EUH Source Commentary 1

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Oct 30, 2023

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The Treaty of Portsmouth marked the end of the Russo-Japanese War. There are 15 articles throughout with three sub articles. This primary source helps us understand how the Russo-Japanese War ended and what each country gained at the end of the war. Most importantly, Japan gained control of Korea and a decent amount of South Manchuria from Russia. Originally, Japan and Russia went to war because both countries wanted to claim Manchuria and Russia ended up sending troops in which obviously, angered the Japanese. This treaty was written by Sergius Witte and Roman Rosen from Russia, and by Komura Jutaro and Takahira Kogoro from Japan. It was signed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the United States on September 5 th , 1905. This source helps us understand the context of the end of the Russo- Japanese War, which is considered by some historians as the actual first world war. One of the most important parts of this treaty was the peace gained between Russia and Japan. The treaty however lacks context leading up to the war. To summarize the treaty, Japan and Russia came to many mutual agreements covering the futures of not only Korea and Manchuria, but also the futures of their two countries. They discuss other events such as annulled treaties, fishing rights, prisoners of war, ratification, language and more. According to an article written by Britannica and the History Channel, the Russo-Japanese war began when Japan attacked Russian warships at Port Arthur because Russia rejected the Japanese plan to split Manchuria and Korea into different

Historians use this type of source frequently to study these types of events in history. There are many different treaties throughout World War I and World War II that have detailed events from the wars and different wars within. A treaty is defined as “a formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries.” I would consider this a mostly reliable source because it has not been changed since it’s been ratified, and it gives details needed to explain what happened between Japan and Russia. I also believe the source would be more reliable for historians if it included context. Other sources outlining details of the event could be more biased, compared to a treaty. Historians today use treaties such as this one to teach about these events and create time frames. Studying one treaty could give context for past and future events. For example, when studying relations between Japan and Russia, one may look back at the Treaty of Portsmouth and realize it also caused other events such as the annexation of Korea to Japan in 1910 and the abandoning of Russia’s expansionist policies in East Asia. According to the History Channel, “In fact, scholars have suggested that the Russo- Japanese War set the stage for World War I and, ultimately, World War II, as some of the central issues in the first conflict were at the core of the fighting during the latter two. I believe historians have used this primary source appropriately because it tells its own story. There aren’t different viewpoints because it directly lays out the facts of the issue. Overall, this is a fairly reliable source that is used appropriately by historians.

Sources: “Russo-Japanese War.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/event/Russo-Japanese-War. History.com Editors. “Russo-Japanese War.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, March 23, 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/asian-history/russo-japanese-war. “Treaty of Portsmouth.” Treaty of Portsmouth - World War I Document Archive. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Treaty_of_Portsmouth. “Portsmouth Treaty .” U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/portsmouth-treaty. “Treaty of Portsmouth.” Visit the main page. Accessed January 23, 2023. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Treaty_of_Portsmouth.

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