What happened to Japan in her relations with the Western powers at this
time had previously happened to China. For a long time there had been a
closely regulated Western trade at Canton. During the early nineteenth
century this trade had steadily expanded. China’s last-minute
efforts to keep real control in her own hands were unsuccessful. The
Anglo-Chinese war of 1839-42, and further conflicts in 1857-60, ended
China’s seclusion and forced the Manchu authorities to treat with the
Western powers on terms of diplomatic equality. The treaties signed at
this time--later called the “unequal” treaties--actually established
China’s _in_equality. Not only were new ports opened to Western trade.
But a fixed schedule of Chinese tariff dues, usually not exceeding
5 per cent, was also enforced. In addition, Western nationals were
exempted from trial under Chinese law. Instead, they were to be tried
in courts set up by their own consuls in China. This was the system
known as “extraterritoriality.”
These events in China did not pass unnoticed in Japan. Many of the
Japanese leaders, despite the Shogunate’s policy of isolation, were
aware of what was happening in China. They began to be alarmed over
Japan’s future, fearing that the Western powers would soon be knocking
at Japan’s door. And sure enough, very soon they were.