It's time to return to The First Opium War. In addition to their acquisition of Hong Kong, the British also secured a number of concessions, essentially giving them control over a number of port cities, including Shanghai. Eventually, a number of other countries, including France, the United States, Japan, Germany, Russia, Norway, and even The Congo Free State got their fingers in the pie, getting concessions of their own. Shanghai itself would have three main foreign enclaves controlled by Britain, France, and the U.S. What's really amazing, the foreign concessions all had extraterritorial status. Essentially, they were all exempt from Chinese law.
Today, Shanghai is, by population, the largest city in the world.
Click on Views of the World in labels to see other cards in the series.
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