Unequal treaties
| Unequal treaties | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 不平等條約 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 不平等条约 | ||||||||||||
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| Korean name | |||||||||||||
| Hangul | 불평등 조약 | ||||||||||||
| Hanja | 不平等條約 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Japanese name | |||||||||||||
| Kanji | 不平等条約 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between East Asian countries—most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan (in the 1850s) and Joseon Korea—and imperial powers—most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Empire of Japan (starting in the late 1870s), Italy, Portugal, the United States and Russia—during the 19th and early 20th centuries.[1] They were often signed following a military defeat suffered by the Asian party, or amid military threats made by the Western powers. The terms specified obligations to be borne almost exclusively by the Asian party and included provisions such as the cession of territory, payment of reparations, opening of treaty ports, relinquishment of the right to control tariffs and imports, and granting of extraterritoriality to foreign citizens.[2]
With the rise of Chinese nationalism and anti-imperialism in the 1920s, both the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used the concept to characterize the Chinese experience of losing sovereignty between roughly 1840 to 1950. The term "unequal treaty" became associated with the concept of China's "century of humiliation", especially the concessions to foreign powers and the loss of tariff autonomy through treaty ports, and continues to serve as a major impetus for the foreign policy of China today.
Japan and Korea also use the term to refer to several treaties that resulted in a reduction of their national sovereignty. Japan and China signed treaties with Korea such as the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 and China–Korea Treaty of 1882, with each granting privileges to the former parties concerning Korea. Japan after the Meiji Restoration also began enforcing unequal treaties against China after its victory in the First Sino-Japanese War for influence over Korea as well as China's coastal ports and territories.
China
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Japan
Prior to the Meiji Restoration, Japan was also subject to numerous unequal treaties. When the US expeditionary fleet led by Matthew Perry reached Japan in 1854 to force open the island nation for American trade, the country was compelled to sign the Convention of Kanagawa under the threat of violence by the American warships.[4] This event abruptly terminated Japan's 220 years of seclusion under the Sakoku policy of 1633 under unilateral foreign pressure and consequentially, the convention has been seen in a similar light as an unequal treaty.[5]
Another significant incident was the Tokugawa Shogunate's capitulation to the Harris Treaty of 1858, negotiated by the eponymous U.S. envoy Townsend Harris, which, among other concessions, established a system of extraterritoriality for foreign residents. This agreement would then serve as a model for similar treaties to be further signed by Japan with other foreign Western powers in the weeks to follow, such as the Ansei Treaties, which forcefully opened five Japanese ports, established extraterritoriality for foreigners and set fixed, low tariffs for Japan, which caused significant economic disruption and political outrage in Japan.[6]
Unequal treaties with the United States and Europe also prevented Japan from unilaterally setting tariff rates on imported goods.[7]: 8 As a result, it was hampered in developing domestic industries that could compete with imported goods.[7]: 8
The enforcement of these unequal treaties were a tremendous national shock for Japan's leadership as they both curtailed Japanese sovereignty for the first time in its history and also revealed the nation's growing weakness relative to the West through the latter's successful imposition of such agreements upon the island nation. An objective towards the recovery of national status and strength would become an overarching priority for Japan, with the treaty's domestic consequences being the end of the Bakufu and its 700 years of shogunate rule over Japan in 1868, and the establishment of a new imperial government known as the Empire of Japan.[8]
The unequal treaties ended at various times for the countries involved and Japan's victories in the 1894–95 First Sino-Japanese War convinced many in the West that unequal treaties could no longer be enforced on Japan as it was a great power in its own right. The Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation in 1894, negotiated by Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu, was the first successful move toward eliminating extraterritoriality which was fully achieved in 1899. This view gained more recognition following the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, whereby Japan most notably defeated Russia in a massive humiliation for the latter.[9]
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Korea
Korea's first unequal treaty was not with the West, but instead with Japan. The Ganghwa Island incident in 1875 saw Japan send the warship Un'yō led by Captain Inoue Yoshika with the implied threat of military action to coerce the Korean kingdom of Joseon through the show of force. After an armed clash ensued around Ganghwa Island where the Japanese force was sent, which resulted in its victory, the incident subsequently forced Korea to open its doors to Japan by signing the Treaty of Ganghwa Island, also known as the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876.[17]
During this period Korea also signed treaties with Qing China and the West powers (such as the United Kingdom and the United States). In the case of Qing China, it signed the China–Korea Treaty of 1882 with Korea stipulating that Korea was a dependency of China and granted the Chinese extraterritoriality and other privileges,[18] and in subsequent treaties China also obtained concessions in Korea, such as the Chinese concession of Incheon.[19][20] However, Qing China lost its influence over Korea following the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895.[21]
As Japanese dominance over the Korean peninsula grew in the following decades, it imposed more unequal treaties, beginning with the 1882 Treaty of Chemulpo, which allowed Japan to station troops in Korea following the Imo Incident. with respect to the unequal treaties imposed upon the kingdom by the Western powers (1882 Shufeldt Treaty), Korea's diplomatic concessions with those states became largely null and void by 1910, when it was annexed by Japan.[22]
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Ryukyu (Okinawa)
| Treaty | Year | Imposer | Imposed on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English name | Okinawan or Classical Chinese | |||
| Convention between the Lew Chew Islands and the United States of America | 琉米修好条約 | 1854 | File:Flag of the United States (1851-1858).svg United States | Ryukyu Kingdom |
| Convention entre la France et les Iles Liou-tchou | 琉仏修好条約 | 1855 | File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France | |
| Traktaat tusschen Nederlanden en Lioe-kioe | 琉蘭修好条約 | 1859 | File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands | |
| Establishment of the Ryukyu Domain | 琉球藩設置 | 1872 | File:Merchant flag of Japan (1870).svg Japan | |
| 六ヶ条の御達書 (令達) | 1875 | File:Merchant flag of Japan (1870).svg Japan | ||
| Ryukyu Annexation Proposal | 琉球処分 | 1878-1879 | File:Merchant flag of Japan (1870).svg Japan | |
Vietnam
| Treaty | Year | Imposer | Imposed on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English name | Vietnamese name | |||
| Treaty of Versailles (1787) | Hiệp ước Versailles (1787) | 1767 | Kingdom of France | Nguyễn lords |
| Bonard Treaty | Hòa ước Nhâm Tuất (壬戌和約) | 1862 | File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France | Đại Nam |
| Treaty of Huế (1863) | Hòa ước Quý Hợi (癸亥和約) | 1863 | File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France | |
| Draft Treaty of Aubaret | Hòa ước Giáp Tý(甲子和約) | 1864 | File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France | |
| Philastre treaty | Hòa ước Giáp Tuất (甲戌和約) | 1874 | File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France | |
| Harmand Treaty | Hòa ước Harmand (Hác-măng)) / Hòa ước Quý Mùi (癸未和約) | 1883 | File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France | |
| Patenôtre Treaty | Hòa ước Patenôtre (Pa-tơ-nốt) / Hòa ước Giáp Thân (甲申和約)) | 1884 | File:Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France | |
Thailand
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Nepal
| Treaty | Year | Imposer | Imposed on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English name | Nepali name | |||
| Treaty of Sugauli | सुगौली सन्धि | 1816 | File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom | File:Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal |
Bhutan
| Treaty | Year | Imposer | Imposed on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English name | Dzhonga name | |||
| Treaty of Sinchula | སིན་ཅུ་ལའི་ཆིངས་ཡིག། | 1865 | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg United Kingdom | Kingdom of Bhutan |
| Treaty of Punakha | སྤུ་ན་ཁའི་ཆིངས་ཡིག། | 1910 | File:Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg United Kingdom | Kingdom of Bhutan |
| Treaty of Friendship of 1949 | ༡༩༤༩ ལོའི་མཛའ་མཐུན་ཆིངས་ཡིག། | 1949 | File:Flag of India.svg India | File:Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan |
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See also
- Century of humiliation
- China Centenary Missionary Conference
- Client state
- Foreign concessions in China
- List of Chinese treaty ports
- List of treaties of China before the People's Republic
- Most favoured nation
- Normanton incident
- Puppet state
- Sick man of Asia
- Trianon syndrome
- Western imperialism in Asia
Other unequal treaties outside East Asia:
- 1855 Bowring Treaty (Thailand)
- 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay (Iran)
- Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire
References
- ↑ "Unequal Treaties with China". Encyclopédie d’histoire numérique de l’Europe. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
- ↑ Fravel, M. Taylor (October 1, 2005). "Regime Insecurity and International Cooperation: Explaining China's Compromises in Territorial Disputes". International Security. 30 (2): 46–83. doi:10.1162/016228805775124534. ISSN 0162-2889. S2CID 56347789.
