Shanghai

History

Prior to the First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking, Shanghai was a sleepy little fishing village on the central coast of China. As part of the settlement of the war, however, Shanghai was claimed by the British as a treaty port, forcing the city open to foreign trade and foreign settlement. Almost overnight the sleepy village turned into an international cosmopolitan city, the "First city of China", and was to become known as the Paris of the Orient.

Flag of the Shanghai International Settlement, 1869

Early in the life of the new city the French contingent split from the rest of the international community, setting up their own section of the city, between the "International" settlement and the Native city. Here the laws, enforcement, street signs, everything was French. The International settlement, however, was a broad mix of British, Americans, Russians, Germans and other European powers.

Militarily, Shanghai has seen her share of battles, from the 1850s through the post WWII period. During the TaiPing Rebellion, the "Small Swords", a sect allied with but the same as the Taipings seized the Native city. There was concern within the Western settlement that they too might come under attack, and they were threatened on several occasions, but they were able to repulse the attackers.

For the defence of the city, the coucil authorized the creation of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, under the drill and direction of Captain Robert Nixon Tronson of the 2nd Fusiliers, Bengal Army. The unit first saw action during the colonial period at the mis-named "Battle of Muddy Flats" in 1853, where in support of US and British Navy forces, and with the assistance of the Small Swords, they routed an Imperial army group under General Kieh.

Engraving of the Shanghai Volunteers, 1871

The SVC continued to evolve, adding more men, splitting into multiple companies, and adding a unit of Volunteer Mounted Rangers. Eventually the SVC broke their companies along national and cultural lines, with British, American, Scottish (kilted), Chinese, Russian and Jewish companies. As well, the SVC formed the first volunteer fire brigade of Shanghai.

Nanjing Lu, the road to the old capital of China

As the century progressed, Shanghai continued to expand and develop. It truly was the "First City of China". Shanghai was the spot for the first electric lights, the first railroad, the first streetcar, the first telephone and the first automobile in China. The waterfront was redeveloped in the copy of European elegance and architecture, making the Bund one of the most beautiful streets in the world.

The Bund, on the waterfront of Shanghai, today

Geography

Shanghai was a walled city, originally, with the Westerners living within the walled section of the city. The native Chinese lived to the south of this. While the city's name means literally "on the Ocean", Shanghai acutally fronts onto the --- river which twists inland from the pacific.

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Shanghai