Page "Sakhalin" Paragraph 11

A Japanese settlement in the southern end of Sakhalin of Ootomari was established in 1679 in a colonization attempt.

Cartographers of the Matsumae clan created a map of the island and called it " Kita-Ezo " ( Northern Ezo, Ezo being the old name for the islands north of Honshu ).

The 1689 Nerchinsk Treaty between Russia and China, which defined the Stanovoy Mountains as the border, made no explicit mention of the island.

Yet, the Qing Dynasty ( 1644 – 1912 ) did consider the island as part of its territory.

Policies of the Qing Dynasty followed a similar pattern to the previous Ming Dynasty, which drew Sakhalin peoples further into the " system for subjugated peoples ".

Local people were forced to pay tribute at Qing posts, and Qing officials granted some titles to local elders and entrusted them with the task of " keeping the peace ".

By the mid-18th century, Qing officials had registered 56 surname groups ; of these, Qing sources note that six clans and 148 households were those of Ainu and Nivkh who came under the Qing administrative umbrella on Sakhalin.

However, as the Chinese governments did not have a military presence on the island, people from Japan attempted to colonise the island.