Unequal Treaties is a term used in reference to the type of
treaties signed by several
East Asian states, including
Qing Dynasty China, late
Tokugawa Japan, and late
Joseon Korea, with
Western powers and the post-
Meiji Restoration Empire of Japan, during the 19th and early 20th centuries. This was a period during which these Asian states were largely unable to resist the
military pressures from foreign powers as many unequal treaties were signed by those countries after military failure.
The earliest attempt to come to a settlement was the 1841 Convention of Chuenpeh in the wake of the First Opium War that started in 1839.[1] China and Great Britain signed the first unequal treaties under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842.[2] Following Qing China's defeat, treaties with Britain opened up several ports to foreign trade, while also allowing Christians to reside. In addition, the administration of justice on foreign residents in the port cities were afforded trials by their own consular authorities rather than the Chinese legal system, a concept termed extraterritoriality.
Although the term "Unequal treaty" did not come into use until early in the 20th century, many Chinese considered the treaties unequal since the foreign powers did not reciprocate most of China's concessions with similar privileges. In many cases China was effectively forced to pay large amounts of reparations, open up ports for trade, cede or lease territories (such as Hong Kong to Great Britain), and make various other concessions of sovereignty to foreign "spheres of influence", following humiliating military defeats.
When the United States Commodore Matthew Perry forced open Japan in 1854, Japan was soon prompted to sign the "Ansei Treaties" that were similar to the ones China had signed and the same thing soon happened to Korea. Ironically, Korea's first unequal treaties were not with the West but with Japan, which, taking a page from Western tactics, had forced Korea to open its doors to foreign commerce in 1876.[3]
