Italian Concessions in China included the commercial and military concessions and fortifications that the Kingdom of Italy had in different Chinese localities until the Second World War. [1]
Italian Concessions in China included the commercial and military concessions and fortifications that the Kingdom of Italy had in different Chinese localities until the Second World War. [1]
Italy in the first half of the 20th century has had concessions and fortifications in Peking, Tientsin, Shanghai, Shan Hai Kuan, Ta Ku, Amoy and Hankow. Since 1925 they were defended mainly by the "Battaglione Italiano in Cina" (Battaglione San Marco) and by some Italian Navy ships, like the gunboats "Carlotto" and Caboto" (later substituted by the minelayer "Lepanto").
They were ruled by "Consoli" (Governors), all resident in Tientsin:
There was even the Treaty Port in Beihai (southern China), that was allowed to have a small area for Italian commerce. [2]
In 1932...the Italian shipping company "Lloyd Triestino" opened a new service linking Italy to Shanghai by scheduling on that route two modern trans-atlantic vessels, the "Conte Biancamano" and "the Conte Rosso" (which immediately set a speed world record of only 23 days during the first voyage). With this new service, supported by those of other companies employed in the trade of various goods and products, the economic exchange between Italy and China reached such good levels to alarm Great Britain and France. Alberto Rosselli [3]
The Italian possessions in China enjoyed a relatively good economic development with huge Italian-Chinese commerce in the 1920s and mainly in the 1930s. The "Consoli" (Governors) in the Tientsin concession were linked with the Italian consulates in Shanghai, Hankow, Kiu Kiang and Peking.
Italian troops occupied a section of the Peking "Legation Quarter" in 1900.
Indeed, the Eight-Nation Alliance of which Italy belonged, at the end of the Battle of Peking, obtained the right to station troops to protect their legations in China's capital by the terms of the Boxer Protocol. The Legation Quarter was encircled by a wall and all Chinese residents in the area were ordered to relocate away. Sealed from its immediate environment, the Legation Quarter became a city within the city exclusively for foreigners and many Chinese nationalists resented the Quarter as a symbol of foreign dominance.
Italy had this small concession until 1943.
On 7 September 1901, a concession in Tientsin (that consisted approximately of half a square kilometer - or 51.42 ha. [4] ) was ceded to the Kingdom of Italy by the Qing Dynasty of China. [5]
On 7 June 1902, the concession was taken into Italian possession and administered by an Italian consul (as a special kind of "colony", fully owned by the Kingdom of Italy): the first was Cesare Poma and the last (in 1943) was Ferruccio Stefenelli. Along with other foreign concessions, the Italian concession lay on the Pei Ho, southeast of the city centre. [6]
The "Legione Redenta" was created in the summer of 1918 in China and attached to the "Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Estremo Oriente" (Italian Expedition in the Far East). Initially they were stationed in the Italian Concession in Tientsin.
In 1917 China terminated the leases of Germany and Austria-Hungary concessions. The districts were converted into "Special Areas" with a separate administration from the rest of Tientsin. But Italy requested the Austrian concession after World War I: it was obtained only in June 1928 and soon returned to Chinese authorities [7] when the Second Special Area (the one of former Austrian concession) was in danger of war and occupation during the China civil war.
In 1935 the total population was 6,261, of which 5,725 Chinese and 536 foreigners including 392 Italians, according to historian Pistoiese. [8] He even wrote that the concession in those years experienced huge improvements and assumed "the role of showcase of Italian art" with rich urban developments. As stated by Woodhead, in 1934 "The Italian concession ... was becoming the most popular centre for the palatial residences of retired Chinese militaries and politicians" [9]
In the late 1930s the Italian concession of Tientsin and the consulates of Shanghai, Hankow, and Beijing lived a quite peaceful period. Italian Tientsin enjoyed a small economic boom, fueled by rich Chinese who moved to live in the Italian area escaping the Japanese invasion of China.
