1. Great Britain & India
Great Britain’s “Crown Jewel”

2. Great Britain & India
Great Britain’s “Crown Jewel”

3. Asia & Imperialism GREAT BRITAIN & INDIA – Timeline
1600s EAST INDIA COMPANY begins to set-up trading posts in India; mostly coastal
MUGHALS grant Britain right to trade & establish ‘factories’ in exchange for protection (mostly Portugal)
…takes MILITARY CONTROL of BENGAL (region/state in eastern India)
…granted the right to collect taxes in Bengal & Bihar
…ESTABLISHES CAPITAL in CALCUTTA
1750s until 1840s British East India Company is subduing regional Indian empires/princes & fending off Portuguese & French influence – EXPANSION OF INFLUENCE & CONTROL
The British East India Company
During the 1500s and 1600s, the Mughals presided over a powerful empire in India. By the mid-1700s, however, the Mughal empire was in decline. When Mughal rulers were strong, the British East India Company gained only limited trading rights on the fringe of the empire.
As Mughal power declined, the company’s influence grew and it drove its rival France out of India. By the mid-1800s, the British East India Company controlled three fifths of India. In the 1800s, Britain turned its commercial interests in India into political ones.
Exploitation of Indian Diversity
Even when Mughal power was at its height, India was home to many people and cultures. As Mughal power crumbled, India became fragmented. Indians speaking dozens of different languages and with different traditions were not able to unite against the newcomers.
The British took advantage of Indian divisions by playing rival princes against each other. When local disputes led to conflict, the British stepped in. Where diplomacy or intrigue did not work, the British used their superior weapons to overpower local rulers.
Implementation of British Policies
The East India Company’s main goal in India was to make money, and leading officials often grew rich. At the same time, the company did work to improve roads, preserve peace, and reduce banditry.
By the early 1800s, British officials introduced Western education and legal procedures. Missionaries converted Indians to Christianity, which they felt was superior to Indian religions. The British also pressed for social change. They worked to end forms of indentured servitude in India and to improve the position of women within the family. One law banned sati (suh tee), a custom practiced mainly by the upper classes. It called for a widow to join her husband in death by throwing herself on his funeral pyre.
However, the British used caste differences to their advantage. Caste was used to determine how the native population could best serve British rule. The census the British implemented made caste distinctions more rigid and permanent.

4. Asia & Imperialism GREAT BRITAIN & INDIA – Timeline
The SEPOY MUTINY against British rule in India takes place; END OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE – British government gets involved *
India comes under DIRECT RULE by Great Britain *
Queen Victoria becomes EMPRESS OF INDIA – The “BRITISH RAJ” *
Group of middle-class intellectuals in India found the INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS *
MUSLIM LEAGUE is formed *
Increasing Discontent
In the 1850s, the British East India Company took several unpopular steps that deepened anger with the British. The company had relied on Indian soldiers, called sepoys, (see poyz), that it had recruited for service.
Sepoys had helped the company expand its control of India. As its empire grew, the British required sepoys to serve anywhere, either in India or overseas. For some orthodox Hindus, however, overseas travel was an offense against their religion. The East India Company, prompted by Indian reformers, also passed a law that allowed widows to remarry.
The final insult came in 1857 when the British issued new rifles to the sepoys. Troops had to bite off the tips of cartridges before loading them into the rifles. The cartridges, however, were greased with animal fat—either from cows, which Hindus considered sacred, or from pigs, which were forbidden to Muslims. When troops refused the order to “load rifles,” they were dismissed without pay or imprisoned.
The Sepoy Rebellion
Angry sepoys rose up against their British officers. The Sepoy Rebellion swept across northern and central India. Several sepoy regiments marched off to Delhi, the old Mughal capital. There, they hailed the last Mughal ruler as their leader. Other sepoys called on both Hindus and Muslims to support the uprising.
In some places, the sepoys brutally massacred British men, women, and children. The British soon rallied and crushed the revolt. They then took terrible revenge for their earlier losses, torching villages and slaughtering thousands of unarmed Indians.
Impact of the Rebellion
The Sepoy Rebellion left a bitter legacy of fear, hatred, and mistrust on both sides. It also brought major changes in British policy. In 1858, Parliament ended the rule of the East India Company and put India directly under the British crown. It sent more troops to India, taxing Indians to pay the cost of these occupying forces.
The rebellion slowed the “reforms” that had angered Hindus and Muslims. In India, discontent continued to feed a growing nationalist movement. Indian nationalists later called the 1857 uprising India's First War of Independence.

