Treaty of Portsmouth

From New World Encyclopedia
File:TreatyOfPortsmouth.jpeg
The Russian and Japanese delegates around the negotiating table at the Portsmouth Navy Yard.

The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War. It was signed on September 5, 1905 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the United States, by Sergius Witte and Roman Rosen for Russia, and by Komura Jutaro and Takahira Kogoro for Japan. Fyodor Martens and other diplomats from both nations stayed in New Castle, New Hampshire, at the grand Hotel Wentworth by the Sea, and were ferried to negotiations held across the Piscataqua River on the base located in Kittery, Maine.

In accordance with the Treaty, both Japan and Russia agreed to evacuate Manchuria and return its sovereignty to China, but Japan was leased the Liaodong Peninsula (containing Port Arthur and Talien) and the Russian rail system in southern Manchuria with access to strategic resources. Japan also received the southern half of the Island of Sakhalin from Russia. Although Japan gained a great deal from the Treaty, it was not nearly as much as the Japanese public had been led to expect, since Japan's initial negotiating position had demanded all of Sakhalin and a monetary indemnity as well. The frustration caused the Hibiya riots and the collapse of Katsura Taro's cabinet on January 7, 1906.

In 1906, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Theodore Roosevelt for negotiating the peace between Russia and Japan.

Background

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Peace Conference Building, 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Prior to the beginning of the negotiations, the Japanese had signed the Taft-Katsura agreement with the U.S. in July 1905, agreeing to Japanese control in Korea in return for American dominance in the Philippines. The negotiations leading up to the Treaty of Portsmouth were conducted under the mediation of Theodore Roosevelt. Both sides in the Russo-Japanese Wat were seeking a peace in 1905. The Russians had been repeatedly defeated in battles, but the Japanese were in considerable financial difficulties. Negotiations lasted through August.

Also, the Japanese agreed with Britain to extend the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of the previous century to cover all of Eastern Asia in return for Britain also agreeing to Japanese control over Korea.

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Peace Treaty Reception of Japan-Russia Envoys
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Key to photo - Reception of Japan-Russia Envoys

Negotiations

After more than a year of fighting, both Russia and Japan were tired from the conflict. Russia was in turmoil from the 1905 Revolution that undermined the country's absolute monarchy, while Japan was distraught both financially and in terms of its military strength. As a result, President Theodore Roosevelt was petitioned by Japan to mediate for peace between the two warring nations. On September 5, 1905, the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed, with Russia agreeing to recognize Japan’s “special interests” in Korea. Further, Russia agreed to grant Japan the lease of the Liaodong Peninsula along with economic rights in South Manchuria, including its railroads. Finally, Russia gave Japan the southern half of Sakhalin together with special fishing rights.

Aftermath

The significance of the treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War was enormous, not only for the two warring nations affected, but many others as well.

Effects on Japan

After the hearing success stories about the war for 18 months, the Japanese people were extremely dissatisfied with terms of the treaty. They felt the victory was far more decisive than what the peace terms granted their nation. In the absence of a large Russian indemnity and riots in Tokyo against the Katsura government led by extreme nationalist groups, troops were brought in and and martial law was declared before order was restored.

Internally, although many Japanese were in agreement with the peace terms, they were proud of the international power that their nation had not experienced for centuries. Along with the proven success of the Meiji modernization, Japan’s wartime victory due to the growing influence of the nation's militarists. Once again, they had again brought victory and economic benefit to Japan. Many Japanese had learned the lesson that “war pays high dividends” and was an effective means to solve diplomatic impasse. After all, Japan’s victory gave her control of South Manchuria, a region that was beneficial as a market for Japanese products and as a source of raw materials for Japanese industry. Japan could therefore further her industrialization, especially in heavy industries, thus starting in Meiji Japan the so-called second phase of industrial revolution

Externally, with its defeat of Russia, Japan's international status reached a new high. Ten years previous, Japan became the leading Asian power by defeating China; now she became a world power by defeating Russia, a major Western power. Futhermore, Japan's relations with other countries improved, starting with negotiations for the restoration of tariff autonomy. By 1911, Japan was able to extricate itself from the last vestige of unequal treaties. Soon after, Japan’s victory was celebrated throughout the East, giving impetus to nationalist and reform movements in China, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

From then, Far Eastern nations looked to Japan as a model of independence from European control. Through her victory, Japan demonstrated that the westerners were not invincible and could be defeated with her own weapons. From 1905, in one colony after another, an organized independence movement began. Then, with Japan gaining footholds on the mainland in Korea and South Manchuria, the nation's second advance into the Far East began, which acted as bridgeheads for future imperial advances, paticularly during the First World War.

