Austrian colonial policy
Encyclopedia
From the 17th century through to the 19th century, the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

 and Austro-Hungarian Empire attempted to profit from colonial trade and to establish their own colonies. Due to pressures by the other colonial powers and a government that could ill afford it, all attempts eventually failed.

Ostend Company

Ostend Company was a merchants' company made to trade with the Indies
Indies
The Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and...

, chartered by 1722 in the Austrian Netherlands. International political pressures had ended its extraordinary growth and in 1727 the charter was suspended, leading to the company being dissolved within a few years.

Nicobar islands

Colonisation of the Nicobar Islands
Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean...

 was a short-lived and unsuccessful attempt on the island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....

 of the Austrian Empire. The colony was established in 1778. This had previously been a Danish colony, and Austria established it as Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 had abandoned its colony on the islands, although not its claim. However by 1783, due to a lack of support, the last colonists left.

Tianjin

During the Boxer rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...

  and its aftermath 1899-1901, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

  participated in the Eight-Nation Alliance
Eight-Nation Alliance
The Eight-Nation Alliance was an alliance of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States whose military forces intervened in China to suppress the anti-foreign Boxers and relieve the siege of the diplomatic legations in Beijing .- Events :The...

 and helped in suppressing the rising. However, Austria sent by far the smallest force of any of the combatant nation. Only one warship and a force of only 75 marines were despatched.

Even so, on 7 September 1901, Austria gained a concession zone
Concessions in Tianjin
The Concessions in Tianjin were concession territories ceded by the Chinese imperial Qing Dynasty to the great powers in Tianjin, also known as Tientsin or Tien-Tsin.-General context:...

 in Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...

 as part of the reward for its contribution to the Allies. The Austrian concession zone was 150 acre (0.607029 km²) in area, slightly larger than the Italian, but smaller than the Belgian zone. The self-contained concession had its own prison, school, barracks and hospital. It also contained the Austro-Hungarian consulate and its citizens were under Austrian, not Chinese, rule. If they committed a crime on Chinese soil, they could be tried in their own courts.

Though it was provided with a small garrison, Austria proved unable, due to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, to maintain control of its concession. The concession zone was swiftly occupied by China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 at the Chinese declaration of war on the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...

 and on 14 August 1917 the lease was terminated, (along with that of the larger German concession in the same city). Austria finally abandoned all claim to it on 10 September 1919. Hungary made a similar recognition in 1920.

However, despite its relatively short life-span (only 16 years in all), the Austrians have left their mark on that area of the city, as can be seen in the wealth of Austrian architecture that stands in the city to this day.

List of consuls

  • Carl Bernauer-1901-1908
  • Erwin Ritter von Zach-1908
  • Miloslav Kobr-1908-1912
  • Hugo Schumpeter-1913-1917

Other activities

Due to the lack of support by the government, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 didn't attempt to obtain any later colonies. Individual actions and expeditions didn't change this state of affairs.

In 1873, an Austrian expedition was sent to the north pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

 and managed to discover and name Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land, Franz Joseph Land, or Francis Joseph's Land is an archipelago located in the far north of Russia. It is found in the Arctic Ocean north of Novaya Zemlya and east of Svalbard, and is administered by Arkhangelsk Oblast. Franz Josef Land consists of 191 ice-covered islands with a...

. This was never a formal colony; however, no other country put forward a claim until the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 annexed the islands in 1926.

A trader based in Hong-Kong sold his rights to North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...

, (modern Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

), to the Consul of the Austria-Hungary in Hong Kong, Baron von Overbeck. He managed to get a 10-year renewal of the lease from the Temenggong
Temenggung
Temenggung is an ancient Malay title of nobility, usually given to the chief of public security. The Temenggung is usually responsible for the safety of the monarch as well as the state police and army...

 of Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

, and a similar treaty from the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...

 of Sulu on January 22, 1878. To finance his plans for North Borneo, von Overbeck found financial backing from the Dent brothers (Alfred and Edward). However, he was unable to get any interest from his government in the territory. After efforts to sell the territory to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 for use as a penal colony, Von Overbeck withdrew in 1880, leaving Alfred Dent in control.

However in 1885, despite the fact that Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

 was not a colonial power, it was invited to the Berlin conference
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power...

 to regulate colonial policy among the powers of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Despite lack of overseas expansion, Austria-Hungary was still viewed as a major European power.

See also

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