Geopolitical Roles of Plague in Manchuria, 1910–11

Beginning in October 1910, a major epidemic of pneumonic plague swept through Manchuria and by the spring of 1911 had killed between 45,00060,000 people. The plague and its aftermath were to play an important role in the geopolitical events leading up to the Japanese takeover of Manchuria and complex causes of World War II. The concentrated force of this epidemic, its near 100 percent mortality rate, and its occurrence in a region of international competition and diplomatic struggle all contributed to the importance and interest in the Manchurian plague. The "Manchurian Question" was of immense interest in the United States: America had just enjoyed its first taste of successful international leadership upon Roosevelt's brokering the peace treaty of 1905 that ended the RussoJapanese war over territorial rights in Manchuria. Russia, on the other hand was intent on retaining what she could of her centuriesold foothold in east Asia. Japan, modernizing after the Meiji restoration in 1868, was experiencing international ambitions and expansionism in Korea and Manchuria, in its own version of "manifest destiny." China, under the yoke of war reparations owed to both the Western Powers and to Japan as the result of the ill fated Boxer Rebellion in 1895, was struggling with its first efforts at modernization while still governed by the decaying, and increasingly ineffective Qing dynasty. This presentation will examine the role this plague served in shaping the geopolitical ambitions of both Russia and Japan in North China.