Treaty ports ( Chinese : 商埠 ; Japanese : 条約港 ) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers , as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Qing dynasty of China (before the First Sino-Japanese War ) and the Empire of Japan .
191-726: The British established their first treaty ports in China after the First Opium War by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. As well as ceding the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain in perpetuity, the treaty also established five treaty ports at Shanghai , Guangzhou (Canton), Ningbo , Fuzhou , and Xiamen (Amoy). The following year the Chinese and British signed the Treaty of the Bogue , which added provisions for extraterritoriality and
382-673: A Japanese protest after 323 uncounted votes were discovered. As a result, the election was declared invalid and a new poll held on April 20–21, 1936, at which the Japanese nominated only two candidates. In the case of the Chinese members, in 1926 the Ratepayers' Meeting adopted a resolution approving the addition of three Chinese members to the council and they took their seats for the first time in April, 1928; while in May, 1930, their number
573-522: A body of Chinese merchants known as the Cohong and were forbidden to learn Chinese. Foreigners could only live in one of the Thirteen Factories and were not allowed to enter or trade in any other part of China. Only low-level government officials could be dealt with, and the imperial court could not be lobbied for any reason excepting official diplomatic missions. The Imperial laws that upheld
764-538: A century. While this trading heavily favoured the Chinese and resulted in European nations sustaining large trade deficits , the demand for Chinese goods continued to drive commerce. In addition, the colonisation and conquest of the Americas resulted in European nations (namely Spain, Great Britain, and France) gaining access to a cheap supply of silver, resulting in European economies remaining relatively stable despite
955-590: A consequence of Japan's rapid transition to a modern nation. Japan had sought treaty revision earnestly, and in 1894, signed a new treaty with Britain which revised or abrogated the previous "unequal" treaty. Other countries signed similar treaties. The new treaties came into force in July 1899. Following the Ganghwa Treaty of 1876, the Korean kingdom of Joseon agreed to the opening of three strategic ports and
1146-521: A consignment and shipping business in Guangzhou and Macau, with associates such as Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy , who became their principal supplier in India. While all three dealt in legal goods, they also profited greatly from selling opium. Jardine in particular was effective in navigating the political environment of Guangzhou to allow for more narcotics to be smuggled into China. He was also contemptuous of
1337-552: A defending argument for the maintenance of the orchestra, and Japan, whose Viscount Konoye encouraged the Japanese people to support the orchestra and the culture that it brought to the East. In addition to the string orchestra, opera and choral music were favored forms of entertainment. Often, the orchestra would accompany singers as a part of orchestra concerts, in addition to the symphonies and other pieces that they played, or just in choral or opera concerts. The French Concession
1528-403: A form of conspicuous consumption, even they knew that they should not indulge in it to the greatest extreme. Later, people of all social strata—from government officials and members of the gentry to craftsmen, merchants, entertainers, and servants, and even women, Buddhist monks and nuns, and Taoist priests—took up the habit and openly bought and equipped themselves with smoking instruments. Even in
1719-773: A huge trade deficit during the Sino-British trade. Meanwhile, the high tariff made the British government very dissatisfied with the Qing government. The Chinese only allowed silver in exchange for the products they were offering so a significant amount of this commodity was leaving the British Empire. As its merchants gained increasing influence in China, Great Britain bolstered its military strength in Southern China. Britain began sending warships to combat piracy on
1910-566: A judge. In 1927, a Provisional Court was established with a sole Chinese judge presiding. In 1930, Chinese Special Courts were established which had jurisdiction over all non-treaty power individuals and companies in the Settlement. Two countries, Britain and the United States, established formal court systems in China to try cases. The British Supreme Court for China and Japan was established in 1865 and located in its own building in
2101-545: A land attack on Kowloon fort the next day, but Elliot decided against it, stating that such an action would cause "great injury and irritation" to the town's inhabitants. After the skirmish, Elliot circulated a paper in Kowloon, reading; The men of the English nation desire nothing but peace; but they cannot submit to be poisoned and starved. The Imperial cruisers they have no wish to molest or impede; but they must not prevent
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#17327656118792292-548: A lucrative replacement, and was soon being auctioned in ever larger amounts in Calcutta. Private merchants who possessed a company charter (to comply with the British royal charter for Asiatic trade) bid on and acquired goods at the Calcutta auction before sailing to Southern China. British ships brought their cargoes to islands off the coast, especially Lintin Island , where Chinese traders with fast and well-armed small boats took
2483-518: A medicinal ingredient was documented in Chinese texts as early as the Tang dynasty (617–907), but the recreational usage of the narcotic was limited. As with India, opium (then limited by distance to a dried powder, often drunk with tea or water) was introduced to China and Southeast Asia by Arab merchants. The Ming dynasty banned tobacco as a decadent good in 1640, and opium was seen as a similarly minor issue. The first restrictions on opium were passed by
2674-631: A mixture of coins, including Chinese copper cash coins and Mexican dollars. Paper money was first issued by European and North American colonial banks (one British colonial bank known as the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China at one time issued banknotes in Shanghai that were denominated in Mexican dollars). Yen was used in the Japanese district of "Little Tokyo". European and North American currencies did not officially circulate in
2865-497: A policy in line with the credo of Smithian economics . This stance on trade was intended to open foreign markets to the resources of Britain's colonies, as well as provide the British public with greater access to consumer goods such as tea. In Great Britain, the adoption of the gold standard in 1821 resulted in the empire minting standardised silver shillings, further reducing the availability of silver for trade in Asia and spurring
3056-449: A portion of their cargo onto these floating warehouses, where the narcotic was eventually purchased by Chinese opium dealers. By implementing this system of smuggling, foreign merchants could avoid inspection by Chinese officials and prevent retaliation against the trade in legal goods, in which many smugglers also participated. In the early 19th century, American merchants joined the trade and began to introduce opium from Turkey into
3247-474: A practical monopoly over the city's businesses by the mid-1880s. It bought up all the local gas-suppliers, electricity producers and water-companies, then—during the 20th-century—took control over all non-private rickshaws and the Settlement tramways. It also regulated opium sales and prostitution until their banning in 1918 and 1920 respectively. Until the late-1920s, therefore, the SMC and its subsidiaries, including
3438-530: A prime location on the waterfront where the businesses, offices, warehouses, and residences of all foreigners were located. The Shanghai Bund was the largest and most famous. The North Riverbank in Ningbo (nowadays known as the Old Bund ), was the first in China, opening in 1844, 20 years before the Shanghai bund. A typical bund contained British, German, French, American, Japanese, and other nationals. The bund
3629-426: A punishing addiction: many people who stopped ingesting opium suffered chills, nausea, and cramps, and sometimes died from withdrawal. Once addicted, people would often do almost anything to continue to get access to the drug. These serious social issues eventually led to the Qing government issuing an edict against the drug in 1780, followed by an outright ban in 1796, and an order from the governor of Guangzhou to stop
3820-556: A revolution against the Qing government . Aggressive Japanese moves to dominate China in World War I caused a strong backlash of nationalism in the May Fourth Movement , which focused its ire not just on Japan, but also on the entire port city system as emblematic of imperialism that should no longer be tolerated. The national government had almost no police power in the port cities, allowing secret societies to flourish in
4011-457: A second British ship, Royal Saxon , attempted to sail to Guangzhou. The Royal Navy ships HMS Volage and HMS Hyacinth fired warning shots at Royal Saxon . In response to this commotion, a fleet of Chinese war junks under the command of Guan Tianpei sailed out to protect Royal Saxon . The ensuing Battle of Chuenpi resulted in the destruction of 4 Chinese war junks and the withdrawal of both fleets. The Qing navy's official report on
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#17327656118794202-484: A separate agreement in February 1946. It was one of two Chinese international settlements, along with Gulangyu International Settlement . The Treaty of Nanking and its supplementary treaty of 1843 – the first of the so-called unequal treaties - provided British merchants with the right to reside with their families and rent grounds and houses in five ports – Guanzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Shanghai and Ningbo – but there
4393-470: A similar expansion of the French concession in 1914) was turned down by the Chinese government due to anti-imperialist sentiments. Britain, pre-occupied with World War I , did not press the issue and the extra-settlement roads area retained the "quasi-concession" status until the demise of the concession. Parts of the northern extra-settlement roads area was allocated to Japan for defence purposes in 1927, which
4584-597: A slight to national pride. Shanghai International Settlement The Shanghai International Settlement ( Chinese : 上海公共租界 ) originated from the 1863 merger of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai , in which British and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction under the terms of unequal treaties agreed by both parties. These treaties were abrogated in 1943. The British settlements were established following
