The 1890s Belgian Concession in Tianjin: A Colony in China

In 1902, Belgium acquired a 1.5-square-mile concession in Tianjin, China, part of the unequal treaty system after the Boxer Rebellion. This episode explores how a small European country without a Pacific navy carved out a tiny colony on Chinese soil. We follow the story of the Société des Tramways de Tientsin and the Compagnie d'Électricité, which ran the city's tram system and power grid for decades. We examine the lives of Belgian colonists and the Chinese workers who built the infrastructure. The episode also looks at the concession's role in Belgian diplomacy, the 'other' Belgian colony often forgotten in the shadow of the Congo, and its eventual end in 1931 when China regained control. Along the way, we touch on figures like Baron Pierre de Selys Longchamps and the impact of the Tianjin concession on Belgian-Chinese relations. This is a lesser-known chapter of Belgium's imperial history, far from the rubber plantations of Central Africa, but equally revealing of the country's global ambitions. #Belgium #Tianjin #Concession #Imperialism #BelgianColony #China #BoxerRebellion #Tramways #ColonialHistory #UnequalTreaties #CompagnieDElectricite #PierreDeSelys #1900s #History #FexingoHistory #EuropeanEmpires #BelgianEmpire #QingDynasty Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo