Concessions in China
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Concessions in China were a group of concessions that existed during the late Imperial China and the Republic of China, which were governed and occupied by foreign powers, and are frequently associated with colonialism and imperialism.
The concessions had extraterritoriality and were enclaves inside key cities that became treaty ports. All the concessions have been dissolved in the present day.
History[]
Imperial China period[]
Imperial China granted the concessions during the latter period of the Qing dynasty, as a result of the series of "unequal treaties". They began in 1842's Treaty of Nanjing with the United Kingdom. Under each treaty, China was usually obligated to open more treaty ports for trade and lease out more territory as part of the concession or surrender it completely. The one exception that preceded this period was Macau, which had been leased in 1557 to the Kingdom of Portugal, during the Ming dynasty; Portugal continued to pay rent to China up to 1863 to stay in Macau.[1]
There were a varying number of concessions in each city. For example, the concessions in Tianjin reached a total of nine at the height of the era. The concessions were usually under the control of a single Western power or the Empire of Japan. However, in the Shanghai International Settlement, the United Kingdom and the United States merged their concessions, while the French retained their separate French Concession.
Operations[]
In these concessions, the citizens of each foreign power were given the right to freely inhabit, trade, do missionary reductions, and travel. They developed their own sub-cultures, isolated and distinct from the intrinsic Chinese culture, and colonial administrations attempted to give their concessions "homeland" qualities. Churches, public houses, and various other western commercial institutions sprang up in the concessions. In the case of Japan, its own traditions and language naturally flourished. Some of these concessions eventually had a more advanced architecture of each originating culture than most cities back in the countries of the origin of the foreign powers. Over time, and without formal permission, Britain, France, Japan and the United States established their own postal systems within their concession and trade areas.[2] Following Chinese complaints over the loss of postal revenue and the lack of customs inspections, all of them were abolished at the end of 1922.[3]
Chinese were originally forbidden from most of the concessions, but to improve commercial activity and services, by the 1860s most concessions permitted Chinese, but treated them like second-class citizens as they were not citizens of the foreign state administering the concession. They eventually became the majority of the residents inside the concessions. Non-Chinese in the concessions were generally subject to consular law, and some of these laws applied to the Chinese residents.
Law[]
Each concession also had its own police force and different legal jurisdictions with their own separate laws. Thus, an activity might be legal in one concession but illegal in another. Many of the concessions also maintained their own military garrison and a standing army. Military and police forces of the Chinese government were sometimes present. Some police forces allowed Chinese, others did not.
Republic of China period[]
The foreign concessions continued to exist during the mainland period of the Republic of China. In major cities like Shanghai and Tianjin, due to the existence of numerous jurisdictions, criminals could commit a crime in one jurisdiction and then easily escape to another. This became a major problem during the Republican period, with the rise of post–Imperial Warlord era and the collapse of central authority in the 1920s and the 1930s. Crime often flourished, especially organized crime by different warlord groups.
Some efforts were made by the foreign powers to have the different police forces cooperate and work together, but not with significant success. The image of gangsters and Triad societies connected with the major cities and concessions of the period is often due to extraterritoriality within the cities.
At the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the standing army in the Japanese concessions would be used against the Chinese forces.
List of concessions[]
Country | Concession | Location (modern name) | Year established | Year dissolved | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
International | Shanghai International Settlement | Shanghai | 1863 | 1945 | Formed from the British and American concessions |
Beijing Legation Quarter | Beijing | 1861 | 1945 | ||
Gulangyu International Settlement | Xiamen | 1903 | 1945 | ||
Austria-Hungary | Austro-Hungarian concession of Tianjin | Tianjin | 1902 | 1917 | |
Belgium | Belgian concession of Tianjin | Tianjin | 1902 | 1931 | [4] |
France | Kwang-Chou-Wan | Zhanjiang | 1898 | 1946 | [5] |
French Concession of Shanghai | Shanghai | 1849 | 1946 | ||
