Kiautschou Bay concession

Kiautschou Bay
膠州灣
German Leased Territory
1898–1914
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Kiautschou Bay concession
Capital		Tsingtau
Languages		German (official) Mandarin Chinese
Political structure		Leased Territory
Head of State		Kaiser Wilhelm II
Historical era		German colonization in the Pacific Ocean
•	Colonization	6 March 1898
•	Japanese Occupation	7 November 1914
Currency		Goldmark
Preceded by Succeeded by Qing Dynasty German New Guinea Company Japanese Empire

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The Kiautschou Bay concession was a German leased territory in Imperial China which existed from 1898 to 1914. Covering an area of 552 km² (213 sq mi), it was located around Jiaozhou Bay on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula (German: Schantung-Halbinsel). Jiaozhou was romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau or Kiao-Chau in English and as Kiautschou or Kiaochau in German. The administrative center was at Tsingtau (Pinyin Qingdao).

Germany was a relative latecomer to the imperialistic scramble for colonies across the globe, a German colony in China was envisioned as a two-fold enterprise: as a coaling station to support a global naval presence, and because it was felt that a German colonial empire would support the economy in the mother country. Densely populated China came into view as a potential market, with thinkers such as Max Weber demanding an active colonial policy from the government. In particular the opening of China was made a high priority, because it was thought to be the most important non-European market in the world.

However, a global policy (Weltpolitik) without global military influence appeared impracticable, so, assessing Britain's great strength came from its navy, the Germans began to build one too. This fleet was supposed to serve German interests during peace through gunboat diplomacy, and in times of war, through commerce raiding, to protect German trade routes and disrupt hostile ones. Imitating Britain, a network of global naval bases was a key requirement for this intention.