Quotation Analysis Source Info
Excerpts from the Treaty of Nanjing, August 1842
Author: The British government and partially by the Chinese wrote this document as a result of continuous negotiation after the war. Context: Britain had just won The Opium War of 1839-1842, which was started over China refusing to trade with Britain. Significance: The source is very reliable; however, it gives an inaccurate depiction of what the relationship between Britain and China was. Without the context in which this document was written, one may assume that the two nations were allies, or perhaps even friends. The treaty dictated how Chinese life would from then on be controlled by Britain. This document also resulted in the following things: change in power dynamic between China and Britain, cements that the Chinese economy will be dominated by Britain, china is now subordinate to Britain.
Correspondence Between China and England
Author: This document was written by Commissioner Lin, intended to be received by Queen Victoria. Lin is outraged with the opium situation, claiming that the Chinese have been giving good products to Britain, whereas Britain has been supplying them with the destructive drug opium. Context: Much of the Chinese population is addicted to the drug opium, even after China banned Britain from trading with them. Britain merchants had secretly, however, been supplying China with opium in large quantities, allowing merchants from both countries to amass in wealth. Significance: This letter never made it to the Queen, showing the corruption and the bias that opium had caused. This was written right before the Opium War, and it is obvious from this source that China sees foreign influence in a very poor light. This also shows that that the China regards themselves as superior (calling British men "barbarians").
Edict on Trade With Great Britain
Author: This document was written by Emperor Qianlong to King George III after many British attempts to secure a base to trade out of in China in 1793. Context: Britain was trying to establish a trading network with China, where they would trade opium, textiles, and silver. But, however, China rejected trade with Britain, and didn't allow foreign traders to live there. Significance: This source is valuable because it highlights motive behind the Emperor's disdain and rejection to letting European traders establish trading posts in China. However, the biased nature of the source fails to give a well rounded and historical account of international relations between China and Britain. In addition, it is clear that the Emperor is considering the well being of the citizens and does not want to establish this relationship to get a profit. But this source also shows the extent of China's narcissism, and also how much their obsolete views on the power of Britain were responsible for this.
Letter to Lord Amherst
Author: This document was written by Rammohun Roy, a high level hindu in the East India Company who tried to improve native education, in 1823. This source was written to persuade Lord Amherst to instead of building a Sanskrit college, to build a European style school of the sciences instead. He is against the current education system because of the following reasons, he feels that the knowledge already exists in India, Sanskrit is not super useful in everyday life, and Sanskrit will hold Indians back in their acquirement of knowledge. Context: The British were taking over India and at first were attempting to reconcile Europeans with native traditions as to not upset the native Indians. They therefore were building institutes that focused on native culture. Significance:
The Economic Results of Free Trade and Railway Extension
Author: This document was written by GV Joshi in 1884, and it was published in an English language journal for an Indian audience (Indian elite/educated Indian classes) Context: At this time, there are a multitude of populous issues, such as disease, non-affluent gov't treasury, everything for the people but nothing by the people, and not employing or training natives in the building effort. An extremely broad (and expensive) railway system is being built in an economically weak country; managed and built by the British. This is causing problems for the natives. Significance: British presence in India had a negative effect on the native industries (expansion of British resources and motion toward industrialization in Britain resulted in dismantling the established native industries) AKA the deindustrialization of traditional India. It aslo foreshadows the future of Indian dissent with British rule; limitations on traditional culture, as well as showing an educated Indian perspective; educated in British form but concerning the native people Indicates the effects of free trade and British industrialization on native Indians.
Memorandum to Emperor Xianfeng
Author: Zeng Guofan wrote this document in the 19th century as a letter to the emperor alerting him of the suffering his people were going through. He was a statesman known for his integrity and compassion for the peasantry. Context: During the 19th century, when this source was written, the Taiping Rebellion, a large peasant revolt was happening throughout China and lasted from 1850 -1864. This letter was written as a result of enormous debt incurred as a result of the opium wars which the Chinese were forced to pay for which then caused the Taiping rebellion. Significance: These ideas would be valuable to someone who aims to have a better understanding of the topic because they illustrate how larger revolts such as the Taiping Rebellion influence problems within the Chinese government. The ideas would have also been relevant at the time because they were written during a period of conflict for China and provide context within the time period of the Taiping Rebellion. This source would have been important then because it would have been a rare chance for the emperor to get a realistic assessment of the state of his subjects.