Shanghai History

Shanghai was founded in the 10th century and began as a fishing village in the 11th century which almost literally overnight became a great metropolis.

During 11th century, Shanghai was a city small with around of 12,000 households. That year, nevertheless Kaifeng was conquered and several refugees came to Shanghai, and the town grew to 250,000 inhabitants.

The surrounding area of Shanghai became one of richest regions of China in the 13th century, when it became a manufacturing center and a cotton production. However, the following autocratic government of the Ming dynasty imposed tight trade restrictions. Also during 16th century, to guard against Chinese Wokou and Japanese, the trade was forbidden.


	When Shanghai was pillaged by pirates, the Ming government evacuated the entire coastal population to the interior. A city wall was built in 1553, which was the start of the city of Shanghai, and to protect the town. Shanghai reached an economic peak in the early 19th century. During the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, the city of Shanghai became an important regional port for the Huangpu and Yangtze rivers.

Early conflicts: The importance of Shanghai grew radically and it also became a major seaport for the nearby Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, although overseas commerce was still forbidden at that time.

In the 19th century began the first Opium war, British forces temporarily held the city of Shanghai. The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, which saw the treaty ports, Shanghai enclosed, opened for international trade.

The Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850 and during 1853 Shanghai was invaded by one triad offshoot of the rebels known as the small Swords society.

During this period of almost constant fighting between the rebels and Imperialists the foreign settlement remained neutral and, except for occasional and irregular violations, maintained territorial integrity.

Shanghai Grand: During this period, the city of Shanghai was known as "The Paris of the East, the New York of the West".

During 1927, Shanghai was made a special town. The financial power and industrial of the city increased, because the merchants were in control of the town, while the rest of China was separated among warlords.