Unequal Treaties Totally Explained

Everything about Unequal Treaty totally explained

Unequal Treaties is a term used in reference to the type of treaties signed by several East Asian states, including Qing Dynasty China, late Tokugawa Japan, and late Joseon Korea, with Western powers and Imperial Japan, during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This was a period during which these Asian states were largely unable to resist the military and economic pressures from foreign powers.
In recent times, the term "unequal treaty" was also used by the RESPECT leader George Galloway and the Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell to refer to the 2003 U.K.-U.S. extradition treaty.

Overview

The earliest attempt to come to a settlement was the 1841 Convention of Chuenpeh in the wake of the First Opium War that started in 1839. China and Great Britain signed the first unequal treaties under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. Following Qing China's defeat, treaties with Britain opened up several ports to foreign trade, while also allowing Christians to reside. In addition, the administration of justice on foreign residents in the port cities were afforded trials by their own consular authorities rather than the Chinese legal system, a concept termed extraterritoriality.
   Although the term "Unequal treaty" didn't come into use until early in the 20th century, many Chinese considered the treaties unequal since the foreign powers didn't reciprocate most of China's concessions with similar privileges. In many cases China was effectively forced to pay large amounts of reparations, open up ports for trade, cede or lease territories (such as Hong Kong to Great Britain), and make various other concessions of sovereignty to foreign "spheres of influence", following humiliating military defeats.
   When the United States Commodore Matthew Perry forced open Japan in 1854, Japan was soon prompted to sign the "Ansei Treaties" that were similar to the ones China had signed and the same thing soon happened to Korea. Ironically, Korea's first unequal treaties were not with the West but with Japan, which, taking a page from Western tactics, had forced Korea to open its doors to foreign commerce in 1876.
   Such unequal treaties ended at various times for the countries involved. Japan was the first to throw off the shackles of its treaties during the mid 1890s, when its performance in the First Sino-Japanese War convinced many in the West that Japan had indeed entered among the body of "civilized nations". For China and Korea, the wait was somewhat longer. Most of China's unequal treaties were abrogated during World War II, when the Republic of China led by Chiang Kai-shek emerged victorious and became a permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations. China's unequal treaties almost completely dissolved only following Hong Kong's 1997 handover. The agreement was made in 1984 following talks between Deng Xiaoping and the British under the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Exception of territory seized were made by Imperial Russia (Outer Manchuria) in 1860. Korea's unequal treaties with European states became largely null and void in 1910, when it became a Japanese colony.

List of Unequal Treaties

Imposed on China
Treaty		Year	Imposer
English name	Chinese name	Year	Imposer
Treaty of Nanking		1842	United Kingdom
Treaty of the Bogue		1843	United Kingdom
Treaty of Wanghs'ia		1844	United States
Treaty of Whampoa		1844	France
Treaty of Aigun		1858	Russia
Treaty of Tientsin		1858	France, United Kingdom, Russia, United States
Convention of Peking		1860	United Kingdom, France, Russia
Treaty of Tientsin		1861	Prussia, German Customs Union
Chefoo Convention		1876	United Kingdom
Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking		1887	Portugal
Treaty of Shimonoseki (Treaty of Maguan)		1895	Japan
Li-Lobanov Treaty		1896	Russia
Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory		1898	United Kingdom
Boxer Protocol		1901	U.K., U.S., Japan, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands
Twenty-One Demands		1915	Japan
Imposed on Japan
Treaty		Year	Imposer
English name	Japanese name	Year	Imposer
Convention of Kanagawa		1854	United States
Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty		1854	United Kingdom
Ansei Treaties		1858	United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Holland, France
Treaty of Amity and Commerce (Harris Treaty)		1858	United States
Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Amity and Commerce		1858	United Kingdom
Imposed on Korea
Treaty		Year	Imposer
English name	Korean name	Year	Imposer
Treaty of Kanghwa		1876	Japan
Chemulpo Treaty		1882	United States
Taft-Katsura Agreement		1905	United States
Eulsa Treaty		1905	Japan
Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty		1910	Japan

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