History glossary
tariffs
taxes on imported or exported goods, often used to shape trade and state revenue.
- Category
- Economic policy
- Region
- Global
- Date range
- Ancient to present
What it means
Tariffs are taxes on goods crossing borders. The unequal treaty system limited Japan's control over tariffs, which made tariff autonomy an important symbol of sovereignty and treaty revision.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Opium Wars
From the Canton System to the fall of Beijing, the Opium Wars turned illegal trade, imperial power and Qing weakness into a new unequal treaty order.
The Meiji Restoration
From Tokugawa order to imperial restoration, conscription, industrialisation and military victory, the Meiji era transformed Japan into a modern imperial power.
The Causes of the Second World War
From the flawed peace of 1919 to the invasion of Poland in 1939, this story traces the interlocking causes of the Second World War across two decades of crisis, ideology, and failed deterrence.
The World After The Cold War
From the fall of the Soviet Union to the rise of China and global terrorism, this story traces the turbulent reshaping of the international order after 1991.
The Qing Dynasty
From Manchu conquest to republican revolution, the Qing dynasty built China's largest empire, oversaw centuries of prosperity, and then struggled to survive foreign intervention, rebellion, and the collapse of imperial legitimacy.
The British Empire
Britain built the largest empire in history through sea power, trade, slavery, industrial wealth, conquest, and rule, before decolonisation reshaped the modern world.
The Rise of China
After Mao, China combined market reform with one-party rule, using exports, cities, technology, and nationalism to become one of the world's most powerful states.
