The Yangtze Agreement was an agreement between
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
signed on October 16, 1900, signed by Prime Minister
Lord Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...
and Ambassador Count
Paul von Hatzfeldt
Melchior Hubert Paul Gustav Graf von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg (8 October 1831 – 22 November 1901) was a German diplomat who served as ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1901. He was also envoy to Spain and the Ottoman Empire, foreign sec ...
respectively. It stated both parties' opposition to the
partition of China into
spheres of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military, or political exclusivity.
While there may be a formal a ...
.
The agreement was signed in accordance with the
Open Door Policy, which all major nations supported. The policy involved equal access to Chinese markets. The Germans supported it because a partition of China would limit Germany to a small trading market, instead of all of China.
Background
In March 1898, the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
signed the
Convention for the Lease of the Liaotung Peninsula
The Convention for the Lease of the Liaotung Peninsula (; ), also known as the Pavlov Agreement, is an unequal treaty signed between of the Russian Empire and Li Hongzhang of the Qing dynasty of China on 27 March 1898. The treaty granted Russia t ...
with
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 occupied the southernmost point of
Liaotung Peninsula, thus establishing a military advantage in Northern China.
[Ikeda (1962), pp. 145-146.] In May of the same year, British
Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually was a leading New Imperialism, imperial ...
made a speech in his constituency,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, saying: "Those who sups with the devil (Russia) must have a long spoon... If the policy of isolation which has hitherto been the policy of this country (Britain) is to be maintained in the future then the fate of the Chinese Empire may be, and probably will be, hereafter decided without reference to our wishes and in defiance of our interests."
Chamberlain's comments indicated that the British government would abandon its existing '
Splendid Isolation
Splendid isolation is a term used to describe the 19th-century British diplomatic practice of avoiding permanent alliances from 1815 to 1902. The concept developed as early as 1822, when Britain left the post-1815 Concert of Europe, and continu ...
' policy and form an alliance with the powers closest to its interests in the partition of China.
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, which is opposed to Britain in
Siam
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...
,
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, is excluded because it is an ally of Russia, and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, like the British Empire was dependent on naval power, so it could not be a country against Russia.
[Kawai (1969), pp. 71-74.] The new allies had to be a country with appropriate army power. Chamberlain and
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...
, and
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...
named Germany or
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 ...
as their allies.
Britain was prepared to coordinate its interests with Germany in the whole Colonial World and support Germany's interests in China.
Even in Germany, unless they have a strong navy, they often have to rely on cooperation with Britain in terms of overseas expansion.
However, it was welcome that Russia's attention was directed to East Asia because the German Empire, on the other hand, relaxed the pressure of the
Franco-Russian Alliance
The Franco-Russian Alliance (, ), also known as the Dual Entente or Russo-French Rapprochement (''Rapprochement Franco-Russe'', Русско-Французское Сближение; ''Russko-Frantsuzskoye Sblizheniye''), was an alliance formed ...
due to its location bordering Russia and France in the east and west.
Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
, the German Emperor, supported and greatly encouraged Russian Tsar
Nicholas II
Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...
's entry into China.
Approach
The Russian, which provided large-scale troops during 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 ...
, once faced conflict with Germany in an attempt to gain the position of commander of the
Eight-Nation Alliance
The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which were being besieged by the popular Boxer ...
Forces.
In October 1900, Britain and Germany signed the Yangtze Agreement based on the principle of Open Door after a ceasefire.
Japan declared that it was joining the agreement to check the advance of Russian, particularly in Manchuria.
[White (2002), pp. 13-14.]
Almost all of the powers supported the agreement, at least ostensibly. This agreement included equal access in the Chinese market, and the Germany supported the territorial integrity of China, as the partition of China would limit Germany's trade activities to smaller markets rather than to all of China.
It was named the 'Yangtze Agreement' because this confirmed the respect for the interests of British in the
Yangtze River Delta
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD), once known as the Shanghai Economic Zone, is a megalopolis generally comprising the Wu-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, southern Anhui. The area lies in the he ...
. Britain and Germany promised to observe free trade in their respective spheres, along with China's territorial integrity.
Russia, which took advantage of the Boxer Rebellion to occupy most of Manchuria and conduct a military administration there, signed a secret agreement with the local Chinese army in November 1900. The contents of Sino-Russian secret agreement were soon revealed, and the powers such as Britain, Germany, Japan, and the United States all opposed it. Britain proposed Germany to jointly protest against Russia's occupation of Manchuria, but German Chancellor
Bernhard von Bülow
Bernhard Heinrich Karl Martin, Prince of Bülow ( ; 3 May 1849 – 28 October 1929) was a German politician who served as the chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire and minister-president of Prussia from 1900 to ...
, who wanted to avoid confrontation with Russia, stated at the
Reichstag in early 1901 that the scope of the Yangtze Agreement did not include Manchuria.
The Yangtze Agreement became virtually meaningless, and Britain sought cooperation with Japan as an alternative, establishing the
Anglo-Japanese Alliance
The was an alliance between the United Kingdom and the Empire of Japan which was effective from 1902 to 1923. The treaty creating the alliance was signed at Lansdowne House in London on 30 January 1902 by British foreign secretary Lord Lans ...
of 1902.
Notes
References
* Paul M. Kennedy, ''The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism: 1860-1914'' (1980)
* Ikeda Kiyoshi, ''The vision of Politician: Joseph Chamberlain and Keir Hardie'' (1962)
* Kawai Hidekazu, Iwanami Lecture; World History Vol. 22, ''Establishment of European Imperialism'' (1969)
* Sakai Hideo, ''Historical study of political leadership: centered in modern England'' (1967)
* John A. White, ''Transition to Global Rivalry: Alliance Diplomacy and the Quadruple Entente, 1895-1907'' (2002)
* Dominic M. Bray, '' Joseph Chamberlain and Foreign Policy: 1895-1903'' (2015)
{{refend
Treaties concluded in 1900
October 1900
1900 treaties
1900 in British politics
1900 in Germany
Foreign relations of the Qing dynasty
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Treaties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)
Treaties of the German Empire