short conflict between the two powers, confirming Venetian possessions in the Aegean Sea and the Balkans, and stipulating the rules of maritime trade between them. Following the victory of the Ottoman prince Mehmed I in the civil war of the Ottoman Interregnum in 1413, the Republic of Venice, as the premier maritime and commercial power in the area, endeavoured to renew the treaties it had concluded with Mehmed's predecessors. Its "bailo" in the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, Francesco Foscarini,