This port was claimed by Russia, but on the face of it the synchronical cession of Port Arthur to Russia points to the two countries having come to an arrangement mutually satisfactory under the secret agreement concluded by them, while Russian action respecting Port Arthur and German action in regard to Kiau-Chau tallied at every point.
The proceedings in regard to Kiau-Chau were Hohenzollern to the last degree—arrogant and theatrical.
Three German warships were dispatched to China and they landed marines at Kiau-Chau while preparations for sending out reinforcements were hurried on in Germany.
The squadron was placed under the command of the German Emperor's brother, Prince Henry of Prussia, whom the Kaiser designated, in a farewell speech at Kiel, as the "mailed fist" of Germany.
The German Emperor thus furnished a pleasing fancy for humoristic journalists and caricaturists, for the comic side prevailed and the mission rocked the world in the gentle throes of laughter rather than stirred it with the tremulous quaking of dread.
On arriving at Kiau-Chau with his squadron, Prince Henry wrapped the mailed fist in a parchment covering, demanding the "lease" of the town and the neighbouring district to Germany for a period of ninety-nine years; and, divining that Germany could rely on the support of Russia, the Court of Pekin had no option but to bow to the inevitable, and the lease of the territory demanded was signed on the 6th March, 1898.
The Shantung Peninsula, a maritime province of China on the Yellow Sea, is the most densely inhabited part of China, and is celebrated as the native province of Confucius and therefore sacred to both Chinese and Japanese followers of the dictate of the sage's analects.
The peninsula is a mass of mountain ranges which rise to a height of 5,000 feet. The ranges are intersected by fertile valleys which provide sustenance at a minimum expenditure of toil.
Kiau-Chau is a splendid harbour and, in regard to Pekin, of great strategical importance. The German occupation of the harbour and as much of the surrounding territory as they could bring under their influence was, they declared, only to provide a gateway to China and an open door for German trade.
The trade did not, however, progress under German administration of the territory. There were no means of transport, and until railways could be constructed the port could only supply and draw from its immediate neighbourhood.