- ↑ Ingemar Ottosson (2019). Möten i monsunen.
- ↑ Hall, John Whitney; Hall, John Whitney (1991). Japan: from prehistory to modern times. Michigan classics in Japanese studies. Ann Arbor, Mich: Center for Japanese Studies, the Univ. of Michigan. ISBN 978-0-939512-54-6.
- ↑ Miyauchi, D. Y. (May 1970). "Yokoi Shōnan's Response to the Foreign Intervention in Late Tokugawa Japan, 1853–1862". Modern Asian Studies. 4 (3): 269–290. doi:10.1017/s0026749x00011938. ISSN 0026-749X. S2CID 145055046.
- ↑ Michael R. Auslin (2006). Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy. Harvard University Press. pp. 17, 44. ISBN 9780674020313.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hirata, Koji (2024). Making Mao's Steelworks: Industrial Manchuria and the Transnational Origins of Chinese Socialism. Cambridge Studies in the History of the People's Republic of China series. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-38227-4.
- ↑ Totman, Conrad (1966). "Political Succession in The Tokugawa Bakufu: Abe Masahiro's Rise to Power, 1843–1845". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 26: 102–124. doi:10.2307/2718461. JSTOR 2718461.
- ↑ Oye, David Schimmelpenninck van der (January 1, 2005). "The Immediate Origins of the War". The Russo-Japanese War in Global Perspective: 23–44. doi:10.1163/9789047407041_008. ISBN 978-90-474-0704-1.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link) - ↑ Auslin, Michael R. (2004) Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy, p. 17., p. 17, at Google Books
- ↑ Auslin, p. 30., p. 30, at Google Books
- ↑ Auslin, pp. 1, 7., p. 1, at Google Books
- ↑ Auslin, p. 71., p. 71, at Google Books
- ↑ Auslin, Michael R. (2004) Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy, p. 154., p. 154, at Google Books
- ↑ Howland, Douglas (2016). International Law and Japanese Sovereignty: The Emerging Global Order in the 19th Century. Springer. ISBN 9781137567772.
- ↑ Dreyer, June Teufel (2016). Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun: Sino-Japanese Relations, Past and Present. Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-19-537566-4.
- ↑ Preston, Peter Wallace. [1998] (1998). Blackwell Publishing. Pacific Asia in the Global System: An Introduction. ISBN 0-631-20238-2
- ↑ Duus, Peter (1998). The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 54. ISBN 0-52092-090-2.
- ↑ "Guide to Incheon's Chinatown". March 3, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ↑ Fuchs, Eckhardt (2017). A New Modern History of East Asia. V&R unipress GmbH. p. 97. ISBN 978-3-7370-0708-5.
- ↑ Paine, S. C. M. (November 18, 2002). "The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy". Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511550188. ISBN 978-0-521-81714-1.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link) - ↑ I. H. Nish, "Japan Reverses the Unequal Treaties: The Anglo-Japanese Commercial Treaty of 1894," Journal of Oriental Studies (1975) 13#2 pp 137-146.