4775-549: A strict prohibition on opium within Great Britain, Lin questioned how Britain could declare itself moral while its merchants profited from the legal sale in China of a drug that was banned in Britain. He wrote: "Your Majesty has not before been thus officially notified, and you may plead ignorance of the severity of our laws, but I now give my assurance that we mean to cut this harmful drug forever." The letter never reached
4966-492: A warship at sea, with himself serving as the judge and merchant captains serving as jurors. He invited the Qing authorities to observe and comment on the proceedings, but the offer was declined. The naval court convicted 5 sailors of assault and rioting, and sentenced them to fines along with hard labour in Britain (a verdict later overturned in British courts). Angered by the violation of China's sovereignty, Lin recalled Chinese labourers from Macau and issued an edict preventing
5157-567: Is prohibited by law. Now the commoner, Yang, dares to bring it into the Forbidden City . Indeed, he flouts the law! However, recently the purchasers, eaters, and consumers of opium have become numerous. Deceitful merchants buy and sell it to gain profit. The customs house at the Ch'ung-wen Gate was originally set up to supervise the collection of imports (it had no responsibility with regard to opium smuggling). If we confine our search for opium to
5348-520: The Anglo-Chinese War , was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of their ban on the opium trade by seizing private opium stocks from mainly British merchants at Guangzhou (then named Canton) and threatening to impose the death penalty for future offenders. Despite
5539-602: The British Consulate compound , and the United States Court for China was established in the US Consulate in 1906. Both courts were occupied by the Japanese on 8 December 1941 and effectively ceased to function from that date. The currency situation in China was very complicated in the 19th century, as there was no unified monetary system. Different parts of China operated different systems, and
5730-533: The First World War , Japan overtook Britain as the country with the largest number of foreign residents in Shanghai. In 1914, Japan sided with Britain and France in the war and conquered all German possessions in China. By the beginning of the 1930s, Japan was swiftly becoming the most powerful national group in Shanghai and accounted for some 80% of all extraterritorial foreigners in China. Much of Hongkew , which had become an unofficial Japanese settlement,
5921-542: The French concession dropped out of the arrangement. The following year the British and American settlements formally united to create the Shanghai International Settlement. As more foreign powers entered into treaty relations with China, their nationals also became part of the administration of the settlement. The number of treaty powers had climbed to a high of 19 by 1918 but was down to 14 by
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6112-863: The General Post Office Building that is today the Shanghai Post Museum. International merchants brought with them amateur musical talent that manifested in the creation of the Shanghai Philharmonic Society in 1868. From here, the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra was officially formed in 1879. In 1938, the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra faced disbandment as the ratepayers in the annual Municipal Council meeting considered reallocating budgets away from
6303-474: The Imperial Japanese Army entered and occupied the British and American controlled parts of the city in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor . The British and American troops, taken by surprise, surrendered without a shot, with the exception of the only British riverboat in Shanghai, HMS Peterel , which refused to surrender; six of the 18 British crew on board at the time were killed when
6494-617: The Pearl River Channel , trapping British traders in Guangzhou. As well as seizing opium stockpiles in warehouses and the thirteen factories, Chinese troops boarded British ships in the Pearl River and South China Sea before destroying the opium on board. The British Superintendent of Trade in China, Charles Elliot , protested the decision to forcibly seize the opium stockpiles. He ordered all ships carrying opium to flee and prepare for battle. Lin responded by besieging
6685-528: The Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek . However, because Shanghai was under Japanese control, this was unenforceable. In reply, in July 1943, the Japanese retroceded the SMC to the City Government of Shanghai, which was then in the hands of the pro-Japanese Wang Jingwei Government . After the war and the liberation of the city from the Japanese, a Liquidation Commission fitfully met to discuss
6876-554: The Second World War . This ended when the Japanese stormed into their concessions in late 1941. They formally relinquished their treaty rights in a new "equal treaties" agreement with Chiang Kai-shek 's nationalist government-in-exile in Chongqing in 1943. The international communities that were residues of the treaty port era ended in the late 1940s when the communists took over and nearly all foreigners left. Although
7067-821: The Shanghai Ghetto in Hongkew. On 21 August 1941 the Japanese government closed Hongkew to Jewish immigration. In February 1943, the International Settlement was de jure returned to the Chinese as part of the British–Chinese Treaty for the Relinquishment of Extra-Territorial Rights in China and American–Chinese Treaty for Relinquishment of Extraterritorial Rights in China with the Nationalist Government of
7258-651: The Shanghai Municipal Police . In 1932 there were 1,040,780 Chinese living within the International Settlement, with another 400,000 fleeing into the area after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937. For the next five years, the International Settlement and the French Concession were surrounded by Japanese occupiers and Chinese revolutionaries, with conflict often spilling into the Settlement's borders. In 1941,
7449-527: The Spanish pieces of eight that had been coming from Mexico for a few hundred years on Manila galleons were current along the China coast. Until the 1840s, these silver dollar coins were Spanish coins minted mainly in Mexico City ; but from the 1840s, these gave way to Mexican republican dollars . In Shanghai, this complexity represented a microcosm of the complicated economy existing elsewhere along
7640-687: The Spanish conquest of the Philippines , the exchange of goods between China and Europe accelerated dramatically. From 1565, the Manila Galleons brought silver into the Asian trade network from mines in South America . China was a primary destination for the precious metal, as the imperial government mandated that Chinese goods could only be exported in exchange for silver bullion . British ships began to appear sporadically around
7831-619: The United States Post Office Department maintained a United States Postal Agency at the Shanghai consulate through which Americans could use the US Post Office to send mail to and from the US mainland and US territories. Starting in 1919 the 16 current regular US stamps were overprinted for use in Shanghai with the city's name, "China", and amounts double their printed face values. In 1922 texts for two of
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8022-567: The police , power station, and public works, were British dominated (though not controlled, since Britain itself had no authority over the council). Some of the Settlement's actions during this period, such as the May 30th Movement , in which Chinese demonstrators were shot by members of the Shanghai Municipal Police (leading to anti-Western protests), did embarrass and threaten the British Empire 's position in China. No Chinese residing in
8213-541: The 1920s. Chinese residents comprised 90% of the total population of Shanghai but complained about taxation without representation. Eventually, the Council admitted five Chinese representatives. The European community promoted technological and economic innovation, as well as knowledge industries, that proved especially attractive to Chinese entrepreneurs as models for their cities across the growing nation. Port cities combined several leadership roles. First of all, they were
8404-599: The 1930s: the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Peru, Mexico, and Switzerland. Nonetheless, the SMC remained a predominantly British affair until the growth of Japan 's involvement in the late 1930s. The international character of the Settlement was reflected in the flag and seal of the Municipal Council, which featured
8595-785: The 19th century, Shanghai Russians also arrived, with Russia's construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway and acquisition of Harbin and Port Arthur . On 11 July 1854 a committee of Western businessmen met and held the first annual meeting of the Shanghai Municipal Council ( SMC , formally the Council for the Foreign Settlement North of the Yang-king-pang ), ignoring protests of consular officials, and laid down
8786-471: The 5,584 acres the International Settlement was to cover by 1899 – was slightly expanded westward and northward. Following the British example, the French consul Charles de Montigny and the Daotai Lin’gui agreed in 1849 that a French settlement be established on a strip of land between the Chinese city and the British settlement. The American consul was somewhat offended by the fact that the British and
8977-529: The Baltic states, or Finland. Chinese citizens and citizens of non-treaty powers were subject to Chinese law. Inside the Settlement, cases against them would be brought to the Mixed Court , a court established in the Settlement in the 1864 which existed until 1926. In cases involving foreigners, a foreign assessor , usually a consular officer, would sit with the Chinese magistrate and in many cases acted like
9168-420: The Battle of Chuenpi claimed that the navy had protected the British merchant vessel and reported a great victory for the day. In reality, the Chinese had been out-classed by the British vessels and several Chinese ships were disabled. Elliot reported that his squadron was protecting the 29 British ships in Chuenpi, and began to prepare for the Qing reprisal. Fearing that the Chinese would reject any contacts with
