The Qing Dynasty of China before the Opium Wars were isolationist and not fond of foreign trade and import. The Opium Wars were two conflicts between China and Britain with disputes over trade and diplomatic relations. The Opium Wars were centered around the British smuggling of opium, a highly addictive drug into China after it was prohibited. The Chinese lost both wars and were forced to sign “unequal” treaties which favored the British. The Opium Wars had many effects on China, but there were more negative effects on China than positive.
Before the First Opium War trade between China and other nations was limited if non-existent, but many Europeans were interested in starting a two way trade with China. There were more exports from China than imports because they didn’t want outside ideas and religions to influence the people. With goods from China like porcelain, silk, spices, and tea becoming lucrative in Europe; the canton system was established which restricted trade with Chinese merchants and only allowed people to trade in what is now known as Canton. With Britain importing more from China than exporting and China only accepting payment with silver, this put stress on Britain’s economy. The British began cultivating and exporting opium to try and balance the amount of imports and exports from Britain. After the people in China started to be lazy and unproductive it took a toll on China, which caused opium to be outlawed. Even after the Emperors ban on opium, Britain did not followed the ban and the illegal opium trade was still growing. The Emperor appointed Lin Zexu in charge of governing trade in Canton and eradicating opium trade. Lin closed Canton and held the British traders hostage, while demanding that British mer...
... middle of paper ...
...na ratify the treaty. They landed near Pei Tang and started to march towards Beijing. With their superior fire power they defeated the defense forces and entered Beijing to find that Emperor Xianfeng fled the capital to a summer palace. To force the Chinese to ratify the treaty Lord Elgin ordered the burning of the old summer palace, Yuan Ming Yuan, but not before it was looted. The Emperor left Prince Gong in charge of negotiations and on October 18, 1860 the Treaty of Tianjin was ratified in the Convention of Peking which ended the Second Opium War. Tianjin opened its ports, No. 1 District of Kowloon was ceded to Britain, Freedom of religion was established in China, the opium trade was legalized, China had to pay 8 million silver taels each to Britain and France, and British ships were allowed to take Chinese indentured servants to America.
One of the most important aspects of imperialism is the take over of government. The English accomplished this in several ways. Some of the “Unfair Treaties” forced the Chinese to allow the English ships into their ports and to allow them to have a major role in the trade market. The English wanted tea, porcelain, and silk from china. The Chinese however didn’t want to gods the English offered in return. The English began trading opium in return for the goods. Although it was illegal, many of the money hungry merchants excepted the opium in return for the things that were valuable to the English. Because of this, the first Anglo-Chinese war erupted. China underestimated the power of England and was defeated. At the end of the war, they were forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing (1842). The treaty was one of the first treaties known as the “Unfair Treaties.” Under this treaty, china gave up the island of Hong Kong, abolished the licensed monopoly system of trade, granted English nationals exemption from Chinese laws, and agreed to give England whatever trading concessions that were granted to other countries then and later.
Trade was a vital part of the economy of both England and the British colonies. The colonies would provide a majority of raw materials that would be shipped to England where then they would process raw materials into goods and sell them at markets provided by the colonies. Within this system both England and the colonies depended on each other for commerce. To further enforce this system on their oversees empire England enacted the Navigation Laws. In 1650 the first of these laws was aimed at keeping trade between the colonies limited only to their mother country, England. The law restricted trade of such shippers as the Dutch, by stating all goods must be transported on English vessels to or from the colonies. This helped keep money within British control, but also increased both England’s and the colonies’ merchant marine. Further laws were passed, but none that imposed strict regulations on the colonies. In fact the colonies received advantages from the mercantile system of England. As colonies of England they had the rights of Englishmen. They also had some opportunities of self-government. As compared economically to the average Englishmen of the time, the average American colonist was more often better off. In some markets, such as tobacco, the colonies had great advantages. Although not allowed to trade tobacco with any other country; they were guaranteed a monopoly on the English market. One of the major advantages of British imperialism was the protection supplied by the British army. With the strong soldiers providing defense against natives and other inter colonial disputes and the mighty British navy protecting their commerce on the seas; the colonies benefited from great advantages provided by their oversees “rulers';.
At the end of the eighteenth century, China’s goods were much desired by Britain. However, the Chinese saw Europeans as savages and did not want to trade with them. During trade, there was an imbalance in China’s favor, because the Europeans were forced to buy Chinese goods using silver. The Western Imperialists began to grow opium poppies from in India, and then smuggle them into China. China soon became addicted to the drug and spent most of it’s money on the purchase of it from the Europeans and Americans. This shifted the balance of power to be in Europe’s favor.
