Sir Ernest Satow and the 1907 Second Hague Peace Conference

Based on Satow's own account of the conference in his diaries, this article examines the role played by Sir Ernest Satow as the second plenipotentiary on the British delegation at the Second Hague Peace Conference in 1907. His previous experience at the post-Boxer conference at Peking in 1900-1901 stood Satow in good stead during the preparations for the conference as well as once the actual negotiations commenced. His main contribution to the proceedings at The Hague, however, was the preparatory work for the London Naval Conference of 1909. Satow's stance towards the negotiations of 1907 marks him out as a predecessor of twentieth-century internationalists.     

'A Manual of Diplomacy': The Genesis of Satow's Guide to Diplomatic Practice

Often referred to as simply 'Satow', the Guide to Diplomatic Practice stands as a lasting monument to Satow's 'second career' as a scholar of international law and diplomacy. However, there was more to this phase in Satow's life than the Guide's two stout volumes. This article argues that in reconstructing the origins and genesis of this work, Satow's own conception of diplomacy as an historically evolved tool of international politics can be examined much more comprehensively than is possible on the basis on the current fifth edition of the Guide. Moreover, this examination will also offer further insights into the evolution of diplomatic studies as an academic discipline in the early twentieth century.     

Sir Ernest Satow in Tokyo, 1895-1900: From Triple Intervention to Boxer Rebellion

Satow's term as minister plenipotentiary at Tokyo has not been studied much in detail, though it is arguably the highpoint of his career as a diplomat. Satow was the first British envoy to Japan to have a profound, scholarly understanding of Japanese culture and politics gained over many years of residence in the country. This article offers a survey of Satow's diplomatic activities, and focuses especially on the revision of the so-called unequal treaties in 1899 and the marked improvement in Anglo-Japanese relations during this period.     

'Not Proficient in Table-Thumping': Sir Ernest Satow at Peking, 1900-1906

Satow's diplomatic career was more multifaceted than the older, often Japan-centred, assessments of his work suggest. His period as minister to China especially has not been given the attention it deserves. His appointment to the Peking legation coincided with one of the most momentous periods in Sino-Western relations in the aftermath of the Boxer crisis of 1900. Satow exercised significant influence on the negotiations which led to the Boxer settlement of September 1901; and he proved to be a shrewd and skilful player in the Great Power competition for influence in China. The last two years of his term at the head of the Peking legation were taken up with steering British diplomacy through the turbulences caused by the Russo-Japanese War.     

Ernest Satow's Early Career as Diplomatic Interpreter

This article is concerned with Satow's seven years as diplomatic interpreter in the Japan of the fateful 1860s. He was sent first to Peking because the Foreign Office in its ignorance thought that Japanese was very similar to Chinese, but this detour did at least enable him to meet there another notable British diplomatic interpreter, Thomas Wade. He soon learned better about Japanese, and once he had mastered it fluently he became a privileged observer of traditional society and culture in the crucial period when it was being shaken by the first rumblings of the Meiji era. He was therefore able to render outstanding service to his head of mission, who was himself an ex-interpreter. Satow went on to enjoy a long and distinguished career in the diplomatic corps, rising from interpreter to ambassador.     

Ernest Cole: the perspective of time

Ernest Cole’s photographs reveal the contradictions and paradoxes of apartheid South Africa. At a very young age, and with little formal instruction Cole instinctively produced a significant documentary photo-book titled House of Bondage (1967). This article makes a close reading of some of Ernest Cole’s photographs in relation to the historical circumstances of apartheid and how they can be perceived through the lens of hindsight in postapartheid South Africa. The work offers a potent argument for the power of perception to uncover overlooked moments of the period. As an African, Cole’s photographs construct a narrative of apartheid from the position of an “invisible” black insider. In so doing, they tellingly reveal how he used the system of apartheid to his own advantage in his photographic practice. His photographs ask us to consider his modus operandi and the courage it took to make them at that time, offering the opportunity to behold moments that cut across gaps of space and time.