British Concession (Shanghai) Explained

Conventional Long Name:British Concession in Shanghai
Common Name:British Concession
Status Text:Foreign Enclave
Year Start:1845
Year End:1863
P1:Shanghai County
Flag P1:Flag of the Qing Dynasty (1889-1912).svg
Flag P2:Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg
S1:Shanghai International Settlement
Flag S1:Flag_of_the_Shanghai_International_Settlement_pre-WWI.svg

The British Concession or Settlement was a foreign enclave (a "concession") in Shanghai within the Qing Empire which existed from around 1845 until its unification with the American area, located directly north of it across Suzhou Creek to form the Shanghai International Settlement in 1863.

The settlement was bordered to the north by the right bank of Suzhou Creek at its confluence with the Huangpu River, to the east by the Huangpu itself, and to south by the former Yangjing Creek, now Yan'an Road, which would be the future boundary with the French Concession.

History

The British occupied Shanghai during the First Opium War and it was opened to foreign trade by the terms of the Treaty of Nanking. The British settlement was established by the 1845 Land Regulations, undertaken on the initiative of the intendant Gong Mujiu.[1] On 20 November 1846, a formal concession was established; this was expanded on 27 November 1848. After a proposal to make Shanghai an independent "free city" was rejected in 1862, the British area agreed to merge with the American on 21 September 1863 as the Shanghai International Settlement. This occurred in December of the same year.

See also

Notes and References

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