Abstract

Investing in the Manchurian Frontier: The American Business Community, 1895-1916

The end of the first Sino-Japanese War in 1895 brought a flood of speculators and advance agents to China from around the world. Americans did not lag behind. This project examines how American and investment initiatives were implemented and translated into real-life impacts on the Manchurian frontier, one of the most lucrative destinations for U.S. agricultural, industrial, and capital exports in Asia during the early 20th century. It serves as a component of my dissertation, entitled “Funding the Imperial Borders: Qing Fiscal Statecraft, Business Practice, and Market Dynamics 1875-1911," which explores a puzzling question: when colonialism swept the world in the second half of the nineteenth century, how did the Qing Empire maintain its vast territory and sovereignty? The late Qing's frontier management, I argue, stemmed from the adaptation, accumulation, and practice of statecraft across different zones. Frontiers such as Manchuria and Xinjiang were the testing grounds for the Qing Empire's fiscal practices; they were vibrant sites full of speculators, business communities, and government agents from around the world.