The British concession in Tianjin (Chinese: 天津英租界) was one of seven total British concessions in China. It was one of nine foreign concessions in Tianjin, and was the earliest established and most successful out of all of the concessions. The concession bordered the French and Germans to the northwest and southeast, respectively, and faced the Russian concession across the Hai river. The settlement prospered economically, and many legacies of the British influence over Tianjin can be seen today.
History
Establishment of the concession
On September 11, 1860, the Qing government and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Tianjin and the Convention of Peking. On December of the same year, British diplomat Frederick Bruce forced the governor of Zhili province to demarcate the future concession in accordance with the Peking stipulations. The British concession was opened on December 17, 1860, with an initial area of about 460 mu (approximately 28.26 hectares), located on the west bank of the Hai river in former Zhizulin village 紫竹林村. Therefore, to the locals, the British concession and the surrounding German concession were also known as the "Zhizhulin concession 紫竹林租界".
Early history
In order to avoid expenses such as land reclamation, most British businessmen in Tianjin avoided buying property in the concession, preferring instead to rent land in Tianjin proper. Nevertheless, due to the flourishing Sino-British trade, the concession rapidly developed; the number of British merchant ships at the concessions' newly built docks increased from 51 in 1861 to 89 in 1862. A number of foreign firms were soon built in the concession, including consulates of Britain, Prussia, Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, etc., as well as billiard rooms, basketball courts, clubs, and other entertainment facilities.
In 1870, another incident led to a sharp increase of foreign immigration into the concession: the Tianjin Massacre. Following the burning of a French church, the French consulate, and the death of consul Henri-Victor Fontainer by mob beating, many foreigners feared that living in the concessions was safer than living in direct Chinese territory and subsequently moved into the concession. In order to promote the development of trade, the British concession authorities committed to build more wharfs and port facilities.
In 1883, the municipal government of Tianjin used donations from the concession wharf to build a road from the wharf to Tianjin city, greatly facilitating the traffic between the city and the concession. As a result, the activity of Tianjin's original port center declined as the British concession became Tianjin's trade and financial center. From the early 1870s to 1894, Tianjin's foreign trade value more than quadrupled from 10 million taels to 44.27 million taels, boosting Tianjin's commercial activity to one of the most valuable in the country, and Britain's Tianjin concession became more prosperous than all other British concessions at the time. By this time, the British concession also quickly outshone the other concessions as well. The French defeat in the Franco-Prussian war and expenses from the wars waged in Vietnam and China meant French trade relations ground to an almost complete halt. Thus, the French concession, the only concession capable of competing with the British concession, lost its shine.
Expansions
On March 31, 1897, with negotiations with the Qing government, the British extended their concession westward to the Qiangzi River, and acquired 1630 acres of land known as the British Municipal Extension. On October 23, 1902, the de facto American concession of Tianjin merged with the British concession, and the Southern Extension of 131 acres was added. The concession expanded yet again, this time west of the Qiangzi River, and acquired an additional 3928 acres of land in the British Extra Rural Extension.
In June 1923, Li Yuanhong announced that the government of the Republic of China would be moved to Tianjin, which was actually the British concession in Tianjin, and issued presidential directives and presidential appointments there, and set up a guest house for members. This once made the British concession in Tianjin the residence of the President of the Republic of China.
British-Japanese Dispute and the Concession Crisis
Following the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan had extreme grudges with Britain's condemnation of Japan's actions and sending of aid to China. At the same time, Japan's own aggressive expansions in its concession led to conflicts between the Japanese and British; the existence of the international concession had led to major obstacles in Japan's pursuit of a "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere". The British concession looked especially favorable for invasion: it held considerable amounts of Chinese governmental silver reserves, and at the same time was prone to anti-Japanese activity carried out by the nascent Kuomintang. In 1939, at the eve of World War II, the Japanese army breached international contracts by invading both the British concession on Tianjin and Gulangyu International Settlement simultaneously.
