treaty port

treaty port
any of the ports in China, Japan, or Korea through which trade with foreign countries was permitted by special treaty.
[1880-85]

* * *

▪ Asian history
      any of the ports that Asian countries, especially China and Japan, opened to foreign trade and residence beginning in the mid-19th century because of pressure from powers such as Britain, France, Germany, the United States, and, in the case of China, Japan and Russia. In China the initial ports were opened to British traders in 1842 following China's defeat in the Chinese-British trade conflict known as the first Opium War (Opium Wars) (1839–42); the treaty port system began in Japan in 1854 after Commo. Matthew C. Perry (Perry, Matthew C) of the United States sailed a fleet of gunships into Edo (now Tokyo) Bay and forced the Japanese to allow U.S. merchants into their country. Other Western nations rapidly followed the British and U.S. examples and gained treaty port privileges for their own citizens not only in China and Japan but also in Vietnam, Korea, and Siam (Thailand). Toward the end of the 19th century, as the Western countries demanded still more concessions from China, the number of Chinese treaty ports grew from 5 in 1842 to more than 50 by 1911. The Japanese, having less trade appeal and a stronger military force than the Chinese, were better able to withstand this pressure, and in that country only six ports were opened to foreign trade and residence. No more than two or three ports were ever opened in the smaller countries.

      Within the treaty ports, Western subjects had the right of extraterritoriality—i.e., they were under the control of their own consuls and were not subject to the laws of the country in which they resided. Eventually an independent legal, judicial, police, and taxation system developed in each of the ports, although the cities themselves were still nominally considered a part of the country in which they were located. Along with Western municipal institutions came Western ways of life, and many Asians were first acquainted with Western thought and techniques in the treaty ports. Beginning in the late 19th century, treaty port cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou (Canton) (Canton) constituted the major areas from which industrialization developed in China.

      The treaty ports were abolished in Japan in 1899 as a result of that country's rapid industrialization and burgeoning military power. Most of the imperialist powers, however, refused to relinquish their treaty port rights in China and other Asian countries until the end of World War II.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • treaty port — n. a port that must be kept open for foreign trade according to the terms of a treaty, as, formerly, any of certain ports in China, Japan, or Korea …   English World dictionary

  • treaty port — noun a port in China or Korea or Japan that once was open to foreign trade on the basis of a trading treaty • Hypernyms: ↑port …   Useful english dictionary

  • treaty port — noun a port bound by treaty to be open to foreign trade, especially in 19th and early 20th century China and Japan …   English new terms dictionary

  • treaty port — trea′ty port n. why any of the ports in China, Japan, or Korea through which trade with foreign countries was formerly permitted by special treaty • Etymology: 1880–85 …   From formal English to slang

  • treaty port — noun Date: 1863 any of numerous ports and inland cities in China, Japan, and Korea formerly open by treaty to foreign commerce …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Treaty of Tientsin — Signing of the treaty between Britain and China Traditional Chinese 天津條約 …   Wikipedia

  • Port of Yingkou — The Port of Yingkou is an international seaport in Yingkou, Liaoning, People s Republic of China. It is the second largest port in northeast China and the tenth largest nationwide.cite web| title =Yingkou Ports | publisher = China Crest| month… …   Wikipedia

  • treaty — n. (pl. ies) 1 a formally concluded and ratified agreement between States. 2 an agreement between individuals or parties, esp. for the purchase of property. Phrases and idioms: treaty port hist. a port that a country was bound by treaty to keep… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Port of Shanghai — The Port of Shanghai, located in the vicinity of Shanghai, comprises a deep sea port and a river port. In 2006, with a total of 537 million tons of cargo transported, it became the world s busiest port by cargo tonnage for the first time.The Port …   Wikipedia

  • Port security — refers to the defense, law and treaty enforcement, and counterterrorism activities that fall within the port and maritime domain. It includes the protection of the seaports themselves, the protection and inspection of the cargo moving through the …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”