Relation with Britain

Japan’s victory over Russia was acclaimed by the British, and in August 1905, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was renewed, two years before its termination. For Japan, the renewal would help stave off Russian revenge and accepted British approval of her special interests in Korea. In return, Japan would recognize British interests in the Yangtze area, Southeast Asia, and India. Thus, the scope of the renewed Japanese-British Alliance was covered the Far East and Asia, including India, in general. In 1911, the Alliance was renewed for another 10 years, during which time it enabled Japan to enter World War I against Germany. Later, the Alliance was replaced by the Four Power Treaty in 1922. Nonetheless, Anglo-Japanese relation continued to be friendly and Japan was regarded by Britain as an important ally in the Far East in the 1920s.

Relation with Russia

Japan had stopped the Russian advance and had removed it as a first-class Western power in Korea and South Manchuria, leaving Russia only with a foothold in North Manchuria. Although the and of the Russian threat in Korea opened the door for a Russo-Japanese rapprochement, Russian anger was possible due to the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. However, Russia turned its interest in the Far East to a focus on the Balkans, with the two recent enemies befriending ach other. In 1907, a Russo-Japanese convention was signed which, by its secret clauses — an exchange policy, of sorts — divided Manchuria into a Russian and Japanese sphere of influence.

Relation with the United States and France

The United States became concerned over the rapid acension in power of Imperial Japan. Unhappy with Japanese advances in South Manchuria—a violation of the Open Door Policy—the U.S. also was alarmed about the security of its Pacific possession, the Philippines. Therefore, in 1905 and 1908, Japan and the United States reached two agreements promising to respect each other’s possessions in the Far East. However, worsening Japanese-American relations in the 1910s led to conflicts. In 1907, France and Japan signed a treaty to respect each other’s interests on the Asian continent, particularly in relation to their spheres of influence in China.

Relation with China

Even though the Russo-Japanese War was fought in Chinese territory, China was powerless to to do more than recognize Manchuria as a neutral zone. At the war's end, China's Qing Dynasty was not even consulted about the peace terms, while Russia's transfer to Japan of the Liaodong leasehold and the railway rights in South Manchuria was only reluctantly agreed upon by the Qing government.

Effects on China

The year 1905 proved a turning point in Chinese history. The humiliation suffered by China from the war directly stimulated the Chinese revolutionary movement. While the Tung Meng-hui was founded by Sun Yat-sen to overthrow the Manchus, the Qing government, in an effort to save itself, speeded up reforms. Meanwhile, Chinese reformers strongly promoted emulation of both Japan's reform practices and moderization policies. In this spirit, in 1905 the Manchus abolished the century-old, civil-service examination and held out the promise of a constitutional monarchy.

Effects on Korea

Japan fought the Russo-Japanese War chiefly to protect its interests in Korea, but with Russia defeated and Britain as an ally, Japan tightened its control over Korea. In November 1905, Japan compelled the Korean king to accept a Japanese Resident-General, who would have control over all Korean foreign affairs. In 1907, Japanese advisers exercised control over Korean legislative and executive affairs, thus diminishing Korea to a virtual Japanese colony. In 1909, Japan's Prince Itō Hirobumi was assassinated by a Korean nationalist, giving the Tokyo government an excuse to annex Korea, which took place in August 1910. Thus, Japan would rule Korea for 35 years.

100th anniversary re-enactment

In 2005, a summer-long series of events was held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to mark the the hundredth anniversary of the signing of this treaty, including a visit by a U.S. Navy destroyer, a parade, and a re-enactment of the arrival of diplomats from the two warring nations. The treaty was signed at 3:47 p.m. on September 5, 1905, marked by an honor guard, the firing of a 19-gun salute, and the ringing of area church bells. Those sounds were duplicated on the same date in 2005, when the signing was re-enacted. [1], [2]

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Axelrod, Alan. Political History of America's Wars. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1568029566
  • Ericson, Steven J., and Hockley, Allen. The Treaty of Portsmouth and Its Legacies. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New Engalnd, 2008. ISBN 978-1584657224
  • Randell, Peter. The are No Victors Here: A Local Perspective on the Treaty of Portmouth. Portsmouth, N.H.: P.E. Randall Society, 1985. ISBN 978-0915819072

External links


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