5. 1858 India has 200 miles of railroad track.
,000 miles of steel track have been completed by British railroad companies.
Total track is 25,000 miles & by World War I, 35,000 miles.

6. Effects of Imperialism on India
The “British Raj”
TRANSPORTATION & COMMUNICATION were modernized
EDUCATION
INDUSTRIALIZATION & MEDICAL advancements (vaccines & hygiene)
POPULATION & PRODUCTION OF GOODS increased – standard of living?
Eventual abolition of CASTE SYSTEM
India became connected to the MODERN (“Western”) world
POSITIVES
Loss of money – ECONOMIC COST of continuous war
Destruction of TRADITIONAL INDIAN ECONOMY
Became dependent Britain’s imported goods – extension of IMPERIAL MONOPOLY
FAMINE & STARVATION (subsistence agriculture … cash crops)
British control of governmental & political affairs – DIRECT CONTROL
SEPOY MUTINY – fallout from it…
British RACISM
NEGATIVES

7. India Under British Rule
After 1858, Parliament set up a system of colonial rule in India which became known as the British Raj. A British viceroy in India governed in the name of the queen, and British officials held the top positions in the civil service and army. Indians filled most other jobs. With their cooperation, the British made India the “brightest jewel” in the crown of their empire.
British policies were designed to fit India into the overall British economy. At the same time, British officials felt they were helping India to modernize. In their terms, modernizing meant adopting not only Western technology but also Western culture.
An Unequal Partnership
Britain saw India both as a market and as a source of raw materials. To this end, the British built roads and an impressive railroad network. Improved transportation let the British sell their factory-made goods across the subcontinent and carry Indian cotton, jute, and coal to coastal ports for transport to factories in England.
New methods of communication, such as the telegraph, also gave Britain better control of India. After the Suez Canal opened in 1869, British trade with India soared. But it remained an unequal partnership, favoring the British. The British flooded India with inexpensive, machine-made textiles, ruining India’s once-prosperous hand-weaving industry.
Britain also transformed Indian agriculture. It encouraged nomadic herders to settle into farming and pushed farmers to grow cash crops, such as cotton, that could be sold on the world market. However, British land policies resulted in peasants losing property, leading to a steady decline in the standard of living for most Indians. Clearing new farmlands led to massive deforestation, or cutting of trees, and other environmental destruction.
The Strain of Population Growth
The British introduced medical improvements as new farming methods increased food production. The result was rapid population growth.
The rising numbers put a strain on the food supply, especially as farmland was turned over to growing cash crops instead of food. In the late 1800s, terrible famines swept India.
Benefits of British Colonial Rule
On the positive side, British rule brought some degree of peace and order to the countryside. Railroads helped Indians move around the country, while the telegraph and postal system improved communication. Greater contact helped bridge regional differences and develop a sense of national unity.
The upper classes, especially, benefited from some British policies. They sent their sons to British schools, where they were trained for posts in the civil service and military. Indian landowners and princes, who still ruled their own territories, grew rich from exporting cash crops.
SUPPORT A POINT OF VIEW WITH EVIDENCE
“The graph & timeline show effects of the BRITISH RAJ … all things considered, was British rule a POSITIVE or a NEGATIVE for India? WHY?”

8. Asia & Imperialism SOUTHEAST ASIA – Timeline
The DUTCH EAST INDIES COMPANY is created – begins encroachment (Portuguese) in East Indies (Indonesia – 1800 until 1940s) – COMPANY RULE to COLONIAL RULE
The HQ of the DEIC was called Batavia Castle. It was located in present-day JAKARTA. The company built trading & military bases throughout the “SPICE ISLANDS.”
Because of its location, with trade routes between China and India passing straight through the country, Burma was kept wealthy through constant trade, although self-sufficient agriculture was still the basis of the economy. With the Indian merchants travelling along the coasts and along rivers (especially the Irrawaddy River) through the country, where the majority of Burmese lived, Indian cultural influences filtered into the country and still exist there today. It was also one of the first Southeast Asian countries to receive Buddhism, which went on to become the officially patronised religion.