9359-478: The British and American settlements combined in 1863 into an international settlement, with the French settlement operated separately nearby. The foreigners took out long-term leases on the land and set up factories, offices, warehouses, sanitation, police, gardens, restaurants, hotels, banks, and private clubs. The Shanghai Municipal Council was created in 1854, with nine members who were elected by three dozen foreign landowners at first, and by about 2,000 electors in
9550-430: The British and eventually attack with fire rafts, he ordered all ships to leave Chuenpi and head for Causeway Bay , 20 miles (30 km) from Macau, hoping that offshore anchorages would be out of range of Lin. Elliot asked Adrião Acácio da Silveira Pinto , the Portuguese governor of Macau, to let British ships load and unload their goods there in exchange for paying rents and any duties. The governor refused for fear that
9741-412: The British and their enclaves were established north and south, respectively, of the British area. Unlike the colonies of Hong Kong and Macau , where the United Kingdom and Portugal enjoyed full sovereignty in perpetuity, the foreign concessions in China remained under Chinese sovereignty. In 1854, the three countries created the Shanghai Municipal Council (SMC) to serve all their interests, but, in 1862,
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#17327656118799932-403: The British government and foreign merchants. Other nationalities, such as the Americans, prospered through their continued peaceful trade with China, but the British were told to leave Guangzhou for either Whampoa or Macau. Lord Napier was forced to return to Macau in September, where he died of typhus a month later, on 11 October. After Lord Napier's death, Captain Charles Elliot received
10123-434: The British government on their part issued a monopoly charter for trade only to the British East India Company . This arrangement was not challenged until the 19th century when the idea of free trade was popularised in the West. Fueled by the Industrial Revolution , Britain began to use its growing naval power to spread a broadly liberal economic model, encompassing open markets and relatively barrier free international trade,
10314-465: The British government to press for more trading rights in China. In contrast to this new economic model, the Qing dynasty continued to employ a Confucian -Modernist, highly organised economic philosophy that called for strict government intervention in industry for the sake of preserving societal stability. While the Qing government was not explicitly anti-trade, a lack of need for imports and increasingly heavy taxes on luxury goods limited pressure on
10505-414: The British government, which they could either force China to pay or pay for it from the British treasury. As the government had no funds to pay such indemnities, they favoured forcing China to pay since Elliot had provided them with plausible justification for a China Expedition. Many British citizens sympathised with the Chinese and wanted to halt the sale of opium, while others wanted to contain or regulate
10696-446: The British had been unable to acquire supplies, and his reports severely understated the strength of the Royal Navy. In late October 1839, the merchant ship Thomas Coutts arrived in China and sailed to Guangzhou. Thomas Coutts ' s Quaker owners refused on religious grounds to deal in opium, a fact that the Chinese authorities were aware of. The ship's captain, Warner, believed Elliot had exceeded his legal authority by banning
10887-413: The British that it had been Chinese soldiers who had attacked the ship, and Elliot ordered all British ships to leave the coast of China by 24 August. That same day Macau barred British ships from its harbour at the request of Lin. The commissioner travelled in person to the city, where he was welcomed by some of the inhabitants as a hero who had restored law and order. The flight from Macau ensured that by
11078-456: The China coast. The Chinese reckoned in weights of silver, which did not necessarily correspond to circulating coins. One important unit was a tael , a measurement of weight with several different definitions. These included customs taels (for foreign trade) and cotton taels (for cotton trade), among others. Shanghai had its own tael, which was very similar in weight to the customs tael and therefore popular for international business. China also had
11269-468: The Chinese trade surplus and increased the numbers of opium addicts inside the country, outcomes that seriously worried Chinese officials. Senior government officials within the country had been shown to be colluding against the imperial ban due to stocks of opium in European warehouses in clear view being ignored. In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor , rejecting proposals to legalise and tax opium, appointed Viceroy of Huguang Lin Zexu to go to Guangzhou to halt
11460-429: The Chinese Post Office to the Universal Postal Union to the Shanghai Post Office. Some other foreign countries refused to fall under this new postal service's remit, however; for many years, Japan notably sent almost all its mail to Shanghai in diplomatic bags , which could not be opened by postal staff. The General Shanghai Post Office was first located on Beijing Road and moved to the location on Sichuan North Road of
11651-605: The Chinese community, some of which turned into criminal gangs. Eventually, Shanghai had a strong underground illegal underworld that was ready to employ violence. In modern China, most of the country's special economic zones are located in former treaty ports and therefore have symbolic significance in demonstrating a "reversal of fortunes" in China's dealings with foreigners since the century of humiliation . Researcher Zongyuan Zoe Liu writes that "[t]he success of these cities as 'red' treaty ports represented another step in China's overall reform and opening-up plan while legitimizing
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#173276561187911842-405: The Chinese government into action. Historian Jonathan D. Spence lists these factors that led to war: In 1839, the Daoguang Emperor appointed scholar-official Lin Zexu to the post of Special Imperial Commissioner with the task of eradicating the opium trade. Lin's famous open " Letter To Queen Victoria " appealed to Queen Victoria 's moral reasoning. Citing what he mistakenly understood to be
12033-430: The Chinese interior) began to seek out more suppliers of the drug. The resulting shortage in supply drew more European merchants into the increasingly lucrative opium trade to meet the Chinese demand. In the words of one trading house agent, "[Opium] it is like gold. I can sell it anytime." From 1804 to 1820, a period when the Qing treasury needed to finance the suppression of the White Lotus Rebellion and other conflicts,
12224-402: The Chinese later called the unequal treaties —which granted an indemnity and extraterritoriality to British subjects in China, opened five treaty ports to British merchants, and ceded Hong Kong Island to the British Empire. The failure of the treaty to satisfy British goals of improved trade and diplomatic relations led to the Second Opium War (1856–1860). The resulting social unrest was
12415-481: The Chinese legal system, and often used his economic influence to subvert Chinese authorities. This included his (with Matheson's support) petitioning for the British government to attempt to gain trading rights and political recognition from Imperial China, by force if necessary. In addition to trade, some western missionaries arrived and began to proselytise Christianity to the Chinese. While some officials tolerated this (Macau-based Jesuits had been active in China since
12606-701: The Chinese market were all vetoed by successive Qing Emperors. Upon his meeting the Jiaqing Emperor in 1816, Amherst refused to perform the traditional kowtow , an act that the Qing saw as a severe breach of etiquette. Amherst and his party were expelled from China, a diplomatic rebuke that angered the British government. One major reason was that British consumers had developed a strong liking for Chinese tea, as well as other goods like porcelain and silk. But Chinese consumers had no similar preference for any goods produced in Britain. Because of this trade imbalance, Britain increasingly had to use silver to pay for its expanding purchases of Chinese goods. Britain suffered from
12797-409: The Chinese market—this supply was of lesser quality but cheaper, and the resulting competition among British and American merchants drove down the price of opium, leading to an increase in the availability of the drug for Chinese consumers. The demand for opium rose rapidly and was so profitable in China that Chinese opium dealers (who, unlike European merchants, could legally travel to and sell goods in
12988-429: The Chinese refused to allow the British to purchase supplies, they would be fired upon. A 3:00 pm deadline set by Elliot passed and the British ships opened fire on the Chinese vessels. The junks returned fire, and Chinese gunners on land began to fire at the British ships. Nightfall ended the battle, and the Chinese junks withdrew, ending what would be known as the Battle of Kowloon . Many British officers wanted to launch
13179-405: The Chinese using technologically superior ships and weapons by August 1842. The British then imposed the Treaty of Nanking , which forced China to increase foreign trade, give compensation, and cede Hong Kong Island to the British. Consequently, the opium trade continued in China. Twentieth-century nationalists considered 1839 the start of a century of humiliation , and many historians consider it
13370-400: The Chinese would discontinue supplying food and other necessities to Macau, and on 14 January 1840 the Daoguang Emperor asked all foreign merchants in China to halt material assistance to the British. Following the Chinese crackdown on the opium trade, discussion arose as to how Britain would respond, as the public in the United States and Britain had previously expressed outrage that Britain
13561-540: The Cohong, European merchants were required to pay customs fees, measurement duties, provide gifts, and hire navigators. Despite restrictions, silk and porcelain continued to drive trade through their popularity in Europe, and an insatiable demand for Chinese tea existed in Britain. From the mid-17th century onward around 28 million kilograms/61.6 million pounds of silver were received by China, principally from European powers, in exchange for Chinese products. A brisk trade between China and European powers continued for over
13752-577: The Cohong, who profited greatly from the bribes and taxes involved in the narcotics trade. Efforts by Qing officials to curb opium imports through regulations on consumption resulted in an increase in drug smuggling by European and Chinese traders, and corruption was rampant. In 1810, the Daoguang Emperor issued an edict concerning the opium crisis, declaring, Opium has a harm. Opium is a poison, undermining our good customs and morality. Its use
