Tag: imperialism
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The Conquest of Xinjiang
Xinjiang has over the past few years frequently reached the headlines as China is questioned over the treatment of its inhabitants and China’s legitimacy over the area. While this article shall not directly discuss those highly controversial and politicised topics, I do hope that my attempt to survey the history of Xinjiang will give the…
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Sunburnt Dragon: The Treaty of Shimonoseki
Today we remember 17 April 1895, the day Qing Empire and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki 下関条約/馬關條約. After losing horrendously against the Japanese Empire, The Qing Empire gave up its suzerain status over Korea. Liaodong, Penghu (the Pescadores) and Taiwan were officially ceded to Japan. Qing China was forced to pay 200 million taels…
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Defending Hong Kong against Britain: the Six-Day War of 1899
April 14th marks the day that the Six-Day War of 1899 (新界六日戰, Man. xinjie liuri zhan, Ca. sankaai lukjat zin) commenced between the Cantonese militia of the New Territories (to be referred to as Chinese Militia). The British had wrested free the New Territories in 1898 through an unequal treaty they signed with the Qing…
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War in China: a Symphony of Resistance (3/3)
Both part 1 and part 2 of this article focused on the pain, the suffering and the wrongs that were done to the inhabitants of Qing China. This part will retrace the events already discussed in the previous parts from the perspective of the many actors involved in the conflict. One should never forget the…
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War in China: the Fall of Beijing (1/3)
Click here to access the appendix with handy map and timeline. Click here to access part 2. It is the 14th of August 1900, soldiers from all over the world have gathered in front of the City of the Khan. Its walls loom precariously over dry earth. The banners of the Empire wave atop the…
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The Black River Runs Red: The Massacres in Northeast China.
Click here to access the appendix with handy map and timeline. Precisely 119 years ago on July 17, 1900, and the following days until July 21, the Russians carried out several massacres against the native people of Northeast China (Manchuria) that occured during the mass exodus of Manchus, Daur, Solon and Chinese from Outer Manchuria.…
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The Shakee Massacre
On June 23rd 1925, a hundred thousand Cantonese labourers and students had taken to the streets to show support for the May Thirtieth Movement (Mandarin: Wusa Yundong 五卅运动) and outrage at the subsequent Shanghai Massacre, in which the British Shanghai Municipal Police opened fire on the protesters. In an unsettling kind of parallelism, the British…
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China and France at War: Treaty of Tientsin (1885)
Today on the 9th of June we remember the signing of the Treaty of Tientsin of 1885 (not to be confused with the Treaty of Tientsin of 1858 that ended the first phase of the Second Opium War). This treaty marks the end of the Sino-French war, often referred to as the Tonkin War. It…
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An Extension of Hong Kong Territory
Today we remember that exactly 121 years ago, on the 9th of June in 1898, the United Kingdom and the Qing Empire signed the lease known as the Convention between the United Kingdom and China, Respecting an Extension of Hong Kong Territory (中英展拓香港界址專條). The United Kingdom hereby extended its Hong Kong territory by another 300.000…
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