9. How did SIAM (Thailand) manage to stay independent?
Asia & Imperialism
SOUTHEAST ASIA – Timeline
Great Britain creates SINGAPORE (Indian Ocean & China Sea – trade colony for BEIC) … BURMA (1820s) …
Great Britain annexes BURMA (WHY?)
How did SIAM (Thailand) manage to stay independent?
Because of its location, with trade routes between China and India passing straight through the country, Burma was kept wealthy through constant trade, although self-sufficient agriculture was still the basis of the economy. With the Indian merchants travelling along the coasts and along rivers (especially the Irrawaddy River) through the country, where the majority of Burmese lived, Indian cultural influences filtered into the country and still exist there today. It was also one of the first Southeast Asian countries to receive Buddhism, which went on to become the officially patronised religion.
Siam Stays Independent
The kingdom of Siam (present-day Thailand) lay between British-ruled Burma and French Indochina. Siam escaped becoming a European colony partly because its rulers did not underestimate Western power and avoided incidents that might provoke invasion.
Although the king of Siam, Mongkut (mahng koot), had to accept some unequal treaties, he set Siam on the road to modernization. He and his son, Chulalongkorn, who ruled from 1868 to 1910, reformed the government, modernized the army, and hired Western experts to train Thais in the new technology.
They abolished slavery and gave women some choice in marriage. Thai students traveled abroad and spread Western ways when they returned home. As Siam modernized, Chulalongkorn bargained to remove the unequal treaties.
In the end, both Britain and France saw the advantage of making Siam a buffer, or neutral zone, between them. In the early 1900s, they guaranteed its independence. But to prevent other imperialist powers from pushing into Siam, each set up its own sphere of influence there.

10. Asia & Imperialism SOUTHEAST ASIA – Timeline
France consolidates it’s SE Asian colonies (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) into the UNION OF FRENCH INDOCHINA (Jesuit missionaries in the 1600s)
Because of its location, with trade routes between China and India passing straight through the country, Burma was kept wealthy through constant trade, although self-sufficient agriculture was still the basis of the economy. With the Indian merchants travelling along the coasts and along rivers (especially the Irrawaddy River) through the country, where the majority of Burmese lived, Indian cultural influences filtered into the country and still exist there today. It was also one of the first Southeast Asian countries to receive Buddhism, which went on to become the officially patronised religion.

11. Asia & Imperialism SOUTHEAST ASIA – Timeline
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR; United States takes control of the PHILIPPINES & GUAM.
Because of its location, with trade routes between China and India passing straight through the country, Burma was kept wealthy through constant trade, although self-sufficient agriculture was still the basis of the economy. With the Indian merchants travelling along the coasts and along rivers (especially the Irrawaddy River) through the country, where the majority of Burmese lived, Indian cultural influences filtered into the country and still exist there today. It was also one of the first Southeast Asian countries to receive Buddhism, which went on to become the officially patronised religion.

12. Japan & Imperialism
JAPAN – Timeline

13. What MAJOR decision did the Tokugawa shogun make in 1635?
TOKUGAWA clan establishes control of the Japanese SHOGUNATE (centralized feudalism; military dictatorship) … would last until 1867
Tokugawa (clan/family) Japan (1603 to 1867)
- shogunate (de facto military dictators) – centralized feudalism based on military rule – emperor in Kyoto, shogun in Edo
- emperor was essentially a symbolic & spiritual leader (Shinto – ancestor worship & nature spirits; sacred power)
- shogun = military dictator responsible for foreign policy, national security
- provincial regions in japan (about 250, flexible) were semi-sovereign, allowed independence in exchange for loyalty to shogun
- daimyo = landowning nobility; feudal lords
- each daimyo had own bureaucracy, policies & territory, own system of taxation
- alternative residence in province & Edo court, coupled with family hostages, allowed for centralized loyalty to shogun; strategic marriages also ensured loyalty
- samurai = military/warrior caste who offered protection through loyalty to daimyos
brought daimyo under control, barred Japanese foreign travel (in 1635) … only Nagasaki port was open to Dutch … period of Japanese isolation
Samurai were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan.
In Japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi … According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning "to wait upon" or "accompany persons" in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau.
In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility", the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai … According to Wilson, an early reference to the word "samurai" appears in the Kokin Wakashū (905–914), the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the 10th century.
By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class … The samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, were trained as officers in military tactics and grand strategy. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.
What MAJOR decision did the Tokugawa shogun make in 1635?
Japan & Imperialism
JAPAN – Timeline