Guangzhou | 1861 | 1946 | |||
French concession of Hankou | Hankou | 1896 | 1946 | ||
French concession of Tianjin | Tianjin | 1861 | 1946 | ||
French Railway, Kunming | Kunming | 1904 | 1940 | After the French, WWII saw a significant influx of American troops. | |
Germany | Kiautschou Bay leased territory | Qingdao | 1898 | 1914 | |
German concession of Hankou | Hankou | 1895 | 1917 | ||
German concession of Tianjin | Tianjin | 1895 | 1917 | ||
Italy | Italian concession of Tianjin | Tianjin | 1901 | 1947 | |
Japan | Kwantung Leased Territory/South Manchuria Railway Zone | Dalian | 1905 | 1945 | Obtained from Russia |
Kiautschou Bay leased territory | Qingdao | 1914 | 1922 | Obtained from Germany | |
Japanese concession of Tianjin | Tianjin | 1898 | 1943 | ||
Japanese concession of Hankou | Hankou | 1898 | 1943 | ||
Japanese concession of Chongqing | Chongqing | 1897 | 1943 | ||
Japanese concession of Suzhou | Suzhou | 1897 | 1943 | ||
Japanese concession of Hangzhou | Hangzhou | 1897 | 1943 | ||
Japanese concession of Shashi | Shashi | 1898 | 1943 | ||
Portugal | Portuguese Macau | Macau | 1557 | 1999 | |
Russia | Russian Dalian | Dalian | 1898 | 1905 | |
Russian concession of Tianjin | Tianjin | 1900 | 1924 | ||
Russian concession of Hankou | Hankou | 1896 | 1924 | ||
Chinese Eastern Railway, Harbin | Harbin | 1896 | 1952 | ||
Soviet Union | Dalian | 1945 | 1955 | ||
United Kingdom | New Territories, Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 1898 | 1997 | |
Weihaiwei leased territory | Weihai | 1898 | 1930 | Liugong Island remained under British control as a separate territory until 1940 | |
Liugong Island | Weihai | 1930 | 1940 | Formerly part of Weihaiwei leased territory since 1898[6] | |
British concession of Tianjin | Tianjin | 1860 | 1943 | ||
British concession of Hankou | Hankou | 1861 | 1927 | ||
British concession of Jiujiang | Jiujiang | 1861 | 1927 | ||
British concession of Zhenjiang | Zhenjiang | 1861 | 1929 | ||
British concession of Shamian Island, Guangzhou | Guangzhou | 1861 | 1945 | ||
British concession of Amoy | Xiamen | 1852 | 1930 | ||
British concession of Dalian | Dalian | 1858 | 1860 | ||
British concession of Shanghai | Shanghai | 1846 | 1863 | Merged to form Shanghai International Settlement | |
Trading warehouses at Tengchong (Tengyue) | Yunnan | Late 19th/early 20th century. | Still standing, with bullet holes. British diplomat Augustus Margary was murdered here in 1875. Consulate built 1921. | ||
United States | American concession of Shanghai | Shanghai | 1848 | 1863 | Merged to form Shanghai International Settlement |
American concession of Tianjin | Tianjin | 1860 | 1902 | Merged to form British concession in Tianjin |
Additionally, there were more concessions were planned but never completed.
Country | Planned Concession | Location (modern name) |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom | British concession of Yingkou | Yingkou |
British concession of Jiangning | Nanjing | |
British concession of Yichang | Yichang | |
British concession of Wuhu | Wuhu | |
British concession of Wenzhou | Wenzhou | |
Japan | Japanese concession of Shashi, Jingzhou | Jingzhou |
Japanese concession of Fuzhou | Fuzhou | |
Japanese concession of Xiamen | Xiamen | |
Japanese concession of Yingkou | Yingkou | |
France | French concession of Yantai | Yantai |
French concession of Jiangning | Nanjing | |
United States | American concession of Wenzhou | Wenzhou |
See also[]
Notes[]
- ^ Joseph Timothy Haydn (1885). Dictionary of dates, and universal reference. [With] (18 ed.). Oxford University. p. 522.
MACAO (in Quang-tong, S. China) was given to the Portuguese as a commercial station in 1586 (in return for their assistance against pirates), subject to an annual tribute, which was remitted in 1863. Here Camoens composed part of the "Lusiad."
- ^ U.S. Postal Agency in Shanghai
- ^ Unequal Treaties and China (Volume 1)
- ^ Anne-Marie Brady; Douglas Brown (2013). Foreigners and Foreign Institutions in Republican China. Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-415-52865-8.
- ^ Geoffrey C. Gunn (1 November 2016). Wartime Macau: Under the Japanese Shadow. Hong Kong University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-988-8390-51-9.
- ^ Fiona de Londras; Siobhán Mullally (4 December 2014). Irish Yearbook of International Law. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-84946-975-3.
References[]
- Nield, Robert (2010). The China Coast: Trade and the First Treaty Ports. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing Company. ISBN 9789620429873.
Further reading[]
- Panikkar, K. M. (1953). Asia and Western dominance, 1498–1945, by K.M. Panikkar. London: G. Allen and Unwin.
External links[]
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- Concessions in China
- Concession territories
- European colonisation in Asia
- Enclaves and exclaves
- Former enclaves
- Qing dynasty
- History of the Republic of China
- History of the foreign relations of China
- 19th century in China
- 20th century in China