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Home Great Britain and World-Politics, 1878-1911 The Far East |
The Far EastFrom Africa the scramble for territory spread to the Far East. Great Britain had already acquired, at the close of the eighteenth century, Penang, and, within ten years of the battle of Waterloo, Malacca and Singapore, these three being now known as the Straits Settlements. In the early seventies she obtained influence over the Malay Statess which were finally federated under British protection in 1896; whilst in 1888 she obtained the protectorate of North Borneo and Sarawak, the latter state the creation of an Englishman, Rajah Brooke (Rajah Brooke (died 1868), after running away from school, served for a time in the army of the East India Company. He subsequently inherited a fortune, bought a schooner, and sailed to Borneo in 1838, where he quickly established a great reputation with the natives. Unfortunately the coast tribes of Borneo were inveterate pirates and very cruel ones, the collection of as large a number of human heads as possible being with them a passionate hobby. Brooke aided the British navy to suppress piracy, and then became Rajah of Sarawak, a territory of some 28, 000 square miles). But there were still left the islands in the Pacific, for which there was a brisk competition between France, Germany, and Great Britain: the latter had acquired the Fiji Islands(The first effect, unfortunately, of British rule was an epidemic of measles which carried off one-third of the people)- in 1874, and she added various other islands towards the end of the nineteenth century.At the close of the nineteenth century the rivalry between European nations was transferred to China. Here, however, as elsewhere, Great Britain had already acquired a long start. China, it must be remembered, boasted of possessing the oldest civilization in the world, and looked with contempt on the mushroom growth of European nations (In the opinion of Chinamen, "all men under heaven" owed allegiance to their emperor, and in Chinese official documents the monarch of Great Britain was described as being " reverentially submissive", and as " having repeatedly paid tribute " to the Emperor of China.). Consequently the action of Chinese officials was apt to be high-handed, and had already caused two wars between Great Britain and China. The first occurred in 1840, when a Chinese Commissioner dealt in very summary fashion with British subjects who, with me connivance of minor officials, were smuggling opium into China. As a result of the war, Hong-Kong was ceded to Great Britain, and since that time the trade of Hong-Kong has been developed to such an extent that it now ranks amongst the six greatest ports in the world. The second war took place between 1857 and 1860, and was caused by the fact that Chinese officials had insulted our flag which was flying over a vessel trading at Canton. Great Britain was aided by France, and eventually China, after the Summer Palace at Pekin had been destroyed, agreed to pay a large indemnity, and to allow European ministers to reside at Pekin. Later on, the other powers came in. France developed a large Empire to the south of China during the last twenty years of the nineteenth century; Russia occupied Port Arthur (The Russians ceded Port Arthur to Japan in 1905, after the Russo-Japanese War.), and gradually ate into the frontiers of northern China; Germany, in 1898, took advantage of the murder of two missionaries to acquire Kiau-Chau, whilst Great Britain acquired Wei-hai-wei. Meantime mining and railway concessions were obtained in different districts by Europeans. Chinamen, perhaps naturally, resented these foreign activities in their country, and the result was the creation of a patriotic society called the Boxers, who wanted all white men to be exterminated. The " Boxers" became supreme in Pekin, and proceeded to besiege the foreign legations (1901). Consequently an international force was sent, which successfully relieved the legations, and at the close of the military' operations China had to pay a large indemnity. Now China is at last waking up, and many Europeans look with no little apprehension upon the probable effects of Chinese competition in the future. Time have been, since the Treaty of Berlin in 1878, no great wars between European nations, but the trading and colonial rivalries between the Great Powers produced, at times, a considerable amount of friction. Thus Germany and Great Britain found some difficulty in settling their boundaries in Afriea. Great Britain incurred the ill will of France by her occupation of Egypt, whilst Great Britain herself was very suspicious of Russia's designs in Afghanistan and the Far East. Hence for many of the years after 1878 Great Britain was in a position of isolation, and at the time of the South African War in 1899 (p. 712) there is no doubt that Great Britain was extremely unpopular in Europe. But with the accession of King Edward VII in 1901 Great Britain's position slowly improved (The fact that eight monarchs, and that ex-presidents from France and America, came to England to attend King Edward VII's funeral showed the respect and affection which he had inspired in foreign countries). Largely through the king's influence the attitude of the British and French nations towards one another became more friendly, with the result that in 1904 an agreement, as we have seen, was made between them which settled all their disputes. In the same year—1904—war broke out between Russia and Japan. The progress of the latter power had been marvellous in the previous forty years, and its success in the war revealed to Europe its enormous strength. Relations between Japan and Great Britain had been for some time cordial, and in 1905 a defensive alliance was made between them which strengthened the British position in the Far East. Finally, soon after the Russo-Japanese War was over, the Governments of Russia and Great Britain began to enter into negotiations, and in 1907 an arrangement was made between them (see p. 695). Great Britain during the last few years has also strengthened her friendships with the smaller powers of Europe. Her relations, however, with the strongest of all Continental powers — with Germany-are still somewhat uneasy, many people in Great Britain being, rightly or wrongly, apprehensive of German ambitions. |
Chronology |
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