13943-630: The East India Company solidified its control over India. The British opium was produced in Bengal and the Ganges River Plain , where the British inherited an existing opium industry from the declining Mughal Empire and saw the product as a potentially valuable export. The East India Company commissioned and managed hundreds of thousands of poppy plantations. It took care of the painstaking lancing of individual pods to obtain
14134-546: The European demand for precious metals, which were used to mint new coins; this increasing need for hard currency to remain in circulation in Europe reduced the supply of bullion available for trade in China, driving up costs and leading to competition between merchants in Europe and European merchants who traded with the Chinese. This market force resulted in a chronic trade deficit for European governments, who were forced to risk silver shortages in their domestic economies to supply
14325-560: The European powers as part of the Eight-Nation Alliance during the infamous fifty-five-day siege of the foreign embassy compound in Peking . Japan entered the 20th century as a rising world power, and with its unequal treaties with the European powers now abrogated, it actually joined in, obtaining an unequal treaty with China granting extraterritorial rights under the Treaty of Shimonoseki signed in 1895. In 1915, during
14516-514: The Far East. The East India Company gradually came to dominate Sino-European trade from its position in India and due to the strength of the Royal Navy . Trade benefited after the newly risen Qing dynasty relaxed maritime trade restrictions in the 1680s. Formosa ( Taiwan ) came under Qing control in 1683 and rhetoric regarding the tributary status of Europeans was muted. Guangzhou became
14707-459: The French had secured the best plots of land in the area, and after lengthy deliberations, the Americans – who with the Treaty of Wanghia of 1844 had gained the same rights as those enjoyed by the British in the five treaty ports – established their own settlement northeast of Shanghai. In 1852 the total population of the settlements was about 500, including 265 foreigners. Towards the end of
14898-494: The International Settlement era can still be seen today along the Bund and in many locations around the city. The International Settlement did not have a unified legal system. The Municipal Council issued Land Regulations and regulations under this, that were binding on all people in the settlement. Other than this, citizens and subjects of powers that had treaties with China that provided for extraterritorial rights were subject to
15089-399: The International Settlement were permitted to join the council until 1928. Amongst the many members who served on the council, its chairman during the 1920s, Stirling Fessenden , is possibly the most notable. An American, he served as the settlement's main administrator during Shanghai's most turbulent era, and was considered more "British" than the council's British members. He oversaw many of
15280-452: The International Settlement's Land Regulations stated unequivocally that "the land encompassed in the territory remains Chinese territory, subject to China's sovereign rights." As expressed by legal experts, "the self-governing International Settlement possesses no more power than the mere delegation of purely local and municipal powers and functions. Control of police, sanitation, roads, and other problems of local administration are granted to
15471-401: The International Settlement. Until the year 1873, however, US dollar coins would have reasonably corresponded in size, shape and value to Mexican dollars. Between 1873 and 1900, all silver standard dollars had depreciated to about 50% of the value of the gold standard dollars of the United States and Canada, leading to a rising economic depression. The Chinese themselves officially adopted
15662-499: The Japanese (whose troops eventually outnumbered the other countries' many times over). From the 1860s, the Municipal Council began building roads beyond the concession boundaries, ostensibly to connect the concession with other properties or facilities which required the protection of Britain and other treaty powers during the unrest of the Taiping Rebellion. The Municipal Council obtained limited administrative powers over
15853-637: The Japanese launched an abortive political bid to take over the SMC: during a mass meeting of ratepayers at the Settlement Race Grounds, a Japanese official leaped up and shot William Keswick , then chairman of the council. While Keswick was only wounded, a near riot broke out. Britain evacuated its garrisons from mainland Chinese cities, particularly Shanghai, in August 1940. Anglo-American influence effectively ended after 8 December 1941, when
16044-406: The Japanese used as a base for military operations during the 1932 January 28th Incident and the 1937 Battle of Shanghai . After that battle, Japan took full control over the northern extra-settlement roads area and expelled International Settlement police. The neutrality of the western extra-settlement roads area survived in some form until the withdrawal of British troops in 1940. Article 28 of
16235-576: The King's Commission as Superintendent of Trade in 1836 to continue Napier's work of conciliating the Chinese. By 1838, the British were selling roughly 1,400 long tons (1,400,000 kg) of opium per year to China. Legalization of the opium trade was the subject of ongoing debate within the Chinese administration, but a proposal to legalise the narcotic was repeatedly rejected, and in 1838 the government began to actively sentence Chinese drug traffickers to death. There were also long-term factors that pushed
16426-702: The Land Regulations which established the principles of self-government. The aims of this first Council were simply to assist in the formation of roads, refuse collection, and taxation across the disparate Concessions. In 1863 the American concession—land fronting the Huangpu River to the north-east of Soochow Creek ( Suzhou Creek )—officially joined the British Settlement (stretching from Yang-ching-pang Creek to Suzhou Creek) to become
16617-426: The Municipal Council simply because that body happens to be the one best equipped to deal with these matters in an area where the large majority of foreigners dwell. But the Municipal Council is in no sense a political body. Its powers, being delegated and hence limited, are subject to strict construction. What foreigners acquire is simply the delegated power of municipal administration, while the reserve powers remain in
16808-485: The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Peru, Mexico, and Switzerland. Germany and Austria-Hungary lost their treaty rights after WWI, and Russia gave up her rights as a matter of political expediency. Belgium was declared by China to have lost her rights in 1927. Furthermore, the Chinese government adamantly refused to grant treaty power status to any of the new nations born in the wake of WWI, such as Austria and Hungary (formerly Austria-Hungary), Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia,
16999-526: The Pearl River, and in 1808 established a permanent garrison of British troops in Macau to defend against French attacks. As the opium-fuelled China Trade increased in scope and value, the foreign presence in Guangzhou and Macau grew in size and influence. The Thirteen Factories district of Guangzhou continued to expand, and was labelled the "foreign quarter". A small population of merchants began to stay in Guangzhou year round (most merchants lived in Macau for
17190-850: The Qing in 1729 when Madak (a substance made from powdered opium blended with tobacco) was banned. At the time, Madak production used up most of the opium being imported into China, as pure opium was difficult to preserve. Consumption of Javanese opium rose in the 18th century, and after the Napoleonic Wars resulted in the British occupying Java , British merchants became the primary traders in opium. The British realised they could reduce their trade deficit with Chinese manufactories by counter-trading in narcotic opium, and therefore efforts were made to produce more opium in Company-controlled India . Limited British sales of Indian opium began in 1781, with exports to China increasing as
17381-510: The Qing monopoly on tea exports held by the imperial treasury and its agents in Guangzhou. However, opium usage continued to grow in China, adversely affecting societal stability. From Guangzhou, the habit spread outwards to the North and West, affecting members from every class of Chinese society. By the early 19th century, more and more Chinese were smoking British opium as a recreational drug. But for many, what started as recreation soon became
17572-483: The Queen, with one source suggesting that it was lost in transit. Lin pledged that nothing would divert him from his mission, "If the traffic in opium were not stopped a few decades from now we shall not only be without soldiers to resist the enemy, but also in want of silver to provide an army." Lin banned the sale of opium and demanded that all supplies of the drug be surrendered to the Chinese authorities. He also closed
17763-430: The Shanghai International Settlement. The French concession remained independent and the Chinese retained control over the original walled city and the area surrounding the foreign enclaves. This would later result in sometimes absurd administrative outcomes, such as needing three drivers' licenses to travel through the complete city. By the late-1860s Shanghai's official governing body had been practically transferred from
17954-603: The United Kingdom treaty). The only department not chaired by a Briton was the Municipal Orchestra, which was controlled by an Italian . The Settlement maintained its own fire-service, police force (the Shanghai Municipal Police ), and even possessed its own military reserve in the Shanghai Volunteer Corps ( 萬國商團 ). Following some disturbances at the British concession in Hankow in 1927 ,
18145-450: The United States and Mexico. Without cheap silver from the colonies to sustain their trade, European merchants who traded with China began to take silver directly out of circulation in the already-weakened economies of Europe to pay for goods in China. This angered governments, who saw their economies shrink as a result, and fostered a great deal of animosity towards the Chinese for their restriction of European trade. The Chinese economy
