Imperialism in China The Opium Wars Boxer Rebellion

Imperialism in China: The Opium Wars & Boxer Rebellion

Early European Trade Limited by agreement with the Chinese government n Trade only permitted at the port at Canton n Had to trade through official traders n Could only trade at certain times of the year n The Chinese would only accept gold or silver n Westerners were not allowed to enter n

Lord Mc. Cartney Sent by Britain to China to arranged better trading rights with the Chinese government n Refused to kowtow to the Emperor n n Was allowed into the Forbidden City only to find a document refusing trading rights

Imperialism in China refused to adapt to Western Culture n History of isolation n n Isolated by jungles, mountains and desert Middle Kingdom = Ethnocentric n Ethnocentrism Belief that your culture is better than all others

Imperialism in China n Believed they were self-sufficient n Had little interest or desire to trade with the West n Europeans nations saw the market potential of China (435 million people) n Hmm… n n What would the Chinese people be willing to trade for? What product would they want that they didn’t have? n OPIUM

The Opium Wars n n n Opium was used recreationally in China starting in the 15 th Century Opium was prohibited in 1729 British start to smuggle opium from India into China

The Opium Wars n By 1835, 12 million people were addicted to opium

The Opium Wars n Emperor Daoguang has one of this top officials, Lin Zexu write a letter to Queen Victoria

The Opium Wars n Emperor Daoguang orders British shipments of opium be confiscated and destroyed n During one seizure of British cargo n 20, 000 chests of opium were destroyed n Each chest was worth $1, 000 n In modern dollars that’s about $300, 000

The Opium Wars n Britain attacks coastal Chinese cities to start the war in October of 1839 n n Battles took place mostly at sea Outdated Chinese ships were no match for the modern steam-powered gunboats of the British

The Opium Wars n The Treaty of Nanjing China had to pay reparations n All Chinese ports were opened to the British n Britain gained control of Hong Kong (Restored to China in 1997) n Extraterritoriality British & other foreigners were not subject to Chinese law in 5 major port cities of China n

Sphere of Influence/Open Door Policy n Other foreign nations sign treaties unfair to China n Each nation gets a “sphere of influence” n Sphere of Influence an area in which a foreign nation controlled trade & investment n In 1899 the United States proposes the Open Door Policy n Open Door Policy China’s doors (ports) be open to merchants of all nations n In exchange China would not be colonized

Sphere of Influence/Open Door Policy

Response to Imperialism Taiping Rebellion n Empress Cixi wants to strengthen China n n n Promotes programs to update the educational system, and military, factories Boxer Rebellion