Aditya Singh

2016130

B.A. Hons History (3rd Year)

History of modern China

Assignment

“The Unequal Treaty system in China laid the foundations for irresponsible
imperialism.”

"The Treaties which created this situation were an infringement upon the sovereignty of China. They
cannot he defended in international law or upon the principles of comity which should govern the
relation between free and independent State”.

- Honourable William H. King. speaking in the U. S. Senate.

The theory of “Unequal treaty system” was given by Prof. John King Fairbanks who has
interchangeably used the term with “treaty system”. The unequal treaty system lasted in China for
almost a century from 1842 till 1943. Fairbank further characterizes the new Chinese order; i.e. ’the
Treaty System’ as a ’new rickshaw-culture’, with the bicycle wheel of the rickshaw symbolizing the
progressive western civilization, and the coolie power of the rickshaw puller symbolizing the resilient
Chinese tradition. In 1842 Great Britain forced the opium trade upon China by winning the Opium
war and 5 British warships steamed straight into the Yangtse, bombarding the surrounding ports and
as China had no Navy they were forced to surrender. Hongkong was forcefully ceded to Great Britain
and 5 Chinese Premier ports were opened to foreign trade.

This initial surrender of China to Britain proved detrimental to China’s growth and prosperity and
opened up gates for other Western Colonisers. In the following years after 1842, 18 other European
countries entered the Chinese Sea ports and forced the Chinese to sign trade deals with rights such as
immunity from Chinese Law for European traders, maintenance of foreign soldiers on Chinese soil,
Admission of foreign naval and merchant vessels to the Chinese waters. and permission to navigate
freely and under the jurisdiction of their several governments, exploitation of labor and Chinese
national resources. The treaty of Tientsin that ended the Second Opium War increased-the number of
treaty ports to sixteen, while the Chefoo Convention signed between China and Britain in 1876 added
five more to the list. Thus, the entire length of the China coast as well as it5 major navigable
waterway, the Yangzi River, came to be dotted with these centres of foreign trade and business.

The unequal treaties were deeply disadvantageous for China as it had to allow movement of foreign
troops and warships to patrol the Chinese waters, creating hostility among the Chinese. China was
also forced to give away control of foreigners with extraterritorial privileges called as foreign
concessions which were governed by their own municipal corporations and also levied taxes on the
common people for the maintenance of their council and thus destroying the sovereignty of the
Chinese government and as subsequent treaties were signed, extraterritorial rights were extended from
peoples to concessions granted as neighbourhoods in which foreigners could live. Entire districts of
the treaty ports fell under the jurisdiction of Western powers. Foreign control of China's customs and
of a large share of her industries and natural resources have the Chinese Government revenues which
it must have in order to operate effectively. Because of the Unequal Treaties, China was hardly
sovereign in its own territory, as Western citizens were protected while in China, yet the lack of
reciprocity gave China no such right to safeguard their own nationals. According to Edmund S. K.
Fung, the treaties were unequal in 3 respect- they had been framed with the objective of securing for the
nationals of the powers concerned various rights and privileges which were not reciprocally accorded to the
Chinese. secondly China was placed in a weaker position and were imposed by military force and the main
objective was to define, strengthen and extend the privileges for foreigners. thirdly under the most favoured
nation clause which appeared in the treaty of Bogue, the Chinese government was forced to extend ipso
facto to all powers.