18336-522: The United States. In addition to the start of the opium trade, economic and social innovations led to a change in the parameters of the wider Sino-European trade. The formulation of classical economics by Adam Smith and other economic theorists caused academic belief in mercantilism to decline in Britain. Under the prior system, the Qianlong Emperor restricted trade with foreigners on Chinese soil only for licensed Chinese merchants, while
18527-451: The United States. In 1858, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce designated four more ports, Kanagawa , Hyogo , Nagasaki , and Niigata . The treaty with the United States was followed by similar ones with Britain, the Netherlands, Russia, and France. The ports permitted legal extraterritoriality for citizens of the treaty nations. The system of treaty ports ended in Japan in the year 1899 as
18718-418: The areas adjacent to these "extra-settlement roads", making the area a "quasi-concession". The expansion of the International Settlement in 1899 took in most of the extra-settlement roads area, but from 1901 the Municipal Council began building further roads beyond the new boundary with a view to expanding the concession to cover those areas as well. However, a request to further expand the concession (inspired by
18909-417: The arrest of the two men, and paid compensation to Lin's family and village. However, he refused a request to turn the sailors over to Chinese authorities, fearing they would be killed in accordance with the Chinese legal code. Commissioner Lin saw this as an obstruction of justice and Chinese sovereignty, therefore he ordered the sailors to be handed over. Elliot instead held a trial for the accused men aboard
19100-747: The background for the Taiping Rebellion , which further weakened the Qing regime. Direct maritime trade between Europe and China began in 1557 when the Portuguese Empire leased an outpost from the Ming dynasty in Macau . Other European nations soon followed the Portuguese lead, inserting themselves into the existing Asian maritime trade network to compete with Arab, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese merchants in intraregional commerce. After
19291-713: The beginning of modern Chinese history. In the 18th century, the European demand for Chinese luxury goods (particularly silk, porcelain, and tea) created a trade imbalance between China and Britain. European silver flowed into China through the Canton System , which confined incoming foreign trade to the southern port city of Guangzhou. To counter this imbalance, the British East India Company began to grow opium in Bengal and allowed private British merchants to sell opium to Chinese smugglers for illegal sale in China. The influx of narcotics reversed
19482-406: The center of our dynasty—the nation's capital and its surrounding areas—some of the inhabitants have also been contaminated by this dreadful poison. In late 1834, to accommodate the revocation of the East India Company's monopoly, the British sent William John Napier to Macau along with John Francis Davis and Sir George Robinson, 2nd Baronet , as British superintendents of trade in China. Napier
19673-743: The close of the decade. Bengal and India, under the British Raj , experienced mixed effects from the Britain-China opium trade. On one hand, millions died in Bengal during the famine of 1770 after agricultural land was forcibly converted to poppy cultivation. Small farmers in India's Bihar Province were compelled to grow poppies without profit. On the other hand, opium became the main driver of capital accumulation for merchants and bankers in western India. The Indian government's revenue from opium trade rose from less than five percent of its total in
19864-502: The coasts of China from 1635 on. Without establishing formal relations through the Chinese tributary system , by which most Asian nations were able to negotiate with China, British merchants were only allowed to trade at the ports of Zhoushan , Xiamen (or Amoy), and Guangzhou. Official British trade was conducted through the auspices of the British East India Company , which held a royal charter for trade with
20055-515: The company's board issued licences to the independent princely states of Malwa , where significant quantities of poppies were grown. By the late 18th century, company and Malwan farmlands (which were traditionally dependent on cotton growing) had been hard hit by the introduction of factory-produced cotton cloth, which used cotton grown in Egypt or the American South. Opium was considered
20246-458: The company's permission, and the company banned private businesses from refining opium. All opium in India was sold to the company at a fixed rate, and the company hosted a series of public opium auctions every year. The difference of the company-set price of raw opium and the sale price of refined opium at auction (minus expenses) was profit made by the East India Company. In addition to securing poppies cultivated on lands under its direct control,
20437-459: The complications arising from a mixture of Chinese and Spanish coinages, there was one overwhelming unifying factor binding all the systems in use: silver . The Chinese reckoned purely in terms of silver, and value was always compared against a weight of silver (hence, the reason large prices were given in tael). It was the strict adherence of the Chinese to silver that caused China and even the British colonies of Hong Kong and Weihaiwei to remain on
20628-457: The conversion of the Chinese population but discovered they became widely popular for setting up medical and educational facilities. For example, St John's University in Shanghai (1879–1952) first set up faculties of theology, Western learning, and Chinese languages, then expanded to cover literature, science, medicine, and intense coverage of Western languages eagerly sought by the ambitious Chinese intellectuals and entrepreneurs who had rejected
20819-401: The declining value of China's domestic currency resulted in many people in Guangzhou using foreign silver coins (Spanish coins were the most valued, followed by American coins) as they contained higher amounts of silver. Using western coins allowed Cantonese coiners to make many Chinese coins from melted-down western coins, greatly increasing the city's wealth, and tax revenue while tying much of
21010-606: The defences at Shanghai were augmented by a permanent battalion of the British Army , which was referred to as the Shanghai Defence Force (SDF or SHAF), and a contingent of US Marines . Other armed forces would arrive in Shanghai; the French Concession had a defensive force of Troupes de marine and Annamite suppletive troops from French Indochina , the Italians also introduced their own marines, as did
21201-484: The destroyed opium should be considered property, not contraband, and as such reparations had to be made for its destruction. He justified military action by saying that no one could "say that he honestly believed the motive of the Chinese Government to have been the promotion of moral habits" and that the war was being fought to stem China's balance of payments deficit. After consulting with William Jardine,
21392-456: The dollar unit as their national currency in 1889, and the first Chinese dollar coins, known as yuan , contained an inscription which related their value to an already existing Chinese system of accounts. On the earliest Chinese dollar (yuan) coins it states the words 7 mace and 2 candareens . The mace and candareen were sub-divisions of the tael unit of weight. Banknotes tended to be issued in dollars, either worded as such or as yuan. Despite
21583-457: The early 17th century), some officials clashed with Chinese Christians, raising tensions between western merchants and Qing officials. While the foreign community in Guangzhou grew in influence, the local government began to suffer from civil discord inside China. The White Lotus Rebellion (1796–1804) drained the Qing dynasty's treasury of silver, forcing the government to levy increasingly heavy taxes on merchants. These taxes did not abate after
21774-567: The early 1800s to nearly 17 percent in 1890. The income helped British rule and the East India Company expand further in the region. The opium profits of the Royal Dutch Trading Company in the Dutch East Indies financed several enterprises, such as Royal Dutch Shell . A few American merchants also made a fortune from the opium trade and invested their proceeds in railroads, hotel chains, and manufacturing in
21965-552: The economy of the city to the foreign merchants. A significant development came in 1834 when reformers (some of whom were financially backed by Jardine) in Britain, advocating for free trade, succeeded in ending the monopoly of the British East India Company under the Charter Act of the previous year. This shift in trade policy ended the need for merchants to comply with the royal charter for trade in
22156-415: The edges of existing port cities. They enjoyed legal extraterritoriality, as stipulated in the unequal treaties. Some of these port areas were directly leased by foreign powers such as in the foreign concessions in China , effectively removing them from the control of local governments. Western images of the Chinese treaty ports focus on the distinctive geography of the "bund", a long narrow strip of land in
22347-425: The empire's implementation of the gold standard forced it to purchase silver and gold from continental Europe and Mexico to further fuel its rapidly industrialising economy. Attempts by a British embassy (led by Macartney in 1793), a Dutch mission (under Jacob Pieter van Braam in 1794), Russia (headed by Yury Golovkin in 1805), and the British again ( Earl William Amherst in 1816) to negotiate increased access to
22538-503: The end of August over 60 British ships and over 2000 people were idling off of the Chinese coast, fast running out of provisions. On 30 August HMS Volage arrived to defend the fleet from a potential Chinese attack, and Elliot warned Qing authorities in Kowloon that the embargo on food and water must be ended soon. Early on 4 September Elliot dispatched an armed schooner and a cutter to Kowloon to buy provisions from Chinese peasants. The two ships approached three Chinese war junks in
22729-695: The extension of legal extraterritoriality to merchants from Meiji Japan . Chinese merchants also entered Korea in earnest after the Qing army was sent to suppress the Imo Incident in 1882. The first port opened in this manner was Busan , while Incheon and Wonsan followed shortly thereafter. These cities became important centers of mercantile activity for traders from China and Japan until Korea's colonization by Japan in 1910. First Opium War 19,000+ troops: 37 ships: 222,212 total troops The First Opium War ( Chinese : 第一次鴉片戰爭 ; pinyin : Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng ), also known as
