The Treaty of Wanghia (also known as the Treaty of Wangxia; Treaty of peace, amity, and commerce, between the United States of America and the Chinese Empire); (Chinese: [中美]望廈條約 / [中美]望厦条约) was the first of the unequal treaties imposed by the United States on the Qing dynasty. By the terms of the diplomatic agreement, the United States received the same privileges with China that Great Britain had achieved under the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. The United States received additional privileges as well, including the right to cabotage on preferential terms and the expansion of extraterritoriality. Imperial China's Qing dynasty signed the treaty with the United States on July 3, 1844, in the Kun Iam Temple. The treaty was subsequently passed by the US Congress and ratified by President John Tyler on January 17, 1845. The Treaty of Wanghia was formally in effect until the signing of the 1943 Sino-American Treaty for the Relinquishment of Extraterritorial Rights in China.
- ⭐ Core Definition: Treaty of Wanghia
- Treaty of Wanghia in the context of Chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China
- Treaty of Wanghia in the context of Elisha Kane
Treaty of Wanghia in the context of Chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China
The United States ambassador to China is the chief United States diplomat to the People's Republic of China. The United States has sent diplomatic representatives to China since 1844, when Caleb Cushing, as commissioner, negotiated the Treaty of Wanghia. Commissioners represented the United States in China from 1844 to 1857. Until 1898, China did not have a system in place for the Emperor to accept the Letters of Credence of foreign representatives. From 1858 to 1935, the United States representative in China was formally Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to China. The American legation in Nanjing was upgraded to an embassy in 1935 and the Envoy was promoted to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
During the republican era, the United States recognized the Beiyang Government in Beijing from 1912 to 1928 and the Nationalist Government in Nanjing (and Chongqing from 1937 to 1945) from 1928 onwards. After the Communist Party established the People's Republic of China in mainland China in 1949 and the Kuomintang moved the Republic of China government from Nanjing to Taipei of Taiwan, the United States continued to recognize the Republic of China as the legitimate Chinese government and maintained its embassy in Taiwan. However, in 1973, the United States established a Liaison Office in Beijing to represent its interests in mainland China. In 1976, the Chief of the Liaison Office was promoted to the rank of ambassador. In December 1978, the United States severed official relations with the Republic of China and in January 1979, established formal relations with the People's Republic of China. The United States Liaison Office in Beijing was upgraded to an embassy on March 1, 1979. The American Institute in Taiwan was established in 1979 to serve as the unofficial United States representative to Taiwan, with the director of its Taipei Office taking the role of a de facto ambassador.
View the full Wikipedia page for Chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of ChinaTreaty of Wanghia in the context of Elisha Kane
Elisha Kent Kane (February 3, 1820 – February 16, 1857) was a United States Navy medical officer and Arctic explorer. He served as assistant surgeon during Caleb Cushing's journey to China to negotiate the Treaty of Wangxia and in the Africa Squadron. He was assigned as a special envoy to the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and as a surveyor in the United States Coast Survey.
He was senior medical officer in the First Grinnell expedition to rescue or discover the fate of the explorer Sir John Franklin. He was credited with the discovery of an encampment and gravesite from Franklin's lost expedition on Beechey Island. He led the Second Grinnell expedition to the Arctic which was unsuccessful in discovering the fate of Franklin's expedition. His explorations of the Arctic went further North than any other expeditions at the time and led to the eventual path to the North Pole taken by subsequent explorers.
View the full Wikipedia page for Elisha Kane