Unequal treaty facts for kids

An unequal treaty is a name given by the Chinese to a group of agreements. These treaties were signed in the 1800s and early 1900s. They were between China (mostly the Qing dynasty) and powerful Western countries like Britain, France, Germany, the United States, and Russia, as well as Japan.

These agreements were often made after China lost a war or was threatened with military attack. They had very unfair terms for China. China had to give up land, pay large amounts of money, and open up special "treaty ports" for foreign trade. Foreigners also got special rights, meaning they were judged by their own laws, not Chinese laws.

In the 1920s, Chinese people became very proud of their country and wanted to end foreign control. Both the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) and the Chinese Communist Party used the idea of "unequal treaties" to describe how China lost its independence from about 1840 to 1950. The term became linked to China's "century of humiliation". This included giving up parts of its land and losing control over its own trade taxes in treaty ports.

Japan and Korea also use this term for some treaties that made them lose their independence to different degrees.

China's Experience with Unequal Treaties

A French cartoon from 1898 shows powerful countries like Britain, Germany, Russia, and France, along with Japan, dividing up China. A Chinese official looks on in horror.

The Eight-Nation Alliance inside the Chinese imperial palace, the Forbidden City, after signing the Boxer Protocol in 1901.

In China, the term "unequal treaty" started being used in the early 1920s. It described old agreements that were still forced on the Republic of China. These treaties began around the 1840s, a time some historians call the "treaty century."

Historians agree that these treaties often forced China to pay huge amounts of money. China also had to open ports for trade and give up or lease territories. Examples include parts of Manchuria and northwest China to Russia, Hong Kong to the United Kingdom, and Taiwan to Japan. China also had to give up other parts of its independence to foreign powers, usually after military threats.

Many Chinese people felt these treaties were unfair because they were not agreed upon by equal countries. Instead, they were forced on China after wars. This made China feel like a "semi-colony," meaning it was partly controlled by foreign powers.

The first treaty later called "unequal" was the 1841 Convention of Chuenpi during the First Opium War. The first treaty between China and the United Kingdom called "unequal" was the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842.

After China lost the First Opium War, the Treaty of Nanjing opened five ports for foreign trade. It also allowed foreign missionaries to live in China. Foreigners in these port cities had their own trials by their own country's officials, not by Chinese law. This special right was called extraterritoriality.

China's Push for Fairness After World War I

After World War I, Chinese people felt very patriotic. They focused on these "unequal treaties." The Nationalist Party and the Communist Party both tried to convince the public that they could end these unfair agreements. Germany had to give up its rights, and the Soviet Union gave up theirs. The United States also worked to change them.

In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek formed a new Chinese government. He told the powerful Western countries that China had been unfairly treated for decades. He demanded that all unequal treaties be renegotiated to be fair.

How Unequal Treaties Ended for China

After the Boxer Rebellion and a new alliance between Britain and Japan in 1902, Germany started to rethink its approach to China. China began ending unequal treaties on March 14, 1917. It broke off ties with Germany, ending the special rights Germany had in China. China officially declared war on Germany on August 17, 1917.

During World War I, these actions ended the unequal treaty of 1861. This gave China back control of its areas in Tianjin and Hankou. In 1919, after the war, peace talks did not return the German-controlled territories in Shandong to China. Japan had taken these areas in 1914 and was allowed to keep them. Because of this, the Chinese representative refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles. China was the only country at the conference to boycott the signing. Many Chinese people felt betrayed, leading to protests and the May Fourth Movement.

On May 20, 1921, China signed a peace treaty with Germany. This was seen as the first equal treaty between China and a European nation.

Many other treaties China considered unequal were ended during the Second Sino-Japanese War. This war started in 1937 and became part of World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, China became a major ally. In December 1943, the United States ended its special rights for Americans in China. Some unequal treaties lasted longer, like those about Hong Kong. These remained until Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. However, in 1969, China had to reconfirm some old treaties with Russia to improve relations.

Japan's Experience with Unequal Treaties

In 1854, a US fleet led by Matthew C. Perry arrived in Japan. They forced Japan to open up for American trade. Japan had to sign the Convention of Kanagawa under the threat of violence from American warships. This event suddenly ended Japan's 220 years of being closed off from the world. Because of this, the convention is often seen as an unequal treaty.

Another important event was when the Tokugawa shogunate (Japan's military government) agreed to the Harris Treaty in 1858. This treaty, negotiated by Townsend Harris, gave special rights to foreign residents. This agreement then became a model for similar treaties that Japan signed with other Western countries.

These unequal treaties were a huge shock for Japan's leaders. They limited Japan's independence for the first time. They also showed that Japan was weaker compared to Western countries. Japan then made it a top goal to regain its national strength and status. These treaties also led to the end of the shogunate and the start of a new imperial government in Japan.

Japan's unequal treaties ended at different times for different countries. Japan's victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) convinced many Western nations that they could no longer force unequal treaties on Japan.

Korea's Experience with Unequal Treaties

Korea's first unequal treaty was not with a Western country, but with Japan. In 1875, Japan sent the warship Un'yō to Korea. This was a show of force, threatening military action to make the Korean kingdom of Joseon open up. After a fight near Ganghwa Island, Japan won. This forced Korea to open its doors to Japan by signing the Treaty of Ganghwa Island in 1876.

As Japan's power over Korea grew, Korea's agreements with European countries became less important. In 1910, Japan took over Korea completely, ending its independence.

