Tientsin and its hinterland in Anglo-Chinese relations, 1925-1937

Abstract

The British informal empire in China is often mistakenly believed to have represented the British government's policies and views. The' second biggest Chinese treaty port, Tientsin, had a different pomt of view to that of China (mostly in treaty ports) and Westminster. Tientsin's British community's main interests lay either within the concession or in Tientsin's hinterlands. TTiese interests included its people and property. In addition the British community was proud of the British empire's prestige. All these created a determination in the British community that any attempt to jeopardise their interests would be opposed. However, the situation in Tientsin was rather different to that of their counterparts in Shanghai. The limited power of the British Municipal Council meant that the British community had, reluctantly, to obey British liberal policy when faced with the rise of the antiimperialist movement m the mid-1920s.

Date of Award	2009
Original language	English
Supervisor	Robert Bickers (Supervisor)