Age of Imperialism: Japan & China Essay examples

During this time, the British adopted a new economic policy known as mercantilism which held that a country’s power depended mainly on its wealth. The desire for new sources of wealth inspired British exploration of the East. Having established North America as their colony, the British traveled East. In 1793, the British sought to trade with China which was largely self-sufficient due to mining and manufacturing resources as well as its healthy agricultural economy which started in the 11th century. Around this time, the Chinese dynasty cycle was in decline and its official trade policy reflected isolation. The British imposed economic imperialism and forced China to open to foreign trade and influence. The British East India Company which grew opium in India, a British colony, shipped it to China. While the Chinese developed addictions to the drug, the British economy grew as they shipped fine silk, high quality cotton and exquisite porcelain from China to be sold for a huge profit in North America. Subjected to economic imperialism, China had to sign treaties that favoured the west. In 1844, China signed a treaty that gave North America extraterritorial rights where they could trade freely at many

Japan and China had many contrasting responses to western penetration in the nineteenth century, including economic interaction - economically China suffered and Japan prospered, Japanese agricultural productivity increased while China’s did not, and China only accepted a small amount of goods while Japan accepted a wide range of goods- and political interaction - China went to war but Japan did not, Japan adopted western learning styles but China did not, and Japan heavily increased taxes on their people after 1890, while China did not -but had very comparable geographic traits – both had ocean borders – Japan was completely surrounded by water while China was bordered on a large percentage of itself, both kept their ports either fully

Also, citizens became addicted, and the drug eventually killed thousands of people. China’s actions angered Britain politicians even though opium was illegal in Britain as well. But was a result, war started between the two countries. In 1842, the treaty of Nanking ended the war. It was the first unequal treaty with Britain and it said that Chinese had to give up Hong Kong to Britain for ninty-nine years, the British would live in China by extraterritoriality at four ports, distribution of opium would continue and Christain missionaries will be set up throughout China. When China couldn’t meet the ridiculous requirements of the treaty, the second Opium War began in 1956. As a result, Britain won again by the Treaty of Tientsin. The treaty asked to open more ports to outer nations, let foreign leaders into the capital Beijing, and legalized the distribution and use of opium. Their situation was dangerously bad.

At the end of the eighteenth century, China 's items were richly fancied by Britain. Nevertheless, the Chinese considered Europeans to be savages and would not have jumped at the chance to trade with them. In the midst of trade, there was an anomaly to bolster China, in light of the fact that the Europeans were constrained to buy Chinese stock using silver. The Western Imperialists began to create opium poppies from in India, and thereafter sneak them into China. China soon got the chance to be reliant on the drug and spent most of it 's money on the purchase of it from the Europeans and Americans. This moved the equality of vitality to be to bolster Europe.

The age of imperialism was an important part of history, it was during the 19th and 20th centuries. During this time period, European countries were taking over great sections of the world. It wouldn't be long before they started to take over Asia. Some countries such as, India and China, went under European control and influence. While Japan adopted reforms to meet the western challenge. How was it possible that Japan was able to be strong while India and China couldn't?

China and Japan had similar but different experiences with the Western civilization. China and Japan reacted differently to the Western nations and it was China’s reactions to the West that would break the Chinese’s isolation leaving their traditions behind. The Industrial trade in Europe and the United States had created a gap between Asia and the West, This left china and Japan far behind technologically and they were not able to stand up against the western nations and although at different times China and Japan both ended up having to sign unequal treaties, and to open their ports for merchants.

Trade with the West for Opium at this point was being forced unto the Chinese and violence from these Western powers ensued if China refused to trade with them. The trade of opium and along with other goods were very profitable for countries like Britain, which managed to have control over, also now controlled the influence of Chinese culture as well as a large portion of China’s economy. Because of that, many people were upset by it. This majorly contributed because of the forced Western influence as a result from trading. The people were not happy with the lack of control that the government displayed when they allowed Britain to simply walk in and take control over China’s economy and trade.

While the wester hemisphere was experiencing drastic changes like colonies attaining their independence and turning into more modern nations, many adversities were taking place throughout nations in the eastern hemisphere. China was one of those nations. China was a nation known for isolating itself from outside influence, especially from the Europeans. Soon the Europeans began to grow jealous of China 's bounty of enticing goods and resources such as porcelain, tea and silk. China on the other hand did not have any need for European goods. In pursuit to put a halt to the trade imbalance between the two nations, Britain started to smuggle opium into China. The reason behind this was because the Chinese had no need for Britain 's goods but

For this assignment, we were asked to research, in pairs, the effects of foreign imperialism on two Asian societies. Chris and I chose China and Japan as our Asian societies.

There were many problems with the system of trade in China; even before opium trading began. China, believing herself to be the most civilized and advanced country, did not feel the need to satisfy Britain, a “barbarian” country’s request for freer trade and were concerned the British wanted land. Britain however,

As the Industrial Revolution swept each continent throughout the 17th century, it sparked a new era: Imperialism. Powerful nations sought to expand their reign, and reached out to other countries for trade, raw materials, and even territory. Through the 18th and into the early 19th century, world powers struggled for control. Some prevailed, and some fell victim. Two countries that marked a significant shift in world power are China and Japan.

In the 19th Century British planned to invade China for economic reasons. It had no motives to conquer the state rather entice it to accept a free trade. The country was rich in tea which was in high demand not only in Britain but all over the world. China also had porcelain and silk which the Britons envied. The intruders did not have enough silver to buy the commodities thus opted for a barter system. Consequently, a war between the two states occurred. It was fought between 1848 and 1852 with China becoming unsuccessful due advanced military competence of Britons. The signing of an agreement between them then followed, and British was additionally awarded extraterritorial rights by China. However, the imperialism in China was a positive thing to the natives because it introduced trade and much education in the region which opened up opportunities.

In the early eighteen hundreds, Britain and other European countries demanded more and more Chinese commodities, especially tea and silk. However, only the port in Canton was opened to foreign countries, and Chinese would not take any other form of payments besides silver. The desire to make China into a free market that foreigners have more access to and the increasing, though illegal, European opium import to China eventually created tension between the European countries, especially Britain, and the Chinese government (Allingham Par. 1-2). The two battles fought and won by European powers were known as the Opium Wars. China’s politics, economy, and intellects were both positively and negatively

One of the earlier influences on Japan’s decision to invade China was the effect of western imperialism. During the Meiji reform, Western Imperialism heavily influenced Japan and their country changed dramatically within those 44 years. From the success of their reform they began to develop

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, westerners were heavily industrializing and practicing imperialism, and since both China and Japan wanted to retain their cultures and