14. Japan & Imperialism JAPAN – Timeline
Think about what is going on elsewhere in the world – “Why would Western countries be interested in JAPAN?”
Commodore Matthew Perry opens up trade with Japan – the “OPENING OF JAPAN” begins the downfall of the shogunate & the influx of Western influence *
“Opening of Japan”
into mid-1800s, America had begun to trade with China … presence of American whalers in waters offshore japan … brits & French had monopolized coaling stations elsewhere in Asia … America was interested in Japan
opium wars had been going on in china & the Japanese knew that western weaponry and naval powers surpassed their own
- July 1853 Commodore Matthew Perry leads fleet of 4 ships into Tokyo bay … prepared for hostilities if japan failed to negotiate
- upon arrival, Perry gave Japanese two white flags to hoist when they wanted American bombardment to end – hence, surrender
- demonstrated weaponry by firing into sea around the harbor
- letter from Millard Fillmore = demanded japan open ports to trade
* Perry brought many gifts to represent the United States, but his technological presents—including a camera, a sample telegraph, and a miniature train with a short track—were the most intriguing. Japan had its own railway by the 1870s. The Japanese gave presents in return that demonstrated the quality of their traditional crafts and showed off their style of wrapping and presenting gifts. The gifts themselves included dolls, fans, painted screens, silk, and even some small dogs.
Perry returned in February 1854 with larger force of 8 warships … refused to leave until treaty was signed
Japan & Imperialism
JAPAN – Timeline

15. Japan & Imperialism JAPAN – Timeline
Think about what is going on elsewhere in the world – “Why would Western countries be interested in JAPAN?”
TREATY OF KANAGAWA open ports to American ships, ensured the safety of American castaways, established the position of an American consul in Japan
* …led to American EXTRATERRITORIALITY, minimal import taxes = “UNEQUAL TREATIES” & similar treaties by the UK, Russia & France
- Perry returned in February 1854 with larger force of 8 warships … refused to leave until treaty was signed
treaty of kanagawa (1854) = shogun agrees to open 2 ports to American ships … ensured the safety of American castaways and established the position of an American consul in Japan, ensured the safety of American castaways and established the position of an American consul in Japan
- eventually led to American extraterritoriality, minimal import taxes = unequal treaties … eventually led to similar treaties by the UK, Russia & France
Japan & Imperialism
JAPAN – Timeline

16. Japan & Imperialism JAPAN – Timeline
MEIJI RESTORATION begins – restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under EMPEROR MEIJI, consolidated political system under the Emperor & rapid industrialization/modernization – lasted until 1912
Meiji Restoration ( ) & Japanese Modernization – rapid industrialization
- chain of events that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji
- restored practical abilities and consolidated the political system under the Emperor
- led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure, and spanned both the late Edo period (often called the Late Tokugawa shogunate) and the beginning of the Meiji period
- was responsible for the emergence of Japan as a modernized nation in the early twentieth century, and its rapid rise to great power status in the international system
- by 1850s, economic issues between daimyo … social issues for merchants ... peasants shouldered tax burden
- as a result of perry’s expedition, shogun was viewed as weak … foreign pressure deepened the social & economic unrest in japan … as the situation worsened, several daimyo & samurai throughout country rallied around emperor
- 1850s in japan had a series of 5 major earthquakes & tsunamis = displeasure from gods?
- RESTORATION: In 1867, discontented daimyo and samurai led a revolt that unseated the shogun and “restored” the emperor, Mutsuhito to power
- moved from Kyoto, the old imperial capital, to the shogun's palace in Edo, which was renamed Tokyo, or “eastern capital.” The emperor took the name Meiji (may jee), which means “enlightened rule.”
In 1871, Japanese statesman Iwakura Tomomi led a "learning mission" to the United States to study Western systems of education, administration, finance, and law. After his return, Iwakura became the most powerful man in the Meiji government.
Japan & Imperialism
JAPAN – Timeline

