Sino–Portuguese Treaty Of Peking
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking was a trade
unequal treaty The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries—most notably Qing dynasty, Qing China, Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon, Joseon Korea—and Western countries—most notably the United Kingdom of Great ...
between the
Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...
and the
Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...
, signed on 1 December 1887. It is counted by the Chinese as among the
unequal treaties The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries—most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon Korea—and Western countries—most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Unit ...
in the aftermath of the
Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...
. The treaty gave Portugal perpetual colonial rights to
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
on the condition that Portugal would cooperate in efforts to end the smuggling of
opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
.


Background

On 13 August 1862, China and Portugal signed the Treaty of Friendship and Trade in
Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...
. The treaty was largely a trade agreement, but it also defined
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
's political and juridical status, although it did not directly mention the issue of Portuguese sovereignty.Mendes, Carmen Amado (2013). ''Portugal, China and the Macau Negotiations, 1986-1999''. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 11–12. . It contained two clauses regarding Macau's status: Article II annulled earlier agreements and referred to Macau as "formerly in the Province of
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...
", while Article III recognised the status of a "Governor General of Macao." However, China did not ratify the treaty and it became void in 1864.Ride, Lindsay; Ride, May (1989). ''The Voices of Macao Stones''. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 54–56. . In June 1886, a joint Sino-British commission advised that the administrative responsibility for controlling the import of opium into China should be transferred from the
Hoppo Hoppo or Administrator of the Canton Customs ( zh, t=粵海關部, s=粤海关部, p=Yuèhǎi Guānbù), was the Qing dynasty official at Guangzhou (Canton) given responsibility by the List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor for controlli ...
in
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...
(
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
) to the Chinese
Imperial Maritime Customs Service The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was a Chinese governmental tax collection agency and information service from its founding in 1854 until it split in 1949 into services operating in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and in the People's Republ ...
. Although Britain and China agreed to this, it could not be fully successful without Portuguese involvement. In 1887, China sent a diplomatic mission to
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, which included James Campbell, a senior British member of the service, representing the superintendent of the customs service
Sir Robert Hart Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet, (20 February 1835 – 20 September 1911) was a British diplomat and official in the Qing Chinese government, serving as the second inspector-general of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service from 1863 to 1911. B ...
. On 26 March 1887, Campbell and Portuguese Foreign Minister
Henrique de Barros Gomes Henrique de Barros Gomes (Lisbon, 14 September 1843 – Alcanhões, Santarém, 15 November 1898), was a Portuguese politician, member of the Progressive Party, who assumed the functions of director of the Bank of Portugal, Minister of various ...
signed the four-point Lisbon Protocol: Mayers, William Frederick (1902).
Treaties Between the Empire of China and Foreign Powers
' (4th ed.). Shanghai: North-China Herald. pp. 156–157.
Art. 1st.—A Treaty of friendship and commerce with the
most favoured nation In international economic relations and international politics, most favoured nation (MFN) is a status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade. The term means the country which is the recipient of this treatme ...
clause will be concluded and signed at
Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...
. Art. 2nd.—China confirms perpetual occupation and government of Macao and its dependencies by Portugal, as any other Portuguese possession. Art. 3rd.—Portugal engages never to alienate Macao and its dependencies without agreement with China. Art. 4th.—Portugal engages to cooperate in opium revenue work at Macao in the same way as England at
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
.


Terms

Portugal followed up on this agreement by sending an envoy to Beijing, where a treaty of amity and commerce based on the protocol was drawn up. On 1 December 1887, the
Treaty of Peking A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...
was signed by Chinese representatives
Yikuang Yikuang (Manchu: ''I-kuwang''; 24 March 1838 – 28 January 1917), formally known as Prince Qing (or Prince Ch'ing), was a Manchu noble and politician of the Qing dynasty. He served as the first Prime Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, an ...
(Prince Qing) and Sun Iu-uen, and Tomas de Sousa Rosa for Portugal on 1 December 1887. It contained 54 articles and was ratified on 28 April 1888. Articles II and III stated:
II. China confirms, in its entirety, the second Article of the Protocol of Lisbon, relating to the perpetual occupation and government of Macao by Portugal. III. Portugal confirms, in its entirety, the third Article of the Protocol of Lisbon, relating to the engagement never to alienate Macao without previous agreement with China.
According to the Portuguese interpretation, sovereignty over Macau was surrendered to Portugal. In the Chinese interpretation, however, only administrative rights were transferred.


