Treat Portsmouth

History research papers often look at the aftermath of war and what it accomplished. A project on the Treaty of Portsmouth will typically overview the information you see below and then assess how the treaty affected both nations. Whatever the topic, the writers at Paper Masters can explicate world history and the events that have occurred in the past.

At the start of the 20th century, two of the most prominent countries in Asia fought over instrumental territories: Japan and Russia. This Russo-Japanese War raged from 1904 to 1905, and was drawn to a close with the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth on September 5, 1905, following nearly a month of negotiations. As the United States had a vested interest in preventing Japan from becoming too powerful, President Theodore Roosevelt took an active role in the peace negotiations, despite not actually going to Portsmouth to take part in the talks, ultimately earning a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Further, American involvement in a conflict half a world away would set a standard for the American role in promoting diplomacy around the world.

The immediate result of the Treat of Portsmouth was an end to the fighting between Japan and Russia and a start of several decades of peace between the two countries. Japan was formally recognized as the dominant power in East Asia, forcing Russia to give up any territorial aspirations in that part of the world. In Japan, public outcry against the Treaty of Portsmouth was fierce; many civilians were unaware of the great cost at which previous victories had come, and saw the concessions made as part of the Treaty of Portsmouth as evidence of their failure in the eyes of the western nations. Unrest would grow in Japan as a result of this, but the country would emerge all the stronger regardless.

According to the Treaty of Portsmouth, the following was agreed upon:

1. Russia was to relinquish to Japan the lease of the Shantung peninsula along with a sizable section of the railway rights.
2. Acknowledged China's sovereignty and its right to develop Manchuria
3. Granted Japan rights to territorial waters, harbor works, mines, and diverse other properties.
4. China theoretically regained the right to grant consent to the provisions that directly affected its interests

Unfortunately, by the December 1905 Treaty of Peking, a weakened China stipulated that Japan should "so far as circumstances permit" abide by the same agreements reached earlier with Russia pertaining to leases and railway construction. Supplementary provisions to the Peking treaty concerned various other issues including the opening up of Manchurian cities to international (i.e., primarily Japanese) residents and permitting Japanese to post railway guards in the territory until China could guarantee total protection to the foreign lives and properties.