Selected List of Unequal Treaties

Imposed on China

Treaty		Year	Imposer	Imposed on
English name	Chinese name
Treaty of Nanking	南京條約	1842	United Kingdom	Qing dynasty
Treaty of the Bogue	虎門條約	1843	United Kingdom
Treaty of Wanghia	中美望廈條約	1844	United States
Treaty of Whampoa	黃埔條約	1844	France
Treaty of Canton	中瑞廣州條約	1847	Sweden-Norway
Treaty of Kulja	中俄伊犁塔爾巴哈臺通商章程	1851	Russia
Treaty of Aigun	璦琿條約	1858	Russia
Treaty of Tientsin (1858)	天津條約	1858	France
			United Kingdom
			Russia
			United States
Convention of Peking	北京條約	1860	United Kingdom
			France
			Russia
Treaty of Tientsin (1861)	中德通商条约	1861	Prussia, also for Deutscher Zollverein
Chefoo Convention	煙臺條約	1876	United Kingdom
Treaty of Livadia	里瓦幾亞條約	1879	Russia
Treaty of Saint Petersburg	伊犁條約	1881	Russia
Treaty of Tientsin (1885)	中法新約	1885	France
Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking	中葡北京條約	1887	Portugal
Treaty of Shimonoseki (Treaty of Maguan)	馬關條約	1895	Japan
Li–Lobanov Treaty	中俄密約	1896	Russia
Convention for the Lease of the Liaotung Peninsula	旅大租地条约	1898	Russia
Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory	展拓香港界址專條	1898	United Kingdom
Treaty of Kwangchow Wan [fr]	廣州灣租界條約	1899	France
Boxer Protocol	辛丑條約	1901	United Kingdom
			United States
			Japan
			Russia
			France
			Germany
			Italy
			Austria-Hungary
			Belgium
			Spain
			Netherlands
Simla Convention	西姆拉條約	1914	United Kingdom	Republic of China
Twenty-One Demands	二十一條	1915	Japan
Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement	中日共同防敵軍事協定	1918	Japan
Tanggu Truce	塘沽協定	1933	Japan

Imposed on Japan

Treaty			Year	Imposer	Imposed on
English name		Japanese name
Convention of Kanagawa		日米和親条約	1854	United States	Tokugawa shogunate
Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty		日英和親条約	1854	United Kingdom
Treaty of Shimoda		下田条約	1855	Russia
Ansei Treaties
	Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan (Harris Treaty)	安政条約	1858	United States
	Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Japan			Netherlands
	Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the Russian Empire and Japan			Russia
	Treaty of Amity and Commerce between British Empire and Japan			United Kingdom
	Treaty of Amity and Commerce between France and Japan			France
Prussian-Japanese Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation		日普修好通商条約	1861	Prussia
Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation between Austria and Japan		日墺修好通商航海条約	1868	Austria-Hungary	Japan
Spanish-Japanese Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation		日西修好通商航海条約	1868	Spain
Retrocession following the Triple Intervention Convention of retrocession of the Liaodong Peninsula [ja]		遼東還付条約	1895	France  Russia  Germany

Imposed on Korea

Treaty		Year	Imposer	Imposed on
English name	Korean name
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 (Treaty of Ganghwa)	강화도 조약 (江華島條約)	1876	Japan	Joseon dynasty
United States–Korea Treaty of 1882	조미수호통상조약 (朝美修好通商條約)	1882	United States
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1882 (Treaty of Chemulpo)	제물포 조약 (濟物浦條約)	1882	Japan
China–Korea Treaty of 1882 (Joseon-Qing Communication and Commerce Rules)	조청상민수륙무역장정 (朝淸商民水陸貿易章程)	1882	Qing dynasty
Germany–Korea Treaty of 1883	조독수호통상조약 (朝獨修好通商條約)	1883	Germany
United Kingdom–Korea Treaty of 1883	조영수호통상조약 (朝英修好通商條約)	1883	United Kingdom
Russia–Korea Treaty of 1884	조로수호통상조약 (朝露修好通商條約)	1884	Russia
Italy–Korea Treaty of 1884	조이수호통상조약 (朝伊修好通商條約)	1884	Italy
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1885 (Treaty of Hanseong)	한성조약 (漢城條約)	1885	Japan
France–Korea Treaty of 1886	조불수호통상조약 (朝佛修好通商條約)	1886	France
Austria–Korea Treaty of 1892	조오수호통상조약 (朝奧修好通商條約)	1892	Austria-Hungary
Belgium–Korea Treaty of 1901	조벨수호통상조약 (朝白修好通商條約)	1901	Belgium	Korean Empire
Denmark–Korea Treaty of 1902	조덴수호통상조약 (朝丁修好通商條約)	1902	Denmark
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1904	한일의정서 (韓日議定書)	1904	Japan
Japan–Korea Agreement of August 1904	제1차 한일협약 (第一次韓日協約)	1904	Japan
Japan–Korea Agreement of April 1905		1905	Japan
Japan–Korea Agreement of August 1905		1905	Japan
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905	제2차 한일협약 (第二次韓日協約) (을사조약 (乙巳條約))	1905	Japan
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907	제3차 한일협약 (第三次韓日協約) (정미조약 (丁未條約))	1907	Japan
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910	한일병합조약 (韓日倂合條約)	1910	Japan

Modern Use of the Term

In 2018, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, talked about the terms of new building projects with China. He said that China should remember its own history with unequal treaties. He asked China to be fair, saying, "China knows very well that it had to deal with unequal treaties in the past imposed upon China by Western powers. So China should be sympathetic toward us."

See also

In Spanish: Tratado desigual para niños

• Western imperialism in Asia
• Concessions in China
• List of Chinese treaty ports
• Sick man of Asia
• Century of humiliation
• Client state
• Puppet state
• Most favoured nation
• Normanton incident