- ↑ Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921–1922. (1922). Korea's Appeal to the Conference on Limitation of Armament, p. 33., p. 33, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty Between Japan and Korea, dated February 26, 1876."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 29., p. 29, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and Korea. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated May 22, 1882."
- ↑ Moon, Myungki. "Korea-China Treaty System in the 1880s and the Opening of Seoul: Review of the Joseon-Qing Communication and Commerce Rules," Archived October 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Journal of Northeast Asian History, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Dec 2008), pp. 85–120.
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Germany and Korea. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated November 23, 1883."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Great Britain and Korea ... dated November 26, 1883."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Russia. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated June 25, 1884."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Italy. Treaty of Friendship and Commerce dated June 26, 1884."
- ↑ Yi, Kwang-gyu and Joseph P. Linskey. (2003). Korean Traditional Culture, p. 63., p. 63, at Google Books; excerpt, "The so-called Hanseong Treaty was concluded between Korea and Japan. Korea paid compensation for Japanese losses. Japan and China worked out the Tien-Tsin Treaty, which ensured that both Japanese and Chinese troops withdraw from Korea."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and France. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated June 4, 1886."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Austria. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated July 23, 1892."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Belgium. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated March 23, 1901."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Denmark. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated July 15, 1902."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 34., p. 34, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty of Alliance Between Japan and Korea, dated February 23, 1904."
- ↑ Note that the Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament in Washington, D.C., 1921–1922 identified this as "Treaty of Alliance Between Japan and Korea, dated February 23, 1904"
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated August 22, 1904."
- ↑ Note that the Korean diplomats in 1921–1922 identified this as "Alleged Treaty, dated August 22, 1904"
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated April 1, 1905."
- ↑ Note that the Korean diplomats in 1921–1922 identified this as "Alleged Treaty, dated April 1, 1905"
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated August 13, 1905."
- ↑ Note that the Korean diplomats in 1921–1922 identified this as "Alleged Treaty, dated August 13, 1905"
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated November 17, 1905."
- ↑ Note that the Korean diplomats in 1921–1922 identified this as "Alleged Treaty, dated November 17, 1905"
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated July 24, 1907."
- ↑ Korean Mission, p. 36., p. 36, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated August 20, 1910."
Bibliography
- Auslin, Michael R. (2004). Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01521-0; OCLC 56493769
- Hsü, Immanuel Chung-yueh (1970). The Rise of Modern China. New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 300287988
- Nish, I. H (1975). "Japan Reverses the Unequal Treaties: The Anglo-Japanese Commercial Treaty of 1894". Journal of Oriental Studies. 13 (2): 137–146.
- Perez, Louis G (1999). Japan Comes of Age: Mutsu Munemitsu & the Revision of the Unequal Treaties. p. 244.
- Ringmar, Erik (2013). Liberal Barbarism: The European Destruction of the Palace of the Emperor of China. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Wang, Dong (2003). "The Discourse of Unequal Treaties in Modern China". Pacific Affairs. 76 (3): 399–425.
- Wang, Dong. (2005). China's Unequal Treaties: Narrating National History. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. ISBN 9780739112083.
- Fravel, M. Taylor (2008). Strong Borders, Secure Nation: Cooperation and Conflict in China's Territorial Disputes. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-2887-6
- Halleck, Henry Wager. (1861). International law: or, Rules regulating the intercourse of states in peace and war. New York: D. Van Nostrand. OCLC 852699
- Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921–1922. (1922). Korea's Appeal to the Conference on Limitation of Armament. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 12923609
- Fravel, M. Taylor (2005). Regime Insecurity and International Cooperation: Explaining China's Compromises in Territorial Disputes. International Security. 30 (2): 46–83. doi:10.1162/016228805775124534. ISSN 0162-2889.
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