Italy (in the 1930s) exported bomber planes, fighter planes, aerobatic aircraft, and all the support material they needed to China, such as armaments, spare parts and educational material to train both ground and on-board personnel. Fiat even supplied a wind tunnel to the University of Nanjing, and in 1933 also obtained an order for twenty-four "Fiat CR.32" for training purposes....In 1932 the Lloyd Triestino shipping company opened a new Italy-China line, using two prestigious ocean liners, the Conte Biancamano and the Conte Rosso (which set the new world record for the crossing, taking 23 days of navigation) with stops in Venice, Brindisi, Suez, Bombay and Singapore. Giovanni Lombardo [10]
Thanks to the new sea transport services, the Italian-Chinese interchange in 1939 rose to a level that was bigger than the one of other European colonial powers in east Asia (like the United kingdom and France), according to historian Lombardo.
During World War II, the Italian concession in Tientsin had a garrison of approximately 600 Italian troops on the side of the Axis powers. On 10 September 1943, when Italy signed an armistice with the Allies, the concession was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army.
After World War I, the Kingdom of Italy maintained troops in an area of Shanghai, that was used as commercial concession inside the Shanghai International Settlement (S.I.S.). This settlement was wholly foreign-controlled, with staff of all nationalities, including British, Americans, Danes, Germans and Italians.
In reality, the British held the largest number of seats on the council and headed all the Municipal departments. The only department not chaired by a Briton was the "Municipal Orchestra", which was controlled by an Italian.
The International Settlement maintained its own fire-service, police force (the Shanghai Municipal Police), and even possessed its own military reserve in the Shanghai Volunteer Corps.
Following some disturbances at the British concession in Hankow in 1927, the defences at Shanghai were augmented by a permanent battalion of the British Army, which was referred to as the Shanghai Defence Force and a contingent of US Marines. Other armed forces would arrive in Shanghai: the French Concession had a defensive force of Annamite troops, while the Italians also introduced their own marines, as did the Japanese (whose troops eventually outnumbered the other countries' in an amount many times bigger).
In ‘Old Shanghai’, there were specific areas with a high concentration of Italian economic activities (in the International Settlement: Kiukiang Road; Kiangse Road; crossroads between Nanking Road and Szechuen Road; Bubbling Well Road), areas with Italian residences (French Concession), other suburban areas with Italians (Zikawei; in this case, they were priests). Moreover, Italians were involved in specific economic sectors (primarily, silk): as the textile sector was developed mainly in Lombardy at that time, most of the expatriate Italian managers and supervisors in Shanghai mills came from this Italian region.Stefano Piastra [11]
In the late 1930s was reinforced the military presence in the small area of Shanghai (that was next to the American concession and north of the French concession) controlled by the Italians. [12] The Italian Navy stationed in the Shanghai port periodically some ships like the cruisers Trento and Montecuccoli during the Japanese invasion of China.
In 1947 the Peace Treaty forced Italy to renounce to it with article 26, that stated: "(Italy) agrees to the reversion of the said Settlements (at Shanghai and Amoy) to the Administration and control of the Chinese Government".
From 1900 until the late 1930s, the Italians even held small forts like the Forte di Shan Hai Kuan [13] near the Great Wall of China in Manchuria [14] and the Forte nordoccidentale in Ta-Ku. [15] The one in Ta-Ku (called "N.W fort of Ta-Ku") was held together with the British for a couple of years. [16]
In Hankow since the 1900 was located an Italian consulate, that later was enlarged in order to have a small commercial concession.
Hankow was the center of catholic missions and had many Italian priests and nuns who were protected by Italian troops in the 1920s and early 1930s (in the late 1920s nearly 40% of the Italian civilians in China were religious personnel of the Roman Catholic Church [17] ).
Another small commercial area under Italian control was in Amoy (Xiamen), after World War I. [18] The area was a small section of one of the two (the other was in Shanghai) International Settlement in China. This International Settlement was established in 1903 and governed by the 13 countries of the "Gulangyu Municipal Council" (one was Italy), and – as in Shanghai and Tianjin — policed by a Sikh police force. Amoy's European settlements (like the small Italian consulate) were concentrated on the islet of Gulangyu off the main island of actual Xiamen in the modern greater region of Hong Kong.
In the early 1930s only the small consulate of Hankow remained under Italian control, but nominally Italy was a member of this Gulangyu International Settlement until its occupation in 1942 by Japan.
Today, Gulangyu is known for colonial architecture, with some examples of the Italian one. [19] Indeed, the Amoy Deco Style is partially influenced by the Italian Art Deco & Rationalism style and this is one of the reasons why the UN has designated Gulangyu in 2017 a "World Heritage Site". [20]
When started World War II Italy had only the Tientsin concession under direct control, while remained a garrison in the Shanghai international settlement, in the fort of Shan Hai Kuan and in the Legation of Peking.
