The Treaty of Tientsin, also known as the Treaty of Tianjin, is a collective name for several unequal treaties signed at Tianjin (then romanized as Tientsin) in June 1858. The Qing dynasty, Russian Empire, Second French Empire, United Kingdom, and the United States were the parties involved. These treaties, counted by the Chinese among the 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. They ended the first phase of the Second Opium War, which had begun in 1856 and were ratified by the Emperor of China in the Convention of Peking in 1860, after the end of the war.

Dates

The Xianfeng Emperor authorized negotiations for the treaty on May 29, 1858. His chief representatives were the Manchu and the Mongol . The Russian treaty was negotiated by Yevfimiy Putyatin and finalized on June 13; the American treaty was negotiated by William Bradford Reed and finalized on June 18; the British treaty was negotiated by James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, and finalized on June 26; and the French treaty was negotiated by Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gros and finalized on June 27.

American involvement

Following the pattern set by the great powers of Europe, the United States took on a protectionist stance, built up its navy, and tried to create a mercantile empire. The United States was one of the leading "treaty powers" in China, forcing open a total of 23 foreign concessions from the Chinese government. While it is often noted that the United States did not control any settlements in China, it shared British land grants and was actually invited to take land in Shanghai but refused because the land was thought to be disadvantageous.

Terms

Major points

  1. Russia, which had previously been limited to trading at designated border posts, received the right to trade with the treaty ports by sea. further ensured that all concessions were shared by the four powers.
  2. Guangzhou and the four treaty ports opened to foreign trade and residence by the Treaty of Nanjing were joined by Tainan,