Aftermath

After December 1887, issues related to rent payments and the presence of a Chinese custom house or resident
mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
in Macau became irrelevant outside of academic interest. The early 20th century marked a new era for both countries, with Portugal's 1910 and China's 1911 republican revolutions establishing new governments. A growing nationalist movement in China voiced disapproval of the treaty and questioned its validity. These contentions manifested themselves in the unresolved topic of Macau's border demarcation. Although the Nationalist (
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
) government in China vowed to abrogate the "
unequal treaties The unequal treaties were a series of agreements made between Asian countries—most notably Qing China, Tokugawa Japan and Joseon Korea—and Western countries—most notably the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Unit ...
", Macau's status remained unchanged. The 1928 Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Friendship and Trade reaffirmed Portuguese administration over Macau.Chan, Ming K. (2003).
Different Roads to Home: the retrocession of Hong Kong and Macau to Chinese sovereignty
. ''Journal of Contemporary China'' 12 (36): 497–499.
In 1945, after the end of extraterritorial rights in China, the Nationalists called for the liquidation of foreign control over Hong Kong and Macau, but they were too preoccupied in the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...
with the Communists to fulfill their goals of a "rights recovery" campaign. After the 1974 Revolution in Portugal, a new decolonisation policy paved the way for Macau's retrocession to the People's Republic of China (PRC). Portugal offered to withdraw from Macau in late 1974, but China declined the offer in favour of a later time because it sought to preserve international and local confidence in Hong Kong, which was still under British rule, as well as its focus on plans to unify Taiwan with the PRC. In January 1975, Portugal recognised the PRC as the sole legitimate government of China and ended ties with the Nationalists in
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
. In 1976, Portugal unilaterally changed the legal designation of Macau from a "colony" to "territory under Portuguese administration". In 1987, the
Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration The Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau, or Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration, was a treaty between Portugal and the People's Republic of China over the status of Macau. The full name of the treaty is Joint Declaration of the Gover ...
was signed and Macau became a "Chinese territory under Portuguese administration". On 20 December 1999—two years after the
handover of Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...
—Macau was returned to Chinese rule.Page, Melvin Eugene. Sonnenburg, Penny M. (2003). ''Colonialism: An International, Social, Cultural, and Political Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO. p 359. . A copy of the treaty is kept by the Portuguese government while another copy is kept by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of China at the
National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum, also known as Taipei Palace Museum, is a national museum headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in Beijing in 1925, the museum was re-established in Shilin District, Shilin, Taipei, in 1965, later expanded with a S ...
in Taipei, Taiwan.


See also

*
History of Macau Macau is a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. It was leased to Portugal in 1557 as a trading post in exchange for a symbolic annual rent of 500 tael. Despite remaining under Chinese sovereignty and authori ...
*
Western imperialism in Asia The influence and imperialism of the West peaked in Asian territories from the colonial period beginning in the 16th century, and substantially reduced with 20th century decolonization. It originated in the 15th-century search for trade routes t ...


References


Further reading

*Tam, Camões (1994).
The Sino-Portuguese Dispute over the Holder of Sovereignty of Macao and the Friendship and Trade Treaty Between China and Portugal from an International Law Perspective
. ''Review of Culture''. No. 19 (2nd series). Cultural Institute of Macao.


External links

*
Full text of the treaty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sino-Portuguese Treaty Of Peking 1887 in China 1887 in Portugal 1887 treaties China–Portugal relations Portuguese Macau Treaties of the Kingdom of Portugal Treaties of the Qing dynasty Unequal treaties December 1887