China's isolated culture was unable to deal with Western Influences. Their military was ill-equipped to face the modern military of the western powers. Use of opium, brought in by Britain, weakened China's populace and left them susceptible to imperialism. They were unable to stop foreign influences from weakening their country, allowing foreign countries like France, England and Russia to exploit China.
China quickly fell victim to European imperialism at the start of the 19th century. Chinese exports such as silk, rhubarb, and tea initially attracted European imperialists to China. (Document D). Soon, these Chinese products became a staple of European culture; Lin Zexu described the situation by saying, "Take tea and rhubarb, for example; the foreign countries cannot get along for a single day without them...". However, China had strict rules when it came to international trade. One of these rules restricted the Europeans solely to the port of Canton (Document A). This angered the Europeans and caused them to view the Chinese as pompous and self-indulgent (Caricature of Document C). This contributed to the tension between China and Europe, but, the illegal opium trade supplied by the Europeans (in exchange for Chinese tea) truly angered the Chinese. Because the Chinese were so mad at the Europeans for "poisoning them with opium", the Chinese soon desired to fight back against the Europeans. Ultimately, the Chinese military proved to be incredible futile against the more technologically advanced European armies.
So, the combination of the desire of the Europeans to acquire Chinese products, and the weak Chinese military allowed China to fall victim to European imperialism.
China primarily fell victim to European imperialism due to the fact that their country was consumed by an addiction to the opium drug. As a result of their addiction violent measures were taken to halt all opium trade to China, however the main country that was exporting opium to China was Britain. Britain was had a superior military to China thus not allowing for China to defeat all opium trade. China then fell into a lifestyle of imperialism and all of it's fruitful benefits.
Not only could China not halt opium import due to an inferior military, they also would lose their relationship to Britain as Britain did not have many other goods to trade that China already had. In a letter adressed to Queen Victoria China discusses their situation and how it would seem if their situation took place in Britain, "Suppose there were people from another country who carried opium for sale to England and seduced your people into buying and smoking it; certainly your honorable ruler would deeply hate it and be bitterly aroused." (Document D).
China, as stated in Jeremy's comment, had a weak military force. After losing the Opium War, they were forced to sign treaties with Britain, France, Russia and the U.S.. These "unequal treaties" took away China's control. This allowed Western countries to implement their imperialistic ideals.
For thousands of years, China was a fairly isolated country, but beginning in the 16th Century, China opened its port of Canton to foreign trade. Unfortunately, imperialistic countries, specifically Britain, overstepped their boundaries and violated Chinese policy. Anger over this began, and the Chinese began to warn the British in a series of documents. In a letter to George III, the Qianlong Emperor wrote, "there was therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce" (Document A). Because the Chinese had thrived for so long on their own, they felt that trading with the British was not necessary, and were therefore angry when the British disobeyed their policies. As anger escaladed, the British began selling opium to the Chinese, which only worsened the Chinese's opinion of the British. Despite several warning, opium sales drastically increased (Document E), which caused the Chinese to believe that the British were, "dogs, whose desires can never be satisfied" (Document F). The Chinese then declared war with Britain, but the British had intensive experience with warfare, and therefore the Chinese were easily overtaken. As seen in Document I, the Chinese were inferior to the British's military force, and were thus forced to give up some power and money, evident in Document J.
China fell victim to European Imperialism because of its trade relations with the British. The British, desperate for Chinese tea, attempted to create western-dipolmatic relations with China. However, China saw the offers as a threat and denied the Macartney Mission. The British then turned to opium as an answer. By illegally smuggling opium into China, about ten percent of China's population became addicted, and China became dependent on Britain. As China's government realized the trickery of the British, the conflict between the two nations arose, which resulted in the Opium wars (1839-1842), and the anti-foriegnism within China.
China fell victim to European imperialism in the years 1800 to 1860 for a variety of reasons. Firstly, Britain was much more advanced in terms of military. This was evident in Document I, which illustrates Britain's victory over China using its military might, with the first steam-powered ship. Also, a combination of China and Britain's lack of cooperation led to their inability to reach a compromise. Britain would not stop the trade of opium and China refused to trade at other ports other than Canton as Britain had asked. This led to war and China could not win due to Britain's superior strength in the military. Lastly, China's overconfidence made them think that they were better than other countries. Specifically, in Document A, Qianlong basically decrees what England can and cannot do. This shows how China looked down on everyone else, and he even says that he does not see the point of trading with Britain because they do not need to.
China was also weakened by the dramatic increase of the flow of opium into the nation. In 1832, Britain sold over 23,000 chests of opium to China (Document E). The influx of this dangerous drug caused serious damage to the population, and the "harm caused by opium [was] clearly understood" (Document D) by both Britain and China.
