Kwantung Leased Territory

The Kwantung Leased Territory (Chinese: 關東州, 关东州, Guāndōngzhōu; Japanese: 関東州, Kantōshū) was a territory in the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula in northeastern China that existed from 1898 to 1945. It was one of the numerous concessions that China was compelled to award to foreign countries at the end of the 19th century. The territory included the militarily and economically significant ports of Lüshunkou (Port Arthur) and Dalian (Dal'niy or Dairen).

The name "Kwantung" means "east of Shanhaiguan", a reference to part of Qinhuangdao in today's Hebei province, with the eastern end of the Great Wall of China.

History

In Qing dynasty China, the Liaodong Peninsula was administratively part of Liaoning Province. In 1882, the Beiyang Fleet established a naval base and coaling station at Lüshunkou (Port Arthur).

Japan occupied the region during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895). Under the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki signed by Japan and China ending the war in April 1895, Japan gained full sovereignty of the area. However, within weeks, Germany, France and Russia pressured Japan to cede the territory back to China, in what was called the Triple Intervention. [Hsu, pp.546] In December 1897, Russian naval vessels entered Port Arthur harbor, which they began to use as a forward base of operations for patrols off of northern China, Korea and the Sea of Japan. In March 1898 Russia formally leased the region for 25 years from China. The leased area extended to the northern shore of Yadang Bay on the western side of the peninsula; on the eastern side it reached Pikou. The peninsula north of the lease was made a neutral territory in which China agreed not to offer concessions to other countries. In 1899, Russia founded the town of Dal'niy (meaning "distant" or "remote") which would later become Dalian (Dairen in Japanese).

In 1898 Russia began building a railroad north from Port Arthur to link Port Arthur with the Chinese Eastern Railway at Harbin; this spur line would become the South Manchurian Railway.

Under the Portsmouth Treaty (1905) resulting from the Russo-Japanese War, Japan replaced Russia as leaseholder. Japan also obtained extraterritorial rights the regions north of the territory adjacent to the convert|885|km|mi|-1 South Manchurian Railway in 1905 (the South Manchurian Railway Zone, which was extended to Changchun. These rights, along with the railway and several spur lines were passed to the corporation known as the South Manchurian Railway Company. [Coox, Monomhan, pp 1 ]

Japan established the nihongo|Kwantung Governor-general|関東都督府|Kantō Totokufu to administer the new territory, and based the Kwantung Garrison to defend it and the railway. In negotiations with the Republic of China under the Twenty-One Demands, the terms of the lease were extended to 99 years, or until 1997.

After the foundation of Japanese-controlled Manchukuo in 1932, Japan regarded the sovereignty of the leased territory as transferred from China to Manchukuo. A new lease agreement was contracted between Japan and the government of Manchukuo, and Japan surrendered the [South Manchurian Railway Zone to Manchukuo. However, Japan retained the Kwantung Leased Territory apart from the nominally-independent Manchukuo until its surrender at the end of World War II in 1945.

Administration

In a reorganization of 1919, the Kwantung Garrison was renamed the Kwantung Army and separated from the civilian administration of the territory, which was designated the nihongo|Kwantung Bureau|関東庁|Kantō-cho. The Kantō-cho initially directly reported to the office of the Prime Minister of Japan; later it was subordinated to the Ministry of Colonial Affairs. Internally, the Kwantung Leased Area was divided into two districts, with two cities and nine towns. The city assemblies were in part elected, and in part appointed by the governor. [Quigley, Japanese Government and Politics, pp. 141]

Economy

Massive capital investment was concentrated in Dairen (now the capital of the territory), wherein Japanese firms developed a significant industrial infrastructure, as well as creating a first class port out of the mediocre natural harbor. The facilities of the port at Dairen and its free trade port status made it the principal trade gateway to northeast China. The South Manchurian Railway Company was headquartered in Dairen, and some of the profits from its operation were channel into transforming Dairan into a showcase city of modern city planning and modern architecture, with hospitals, universities and a large industrial zone. [Low, pp.106]

Demographics

In the national census of 1935, the population of the Kwantung Leased Territory was 1,034,074, of whom 168,185 were Japanese nationals. The numbers excluded military personnel. The area of the territory was convert|3500|km2|sqmi|-1.

Governor-General of Kwantung Leased Territory

ee also

* South Manchurian Railway
* Manchuria
* Dalian
* Russo-Japanese War

References

*cite book
last = Coox
first = Alvin
year = 1990
title = Nomonhan: Japan Against Russia, 1939
publisher = Stanford University Press
location =
id = 0804718350
*cite book
last = Hsu
first = Immanuel C.Y.
year = 1999
title = The Rise of Modern China
publisher = Oxford University Press
location =
id = 0195125045
*cite book
last = Low
first = Morris
year = 2005
title = Building a Modern Japan: Science, Technology, and Medicine in the Meiji Era and Beyond
publisher = Palgrave MacMillian
location =
id = 1403968322
*cite book
last = Quigley
first = Harold S
year = 1932, reprinted 2007
title = Japanese Government and Politics
publisher = Thomson Press
location =
id = ISBN 140672260X
*cite book
last = Young
first = Louise
year = 1999
title = Japan's Total Empire: Manchuria and the Culture of Wartime Imperialism
publisher = University of California Press
location =
id = ISBN 0520219341

Notes