22920-474: The far east; with this centuries-old restriction lifted, the British China trade was opened to private entrepreneurs, many of whom joined the highly profitable opium trade. On the eve of the Qing government's crackdown on opium, a Chinese official described the changes in society caused by the drug; At the beginning, opium smoking was confined to the fops of wealthy families who took up the habit as
23111-628: The first British consul, Captain George Balfour , could not even find a house for the consulate. The British finally decided to locate themselves in the northern suburbs and asked the Daotai , Gong Muiju, to designate an area there as a segregated British area. This dovetailed with the Daotai's intentions since two violent incidents between local Chinese and foreigners had prompted him to take steps to limit contacts between Chinese and foreigners. This
23302-509: The flags of several countries. The international settlement came to an abrupt end in December 1941 when Japanese troops stormed in immediately following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . In early 1943, new treaties signed formally ended the extraterritorial privileges of Americans and Britons, although its terms were not met until the recovery of Shanghai following Japan's 1945 surrender . The French later surrendered their privileges in
23493-466: The flow of money gradually reversed, and Chinese merchants were soon exporting silver to pay for opium rather than Europeans paying for Chinese goods with the precious metal. European and American ships were able to arrive in Guangzhou with their holds filled with opium, sell their cargo, use the proceeds to buy Chinese goods, and turn a profit in the form of silver bullion. This silver would then be used to acquire more Chinese goods. While opium remained
23684-437: The foreign dealers in the foreign quarter of Guangzhou, and kept them from communicating with their ships in port. To defuse the situation, Elliot convinced the British traders to cooperate with Chinese authorities and hand over their opium stockpiles with the promise of eventual compensation for their losses by the British government. While this amounted to a tacit acknowledgment that the British government did not disapprove of
23875-420: The foreign secretary drafted a letter to Prime Minister William Melbourne calling for a military response. Other merchants called for an opening of free trade with China, and it was commonly cited that the Chinese consumers were the driving factor of the opium trade. The periodic expulsion of British merchants from Guangzhou and the refusal of the Qing government to treat Britain as a diplomatic equal were seen as
24066-481: The goods inland for distribution, paying for the opium with silver. The Qing administration initially tolerated opium importation because it created an indirect tax on Chinese subjects, as increasing the silver supply available to foreign merchants through the sale of opium encouraged Europeans to spend more money on Chinese goods. This policy provided the funds British merchants needed to then greatly increase tea exports from China to England, delivering further profits to
24257-400: The government to open further ports to international trade. China's rigid merchant hierarchy also blocked efforts to open ports to foreign ships and businesses. Chinese merchants operating in inland China wanted to avoid market fluctuations caused by importing foreign goods that would compete with domestic production, while the Cohong families of Guangzhou profited greatly by keeping their city
24448-446: The great majority of Chinese lived in traditional rural areas, a handful of booming treaty port cities became vibrant centers that had an enormous long-term impact on the Chinese economy and society. Above all Shanghai became the dominant urban center. Tianjin and Shenyang followed; Hong Kong, although a British colony, not a treaty port, was similar. Foreigners were welcomed and had stable safe bases, as did Christian missionaries. Outside
24639-443: The harbour and requested permission to land men in order to procure supplies. The British were allowed through and basic necessities were provided to the British by Chinese sailors, but the Chinese commander inside Kowloon fort refused to allow the locals to trade with the British and confined the townspeople inside the settlement. The situation grew more intense as the day went on, and in the afternoon Elliot issued an ultimatum that, if
24830-502: The impending war with China. The Queen's Annual Address to the House of Lords on 16 January 1840 expressed the concern that "Events have happened in China which have occasioned an interruption of the commercial intercourse of my subjects with that country. I have given, and shall continue to give, the most serious attention to a matter so deeply affecting the interests of my subjects and the dignity of my Crown." The Whig Melbourne Government
25021-485: The individual concessions to the Shanghai Municipal Council (工部局, literally "Works Department", from the standard English local government title of 'Board of works'). The British Consul was the de jure authority in the Settlement, but he had no actual power unless the ratepayers (who voted for the council) agreed. Instead, he and the other consulates deferred to the council. The council had become
25212-548: The international narcotics trade. However, a great deal of anger was expressed over the treatment of British diplomats and towards the protectionist trading policies of Qing China. The Whig controlled government in particular advocated war with China, and the pro-Whig press printed stories about Chinese "despotism and cruelty". This line of reasoning was primary defence for war with China. Since August 1839, reports had been published in London newspapers about troubles at Guangzhou and
25403-411: The laws of their own countries and civil and criminal complaints against them were required to be brought against them to their consular courts (courts overseen by consular officials) under the laws of their own countries. The number of treaty powers had climbed to a high of 19 by 1918 but was down to 14 by the 1930s: the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark,
25594-670: The leadership of the CPC over the Chinese state and people." For encyclopedic details on each treaty port, see Robert Nield's China's Foreign Places: The Foreign Presence in China in the Treaty Port Era, 1840-1943 (2015). In these territories the foreign powers obtained, under a lease treaty, not only the right to trade and exemptions for their subjects but a truly colonial control over each concession territory , de facto annexation: Japan opened two ports to foreign trade, Shimoda and Hakodate , in 1854 ( Convention of Kanagawa ), to
25785-629: The local Shanghai tael unit. The Shanghai Post Office controlled all post within the Settlement, but post entering or leaving the treaty port was required to go through the Chinese Imperial Post Office. In 1922 the various foreign postal services, the Shanghai Post Office, and the Chinese Post Office were all brought together into a single Chinese Post Office, thus extending the 1914 membership of
25976-501: The major incidents of the decade, including the May 30th Movement and the White Terror that came with the Shanghai massacre of 1927 . By the early 1930s, the British and the Chinese each had five members on the council, the Japanese two and the Americans and others two. At the 1936 Council election, because of their increasing interests in the Settlement, the Japanese nominated three candidates. Only two were elected, which led to
26167-466: The major port of entry for all imports and exports - except for opium, which was handled by smugglers in other cities. Foreign entrepreneurs introduce the latest European manufacturing techniques, providing a model followed sooner or later by all of China. The first establishments focused on shipbuilding, ship repair, railway repair, and factories producing textiles, matches, porcelain, flour, and machinery. Tobacco, cigarettes, textiles, and food products were
26358-590: The major powers were involved. The system effectively ended when Japan took control of most of the ports in the late 1930s, the Russians relinquished their treaty rights in the wake of the Russian Revolution in 1917, and the Germans were expelled in 1914. The three main treaty powers, the British, the Americans, and the French, continued to hold their concessions and extraterritorial jurisdictions until
26549-507: The maritime customs to conduct a thorough search for opium, and cut off its supply. They should in no ways consider this order a dead letter and allow opium to be smuggled out! Nonetheless, by 1831, the annual opium traffic neared 20,000 chests, each with a net weight of around 140 pounds, compared with just about 4,000 chests per year between 1800 and 1818. After the East India Company's monopoly on tea ended in 1833 and private merchants began to join in, this quantity would go on to double before
26740-407: The merchant houses these families ruled had been established by low-ranking mandarins , but several were Cantonese or Han in origin. Another key function of the Cohong was the traditional bond signed between a Cohong member and a foreign merchant. This bond stated that the receiving Cohong member was responsible for the foreign merchant's behavior and cargo while in China. In addition to dealing with
26931-598: The most favored nation status for the latter country. Subsequent negotiations with the Americans (1844 Treaty of Wanghia ) and the French (1844 Treaty of Whampoa ) led to further concessions for these nations on the same terms as the British. The second group of treaty ports was set up following the end of the Second Opium War (Arrow War) in 1860 and eventually, more than 80 treaty ports were established in China alone, involving many foreign powers. Foreigners all lived in prestigious sections newly built for them on
27122-442: The most profitable good to trade with China, foreign merchants began to export other cargoes, such as machine-spun cotton cloth, rattan , ginseng , fur, clocks, and steel tools. However, these goods never reached the same level of importance as narcotics, nor were they as lucrative. The Qing imperial court debated whether or how to end the opium trade, but their efforts to curtail opium abuse were complicated by local officials and
27313-478: The needs of their merchants in Asia (who as private enterprises still turned a profit by selling valuable Chinese goods to consumers in Europe). This gradual effect was greatly exacerbated by a series of large-scale colonial wars between Great Britain and Spain in the mid 18th century; these conflicts disrupted the international silver market and eventually resulted in the independence of powerful new nations, namely