There is considerable debate about the significance of the First Opium War to China's historical
trajectory. The orthodox narrative in the People's Republic of China maintains that the conflict began
China's “century of humiliation” at the hands of foreign powers. Yet, although the treaties signed in
1842–1843 undoubtedly established the major pillars of foreign imperialism in China, the immediate
effects were not far-reaching. Nor were the “unequal treaties” unprecedented. Every subsequent treaty
with a Western power included some imitation of this clause, thereby fostering an automatic,
unconscious cooperation between the West to pry China open, and maintain equality of opportunity in
the China trade

The Treaties of Tianjin forced the opening of ten additional ports, including four along the Yangtze
River deep into inland China. Treaty rights and concessions were extended to each of the new ports,
while also establishing permanent Western legations at Beijing. In addition, foreigners were granted
permissions to travel throughout China; inland tariff dues were further decreased to 2.5% ad valorem;
another large indemnity was demanded of the Qing government; and missionaries were guaranteed
free movement and the right to own property outside of the treaty ports. A pattern emerged between
1860 and 1890, in which foreign powers would follow up a perceived violation of the treaties with the
threat of military action, thus resulting in further treaty privileges. In tune with the global acceleration
of colonial competition, imperialism in China intensified in the 1890s.

John K. Fairbanks’s theory of “unfair treaty system” is a comment on the nature of imperialist
aggression on China and also the absorption of Imperialist aggression by the Chinese. Fairbanks in his
‘Cambridge History’ has mentioned that these unequal treaties were the vehicles of irresponsible
imperialist invasion’. irresponsible imperialism is neither an accidental happening nor a short-lived
phenomenon. It is a well-conceived and well-designed system, and a permanent form of governance.
In the first place, irresponsible imperialism, like absentee landlordism, was a form of domination
characterized by its deliberate omission. This form of domination skips responsible government,
refrains from territorial annexation but does not totally give it up, and restricts the use of armies,
navies, and police forces but maintains them as a deterrence while occasionally using them when
things go beyond control.

Chang Hsi’s Fu-ijih-chi stated that The Unequal Treaties, most importantly the Treaty of Nanjing of
1842, initiated an era of underdevelopment and quasi-imperialism in China, perpetuated by Western
privilege-seeking, which manipulated and exploited a Chinese government ignorant of the
ramifications of what they were accepting. The United States (US) practiced “hitchhiking
imperialism” in China, quickly following the British precedent with an unequal treaty of its own. It
became difficult, if not impossible, for China to protect nascent industries and young Chinese
companies against foreign trade. The weak Chinese economy and state was partially held together by
self-strengthening reforms and a strong, centralized authority which became highly irresponsive came
into power

According to Gallagher and Robinson, after the evolution of the treaty system and as a step to protect
the interests of their own nation Britain set up 2 kinds of overseas governance- responsible
government and the other one being the indirect method or the irresponsible governance. Since we
have already a definite notion of imperialism, which is one of the worst forms of human aggression
and exploitation. there is no question of its ever having a sense of moral responsibility. The term
’irresponsible governance’ or irresponsible imperialism’ means the abstention from assuming such
full responsibility on the part of the imperialist power. The treaty system in l9th-century China was a
version of this irresponsible imperialism. The Treaty System was the indirect governance with which
Britain not only maintained but developed their interests in China. The theory of irresponsible
imperialism has also been given by Eric Hobsbawm according to whom there were 3 types of British
colonies- i) crown controlled, ii) full control colonies and iii) irresponsible colonies. Michael
Edwardes describes China in the 19th century as ’the victim of imperialism without annexation’.
British irresponsible imperialism over China represented the magic power of universal management
of capitalist economy, in addition to Britain’s ability to stabilize the existing socio-political order in
China.

The Treaty System in China was the highest stage of British imperialism. Britain was expanding her
power and political influence to the extent of imbalance--much beyond what the narrow base of the
British Isles could sustain. When the Treaty System in China collapsed at the onslaught of Chinese
nationalist movement. After Britain no imperialist power has had any success with irresponsible
imperialism, now virtually varnished. The Treaty System in China was, thus, the only success story of
irresponsible imperialism. China's economic, political and territorial independence and sovereignty
was steadily eroded by the imperialists. The legal aspect of these treaties and agreements was not as
significant as the actual military and economic weakness of the Chinese Empire. It was this weakness
which made the treaties and agreements absolutely binding on China.
 Bibliography

 B. Goodman and D. S. G. Goodman (Eds.) 2012. Twentieth-Century Colonialism and