17. Japan & Imperialism JAPAN – Timeline ZAIBATSU
MEIJI CONSTITUTION is issued; created a European-style government in Japan.
ZAIBATSU
Meiji Restoration ( ) & Japanese Modernization – rapid industrialization
- chain of events that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji
- restored practical abilities and consolidated the political system under the Emperor
- led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure, and spanned both the late Edo period (often called the Late Tokugawa shogunate) and the beginning of the Meiji period
- was responsible for the emergence of Japan as a modernized nation in the early twentieth century, and its rapid rise to great power status in the international system
- by 1850s, economic issues between daimyo … social issues for merchants ... peasants shouldered tax burden
- as a result of perry’s expedition, shogun was viewed as weak … foreign pressure deepened the social & economic unrest in japan … as the situation worsened, several daimyo & samurai throughout country rallied around emperor
- 1850s in japan had a series of 5 major earthquakes & tsunamis = displeasure from gods?
- RESTORATION: In 1867, discontented daimyo and samurai led a revolt that unseated the shogun and “restored” the emperor, Mutsuhito to power
- moved from Kyoto, the old imperial capital, to the shogun's palace in Edo, which was renamed Tokyo, or “eastern capital.” The emperor took the name Meiji (may jee), which means “enlightened rule.”
In 1871, Japanese statesman Iwakura Tomomi led a "learning mission" to the United States to study Western systems of education, administration, finance, and law. After his return, Iwakura became the most powerful man in the Meiji government.
Japan & Imperialism
JAPAN – Timeline

18. Japan & Imperialism JAPAN – Timeline
SINO-JAPANESE WAR; …takes TAIWAN & PORT ARTHUR from China (Korea-ish)
RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR; …takes KOREA (protectorate to annexation in 1910) & MANCHURIA from Russia * *
Japan Expands
In 1894, competition between Japan and China for power in Korea led to the First Sino-Japanese War. (“Sino” means “Chinese.”)
Although China had far greater resources, Japan had benefited from modernization. To the surprise of China and the West, Japan won easily. It used its victory to gain treaty ports in China and control over the island of Taiwan. The war showed that Japan had joined the Western powers in the race for empire.
Ten years later, Japan successfully challenged Russia, its other rival for power in Korea and Manchuria. During the Russo-Japanese War, Japan’s armies defeated Russian troops in Manchuria, and its navy destroyed almost an entire Russian fleet. For the first time in modern history, an Asian power humbled a European nation. (
In the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth, Japan gained control of Korea as well as rights in parts of Manchuria. This foothold on the mainland would fuel its ambitions in East Asia.
Korea
Imperialist rivalries put the spotlight on Korea. Located at a crossroads of East Asia, the Korean peninsula was a focus of competition among Russia, China, and Japan.
Korea had been a tributary state to China for many years. A tributary state is independent but acknowledges the supremacy of a stronger state. Although influenced by China, Korea had its own traditions and government. Like China and Japan, Korea had shut its doors to foreigners in the 1600s. It did, however, maintain relations with China and sometimes with Japan.
By the 1800s, Korea faced growing pressure from outsiders. As Chinese power declined, Russia expanded into East Asia. Then, as Japan industrialized, it too eyed Korea. Once again, Korea saw itself as "a shrimp among whales.“
In 1876, Japan used its superior power to force Korea to open its ports to Japanese trade. Faced with similar demands from Western powers, Korea had to accept unequal treaties. After defeating China and then Russia, Japan made Korea a protectorate. In 1910, it annexed Korea outright, absorbing the kingdom into the Japanese empire.
Japanese Rule in Korea
Japan ruled Korea for 35 years. Like Western imperialists, the Japanese set out to modernize their newly acquired territory. They built factories, railroads, and communications systems. Development, however, generally benefited the colonial power. Under Japanese rule, Koreans produced more rice than ever before, but most of it went to feed the Japanese.
The Japanese were as unpopular in Korea as Western imperialists were elsewhere. They imposed harsh rule on their colony and deliberately set out to erase the Korean language and identity. Repression bred resentment. And resentment, in turn, nourished a Korean nationalist movement.
Nine years after annexation, a nonviolent protest against the Japanese began on March 1, 1919, and soon spread throughout Korea. The Japanese crushed the uprising and massacred many Koreans. The violence did not discourage people who worked to end Japanese rule. Instead, the March First Movement became a rallying symbol for Korean nationalists.
The Koreans would have to wait many years to regain their freedom. By the early 1900s, Japan was the strongest power in Asia. In competition with Western nations, Japan continued to expand in East Asia. In time, Japanese ambitions to control a sphere of influence in the Pacific would put it on a collision course with several Western powers, especially Britain and the United States.
Japan & Imperialism
JAPAN – Timeline