Disputes between Britain and Japan had been growing as early as 1938. At the end of September, the British concession authorities arrested Su Qingwu, a supposed leader of the anti-Japanese guerrillas, on the advice of the Japanese military authorities. The Japanese side requested the British concession authorities to extradite Qingwu, but the British side refuted that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Qingwu used the concession as a base for anti-Japanese activities. The stalemate in Qingwu's case led to heated debates in the British government; both the British ambassador and consul in Tianjin believed if Qingwu was guilty, he ought to be transferred to Japan. However, the British ambassador to China and most members of the British Foreign Office, Far East Department disagreed, believing that "Japanese actions during the Tianjin incident is part of its 'new order' policy meant to completely squeeze out British influence in China". The British Foreign Office took the stance of the latter and declined to hand over Qingwu to the Japanese.Watt, D.C. How War Came, New York: Pantheon Books, 1989 page 353
Another incident arose during the Japanese-British dispute over Qingwu. On April 9, 1939, famed pro-Japanese activist Cheng Xigeng was assassinated in the Grand Cinema, Shanghai, by a sniper.Watt, D.C. How War Came, New York: Pantheon Books, 1989 page 351 Xigeng had been a Tianjin customs supervisor and manager of the Tianjin Branch of China United Preparatory Bank at the time of his death. Four suspects were arrested in the British concession linked to Xigeng's assassination, and consequently, the Japanese authorities requested that the four people be handed over to Japan. Once again, the British side debated whether to hand the four suspects over. Japan, exasperated, issued an ultimatum on June 5 to the British Tianjin authorities that if the suspects weren't handed over within two days, Japan will blockade the concession.Watt, D.C. How War Came, New York: Pantheon Books, 1989 pages 351 & 353–354 Britain offered to form an investigative committee between Britain, Japan, and the United States, but this proposal was staunchly refused by Japan. On June 14, Japan formally blockaded the British Concession, causing a halt to normal life in the concession.
The provocative actions made by Japan led to a strong reaction from British residents in the concession. The Japanese army undressed and checked the British people entering and leaving the British concession regardless of gender, which caused an uproar in British public opinion. British Prime Minister Chamberlain hinted in the House of Commons that unless Japan lifts the blockade, the United Kingdom may resort to economic retaliation.Watt, D.C. How War Came, New York: Pantheon, 1939 page 356 On the 15th, the British Chambers of Commerce submitted several proposals to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on economic sanctions against Japan, the most important of which was the abolition of the 1911 Anglo-Japanese Treaty. On the 17th, British officials announced that if the situation in Tianjin has not improved by the end of the week, the UK will deploy three economic retaliatory methods:
Cancel Japan's "most favored nation" treatment economically; Abolish the Anglo-Japanese Treaty; Impose heavy taxes on Japanese imported goods.
However, the situation in Europe that followed became increasingly unfavorable to Britain. German blitzkriegs befell on Britain. On June 22, 1940, France surrendered to Nazi Germany. Britain fell into a lonely battle in Europe. Under the leadership of the new Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Britain switched sides and became more committed to compromise with Japan and resolve the Tianjin crisis as soon as possible. In the end, regardless of China's opposition, Britain formally signed the Tianjin Agreement with Japan on June 12, 1940, and compromised with Japan on the issue of Tianjin bank deposits. Four suspects were turned over to Japanese authorities, all of whom were executed. The Japanese army lifted the 372-day blockade of the British Concession in Tianjin, and the crisis in the Tianjin Concession was thus alleviated.
Withdrawal On December 8, 1941, at the breakout of the Pacific War, Japanese troops once again invaded and became stationed in the British concession; this time, there were no agreements to be made. On February 18, 1942, Japan announced the transfer of the Tianjin British Concession to the Wang Jingwei regime, a Chinese puppet government, and a handover ceremony was held on March 29. After the Japanese surrender to the Allied powers in 1945, the Chinese Nationalists announced the formal absorption of the British concession.
Politics
Britain mimicked its own political system and designed the political system of the British concession in Tianjin, making the British concession the concession with the highest degree of diaspora autonomy. The British consul in Tianjin did not serve as the director-general of the board of directors of the Tianjin British Municipal Council, and under normal circumstances did not interfere with the daily administrative affairs of the Tianjin British Municipal Council. Regarding the resolutions made by the concession taxpayers’ meeting to reform the status quo of the concessions, the British consulates could only veto them within a few days after the resolution is made, and had no right to overturn them afterwards. At the same time, the concession police in the British concession were not under the command of the consulate, but one of the few concessions directly controlled by the Tianjin British Municipal Council. Because of this, the British concession was called a concession "autonomous" by the diaspora.
Tianjin British Municipal Council
Established in 1862, the Tianjin British Municipal Council in the British Concession was the highest administrative agency in British Tianjin. Gordon Hall, built in 1890, became its headquarters. It was indirectly under the leadership of the British Ambassador and the Foreign Office. The Bureau had multiple custody groups, branch offices, and municipal committees that governed various aspects of life within the British concession.
Tianjin British Board of Directors The directors of the Tianjin British Concession were the governing bodies and decision-making organs. The directors were elected by taxpayers in the concession for a term of one year. All directors were re-elected upon expiry.