The colonial state and governance beyond sovereignty

Abstract

The need to govern British subjects prompted important actions by the British state, which in turn influenced colonialism as it was experienced in China. British settlers in the treaty ports, and especially at Shanghai, were provided with the law courts which allowed settlers to live, do business in and (collaboratively) control these colonial spaces. These courts underpinned areas of foreign life as well as having powerful effects on the lives of Chinese who lived at the treaty ports. The Shanghai International Settlement was effectively governed through a hybrid colonial state, one of the principal constituents of which was the British state.