Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
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…
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