27504-593: The old Confucian exam system for the Western model of modernity. Engineering schools were established as well, and by 1914 a network of universities, colleges, teacher training schools, and specialized industrial schools was headquartered in the Port cities, and diffusing their alumni across urban China. Students poured into the port cities. Many adopted ideas and used the facilities newly opened to them to network with each other, set up organizations and publications, and plot
27695-497: The only entry point for foreign products. At the turn of the 19th century, countries such as Great Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Russia, and the United States began to seek additional trading rights in China. Foremost among the concerns of the western nations was the end of the Canton System and the opening of China's vast consumer markets to trade. Britain in particular was keenly increasing its exports to China, as
27886-456: The opium ban, the British government supported the merchants' demand for compensation for seized goods, and insisted on the principles of free trade and equal diplomatic recognition with China. Opium was Britain's single most profitable commodity trade of the 19th century. After months of tensions between the two states, the Royal Navy launched an expedition in June 1840, which ultimately defeated
28077-587: The opium to be destroyed in public on Humen Beach to show the Government's determination to ban smoking. All other supplies were confiscated and a blockade of foreign ships on the Pearl River was ordered. Tensions escalated in July 1839 after drunk British sailors killed a Chinese villager named Lin Weixi; the British official in charge, Admiral Charles Elliot , refused to hand over those accused to Chinese authorities in an attempt to avoid their being killed on
28268-443: The opium trade completely. Lin wrote an open letter to Queen Victoria appealing to her moral responsibility to stop the opium trade, although she never received it. Lin then resorted to using force in the western merchants' enclave. He arrived in Guangzhou at the end of January 1839 and organized a coastal defence. In March 1839, British opium dealers were forced to hand over 2.37 million pounds of opium. On 3 June 1839, Lin ordered
28459-494: The opium trade. This was a deliberate move of the Tories to avoid the sensitive issues of war and opium trade and to obtain maximum support for the motion within the party. Calls for military action were met with mixed responses when the matter went before Parliament. Foreign Secretary Palmerston , a politician known for his aggressive foreign policy and advocacy for free trade, led the pro war camp. Palmerston strongly believed that
28650-423: The opium was surrendered, trade was restarted on the strict condition that no more opium be shipped into China. Looking for a way to effectively police foreign trade and purge corruption, Lin and his advisers decided to reform the existing bond system. Under this system, a foreign captain and the Cohong merchant who had purchased the goods off of his ship swore that the vessel carried no illegal goods. Upon examining
28841-472: The orchestra, since it was "western and unnecessary." However, after much discussion, they decided to keep the orchestra, acknowledging that its educational value was much greater than the cost of keeping it up. The Shanghai Municipal Orchestra had the financial and verbal backing of many other larger countries, including Italy, who donated 50,000 lire to the orchestra, the France Council, who acted as
29032-490: The overprints were changed, thereby completing the Scott catalogue set of K1-18, "Offices in China". The British originally used British postage stamps overprinted with the local currency amount, but from 1868, the British changed to Hong Kong postage stamps already denominated in dollars . However, in the special case of Shanghai, in the year 1865 the International Settlement began to issue its own postage stamps, denominated in
29223-493: The people from selling. To deprive men of food is the act only of the unfriendly and hostile. Having driven off the Chinese ships, the British fleet began to purchase provisions from the local villagers, often with the aid of bribed Chinese officials in Kowloon. Lai Enjue , the local commander at Kowloon, declared that a victory had been won against the British. He claimed that a two masted British warship had been sunk, and that 40–50 British had been killed. He also reported that
29414-600: The period of Japanese occupation. The Japanese sent European and American citizens to be interned at the Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center , a work camp on what was then the outskirts of Shanghai. Survivors of Lunghua were released in August 1945. Shanghai was notable for a long period as the only place in the world that unconditionally offered refuge for Jews escaping from the Nazis. These refugees often lived in squalid conditions in an area known as
29605-455: The port cities, with printing shops, newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets in Chinese and European languages. Book publishers often featured Chinese translations of European classics in philosophy, politics, literature, and social issues. According to historian Klaus Mühlhahn: Christian missionaries saw all of the Chinese population as their target audience, but they were headquartered in the port cities. The missionaries had very modest success in
29796-430: The port of preference for incoming foreign trade. Ships did try to call at other ports, but these locations could not match the benefits of Guangzhou's geographic position at the mouth of the Pearl River, nor did they have the city's long experience in balancing the demands of Beijing with those of Chinese and foreign merchants. From 1700 onward Guangzhou was the centre of maritime trade with China, and this market process
29987-440: The ports, the only foreigners were occasional Christian missionaries, and they often encountered serious difficulties. The other 89 cities that became treaty ports between 1842 and 1914 were of minor importance. The Shanghai International Settlement rapidly developed into one of the world's most modern cities, often compared to Paris, Berlin, and London. It set the standard of modernity for China and all of East Asia. In Shanghai,
30178-416: The raw gum, drying and forming it into cakes, before coating and packaging them for auction in Calcutta. The company tightly controlled the opium industry, and all opium was considered company property until it was sold. From Kolkata , the company's Board of Customs, Salt, and Opium concerned itself with quality control by managing the way opium was packaged and shipped. No poppies could be cultivated without
30369-496: The rebellion was crushed, as the Chinese government began a massive project to repair state-owned properties on the Yellow River , referred to as the "Yellow River Conservancy". The merchants of Guangzhou were further expected to make contributions to fight banditry. These taxes weighed heavily on the profits made by the Cohong merchants; by the 1830s, the once-prosperous Cohong had seen their wealth greatly reduced. In addition,
30560-586: The records of the port, Lin was infuriated to find that in the 20 years since opium had been declared illegal, not a single infraction had been reported. As a consequence, Lin demanded that all foreign merchants and Qing officials sign a new bond promising not to deal in opium under penalty of death. The British government opposed their signing of the bond, feeling that it violated the principle of free trade, but some merchants who did not trade in opium (such as Olyphant & Co. ) were willing to sign against Elliot's orders. Trade in regular goods continued unabated, and
30751-636: The remaining details of the handover. By the end of 1945, most Westerners not actively involved in the Chinese Civil War (such as intelligence agents, soldiers, journalists, etc.) or in Shanghai's remaining foreign businesses, had left the city. With the defeat of the Kuomintang in 1949, the city was occupied by the Communist People's Liberation Army and came under the control of the mayor of Shanghai . The foreign architecture of
30942-411: The sale of food to the British. War Junks were deployed to the mouth of the Pearl River, while signs were placed and rumours spread by the Qing that they had poisoned the freshwater springs traditionally used to restock foreign merchant ships. On 23 August a ship belonging to a prominent opium merchant was attacked by lascar pirates while travelling downriver from Guangzhou to Macau. Rumors spread among
31133-521: The scarcity of opium caused by the seizure of the foreign warehouses caused the black market to flourish. Some newly arrived merchant ships were able to learn of the ban on opium before they entered the Pearl River estuary, and so they unloaded their cargoes at Lintin Island. The opportunity caused by the sharp rise in the price of opium was seized upon by some of the Cohong trading houses and smugglers, who were able to evade commissioner Lin's efforts and smuggled more opium into China. Superintendent Elliot
31324-466: The seaports, we fear the search will not be sufficiently thorough. We should also order the general commandant of the police and police—censors at the five gates to prohibit opium and to search for it at all gates. If they capture any violators, they should immediately punish them and should destroy the opium at once. As to Kwangtung [Guangdong] and Fukien [Fujian], the provinces from which opium comes, we order their viceroys, governors, and superintendents of
31515-536: The ship was sunk after the Japanese opened fire at almost point-blank range. The French troops did not move from the preserved French Concession, as the French Vichy government considered itself neutral. European residents of the International Settlement were forced to wear armbands to differentiate them, were evicted from their homes, and—just like Chinese citizens—were liable to maltreatment. All were liable for punitive punishments, torture and even death during
31706-478: The signing of the "no opium trade" bond, and negotiated with the governor of Guangzhou. Warner hoped that all British ships not carrying opium could negotiate to legally unload their goods at Chuenpi, an island near Humen . To prevent other British ships from following Thomas Coutts ' s precedent, Elliot ordered a blockade of British shipping in the Pearl River . Fighting began on 3 November 1839, when
31897-471: The silver standard after the rest of the world had changed over to the gold standard. When China began producing official Republican yuan coins in 1934, they were minted in Shanghai and shipped to Nanking for distribution. Shanghai had developed a postal service as early as the Ming dynasty , but during the treaty port era foreign postal services were organised through their respective consulates. For example,
32088-579: The sovereign grantor, the Chinese Government. Although under the control of the Consular Council, the area is still Chinese territory, over which China's sovereignty remains unsurrendered". In the 19th century, Europeans possessed treaty ports in Japan in the same way they held those in China. However, Japan rapidly developed into a modern nation, and by the turn of the 20th century the Japanese had successfully negotiated with all powers to abrogate all unequal treaties with it. Japan stood alongside
32279-570: The specialty in Canton. Financing was handled by branch banks, as well as entirely new operations such as HSBC -the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which remains a world-class establishment into the 21st century. Across the modernizing world, railway construction was a major financial and industrial endeavor, usually led by the British. Investments now poured into building a railway-plus-telegraph system knitting China together, connecting
32470-626: The spot, as had happened with British citizens in the Lady Hughes Affair of 1784. Later, fighting broke out, with the British navy destroying the Chinese naval blockade, and launching an offensive. In the ensuing conflict, the Royal Navy used its superior naval and gunnery power to inflict a series of decisive defeats on the Chinese Empire. In 1842, the Qing dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking —the first of what
32661-476: The summer months, then moved to Guangzhou in the winter), and a local chamber of commerce was formed. In the first two decades of the 19th century, the increasingly sophisticated (and profitable) trade between Europe and China allowed for a clique of European merchants to rise to positions of great importance in China. The most notable of these figures were William Jardine and James Matheson (who went on to found Jardine Matheson ), British merchants who operated
32852-585: The system were collectively known as the Prevention Barbarian Ordinances ( 防範外夷規條 ). The Cohong were particularly powerful in the Old China Trade , as they were tasked with appraising the value of foreign products, purchasing or rebuffing said imports and charged with selling Chinese exports at an appropriate price. The Cohong was made up of between (depending on the politics of Guangzhou) 6 to 20 merchant families. Most of
33043-664: The trade deficit with China. This silver was also shipped across the Pacific Ocean to China directly, notably through the Spanish-controlled Philippines. In stark contrast to the European situation, Qing China sustained a trade surplus. Foreign silver flooded into China in exchange for Chinese goods, expanding the Chinese economy but also causing inflation and forming a Chinese reliance on European silver. The continued economic expansion of European economies in 17th and 18th centuries gradually increased
33234-426: The trade in 1799. To circumnavigate the increasingly stringent regulations in Guangzhou, foreign merchants bought older ships and converted them into floating warehouses. These ships were anchored off of the Chinese coast at the mouth of the Pearl River in case the Chinese authorities moved against the opium trade, as the ships of the Chinese navy had difficulty operating in open water. Inbound opium ships would unload
33425-426: The trade, it also placed a huge liability on the exchequer. This promise, and the inability of the British government to pay it without causing a political storm, was used as an important casus belli for the subsequent British attack. During April and May 1839, British and American dealers surrendered 20,283 chests and 200 sacks of opium. The stockpile was publicly destroyed on the beach outside Guangzhou. After
33616-452: The treaty ports, and other major cities, as well as mining districts and agricultural centers. Chinese entrepreneurs learned their skills in the port cities, and soon applied for and received bank loans for their startups. Chinese merchants headquartered there set up branches across Southeast Asia, including British Singapore and Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, French Indochina, and the American Philippines. The information industry flourished in
33807-411: The victory of the British in the First Opium War (1839–1842). Under the terms of the Treaty of Nanking , the five treaty ports including Shanghai were opened to foreign merchants, overturning the monopoly then held by the southern port of Canton ( Guangzhou ) under the Canton System . The British also established a base on Hong Kong . American and French involvement followed closely on the heels of
33998-473: Was a self-governing operation with its own shops, restaurants, recreational facilities, parks, churches, courts, police, and local government. The facilities were generally off-limits to the natives. The British, who by far dominated foreign trade with China, normally were the largest presence. Businessmen and officials typically brought their own families with them and stayed for years but sent their older children back to England for education. Chinese sovereignty
34189-431: Was aware of the smugglers' activities on Lintin and was under orders to stop them, but feared that any action by the Royal Navy could spark a war and withheld his ships. In early July 1839 a group of British merchant sailors in Kowloon became intoxicated after consuming rice liqueur. Two of the sailors became agitated with and beat to death Lin Weixi, a villager from nearby Tsim Sha Tsui . Superintendent Elliot ordered
34380-412: Was formalized in 1845 with the delimitation of a segregated area north of Yangjingbang, a creek that ran north of the Chinese city. Later that year Gong Muiju and Balfour concluded an agreement called the Land Regulations ( Shanghai zudi zhangcheng ), which set forth the institutional basis for the British settlement. In 1848, with the permission of the Daotai, the 138-acre British settlement – a fraction of
34571-432: Was gradually formulated by Qing authorities into the " Canton System ". From the system's inception in 1757, trading in China was extremely lucrative for European and Chinese merchants alike as goods such as tea, porcelain, and silk were valued highly enough in Europe to justify the expenses of travelling to Asia. The system was highly regulated by the Qing government. Foreign traders were only permitted to do business through
34762-492: Was increased to five. The International Settlement was wholly foreign-controlled, with staff of all nationalities, including British , Americans, Danes , Dutch , French , Spanish , Portuguese , Italians and Germans . In reality, the British held the largest number of seats on the council and headed all the Municipal departments (British included Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians , Newfoundlanders , and South Africans whose extraterritorial rights were established by
34953-482: Was instructed to obey Chinese regulations, communicate directly with Chinese authorities, superintend trade pertaining to the contraband trade of opium, and to survey China's coastline. Upon his arrival in China, Napier tried to circumvent the restrictive system that forbade direct contact with Chinese officials by sending a letter directly to the Viceroy of Liangguang , Lu Kun , requesting a meeting. The Viceroy refused to accept it, and on 2 September of that year an edict
35144-407: Was issued that temporarily closed British trade. In response, Napier ordered two Royal Navy vessels to bombard Chinese forts on the Pearl River straight, the Bocca Tigris , in a show of force. This command was followed through, but war was avoided due to Napier falling ill with typhus and ordering a retreat. The brief gunnery duel drew condemnation by the Chinese government, as well as criticism from
35335-432: Was known as Little Tokyo . In 1931, supposed "protection of Japanese colonists from Chinese aggression" in Hongkew was used as a pretext for the Shanghai Incident , when Japanese troops invaded Shanghai. From then until the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) Hongkew was almost entirely outside of the SMC's hands, with law and protection enforced to varying degrees by the Japanese Consular Police and Japanese members of
35526-412: Was not a word about separate residential areas for foreigners on Chinese soil. However, the imperial commissioner who negotiated the supplementary treaty reported to the Qing emperor that by signing the treaty he had successfully arranged that in the treaty ports "the boundaries of an area should be designated which foreigners are not allowed to exceed" ( yiding jiezhi, buxu yuyue ), an intent however that
35717-435: Was not clearly stated in the English-language version of the treaty. The Qing rulers, by intending to confine the "barbarians" to an officially designated special zone, apparently hoped to resurrect the old Canton system , that is, a system that strictly confined foreigners to a segregated zone. At Shanghai, the intention of the imperial officials had clearly been initially to keep the foreigners out and upon his arrival in 1843,
35908-411: Was only nominal. Officially, the foreign powers were not allowed to station military units in the bund, but in practice, there often was a warship or two in the harbor. The treaty port system in China lasted approximately one hundred years. It began when the First Opium War ended in 1842. The major powers involved were the British, the French, and the Americans, although by the end of the 19th century all
36099-417: Was supporting the opium trade. The East India and China Association of London argued that the opium trade was directly or indirectly sanctioned by the government, and as such they should compensate them for their losses. Elliot signed certificates guaranteeing payment for the surrendered opium with the assumption that China would pay for it. This provided legal basis for the merchants to demand an indemnity from
36290-441: Was then in a weak political situation. It barely survived a motion of non-confidence on 31 January 1840 by a majority of 21. The Tories saw the China Question as an opportunity to beat the Government, and James Graham moved a motion on 7 April 1840 in the House of Commons, censuring the Government's "want of foresight and precaution" and "their neglect to furnish the superintendent at Guangzhou with powers and instructions" to deal with
36481-414: Was unaffected by fluctuations in silver prices, as China was able to import Japanese silver to stabilise its money supply. European goods remained in low demand in China, ensuring the longstanding trade surplus with the European nations continued. Despite these tensions, trade between China and Europe grew by an estimated 4% annually in the years leading up to the start of the opium trade. Opium as
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