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The British State at the Margins of Empire Extraterritoriality and Governance in Treaty Port China, 1842-1927

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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Thompson, Alex Title: The British state at the margins of empire extraterritoriality and governance in treaty port China, 1842-1927 General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. The British state at the margins of empire: extraterritoriality and governance in treaty port China, 1842-1927 Alexander Thompson A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts, May 2018. 78,198 words 2 ABstract Existing studies of British expansion in China have often limited their exploration of the role of the state mostly to diplomatic and military actions. This thesis provides the first comprehensive account and assessment of another important aspect of this expansion: the British state’s role in implementing a project of governance over British subjects at the treaty ports. The fact of extraterritoriality – the principle that the nationals of foreign powers were subject to their own government’s law rather than that of the state within the boundaries of which they were situated – is well known. But consular jurisdiction, the implementation in practice of the principle of extraterritoriality, has not been the subject of much research. This thesis describes the British state institutions and practices which were created to implement consular jurisdiction in China. It shows the factors that prompted and shaped the institutions and practices as they developed at the treaty ports, paying particular reference to the role played by the need to manage marginal British subjects, viewed as problem populations, in that process. It then demonstrates how the state’s response to such groups shaped the development of the treaty ports, especially Shanghai, both by means of the formation of connections within the treaty ports and beyond, and also in the way that the state’s actions had clear repercussions which shaped the nature of the treaty ports as distinctively colonial spaces. Previous studies of foreign involvement in the treaty ports, often working with the concept of informal empire, have overlooked the role of the British state in the development of colonialism in treaty port China, beyond diplomatic and military interventions. The thesis questions such approaches and suggests that it is essential to understand the role of the British state in any assessment of the nature and effects of colonialism in China. 3 4 Acknowledgments A number of individuals deserve thanks for their role in making the completion of this dissertation possible. Firstly my supervisor Professor Robert Bickers has always shown a good deal of interest in the project, and provided much-needed encouragement at moments of doubt. In addition, my second supervisor Dr Victoria Bates has always also been fully engaged in the project, providing perceptive and extremely useful feedback at all stages. My wholehearted thanks go to both of them. For both practical and moral support, I must thank Dr Andrew Hillier, who provided both a room for the night and excellent company on numerous occasions while I visited the National Archives in the course of my research. Finally, I must of course acknowledge and thank my family, Natasha, Dylan, Felix and Joseph for showing patience, interest and understanding, and for reminding me of the existence of other sides to life when research and writing threatened to take over. 5 6 Author’s Declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate's own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. SIGNED: ............................................................. DATE:.......................... 7 8 Table of Contents TaBles and Illustrations ................................................................................................... 11 Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... 11 Glossary ................................................................................................................................. 12 Chinese Geographical Names and Note on Romanisation .................................... 12 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 14 Summary of Arguments ................................................................................................................ 16 Historiographical Contexts ........................................................................................................... 17 Britain in China before 1842 ........................................................................................................ 29 Overview of the foreign presence in China from 1842 - 1927 .............................................. 36 Sources ............................................................................................................................................. 41 Thesis structure .............................................................................................................................. 43 Chapter One - British state structures and institutions in treaty port China 48 Hong Kong, Beijing & London: the superintendent of trade and the Foreign Office ........ 51 The consuls and British governance at the treaty ports ........................................................ 61 The 1865 OIC and the new British court ................................................................................... 77 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 87 Chapter Two - Tackling Transgressive Behaviour: British crime and violence in China .................................................................................................................................. 91 Crime and disorder in the 1840s and 1850s: establishing the apparatus of control ....... 95 New responses to disorder: Frederick Bruce at Shanghai and Beijing ............................ 103 Violence and the ‘rowdy class’ under the British Supreme Court at Shanghai .............. 111 The impact of ideas of racial difference in cases of violence against Chinese ................ 117 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 124 Chapter Three - Recognition and Protection I: Chinese British suBjects ...... 128 Chinese British subjects in China ............................................................................................. 132 British nationality law and Chinese British subjects ........................................................... 138 British officials and Chinese British subjects in the 1840s and 1850s ............................ 142 The regulations of the 1860s .................................................................................................... 144 The policy change of 1904 ......................................................................................................... 158 9 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 166 Chapter Four - Recognition and Protection II: British Eurasians .................... 169 Eurasians in treaty port China .................................................................................................. 173 The national status of Eurasians: official policy and practices .......................................... 183 Eurasians and the British Courts .............................................................................................. 193 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 199
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