1. Imperialism in China: The Opium Wars & Boxer Rebellion

2. Early European Trade Limited by agreement with the Chinese government
Trade only permitted at the port at Canton
Had to trade through official traders
Could only trade at certain times of the year
The Chinese would only accept gold or silver
Westerners were not allowed to enter China
Traders had to leave as soon as trade was done

3. Lord McCartney
Sent by Britain to China to arranged better trading rights with the Chinese government
Refused to kowtow to the Emperor
Was allowed into the Forbidden City only to find a document refusing trading rights

4. Imperialism in China China refused to adapt to Western Culture
History of isolation
Isolated by jungles, mountains and desert
Middle Kingdom = Ethnocentric
Ethnocentrism  Belief that your culture is better than all others

5. Imperialism in China Believed they were self-sufficient
Had little interest or desire to trade with the West
Europeans nations saw the market potential of China (435 million people)
Hmm…
What would the Chinese people be willing to trade for?
What product would they want that they didn’t have?
OPIUM

6. The Opium Wars
Opium was used recreationally in China starting in the 15th Century
Opium was prohibited in 1729
British start to smuggle opium from India into China

7. The Opium Wars
By 1835, 12 million people were addicted to opium

9. The Opium Wars
Emperor Daoguang has one of this top officials, Lin Zexu write a letter to Queen Victoria

10. The Opium Wars
Emperor Daoguang orders British shipments of opium be confiscated and destroyed
During one seizure of British cargo
20,000 chests of opium were destroyed
Each chest was worth $1,000
In modern dollars that’s about $300,000,000

11. The Opium Wars
Britain attacks coastal Chinese cities to start the war in October of 1839
Battles took place mostly at sea
Outdated Chinese ships were no match for the modern steam-powered gunboats of the British

12. The Opium Wars The Treaty of Nanjing China had to pay reparations
All Chinese ports were opened to the British
Britain gained control of Hong Kong (Restored to China in 1997)
Extraterritoriality  British & other foreigners were not subject to Chinese law in 5 major port cities of China

13. Sphere of Influence/Open Door Policy
Other foreign nations sign treaties unfair to China
Each nation gets a “sphere of influence”
Sphere of Influence  an area in which a foreign nation controlled trade & investment
In 1899 the United States proposes the Open Door Policy
Open Door Policy  China’s doors (ports) be open to merchants of all nations
In exchange China would not be colonized

14. Sphere of Influence/Open Door Policy

15. Response to Imperialism
Taiping Rebellion
Empress Cixi wants to strengthen China
Promotes programs to update the educational system, and military, factories
Boxer Rebellion