The Treaty of Nanking (Nánjīng Tiáoyuē) is the agreement which marked the end of the First Opium War between the United Kingdom and China. It was signed on August 29, 1842, aboard the British warship HMS Cornwallis in Nanjing (then known as "Nanking"). It is the first of the Unequal Treaties signed by China with a foreign power in which British citizens in China gained immunity from prosecution under Chinese law. The treaty resulted in the creation of the crown colony of Hong Kong, which remained under British control until 1997, when, under terms agreed with the Peoples Republic of China it again became part of China. The establishment of Hong Kong and of other Treaty Port settlements, such as the International zone in Shanghai, represented a development in British imperial policy which where possible expanded influence without asserting sovereignty. Similar concessions, known as 'capitulations’, were negotiated with the Ottoman Empire and in such countries as Iran. China, apart from small European enclaves such as Hong Kong and nearby Portuguese Macao was never colonized although the great powers increasingly exercised political influence, resented by the Chinese. The Opium Wars rank among the most immoral of all imperial conflicts (Opium trade was actually prohibited inGreat Britain). Although a modestly sized colony, Hong Kong's strategic and economic importance was considerable and it was treasured as a jewel in the East of the British Empire. For many, its transfer to Chinese control in 1997 represented a symbolic end of empire and of a colonial way of life. Hong Kong was, and remains, significant as a place where cultures meet, mingle and fuse. The return of Hong Kong to China can be said to have put an end to the last continuing provisions of the Treaty of Nanking, most of which had already been consigned to history.
The Opium WarsHistorical Background
Following its ban on the Opium trade of 1839, the Chinese were accused of attacking and destroying British property, presumably Opium which was ordered confiscated on March 27. The Queen saw the destruction of British products as an insult and sent the first expeditionary force to defend British's "ancient rights of commerce" in June 1840. The First Opium War (1839-1842) began at the hands of Captain Charles Elliot of the Royal Navy and Capt. Anthony Blaxland Stransham of the Royal Marines. After a series of Chinese defeats, Hong Kong Island was occupied by the British on January 20, 1841. Sir Edward Belcher, aboard the HMS Sulphur landed in Hong Kong, on Jan. 25, 1841. Possession Street still exists to mark the event, although its Chinese name means "Mouth of the ditch Street."
The Birth of Hong Kong
Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer raised the Union Jack and claimed Hong Kong as a colony on Jan. 26, 1841. 156 years later, the Royal Navy sailed away. It erected naval store sheds there in April 1841.
Across the Bay, the Portuguese colony of Macao was already established as the oldest European settlement in East Asia. Settled as early as 1552, the territory—a small peninsula and some islands—was technically leased from China from 1670, also resisting Dutch ambitions. Like Hong Kong, it has also reverted to China (at the end of 1999). Although not part of the provisions of the Treaty of Nanking, Macao was viewed in much the same way as Hong Kong was by the Chinese and thus shared its fate as a foreign 'possession'. The Chinese of Macao, though, were awarded full Portuguese citizenship, while very few Hong Kong Chinese enjoyed British citizenship—most were British Overseas Citizens which did not carry the right to live in the United Kingdom.
The island was first used by the British as a staging post during the war, and while the East India Company intended to establish a permanent base on the island of Zhoushan, Elliot took it upon himself to claim the island on a permanent basis. The ostensible authority for the occupation was negotiated between Captain Eliot and the Governor of Kwangtung Province. The Convention of Chuenpeh was concluded but had not been recognized by the court of Qing Dynasty at Beijing. Subsequently, Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking, at which point in time the territory became a Crown Colony.
The Opium War was ostensibly fought to liberalize trade to China. With a base in Hong Kong, British traders, opium dealers, and merchants launched the city which would become the 'free trade' nexus of the East. American opium traders and merchant bankers such as the Russell, Perkins and the Forbes family would soon join the trade. Britain was granted a perpetual lease on the Kowloon Peninsula under the 1860 Convention of Beijing, which formally ended hostilities in the Second Opium War (1856-1858).
Terms of the Treaty
Under the treaty, China agreed to cede Hong Kong Island (together with some small nearby islands) to theBritish Empire, and open the following treaty ports of China for foreign trade:
- Canton (Guangzhou)
- Amoy (Xiamen)
- Foochow (Fuzhou)
- Ningpo (Ningbo)
- Shanghai
(The first of the romanizations are in Postal map spelling, which were used in the treaty; the second Hanyu Pinyin, the modern spellings.)
Also, Great Britain received:
- 21 million ounces silver for compensation
- Fixed tariffs
- Extraterritoriality for British Citizens on Chinese soil
- Most Favored Nation status
In addition to these indemnities, China allowed British missionaries into the interior of China for the first time, and allowed British merchants to establish "spheres of influence" in and around British ports. As a result of missionary activity the Christian community in China is about 13 million, although foreign missionaries left after the Communist revolution. Some relocated to Hong Kong, from where several missionary societies continued to find ways of communicating with Chinese Christians.
The treaty left several unsettled issues. In particular it did not resolve the status of the opium trade with China, which was profitable for the British and devastating to the Chinese. The equivalent American treaty forbade the opium trade, but, as both the British and American merchants were only subject to the legal control of their consuls, the trade continued.
Hong Kong: Jewel in the East
In 1898 the United Kingdom was concerned that Hong Kong could not be defended unless surrounding areas were also under British control. In response a 99-year lease titled the Second Convention of Peking was drafted and executed, significantly expanding the size of the Hong Kong via the addition of the New Territories. The lease would set to expire at midnight, on June 30, 1997.
No comments:
Post a Comment