One hundred years ago, the small town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire became peacemaker to the world. In this New England town, the Plenipotentiary of Japan, Jutaro Komura and the Plenipotentiary of Russia, Sergei Witte, signed the Treaty of Portsmouth on September 5, 1905, concluding the Russo-Japanese War, then the bloodiest conflict in modern history. In a series of celebrations this summer, Portsmouth is commemorating the centennial anniversary of the treaty and exploring its meaning in the world of 2005.

The Russo-Japanese conflict erupted out of the growing clash between the expansionist ambitions of the two countries. Tsar Nicholas II claimed special privileges in Manchuria and had exacted lumber concession from Korea.  Japan viewed encroachment into Manchuria a threat to its security and envisioned Korea, 100 miles from its shores, as its rightful sphere of influence.

    

The ill feeling between the two countries had long been brewing.  In 1895 Russia ganged up with France and Germany to deny Japan the spoils of victory from the Sino-Japanese War. In the Triple Intervention the three countries forced Japan to renounce the Liaodong peninsula which China had ceded to Japan under the Shimonoseki Treaty. In addition, Russia failed to abide by her promise to withdraw troops from Manchuria .

    

Thwarted in its attempt to gain satisfactory talks with Russia, Japan took action on February 8. Without prior warning, Japan attacked the Russian Naval fleet at Port Arthur. War had begun. Japan went on to pile up overwhelming victories at Port Arthur, Mukden, and finally, Tsushima. On May 27 and 28, the Japanese routed the Russian Baltic Fleet, which had spent seven and a half months traveling half way around the world, to reach the battle.  President Theodore Roosevelt likened the scale of the Japanese victory in the Battle of Tsushima to that of the British triumph at Trafalgar.

    

From the beginning of the war, Roosevelt's sympathies lay with the Japanese. He admired the samurai virtues of honor and courage. A Japanese Harvard classmate supplied him with books on jujitsu which he practiced. By contrast, he viewed the Russians, especially the Tsar, as duplicitous. As the war dragged on and casualties mounted, Roosevelt grew concerned about maintaining a balance of power in the Far East. He offered his good offices to help end the war.        

    

Roosevelt stood in the best position of world leaders to help mediate a peace. Britain was allied with Japan, and France, with Russia. Germany's Kaiser was quixotic; moreover, he and the Tsar were cousins. Finally, the Japanese and Russians accepted Roosevelt's offer. In truth, Japan was running out of money, and its leaders recognized that Russia could command greater manpower should the war persist. Russia too was strapped for cash and faced a citizenry on the brink of revolution against an unpopular war and a feckless Tsar.

    

Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was chosen as the site of negotiations. Its advantages included the secure facilities of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; the underground cable for overseas communication at nearby Rye, the amenities of Wentworth by the Sea Hotel, and a pleasant climate. While Roosevelt never went to Portsmouth, he kept close tabs on negotiations, summoning the Japanese, then the Russian negotiators to the summer White House at Oyster Bay, Long Island, when deadlocks threatened.

    

Japan's insistence on reparations and possession of the Sakhalin Island were the major stumbling blocks to peace. The Tsar adamantly insisted Russia would surrender neither money nor land. But Roosevelt persisted. His back-channel diplomacy that summer of 1905 at last succeeded. The peace process also got help from ordinary Portsmouth citizens who helped foster a climate of goodwill for the peace negotiators.

    

On September 5, 1905 Komura and Witte signed the Treaty of Portsmouth at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.  To the consternation of the Japanese public, Japan received no reparations but it did get the southern half of Sakhalin. In a short time, the realization dawned that Japan did well indeed. It gained a protectorate over Korea, the Port Arthur leasehold from Russia, fishing rights in the north Pacific, and Russian withdrawal from Manchuria. And the world recognized Japan as a modern and powerful nation.  Roosevelt won recognition for his role; he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906.

 

Japan and the United States emerged as the two great powers in the Far East. The United States had acquired the Philippines in 1898 and Hawaii in 1900. The strategic interests of the two countries were destined to diverge later. The United States policy of open door trade and the integrity of China collided with Japan's interest in Manchuria.

    

Today, one hundred years after the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, Japan and the United States are united in exploring the peace process. The Japan-America Society of New Hampshire holds regular forums engaging Japanese, Russian and American scholars. Charles Doleac, Portsmouth attorney, and the society's president, emphasizes the role local citizens did play -- and can play -- in influencing international events. Portsmouth, he said, acting as host, provided good offices that enabled negotiators to develop a relationship of trust enabling them to work out a peaceful solution.

    

The Portsmouth Athenaeum's exhibit of Japanese and Russian lithographs from the Russo-Japanese War together with its lecture series are among the events celebrating the 100th anniversary of Treaty of Portsmouth and the justifiable pride of its host, Portsmouth, in what its citizens achieved.

 

 

* Photos - courtesy of the Portsmouth Athenaeum