CONCESSIONS IN SHANGHAI - HISTORY OF THE SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT

Between 1557 and 1945, the Chinese nation was forced to concede over 40 mainland territories and islands to foreign powers as a result of unequal treaties and wars. These areas were occupied and administered exclusively by the foreign powers. Some territories were even leased to the foreigners, an equivalent to annexation. The first formal concession in China was established in Shanghai in 1845 by the British Empire, who had occupied the city during the First Opium War. In 1848 an American concession was established, followed in 1849 by a French concession. As more and more westerners settled in Shanghai, they established a minority that would be called Shanghai Landers. The British established in 1854 the Shanghai Municipal Police, British policemen and Sikhs from India were the first employed. In 1861, during the Taiping Rebellion, which I've already covered in another video, links in the description below, the Shanghai Landers refused to pay taxes to the Chinese and expelled Qing imperial forces from the western areas. Some westerners fought militarily against the Taiping. The British, American and French nations ended up getting involved in the conflict, which later reinforced their influence in Shanghai. In 1863, the Americans and British decided to merge their concession together into the Shanghai International Settlement. The French, however, decided to remain on their own, as the administration was not the same in the three areas, international, French and Chinese. Immensely complicated situations occurred. At some point it would be required to hold three different driver's licenses to freely drive in the city. Towards the end of the 1860s, governmental authority was transferred to the Shanghai Municipal Council. It gradually bought and controlled all services such as gas, water and electricity producers, and later rickshaws and trams, opium and prostitution. In 1919, the May the Fourth Movement sparked out. It protested the lack of gratitude towards China from the western powers after the First World War. China had declared war on the central powers and occupied their territories in China in 1917, and many Chinese labour workers were sent to the Western and Eastern Fronts to aid the Allies, where a great number of them died. In spite of this, in the Treaty of Versailles, the Allies refused to give back most of the German and Austro-Hungarian concessions and territories that China has seized back, instead officially granting them to Japan. As such, the Chinese delegation to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, led by Lu Zhengxiang, who had studied foreign languages in Shanghai, was the only present member that did not sign the treaty. Anti-Western and imperialist movements grew stronger across all of China. The Western and growing Japanese community controlled practically all industrial businesses and they did not hesitate to employ children. In 1925, a protesting Chinese worker was shot by Japanese foremen in a cotton mill in Shanghai. Many students and protesters launched a funeral march across the city, but were arrested by the Shanghai Municipal Police when they crossed into the international settlement. And set for trial on the 30th of May, that day, about 2,000 young Chinese protesters massed in front of the Laojia police station and demanded their arrested companions be freed. In return, many were arrested as well and the escalated, with the protesters reportedly shouting to kill the foreigners. Inspector Edward Everson, a Welshman and commander of the station, then opened fire, followed by Sikh and Chinese policemen. At least nine protesters were killed and many more wounded. This sparked outrage and massive strikes and protests began across the country. The authorities accepted to dismiss both Inspector Edward Everson and the Chief Inspector of Settlement Police, Commissioner Mac Ewan. Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the emerging Kuomintang, was able to slightly appease the movements, while also weakening the authority of the Shanghai Municipal Council, following his plans to diminish Western influence in China. Both Westerners and Chiang Kai-shek's forces resented the spread of communism and they concluded an informal alliance with Huang Jingrong, leader of the Green Gang, that controlled an area known as the Amusement Palace, that offered gambling, prostitution and Huang was actually the highest-ranked Chinese detective in the French Concession Police. The Green Gang became a major influence in the Shanghai International Settlement. It was often employed both by Chiang Kai-shek and Westerners to disperse protests and organise strike, as well as arresting communists. By then, the Japanese had become the largest foreign population in the International Settlement, and the Municipal Council's influence over Hongqiu, also known as Japan Town, was considerably weakened over time. On the cultural aspect, foreign influence led Shanghai to become a hotspot for jazz, with a good crossover of Chinese singers and Western-style music. Western fashion was also introduced to China through cities like Shanghai. Paradoxically, many Chinese people, especially communists and nationalists, grew more anti-foreign. In author Erz's comic series Tintin, the fifth volume, first published in 1934, named The Blue Lotus, is mainly set in Shanghai and actually depicts some of these events. On several occasions through the comic strips, discrete signs in the background display the anti-foreign and imperialist message. The growth of the Japanese influence is also depicted. When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in July 1937, it was not long before the Japanese Imperial Army captured Shanghai, as it already had a strong influence from within, as well as a military garrison. To avoid an escalation of war against several nations, the Empire of Japan did not at first occupy the International Settlement and French Concession, but they conquered the rest of the city. Shanghai became a refuge to European Jewish communities, as China did not impose a visa for Jews, mainly from Germany, where they were persecuted by the Third Reich. Jacob Rosenfeld, also known as General Lohr, was one such person. Released from a German prison camp in 1939, he came to Shanghai. He later joined the communist forces as a field doctor and would eventually become Minister of Health in 1947 under Mao. In 1941, when William Keswick, then Chairman of the Municipal Council, refused to accept regulations imposed by Japan, he was shot twice by Hayashi Yukishi, Chairman of the Japanese Street Union Association. The wounds were not fatal. On the 8th of December 1941, the Japanese declared war and finally attacked foreign areas of the cities. Americans, French and British surrendered immediately to avoid blood being shed for an impossible victory. A Royal Navy riverboat, the Atreus Petrel, did however refuse to surrender and was subsequently sunk by the Japanese, although no one was killed in the process. The Japanese then forced all Westerners to wear armbands. Many of them were sent to working camps except German nationals due to the alliance with Nazi Germany, where they died of malnutrition, torture and execution. Realising the situation was hopeless, the British and Americans officially returned the international settlement to Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China in 1943. The French concession, however, was administered by Vichy France, a puppet state of the Third Reich. It handed the concession over to the Wang Jingwei regime, one of several Japanese puppet states in China. After the overthrow of Vichy government in 1944 and the surrender of Japan in 1945, since both puppet states no longer existed, the treaty was no longer valid. Therefore, the new French Republic officially dissolved the concession and returned the territory to the Republic of China in another treaty in 1946. The foreign concessions in Shanghai were officially over. The People's Liberation Army, army of the communist regime, took over Shanghai in 1949. All foreign companies still existing there relocated to Hong Kong, ending the foreign influence in Shanghai. Thank you for watching my video. If you enjoyed it, please like it and subscribe to the channel. If you have any questions relating to the topic, feel free to ask them in the comment section below.