China's isolated culture was unable to deal with Western Influences. Their military was ill-equipped to face the modern military of the western powers. Use of opium, brought in by Britain, weakened China's populace and left them susceptible to imperialism. They were unable to stop foreign influences from weakening their country, allowing foreign countries like France, England and Russia to exploit China.
ReplyDeleteChina quickly fell victim to European imperialism at the start of the 19th century. Chinese exports such as silk, rhubarb, and tea initially attracted European imperialists to China. (Document D). Soon, these Chinese products became a staple of European culture; Lin Zexu described the situation by saying, "Take tea and rhubarb, for example; the foreign countries cannot get along for a single day without them...". However, China had strict rules when it came to international trade. One of these rules restricted the Europeans solely to the port of Canton (Document A). This angered the Europeans and caused them to view the Chinese as pompous and self-indulgent (Caricature of Document C). This contributed to the tension between China and Europe, but, the illegal opium trade supplied by the Europeans (in exchange for Chinese tea) truly angered the Chinese. Because the Chinese were so mad at the Europeans for "poisoning them with opium", the Chinese soon desired to fight back against the Europeans. Ultimately, the Chinese military proved to be incredible futile against the more technologically advanced European armies.
ReplyDeleteSo, the combination of the desire of the Europeans to acquire Chinese products, and the weak Chinese military allowed China to fall victim to European imperialism.
David and Nick
China primarily fell victim to European imperialism due to the fact that their country was consumed by an addiction to the opium drug. As a result of their addiction violent measures were taken to halt all opium trade to China, however the main country that was exporting opium to China was Britain. Britain was had a superior military to China thus not allowing for China to defeat all opium trade. China then fell into a lifestyle of imperialism and all of it's fruitful benefits.
ReplyDeleteNot only could China not halt opium import due to an inferior military, they also would lose their relationship to Britain as Britain did not have many other goods to trade that China already had. In a letter adressed to Queen Victoria China discusses their situation and how it would seem if their situation took place in Britain, "Suppose there were people from another country who carried opium for sale to England and seduced your people into buying and smoking it; certainly your honorable ruler would deeply hate it and be bitterly aroused." (Document D).
China, as stated in Jeremy's comment, had a weak military force. After losing the Opium War, they were forced to sign treaties with Britain, France, Russia and the U.S.. These "unequal treaties" took away China's control. This allowed Western countries to implement their imperialistic ideals.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFor thousands of years, China was a fairly isolated country, but beginning in the 16th Century, China opened its port of Canton to foreign trade. Unfortunately, imperialistic countries, specifically Britain, overstepped their boundaries and violated Chinese policy. Anger over this began, and the Chinese began to warn the British in a series of documents. In a letter to George III, the Qianlong Emperor wrote, "there was therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce" (Document A). Because the Chinese had thrived for so long on their own, they felt that trading with the British was not necessary, and were therefore angry when the British disobeyed their policies. As anger escaladed, the British began selling opium to the Chinese, which only worsened the Chinese's opinion of the British. Despite several warning, opium sales drastically increased (Document E), which caused the Chinese to believe that the British were, "dogs, whose desires can never be satisfied" (Document F). The Chinese then declared war with Britain, but the British had intensive experience with warfare, and therefore the Chinese were easily overtaken. As seen in Document I, the Chinese were inferior to the British's military force, and were thus forced to give up some power and money, evident in Document J.
ReplyDeleteLeah and Claudia
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChina fell victim to European Imperialism because of its trade relations with the British. The British, desperate for Chinese tea, attempted to create western-dipolmatic relations with China. However, China saw the offers as a threat and denied the Macartney Mission. The British then turned to opium as an answer. By illegally smuggling opium into China, about ten percent of China's population became addicted, and China became dependent on Britain. As China's government realized the trickery of the British, the conflict between the two nations arose, which resulted in the Opium wars (1839-1842), and the anti-foriegnism within China.
ReplyDeleteLizzy and Emily
This is response from Lainey, Emma, Will and me.
ReplyDeleteChina fell victim to European imperialism in the years 1800 to 1860 for a variety of reasons. Firstly, Britain was much more advanced in terms of military. This was evident in Document I, which illustrates Britain's victory over China using its military might, with the first steam-powered ship. Also, a combination of China and Britain's lack of cooperation led to their inability to reach a compromise. Britain would not stop the trade of opium and China refused to trade at other ports other than Canton as Britain had asked. This led to war and China could not win due to Britain's superior strength in the military. Lastly, China's overconfidence made them think that they were better than other countries. Specifically, in Document A, Qianlong basically decrees what England can and cannot do. This shows how China looked down on everyone else, and he even says that he does not see the point of trading with Britain because they do not need to.
China was also weakened by the dramatic increase of the flow of opium into the nation. In 1832, Britain sold over 23,000 chests of opium to China (Document E). The influx of this dangerous drug caused serious damage to the population, and the "harm caused by opium [was] clearly understood" (Document D) by both Britain and China.
ReplyDelete