The Convention of Calcutta[1] (Template:Zh) or Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1890Template:Sfnp was a treaty between Britain and Qing China relating to Tibet and the Kingdom of Sikkim. It was signed by Viceroy of India Lord Lansdowne and the Chinese Amban in Tibet, Sheng Tai, on 17Template:NbspMarch 1890 in Calcutta, India.Template:Sfnp
The Convention recognized a British protectorate over Sikkim and demarcated the Sikkim–Tibet border. China is said to have negotiated the treaty without consulting Tibet, and the Tibetans refused to recognize it.Template:Sfnp China's inability to deliver on the treaty eventually necessitated a British expedition to Tibet in 1904, setting in motion a long chain of developments in the history of Tibet. Modern international law jurists state that the convention exposed the Chinese 'impotence' in Tibet.Template:Sfnp
Background
The British imperative in North East India was to open the markets of Tibet and by extension China to their manufactured textiles, tobacco, grain, tools and tea.[2]
Provisions
Under Article 1, the boundary of Sikkim and Tibet was defined as the crest of the mountain range separating the waters flowing into the Teesta River in Sikkim and its tributaries from the waters flowing into the Tibetan Mochu River and northwards into other rivers of Tibet. The line commenced at Mount Gipmochi on the Bhutan frontier, and followed the above watershed to the point where it met Nepali territory.
Aftermath
A protocol was added to the original convention in December 1893. "Regulations Regarding Trade, Communications, and Pasturage to Be Appended to the Sikkim-Tibet Convention of 1890" allowed for the establishment of a British trading post in Yatung, Tibet as well as laid down regulations concerning pasturage and communication.[3]Template:Sfnp
References
- ↑ [{{{url}}} Legal Aspects of the Sino-Indian Border Dispute](July–September 1960).
- ↑ Commodities of Empire: Working Paper No.9{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Open University(2008)
- ↑ Sikkim: Past and Present{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Mittal Publications(2004). ISBN 978-81-7099-932-4
Bibliography
- The Question of Tibet and the Rule of Law. International Commission of Jurists(1959).
- India and Tibet: a history of the relations which have subsisted between the two countries from the time of Warren Hastings to 1910; with a particular account of the mission to Lhasa of 1904{{#if:Younghusband|, Younghusband}. John Murray(1910)
- China's Tibet Policy. Routledge.
External links
- Convention between Great Britain and China relating to Sikkim and Tibet. UK Treaties Online(1890-03-17). Retrieved 2017-08-16.
- Template:Wikisource-inline
- 中英藏印條約 - 维基文库，自由的图书馆. zh.wikisource.org. Retrieved 2017-08-15.