19. China & the West
“Spheres of Influence” in China

20. MANCHU STATE – QING DYNASTY (1644-1912)
First OPIUM WAR begins & ends w/ the TREATY OF NANJING (1842); Chinese ports open to British – Brits take control of HONG KONG * * *
1850 to TAIPING REBELLION in China begins – QING DYNASTY CONTINUES TO WEAKEN
Chinese Balance of Trade
- Chinese trade surplus … European trade deficit: china exported more than it imported; Europe imported more than it exported into China
- 1796, GB requests more trading rights in China
Early 1700s
- Chia (Qing Dynasty) began to decline, didn’t industrialize … Europe needed more markets for their goods
- infrastructure was poorly maintained – series of massive floods in yellow river valley
- population explosion put extra stress on chinas peasants
1.) Opium Wars (1839-
- in order to cut down trade deficits, british merchants began to trade indian opium for Chinese tea … in china
- eventually, Chinese began to pay silver for opium resulting in a large portion of china’s tea in britains teams
- china outlaws opium – executes Chinese drug dealers – demanded brits stop export of opium, brits refused & demanded free trade in china
- 1839, Chinese war ships clashed with british opium merchants instigating the first opium war – Chinese easily defeated
2.) Treaty of Nanjing (1842)
- unequal treay … Britain receives indemnity & gained hong kong, opened 5 ports to foreign trade, british extraterritoriality in china … “most favored nation” status
- eventually france & US would eventually sign similar treaties
3.) Taiping Rebellion (1850 to 1864)
- “heavenly kingdom of great peace” – the taiping
- wanted lad reform, community ownership of property, strict morality based on Christianity/Confucianism
- rebels had great support & foreign sympathy (to an extent) … managed to conquer large amounts of territory in china
- took qing dynasty 15 years to put down
- 20 million Chinese died
- Qing rulers ended up sharing power with regional commander who helped put down rebellion
- Russia seized lands in northern china (Manchuria?)
* The Taiping Rebellion was a massive rebellion or civil war in China that lasted from 1850 to 1864 fought between the established Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the movement of the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace … The Taiping Rebellion began in the southwestern province of Guangxi when local officials launched a campaign of persecution against a millenarian sect known as the God Worshipping Society led by Hong Xiuquan, who believed himself to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ … The war was mostly fought in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hubei, but over 14 years of war, the Taiping Army had marched through every regularized province of China proper except Gansu … The war was the largest in China since the Qing conquest in 1644, and ranks as one of the bloodiest wars in human history, the bloodiest civil war, and the largest conflict of the nineteenth century with estimates of war dead ranging from 20 to 70 million, to as much as 100 million, as well as millions more displaced.
* Qing victory:
Fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Diminished power of the central court over the provinces
Rise of irregular provincial armies
Banishment of God Worshippers
Lasting damage to the perception of Christianity in China
Role in sparking other rebellions in China
Persecution of ethnic groups that once supported the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Reforms Efforts During the 19th Century
- Empress Ci Xi
“Self-strengthening movement” (1860s)
- individuals in China attempt to modernize/industrialize … isn’t successful because it doesn’t have government support
The Self-Strengthening Movement, 1861 – 1895, was a period of institutional reforms initiated in China during the late Qing dynasty following a series of military defeats and concessions to foreign powers.
To make peace with the Western powers in China, Prince Gong was made regent, Grand Councilor, and head of the newly formed Zongli Yamen (a de facto foreign affairs ministry). He would be assisted by a new generation of leaders. By contrast, Empress Dowager Cixi was virulently anti-foreign, but she had to accommodate Prince Gong because he was an influential political figure in the Qing imperial court. She would, however, become the most formidable opponent of reform as her political influence increased.
* The majority of the ruling elite still subscribed to a conservative Confucian worldview, but following China's serious defeats in the First and Second Opium Wars, several officials now argued that in order to strengthen itself against the West, it was necessary to adopt Western military technology and armaments. This could be achieved by establishing shipyards and arsenals, and by hiring foreign advisers to train Chinese artisans to manufacture such wares in China. As such, the "self-strengtheners" were by and large uninterested in any social reform beyond the scope of economic and military modernization
China & the West
“Spheres of Influence” in China
MANCHU STATE – QING DYNASTY ( )

