Treaty of Portsmouth
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.
In accordance with the treaty, both Japan and Russia agreed to evacuate Manchuria and return its sovereignty to China However, Japan was allowed to lease from China the Liaodong Peninsula (containing Port Arthur and Talien), including 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 from Russia as well. The frustration caused the Hibiya riots and the collapse of Prime Minister Katsura Taro's cabinet on January 7, 1906. Nevertheless, subsequent history would mark the treaty as a turning point in favor of Japan, whose fortunes would rise dramatically in the succeeding decade and beyond, encouraging her imperial ambitions and militaristic policy.
The 1906 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Theodore Roosevelt for negotiating the peace between Russia and Japan.
Background
Although Russia still had a larger army than Japan, successive defeats had shaken Russian confidence. Russia was also rocked by the Russian Revolution of 1905, which posed a severe threat to the stability of the government. Russia elected to negotiate peace rather than continue the war, so that it could concentrate on internal matters.
Japan, meanwhile, was distraught financially and in terms of military strength. Both sides were thus seeking a peace, although the tide of the war had turned decidedly in Japan's favor.
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.
Negotiations
President Theodore Roosevelt offered to mediate between the two warring nations, and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard designated as the site at which the terms would be decided. Negotiations lasted through August. 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. The treaty confirmed Japan's emergence as the pre-eminent power in East Asia and forced Russia to abandon its expansionist policies there, but it was not well received by the Japanese public.
Effects in Japan
However, after hearing the 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, both in terms of land and monetary concessions from Russia. When riots broke out in Tokyo against the Katsura government led by extreme nationalist groups, troops were brought in and martial law was declared before order was restored.
At the same time, although many Japanese were in disagreement 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 was credited to the growing influence of the nation's militarists. Many Japanese learned the lesson that “war pays high dividends” and was an effective means to solve diplomatic impasse. In the end, Japan’s victory had given 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 the so-called second phase of industrial revolution in Meiji Japan.
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.
Far Eastern nations now looked to Japan as a model of independence from European control. Through her victory, Japan demonstrated that the westerners were not invincible. 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, particularly during the First World War.
Relations 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 if this alliance helped stave off Russian revenge and brought British approval of her dominance of Korea. In return, Japan would recognize British interests in the Yangtze area, Southeast Asia, and India. In 1911, the Alliance was renewed for another 10 years, during which time Japan was able to enter World War I against Germany. Later, the Alliance was replaced by the Four Power Treaty in 1922. Nonetheless, Anglo-Japanese relations continued to be friendly, and Japan was regarded by Britain as an important ally in the Far East in the 1920s.
Relations with Russia
Japan had stopped the Russian advance and had downgraded Russiam power in Korea and South Manchuria, leaving her only with a foothold in North Manchuria. Although the end of the Russian threat in Korea opened the door for a Russo-Japanese rapprochement, the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was a possible source of hostility. However, Russia turned its interest away from the Far East to a focus on the Balkans, and the two recent enemies friended each other. In 1907, a Russo-Japanese convention was signed which—in its secret clauses—divided Manchuria into a Russian and a Japanese sphere of influence.
Relations with the U.S. and France
The United States, however, became concerned over the rapid ascension 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.
Effects on 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 were only reluctantly agreed upon by the Qing government.
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, sped up reforms. Meanwhile, Chinese reformers strongly promoted emulation of both Japan's reform practices and modernization 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 former prime minister and former resident-general of Korea 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 directly 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.
ReferencesISBN 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
All retrieved June 25, 2008.
- The Treaty of Portsmouth, 1905, Russo-Japanese War www.lib.byu.edu.
- Actual wording of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty www.portsmouthpeacetreaty.com.
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