1. Imperialism in Asia
India & China

2. Imperialism in Asia
The Crusades & Age of Exploration caused interest in Asia because of the exotic goods like silk, spices, & gold
Asia was the “treasure box” for explorers & imperialists:
In the 1500s, European trade with Asia began
In the 1800s, European imperialism in Asia began

3. Change Over Time: World Imperialism

5. India—the Jewel of the British Empire

6. Imperialism in India
During the Renaissance, the British East India Company became the richest & most powerful company in world by controlling trade in India
England gained so much trade in India that England used its force to rule most of India by 1857
The East India Company had its own army of Indian soldiers called Sepoys & a royal governor

7. Indian Nationalism The impact of British Imperialism in India:
Good: England built railroads, telegraphs, sewer & water systems, hospitals, & schools
Bad: England did not allow Indians to govern themselves; forced India to trade only with England, & converted farms to cotton plantations

8. Indians hired by England to serve as soldiers
The Sepoy Mutiny
In 1857, the Sepoy soldiers rebelled against the British when they heard rumors that the bullets they were using were coated with animal (cow or pig) fat
The Sepoy Mutiny was crushed by the British army but revealed hostility between Indians & British
Indians hired by England to serve as soldiers

9. The Good: Creating Hospitals & Teaching Nursing
Famine victims, India, late nineteenth century. The staggering death toll from famine in Victorian India – about 7 million in the famine alone – was the result of the British policy of exporting food from India and collecting harsh taxes even in times of serious drought. The grain imports in Britain were to improve British diets and simultaneously keep grain prices stable. (
The Bad: About 7 million Indians died during the famine of 1876 when the British forced India to grow cotton instead of food
The Good: Creating Hospitals & Teaching Nursing

10. Indian Nationalism
In 1885, Indians demanded self rule & created the Indian National Congress to gain more control over governing India
Led by Mahatma Gandhi, India finally gained its
independence in 1947

11. Imperialism in China

13. Imperialism in China
In the 1500s, China was an advanced & powerful empire that was not interested in Western ideas or trade but grew weak from 1644 to 1912 due to European imperialism
England traded opium (a drug like heroin) for Chinese tea, silk, porcelain which destroyed the Chinese population

14. Opium in China

15. Imperialism in China
The Chinese government was so upset, they went to war against in England in 1842 (called the Opium Wars)
England won & forced China to sign a series of unequal trade treaties:
England gained Hong Kong
Gained extraterritoriality
Gained spheres of influence
English merchants can ignore Chinese laws
England gained exclusive trade rights in certain ports
British control of Hong Kong ended in ()

16. China Chopped & Changed
Other European countries used China’s loss in the Opium Wars to gain spheres of influence in China
The USA didn’t get sphere of influence in China so it suggested an Open Door Policy in 1899—China should be open to all nations for trade

18. What can China do about foreigners?
What can China do about this?
Some wanted self-strengthening (adopting Western ideas & using them to make the Chinese army & gov’t stronger)
Some chose to rebel against these foreigners (Like the Boxer Rebellion in 1901 to get rid of all foreigners)

20. What can China do about foreigners?
Sun Yat-sen tried to modernize China:
He promoted rebelling against foreigners
Creating a democracy
Increasing Chinese industry
In 1912, a new Chinese Republic was formed & Sun Yat-sen became its 1st president