China Responds to Pressure from the West

1. China Responds to Pressure from the West

2. Historical Background In the 1700s, the Qing faced some of the same crises as the Ottomans The government initiated no early reforms In 1793, a British attempt to establish diplomatic and trading relations turned European opinion against China Europeans complained about the Canton System, which limited European trade with China to one port Population had doubled from 1650 to 1800, which strained the environment in some areas, and also created many migrant workers and unemployed homeless Minorities vented with grievances against the government Some looked as the Qing as foreign conquerors, and so there were many internal conflicts throughout the 1800s, such as the White Lotus Rebellion

3. Imperialism in China British were frustrated with the Qing because of the trade deficit caused by British demand for tea and Qing refusal to import British products British merchants had been smuggling opium into China for silver When the Qing banned opium imports, the British sent marine forces to China in 1839 When negotiations reached a stalemate, the Opium War broke out The British defeated the Qing Treaty of Nanking opened up four more port cities to the British, made Hong Kong a permanent British settlement, set a low tariff, and forced the Qing to pay 21 million ounces of silver to the British Number of Ports grew to 90 in 1900, resulting in the colonization of small pockets of Chinese territory France forced Vietnam to end vassalage to China British encouraged Tibetan independence Christian missionaries sponsored hospitals, shelters, and soup kitchens

4. Imperialism in China Continued Taiping rebellion began in Guangxi led by Hong Kiuqan, who wanted to rid China of the Qing Taipings soon began to spread and multiply Established their capital at Nanjing in 1853 They were surrounded by Qing forces for more than a decade In 1856, the French and the British attacked the Qing because they had not followed the rules of the Treaty of Nanking After defeating the Qing, the British and French helped the Qing to put down the Taiping rebellion Attempts to rebuild roads and waterworks in the early 1800s and declining tax yields had bankrupted the treasury During the war provincial governors had been given emergency powers which they retained after the war One such governor, ZengGuofan, oversaw programs to restore public agriculture, communication, education, publishing, and efforts to reform the military and industrialization He created a program which sent Chinese boys to Connecticut to learn English, science, math, engineering, and history

5. Pros of Imperialism in China Europeans gained more shipping ports in China, which opened up a huge market to them China’s provincial governors created reforms in education, communication, and industrialization, using the United States as a model

6. Cons of Imperialism in China The Taiping Rebellion, a result of the intrusion of the British, was the bloodiest civil war in history Because of the Taiping rebellion, epidemic diseases spread throughout Asia and to other parts of the world Cities in China were hard hit by refugees from the rebellion China’s treasury went bankrupt because of the wars and had no hope of ever getting out of debt

7. Effects of Imperialism

8. Maps