The American concession of Tianjin (

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

: 天津美租界;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Tiānjīn měi zūjiè'') was a territory (

concession Concession may refer to: General * Concession (contract) (sometimes called a concession agreement), a contractual right to carry on a certain kind of business or activity in an area, such as to explore or develop its natural resources or to opera ...

) in the Chinese city of

Tientsin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the 2020 Chinese census. Its metropoli ...

'' de facto'' occupied by the United States between the 1860s and 1901 in present-day

Xiaobailou Subdistrict Xiaobailou Subdistrict () is a subdistrict of Heping District, Tianjin. it borders Guangfudao Subdistrict in the north, Dawangzhuang Subdistrict in the east, Dayingmen and Wudadao Subdistrict in the south, and Quanyechang Subdistrict in the west. ...

. American administration of the settlement existed in a legal gray area where no material paperwork ever existed to demarcate the concession. Its existence was only made possible by acknowledgment by all sides: the United States, the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, and other local concession municipal governments, including the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

concessions.

Legal status

There are no records of the establishment,

demarcation Demarcation is the act of creating a boundary around a place or thing. Demarcation may also refer to: *Demarcation line, a temporary border between the countries *Demarcation problem, the question of which practices of doing science permit the r ...

, or even purchase of the American concession in Tianjin in 1860. This is supported by an 1896 statement from U.S. Secretary of State

Richard Olney Richard Olney (September 15, 1835 – April 8, 1917) was an American attorney, statesman, and Democratic Party politician who served as a member of the second cabinet of President Grover Cleveland as the 40th United States Attorney General ...

Charles Denby Jr. Charles Denby Jr. (November 14, 1861 – February 15, 1938) was an American diplomat in China and later in Vienna, Austria-Hungary and was known as one of the top scholars of Chinese language and culture of his time. Life Charles Denby Jr. was b ...

, the U.S. ambassador to

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

: "There is no record the United States has accepted the concession (in Tianjin)". The lack of documentation led to multiple civil and diplomatic crises.

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

itself fluctuated between its recognition of the territory: multiple times, the Americans had renounced the management of the settlement, but due to its extraterritorial status, the Qing government refused to reclaim it for fear of instigating a ''

casus belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one bou ...

''. Thus it appears that there was a tacit agreement between the Qing and United States over the existence of this extraterritorial jurisdiction.

History

Establishment

The establishment of the concession is vague and seemed to fall in the hands of Chinese ''daotais'' and ''yamens'' more than American diplomats. According to Denby, "a tract of land" was given to the U.S. by the Qing diplomat

Chonghou Chonghou (, ), of the Wanyan clan, was a Qing dynasty official and diplomat. Early life and career He was the second son of Lin-ching of the Jurchen Wanyan clan, and is thus said to have been a lineal descendant of the Imperial House of Jin ...

to compensate for the American role as an intermediary in the

Convention of Peking The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct unequal treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. Background On 18 October ...

in 1860, along with the British and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

concessions. However, given that America was approaching a state of

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

at the time, Chinese affairs were naturally secondary, and no documents in the American legation in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

(then Peking) nor the consulate in Tianjin contain documents formalizing the settlement. American ambassadorial presence began in earnest in 1862 with the establishment of the American legation in Beijing, and a consul was established in Tianjin in 1866. With the American government preoccupied mainly with economic matters in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the

American Philippines American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, governance of the settlement relied largely on the actions of individual

consuls A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

in Tianjin. In 1877, consul George Bromley organized a settlement patrol with the support of existing American merchants and shopkeepers. However, he would later disband the patrols for "lack of jurisdiction" and attempted to hand the concession back to the Chinese government. This sentiment was later echoed in 1895 by the new consul, Sheridan Read. Zheng Zaoru, the Chinese ambassador, rebuffed these attempts. The first diplomatic crisis occurred after Read attempted to surrender the settlement to the Qing. In 1895, German diplomat Alfred Pelldram demanded a concession "as a reward for forcing Japan to return to the

Liaodong The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

peninsula", whose delimitations would have included the American concession. Upon receiving the word, Diplomat Chief Charles Denby Jr. protested, arguing the Americans retained jurisdiction over the concession, even though the actual settlement was handed over to the Chinese government. The crisis was resolved after Germany recognized American claims, and the government once again declared they would rescind their jurisdiction over the American settlement in June 1896.

Boxer Rebellion

American attitudes shifted following the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

. For the American involvement in suppressing the Boxers, envoy Edwin Conger requested a restoration of the concession in Tianjin. Fearing foreign retaliation, the Qing sought statements from the British and Germans, promoting protests from Conger and his successor James Ragsdale. Faced with foreign inaction,

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...

and

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

proposed giving another piece of land to the Americans, but they were rejected. Qing officials then offered two other areas, which were rebuffed for their remote location. Ragsdale believed that a new settlement would provide American expatriates legal protection and economic prosperity. Despite this, the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

requested Ragsdale to cease further consideration of a settlement in Tientsin; at this point, an "international concession", such as the ones in

Kulangsu Gulangyu, Gulang or Kulangsu is a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeastern China. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the island is about in area, and is reached by an 8-minute ferry ride from downtow ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, were more favorable to Congress. The American concession was then officially absorbed into the British concession on October 23, 1902, as the British concession's Southern Extension, with agreements made by Edwin Conger and his British diplomatic counterpart, Sir Ernest M. Satow.

Life in the concession

Compared to its British counterpart, the American settlement was poorly developed, described as "unsightly" by foreigners and "full of dirt" by the British envoy to China in 1902. The central neighborhoods of Zhujia (朱家胡同) and Xinghua Village (杏花村) were lined with

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

s. Following the dispute with Germany, Denby once again began to assert American authority by establishing a local patrol as well as introducing a taxation system for the settlement's businesses. American presence in the settlement steadily declined across the late 19th century; by 1902, envoy Conger noted the small number of American nationals in Tianjin (only 85), with none of the five American firms in Tianjin situated in the settlement itself. Two companies which had established themselves on the settlement, China Merchants Steam Navigation Company, Ltd., and the

Chinese Engineering and Mining Company The Chinese Engineering and Mining Company, Limited, was established with foreign capital around 1879 to mine coal for the steamships of the Chinese Merchants' Steam Navigation Company and the Imperial Chinese Navy. English mining engineer Robe ...

(CEMC), occupied the prime riverine real estate in the settlement. Although both were established state companies by the Qing, the amount of foreign capital in both (and with CEMC becoming a British-owned company in 1901) ultimately weakened American economic strength in the settlement itself, further supporting the State Department's decision to liquidate its control over the concession.

References