In 1940 the soldiers of the Battaglione San Marco were stationed in the remaining areas controlled by Italy: nearly 200 were in Shanghai, 180 in Tientsin (in the "Caserma Carlotto"), 25 in Shan Hai Kuan and 15 in Peking. They were helped by the marines and sailors of the Italian Navy stationed in Tientsin. [21] After Pearl Harbor, in December 1941 the Japanese occupied all the international territories in China by disarming and taking over the foreign garrisons: the only exception was the Italian concession of Tientsin and minor Italian areas (because of the Italy-Japan-Germany Axis alliance during WW2).
After September 1943 -when Italy surrendered to the Allies- started a very difficult period for the Italians in China. Japanese forces took control of the Italian possessions in China, after some fightings (like in the legation of Peking, and with the scuttle in Shanghai port of the ships "Carlotto" and Caboto"). On July 27, 1944, fascist Italy (RSI) officially ceded the Tianjin Concession to Wang Jingwei's Republic of China, a puppet state recognized only by the Axis powers.
Italy agrees to the cancellation of the Lease from the Chinese Government under which the Italian Concession at Tientsin was granted......Italy renounces in favor of China the rights accorded to Italy in relation to the International Settlements at Shanghai and Amoy, and agrees to the reversion of the said Settlements to the Administration and control of the Chinese Government. Articles 25 & 26 of 1947 Peace Treaty.( [22] )
Finally, on 10 February 1947, by virtue of the peace treaty with Italy, all the Italian concessions and fortifications were formally ceded by Italy to Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China.
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The Gulangyu, Gulang Island or Kulangsu is a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeastern China. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the island is about 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi) in area, and is reached by an 8-minute ferry ride from downtown Xiamen. Although only about 20,000 people live on the island, Gulangyu is a major domestic tourist destination, attracting more than 10 million visitors per year, and making it one of China's most visited tourist attractions. Gulangyu not only bans cars, but also bicycles. The only vehicles permitted are small electric buggies and electric government service vehicles.
Sir Harry Smith Parkes was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General of the United Kingdom to the Empire of Japan from 1865 to 1883 and the Chinese Qing Empire from 1883 to 1885, and Minister to Korea in 1884. Parkes Street in Kowloon, Hong Kong is named after him.
The Treaty of Tientsin, now also known as the Treaty of Tianjin, is a collective name for several documents signed at Tianjin in June 1858. They ended the first phase of the Second Opium War, which had begun in 1856. The Qing, Russian, and Second French Empires, the Great Britain, and the United States were the parties involved. These treaties, counted by the Chinese among the so-called unequal treaties, opened more Chinese ports to foreign trade, permitted foreign legations in the Chinese capital Beijing, allowed Christian missionary activity, and effectively legalized the import of opium.
The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who had determined to expunge foreign influence from China. The Allied forces consisted of approximately 45,000 troops from the eight nations of Germany, Japan, Russia, Britain, France, the United States, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. Neither the Chinese nor the foreign allies issued a formal declaration of war. No treaty or formal agreement bound the Alliance together. Some western historians define the first phase of hostilities, starting in August 1900, as "more or less a civil war", though the Battle of the Taku Forts in June pushed the Qing government to support the Boxers. With the success of the invasion, the later stages developed into a punitive expedition, which pillaged Beijing and North China for more than a year. The fighting ended with the signing of the Boxer Protocol.
The Shanghai International Settlement originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British subjects and American citizens would enjoy extraterritorially and consular jurisdiction under the terms of treaties signed in the nineteenth century with the Qing Dynasty. These treaties were abrogated in 1943 by agreement with the Kuomintang, then based in Chungking.
Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.
In international relations, a concession is a "synallagmatic act by which a State transfers the exercise of rights or functions proper to itself to a foreign private person which, in turn, participates in the performance of public functions and thus gains a privileged position vis-a-vis other private law subjects within the jurisdiction of the State concerned." International concessions are not defined in international law and do not generally fall under it. Rather, they are governed by the municipal law of the conceding state. There may, however, be a law of succession for such concessions, whereby the concession is continued even when the conceding state ceases to exist.
