King Chulalongkort And King Mongkut Case Study

Introduction:

• Brief context of King Mongkut 's and King Chulalongkorn 's reign

• Brief context of China in the 1800s and early 1900s

• General list of the main arguments on why Siam modernised:

1. Chulalongkorn wanting to emulate his father

2. Many neighbours being colonized- didn 't want to end up like them

3.Used to change due to king Mongkut

Why China didn 't modernise:

1.Taiping Rebellion and Boxer Movement

2. Influence limited

3. Limitations in industry

Why did Siam Modernise?

Paragraph 1:

• Subject: Chulalongkorn wanted to emulate his father .

• Examples: Brought up with specialized western tutors.

• Argument: Had influence from an early age so would understand the western values. It was easy for Chulalongkorn to modernise as his father had the same ideas before his death.

Paragraph 2:

• Subject: Many neighbours being colonized- didn 't want to end up like them.

• Examples: Western powers colonized Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea and eventually China.

• Argument: In order to compete with western powers, Siam had to match them.

Why didn 't China Modernise?

Paragraph 3:

• Subject: Elites preoccupied by domestic attacks

• Examples: Taiping Rebellion/Boxer Movement

•

As there was increased trade problems between China and Great Britain, war broke out. In 1842 China refused to meet Britain 's demands of treaty ports and improved trade started the Second Opium War. The aftermath of this war left china paying reparations of 21 million silver dollars, the legalisation of Opium trade and for many years after, Also British ships were allowed to ferry Chinese indentured servants by the boatload to the US. Many Chinese labelled this as 'selling oneself as a piglet. ' Nationalists would name this period the 'Century of Humiliation ' for China. This left China with limited opportunities to economically grow which would leave them with no chance of