China’s monopolistic system of trade caused great frustration for the British. The incompatible British and Chinese views on trade resulted in the First Opium War.
The Taiping rebellion was not a rebellion against foreign authorities like that of the British, but an upheaval against local authority after western ideas were introduced into the Chinese culture. The Rebellion was a civil war led by Christian convert Hong Xiuquan ag...
Hanes, William Travis, and Frank Sanello. Opium Wars: the Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. Naperville, IL: Source, 2002. Print.
The British Empire economy was partially helped by Opium; it contributed to its prosperity during the 19th century by giving them the opportunity to obtain profits out of Opium trade and maintain their wealth. British are tea addicts and lovers, and consumed it in large quantities; they also had a great demand of other Chinese commodities such as silk and porcelain, they had to import all this from China. The imbalance in commerce betw...
The. http://bss.sfsu.edu/behrooz/Page-Hist-Osmanli-decline.htm>. 4. What is the difference between a.. Allingham, Philip V. "England and China: The Opium Wars, 1839-60. " The Victorian Web: An Overview.
During this period, Qing officials overlooked the foreign brokers. By the early 1800’s, however, Great Britain began bartering for Chinese goods in non-monetary funds, opium.... ... middle of paper ... ... The Chinese culture witnessed poverty, social unrest, drug addictions, and government bankruptcy when foreign exploitation emerged.
Indirectly, tea had a devastating social impact on China, as it led to the huge trade of Opium. As much as ten percent of the Chinese population (over forty million) were regular users of opium. China consumed ninety five percent of the world’s Opium supply. This had a devastating social impact on them because majority of the citizens there were addicted to it. Economically, because of the huge amounts of Opium that were imported into China, they could not export enough goods to equalize, causing the outflow of silver from China to Europe. The political impact in China included government attempts to stop the illegal trade of Opium (due to the social use of it) resulted in the blockading of European trading areas there. Britain retaliated, causing the Opium wars, through which, because of the British victory, Britain gained far greater access to the Chinese market and increased trading privileges. This also lead to Chinese workers being taken to the new world. Doing this introduced cheap labor to the new world. The Company’s need for tea in Europe, and the lack of Chinese interest in other British goods, led to the production of Opium in Bengal (by the British). This Opium was then traded with China in return for tea. By 1750, the East India Company established control over India's opium cultivation. The British exported the opium to China, which
Before the policy of salutary neglect was in effect, American colonies were forced to trade exclusively with Ireland, Scotland, and England due to laws like the Navigation Act. Once the policy of salutary neglect was in effect, these laws were not consistently enforced. Colonies started trading freely and illegally. Because the colonies were trading freely, t...
That was one really bitter downfall for China. They basically had to pay for their own war for a total of $21 million and opium was still traded, not even stopped. I think Britain making those conditions was an act of karma for China’s part. Once the five new trading ports opened, China was confined to learning how to trade with the rest of the world. That was how China became what it is today, rich, powerful, and large.
The early nineteenth century was the beginning of the Qing Dynasty’s downfall. During this century multiple issues, including economic pressures, corruption, domestic rebellions and foreign wars, challenged ...
Many foreign powers ravaged China in search of wealth, brutally destroying land and violently fighting people. After much of the devastation, the Dynasty was ‘forced’ to acquiesce to the foreign powers (-only after they assured Cixi that her position and power would be held in place). The results of these was called the Boxer Protocol – which would later be considered one of the “Unequal Treaties.” Among the stipulations of the Boxer Protocol, China would have to pay an enormous amount of money, for indemnity, to about 14 countries (in different proportions). Furthermore, foreign powers were given the right to seize and inhabit certain places in China.
The 1911 Revolution kicked out the Qing Dynasty and broke the barriers to different developments in China. However, the 1911 Revolution has only provided a framework of a republic and made changes in some particular aspects related to immediate problems and difficulties in society. Hence, the relationship between the revolution and the subsequent development of China was very weak. On one hand, I do not agree with the latter part of the statement that the 1911 Revolution brought new problems to China. The conflicts and problems that China suffered in the early/ mid 1910s were mainly due to the weakness of the military force, conflicting political organizations and disorder in society. On the other hand, I agree with the first part of the statement that the 1911 Revolution did not bring peace to China afterwards. In the following paragraphs, I am going to focus on explaining the reasons of emerging new problems in China and also illustrate my points on the factors of the 1911 Revolution which could not bring in peace to China related to the conditions of the country.