The foreign concessions in Tianjin were concession territories ceded by Qing China to a number of European countries, the United States and Japan within the city of Tianjin. There were altogether nine foreign concessions in old Tianjin on the eve of World War II. These concessions also contributed to the rapid development of Tianjin from the early to mid-20th century. The first foreign concessions in Tianjin were granted in 1860. By 1943, all the foreign concessions, save the Japanese concession, had ceased to exist de facto.
The Beijing Legation Quarter was the area in Beijing, China where a number of foreign legations were located between 1861 and 1959. In the Chinese language, the area is known as Dong Jiaomin Xiang, which is the name of the hutong through the area. It is located in the Dongcheng District, immediately to the east of Tiananmen Square. The city of Beijing was commonly called Peking by Europeans and Americans until the 1970s.
The Battle of Tientsin, or the Relief of Tientsin, occurred on 13–14 July 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion in Northern China. A multinational military force, representing the Eight-Nation Alliance, rescued a besieged population of foreign nationals in the city of Tientsin by defeating the Chinese Imperial army and Boxers. The capture of Tientsin gave the Eight-Nation Alliance a base to launch a rescue mission for the foreign nationals besieged in the Legation Quarter of Peking and to capture Beijing in the Battle of Peking (1900).
Deutsch-Asiatische Bank (DAB) was a foreign bank in China. Its principal activity was trade financing, but together with English and French banks, it also played a role in the underwriting of bonds for the Chinese government and in the financing of railway construction in China.
The Legione Redenta was an Italian military formation that participated in the Siberian intervention during the Russian Civil War. It was formed from 2500 prisoners of war who had been captured by the Russians from the Austro-Hungarian Army.
The Gansu Braves or Gansu Army was a unit of 10,000 Chinese Muslim troops from the northwestern province of Kansu (Gansu) in the last decades the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). Loyal to the Qing, the Braves were recruited in 1895 to suppress a Muslim revolt in Gansu. Under the command of General Dong Fuxiang (1839–1908), they were transferred to the Beijing metropolitan area in 1898, where they officially became the Rear Division of the Wuwei Corps, a modern army that protected the imperial capital. The Gansu Army included Hui Muslims, Salar Muslims, Dongxiang Muslims, and Bonan Muslims.
The Italian concession of Tianjin was a small territory (concession) in central Tianjin, China, controlled by the Kingdom of Italy between 1901 and 1943, officially ceded to China in 1947.
Zhang Xueming was a Chinese soldier and politician. He served as the mayor of Tianjin in 1931, during the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, before being forced into exile. After the Second World War, Zhang defected from the Kuomintang and joined the Communist forces during the Chinese Civil War.
The Banca Italo-Cinese established in 1919, later dissolved and renamed Banca Italiana per la Cina in 1925, was the most important Italian financial intermediary in Asia until the outbreak of World War Two. The history of the bank is significantly intertwined with the development of the Sino-Italian political relations during the interwar period.
The Kulangsu International Settlement was one of two international settlements in China. During the Opium Wars, the British army occupied Gulangyu Island for four years and did not withdraw until 1845. After 1843, Xiamen was opened as a treaty port in accordance with the Sino-British Nanjing Treaty. The United Kingdom also acquired a beach on the coast of Xiamen's main island to build a British concession, while Gulangyu retained its original features.
The Belgian concession of Tianjin was a territory (concession) in the Chinese city of Tientsin occupied colonially by Belgium between 1902 and 1931, the only Belgian concession in China. However, there are no traces of any Belgian influence in Tianjin in the present day, as Belgium invested very little into its concession.
The British concession of Tianjin is one of seven total British concessions in China. It is one of nine foreign concessions in Tianjin, and was the earliest established and most successful out of all of the concessions. The concession borders the French and Germans to the northwest and southeast, respectively, and faces the Russian concession across the Hai river. The settlement prospered economically, and many legacies of the British influence over Tianjin can be seen today.
The Russian concession of Tianjin was a territory (concession) in the Chinese city of Tientsin occupied colonially by the Russian Empire between 1900 to 1924, and one of two Russian concessions in the late Qing dynasty. The concession is second to the British concession of Tianjin by size, stretching from the coast of the Hai River to the farmlands south of Dazhigu district.
