Imperialism in East Asia
The Open Door policy: The US was definitely worried about the spheres of influence Britain and France had in China. US Secretary of State John Hay, advocated for the Open Door Policy, which lasted until World War II. Imperialist powers in Europe, who wanted to have absolute and sole control of their territory, didn't want other countries being able to access their sphere of influence.
1. Each country with a sphere of influence should maintain free access to ports, but other countries should be able to trade there as well. 2. Only the Chinese government should collect tariffs on trade, those taxes on trade. Which would give greater Chinese control of their tax collection. 3. All foreign countries had to pay taxes equally, not one country paying more or one country paying less.
Taiping Rebellion: Effects:
20 million lives were lost in the rebellion as well as due to starvation. • The Qing dynasty was weakened significantly • Internal government conflict: Some thought they needed to go back to their "roots' others thought they needed to modernize. • The key thing here is that the government, the Qing dynasty, was weakened by this entire experience. And because it was weekend, it led to greater influence of European powers.
These are the Spheres of Influence in China. Which country had the second largest sphere of influence in China?
Britain
Who did John Hay negotiate with to establish the Open Door policy?
China and the countries with spheres of influence
What was the significance of the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842?
Europeans forced the Chinese to sign it, ending the first Opium War.
What product did Britain continue to export despite objections by the Chinese government?
Opium
What were Dowager Empress Cixi's accomplishments during her reign? Check all that apply.
She served as the regent for her five-year-old son. She controlled the Qing Dynasty for forty-seven years. She modernized the Chinese military.
Which is a true statement about the effect of the Taiping Rebellion?
The number of lives lost was over twenty million.
What steps did Chinese emperors take to reduce foreign influence in China? Check all that apply.
They had no interest in European manufactured goods. They pursued a policy of isolationism. They limited trade to one port.
China was divided into areas of foreign economic control which were known as
spheres of influence.
In China, food shortages, corruption in government, and high rates of opium addiction led to
the Taiping Rebellion.
A rising sense of nationalism in China was a reaction to
the strong foreign influence in China.
Opium Wars- 1839-1842 Britain had an interest in keeping that trade of opium for tea, for porcelain, and for some of these other goods, like silk. So after China banned it, Britain continued to smuggle opium into China to get access to these very desirable goods that were being made in China to export them out to Great Britain and the empire. This caused conflict and eventually the Opium Wars.
• Because China had a weak military that was unable to fight effectively, Britain easily defeated China in the Opium Wars, and China was left with very little control over trade. • Britain forced the Chinese to sign the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, which was a very unequal treaty o Surrendered the island territory of Hong Kong to the British. o Agreed to create fair and a reasonable tariff. A tariff is a tax on trade. o Allowed Britain to trade in five ports, rather than the one like it was before.
Sphere of influence: Because the Qing Dynasty was weakened by the Taiping Rebellion, it led to greater influence of European powers.
• China was divided into areas of foreign economic control. • China allowed controlling countries (Britain and France) exclusive use of the ports in certain regions. • This made the European countries extremely wealthy at the expense of the Chinese people and the Chinese government. But the Chinese government was powerless to stop the spheres of influence.
Chinese Tea-Traded for Opium :
• Europeans wanted Chinese tea and began importing huge amounts of it. But would only allow payment in silver. • The British silver supply was depleting so they were desperate to find something else that they could trade with the Chinese. What they found was opium. • So Britain exported opium, which is a highly addictive drug, to China who wanted it. • China soon saw the results of widespread opium use on their society, so they banned the opium trade.
The Boxer Rebellion:
• Many of the conservatives in China, they did not like this idea of modernizing China. They encouraged Empress Cixi to arrest Emperor Guangzu and place him under house arrest. • However, Chinese nationalism that continued to increase, to oppose foreign influence. It began to branch into different groups such as the Boxers, a group of Chinese peasants who resented this foreign influence, so they formed a secret organization. • Their actual name was The Righteous and Harmonious Fists, and they believed that they were impervious to bullets. • They're called the Boxers because the calisthenics that they did looked like boxing. • Once they became a larger and more powerful force, they began killing foreigners, missionaries, and Chinese Christians-- people who they felt were having a negative influence on Chinese culture. • The Boxers led to a full-on rebellion, during the summer of 1900. Dowager Cixi sided with the Boxers, so it gave them a greater strength. • However, a multinational European force, was able to crush this Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion: Effects: Even though the Boxer Rebellion was crushed, there were three major effects, which would gradually lead to a Chinese revolution that would begin in 1911.
• Nationalist unrest increased. • Foreign influence remained • The Qing Dynasty was weakened
Taiping Rebellion: More than one million peasants rebelled against the government. Causes:
• Population boom, over 400 million people. • Starvation- Because of that population boom, there was not enough food • High government corruption. • High rates of opium addiction.
Emperor Guangxu:
• Ruled after Empress Cixi when Chinese Nationalism was on the rise. • Announced many different reforms, and he was much more progressive than his other previous rulers. • He called these the 100 Days of Reform to Modernize China.
Empress Dowager Cixi, the ruler of China during this very turbulent time period.
• She controlled the Qing Dynasty for 47 years • She served as regent for her five-year-old son who was too young to take the throne. • She institutes some reforms, including modernizing China's military- building steam ships and more powerful weapons. • She was ultimately unsuccessful in instituting a number of the more radical, sweeping reforms that China actually needed to force the Europeans out.
Isolationism: Chinese emperors pursued a policy of "isolationism," or sealing off the empire to reduce foreign influences that they thought were negative.
• They had no interest in European manufactured goods. • They limited trade to just one port along the along the coast. • While European countries, in the midst of the scientific and Industrial revolutions, grew powerful in military and economic might, China stagnated or declined.