Treaty of Kulja
1851 treaty between Russia and China
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The Treaty of Kulja (also spelled Kuldja ) ( Chinese : 中俄伊犁塔爾巴哈臺通商章程 ) was an unequal treaty between Qing China and the Russian Empire , signed in 1851, opening Kulja ( Huiyuan and later Ningyuan ) and Chuguchak to Sino-Russian trade. Prepared by the first Russian consul to China , Ivan Zakharov , the treaty was preceded by a gradual Russian advance throughout the nineteenth century into Kazakhstan in direct competition with British efforts to impose self-advantageous trade terms on China. [1]
Historical context
Cross-border trade became increasingly important to Russia and China in the 19th century with Russian merchants trading illegally at Kulja in Xinjiang 's Yili River Valley . In 1803, Tsar Alexander I attempted to negotiate the opening of the entire Sino-Russian border to trade. This effort failed, however, when the Tsar's representative refused to kow-tow to a tablet representing the Emperor.
Preceded by a gradual Russian advance throughout the 19th century into Kazakhstan , in direct competition with British efforts to impose self-advantageous trade terms on China, the treaty was signed on July 25, 1851, by the General of Ili and his assistant. [2] Under its terms Kulja ( Huiyuan and later Ningyuan) and Chuguchak (modern Tacheng ) were opened to Russian trade. However the Qing court denied the Russian request to include trading in Kashgar. [3]
The treaty also allowed Russian merchants to trade and Russian consuls to reside in the Xinjiang towns of Yili ( Huiyuan before 1863 and Ningyuan after 1882) and Tarbagatai. [4] Russian trade with Xinjiang flourished and Alma Ata was founded in 1854 to become an important link in this trade.
While the treaty primarily legalized ongoing practice, [3] it also recognized the growing Russian presence in Central Asia . China's defenses on this border had been greatly neglected since the start of the 19th century.
The official text of the treaty was written in Russian , French and Manchu ; the original treaty did not have an official Chinese version.
See also
- Treaty of Tarbagatai (1864) which defined the new border
- Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881) which returned the temporarily occupied Kulja country
- Economic history of China
- Unequal treaties
- Imperialism in Asia
References
- ↑ Holmes, Alison; Rofe, J. Simon (2016). Global Diplomacy: theories, types, and models . Boulder, Colorado, United States: Westview Press. p. 108. ISBN 9780813345529 .
- ↑ Rahul, Ram (1997). Central Asia: An Outline History . Concept Publishing Company. p. 81. ISBN 978-81-7022-679-6 .
- 1 2 Tomohiko, Uyama (2012). Asiatic Russia: Imperial Power in Regional and International Contexts . Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-63874-3 .
- ↑ Van Dijk, Kees (2015). Pacific Strife: The Great Powers and their Political and Economic Rivalries in Asia and the Western Pacific 1870-1914 . Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. pp. 148–149.
Further reading
- Mayers, William Frederick, ed. (1906), "Treaties between the empire of China and foreign powers: together with regulations for the conduct of foreign trade, conventions, agreements, regulations, etc" , North China herald, limited (5 ed.), pp. 97–99
Sino-Russian treaties
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