What was the First Sino-Japanese War?
The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) was fought between China and Japan over control of Korea. In 1894 China sent troops to Korea to quell an uprising. Korea’s ports had been open to Japan since 1876, so when trouble broke out Japan sent troops to the island nation in order to protect its own interests. Once the rebellion had been squashed, Japan refused to withdraw its troops. In July 1894 Japan and China went to war, with Japan emerging the victor after crushing the Chinese army. The Treaty of Shimonoseki, signed on April 17, 1895, provided that Korea be made an independent nation and that China turn over the island of Taiwan, the Pescadores (a group of islands between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland), and the Liaotung Peninsula (in northeast China) to Japan. Within a week, however, pressure from Russia, France, and Germany forced the return of the Liaotung Peninsula to…