21. MANCHU STATE – QING DYNASTY (1644-1912)
1870s GB, France, Germany, Russia & Japan start to “carve” China into “SPHERES OF INFLUENCE” – “UNEQUAL TREATIES”
China & the West
“Spheres of Influence” in China
MANCHU STATE – QING DYNASTY ( )

22. MANCHU STATE – QING DYNASTY (1644-1912)
SINO-JAPANESE WAR; …takes TAIWAN & PORT ARTHUR from China (Korea-ish) * *
The BOXER REBELLION in China against Westerners takes place * *
‘OPEN DOOR POLICY’ is proposed by U.S. for China
SUN YAT-SEN is sworn in as President of the new CHINESE REPUBLIC
4.) Sino-Japanese War (1894)
- japan gains port Arthur & Taiwan
- eventually leads to other western power carving out spheres of influence in china (Brits, French, Germans, Russians)
- US does not participate in carving up china – instead calls for open door policy – equal trade throughout china
100 days reform (1898 – Guag Xu)
- modernize civil service, make government more efficient, reform Chinese education & the military
Fall of the Qing Dyansty
- anti foreigner, resentment of Christian missionaries, presence of foreign troops
- extraterritorialty allowed foreigners to ignore Chinese laws
5.) Boxer Uprising (1899)
- peasant secret society – “righteous harmonious fists” … trained martial artists, westerners called them Boxers
- goal was to drive out foreign devils who were polluting the land with their non-chinese ways
& 1900, boxers attacked and killed foreigners in China = japan and westerners organized multinational force
- eventually put down the rebellion
- rebellion initially had support from empress, but lost it as they lost their success to multinational forces
- as a result of the rebellion, westerners forced china to make more concessions
- Chinese conservatives begin to support westernization
- eventually led to economic modernization (mining, railroads, banking, cash crop exports)
- led to the growth of Chinese nationalism as Chinese workers began to demand more rights
- reformers wanted to strengthen china … constitutional monarchy & republic
- Sun Yat-sen … organized the revolutionary alliance = “three principles of the people” (nationalism, democracy, livelihood)
- Ci Xi died in 1908 & left a 2 year old boy to inherit the throne – chaos & uprising ensued
- peasants, students, warlords & court politicians rallied together to defeat Qing Dynasty (2000 years old!)
- 1912, Sun Yat-sen is sworn in as president of the new Chinese republic
* The Boxer Rebellion was a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty. It was initiated by the Militia United in Righteousness, known in English as the “Boxers,” and was motivated by proto-nationalist sentiments and opposition to imperialist expansion and associated Christian missionary activity.
The uprising took place against a background of severe drought and the disruption caused by the growth of foreign spheres of influence. After several months of growing violence against both the foreign and Christian presence in Shandong and the North China plain in June 1900, Boxer fighters, convinced they were invulnerable to foreign weapons, converged on Beijing with the slogan "Support Qing government and exterminate the foreigners.”
In response to reports of an armed invasion to lift the siege, the initially hesitant Empress Dowager Cixi supported the Boxers and on June 21 issued an Imperial Decree declaring war on the foreign powers. Diplomats, foreign civilians and soldiers as well as Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter were placed under siege by the Imperial Army of China and the Boxers for 55 days.
Chinese officialdom was split between those supporting the Boxers and those favoring conciliation, led by Prince Qing. The supreme commander of the Chinese forces, the Manchu General Ronglu (Junglu), later claimed that he acted to protect the besieged foreigners. The Eight-Nation Alliance, after being initially turned back, brought 20,000 armed troops to China, defeated the Imperial Army, and captured Beijing on August 14, lifting the siege of the Legations. Uncontrolled plunder of the capital and the surrounding countryside ensued, along with the summary execution of those suspected of being Boxers.
The Boxer Protocol in 1901 provided for the execution of government officials who had supported the Boxers, provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in Beijing, and 450 million taels of silver—more than the government's annual tax revenue—to be paid as indemnity over the course of the next thirty-nine years to the eight nations involved. The Empress Dowager then sponsored a set of institutional and fiscal changes in an attempt to save the dynasty by reforming it.
China & the West
“Spheres of Influence” in China
MANCHU STATE – QING DYNASTY ( )

23. China & the West
“Spheres of Influence” in China