The Americans In Hankow In The Late Qing Dynasty

Reviewing the Modern China,a series of unequal treaties were signed after the end of the Second Opium War,and the Yangtze River basin region began to open to the outside world.The western countries have come to Hankow after the opening of this city,then the number of foreigners gradually increased.The foreign powers chose Hankow as the treaty port because of its superior location and prosperous commercial conditions,as well as relatively loose management.After the British,the American arrived in Hankow and opened consulates.They even tried to set up concessions but they eventually failed.By combing the report of American Consuls in Hankow in the late Qing dynasty,We can roughly sum up the duty of American Consuls in Hankow,and we can find many difficulties that they have ever encountered,such as the lower salary,the frequent changes of the position with the change of the ruling party,and the regular vacancy of the position.It was because of these defects that the American Government revised its consular constitution in 1906.Previous studies have shown that the majority of Americans coming to China in the late Qing dynasty were missionaries and their families.Although this view had its basis,in Hankow,it showed a different situation--there were more businessmen than missionaries.In addition,there are a number of naturalized "nationals"among the Americans living in Hankow,and the nationality problems of these"naturalized nationals" often bothers the American consuls.With the more frequent contacts between Chinese and American,there were inevitably some disputes.The root of most disputes is the privilege of foreigners,because"privilege" originally represents inequality,and has the property of "interest".In addition,when disputes occurred,Americans were usually able to escape the blame under the protection of consular jurisdiction,even compradors who were related to the American businessmen could also be protected by "expanded consular jurisdiction".It was because of these factors that the Chinese has no sovereignty in the process of dealing with disputes.Even if they had sovereignty,it would be taken away by the American consul if necessary.For example,during the boycott of American goods in Hankow in 1905,the American consul declared "friendly to China",but they always tried to force the Qing Dynasty's local officials to suppress the boycott.Though they didn't succeed at last,this case could reflect that the consul didn't really care about China's sovereignty.And under its "friendly" coat,it is actually ambition of aggression.Throughout the modern Hankow,it is inevitable to mention Hankow's foreigners,and the American as one of them,their activities reflect the faces of foreigners in Hankow to a certain extent.Therefore,this article will take the M.S.Despatches from U.S.Consuls in Hankow in the late Qing Dynasty as the inspection source,and take the American consul as the inspection point of view,to observe the group of Americans in Hankow in the late Qing Dynasty.Trying to clarify their activities in Hankow,and provide some reference for interpreting the foreigners in modern Hankow.Besides,by combing the activities of Americans in Hankow,we can also analyze the various aspects of modern Hankow and modern China.