When it comes to the political and economic effects that China and India felt, their experiences were both similar. The wealth made from markets in India went to Britain and money made from selling opium to the Chinese also went to Britain. In regards to the war in China and India, both countries experienced a strong sense of nationalism after having to endure the exploitation and mistreatment of the British. Both countries also lost many of their battles. However they were fought over different reasons. The social effects the Indians and the Chinese felt were also different. Even though India experienced some negative effects, the British was able to modernize and improve many parts of India. On the other hand, China’s population was left in pieces after opium entered the country. Overall, China and India were similar economic and political wise, but the social effects differed greatly. China and India experienced similar economic effects and their reasons for going to war were somewhat the same. To start, in Doc 1 it states that “the economic development of India was stopped and the growth of new …show more content…
As a result of Britain’s presence in India, Britain “introduced Western education. This has brought an ancient and civilized nation in touch with modern thought, modern sciences, and modern life. [Britain] built an administration that is strong and efficient. [Britain] framed wise laws and have established courts of justice.” (Doc 12) Although India experienced many improvements in education and technology, China was left in a poor state. Doc 14 states that “[A chinese woman’s] husband sold everything [they] had.”, and this was the case for many Chinese people. Since many citizens were addicts, they were willing to sell everything they owned for money. As a result of opium, China had a growing poor rural population. There was also inflation and heavy taxes which didn’t help
However, opium became such an addictive substance in South China that all the money from South China’s treasury was given to the British East India Company. Because of this, the Qing wanted to prohibit the trading of opium which the British did not like, and caused a three year long war. In result, it turned the Chinese away from wanting to learn the methods of their society because they saw them as the barbarians that released fire power on them and went against their Confucianism way of life. The dynasty of China also failed because there was a lot of internal unrest that was occurring with its people and the Western imperialists. The book states, “In the ensuing Treaty of Tianjin, the Qing agreed to humiliating new concessions: legalization of the opium trade, the opening of additional ports to foreign trade, and cession of the peninsula of Kowloon to the British”(Duiker, 51). In order to try and help with this, the Qing rulers tried to do self-strengthening which was an attempt to adopt the new technologies of the Western world while still trying to keep their Confucian way of life. This reform actually lasted for decades for the Chinese foreign and domestic policy.
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.
While westerners in China pushed to claim rights and generally oppose Chinese reformers who worked to better China, Chinese government and society faced internal problems. Being a main target for imperialism, China faced much western influence. One of the events that marked the beginning of intense western influence was the case concerning the Opium Wars. A main imperialistic power, Great Britain, began trading China opium, a heavily addictive drug, in exchange for tea and silk. At first, it seemed like a positive idea – the Chinese
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.
Opium came from opium poppy seeds, which were grown and sold under British ruling in India. The British East India Company developed a monopoly which took place in effectively growing opium and making profits and/or trading it with the Chinese in exchange for their premium good such as silk, porcelain, and tea. According to Memorials on the Legalization and Elimination of Opium by Xu Naiji and Yuan Yulin, they explained how the rise of opium prompted many debts and death around China. Opium became an addiction for many, from the poor to officials in government positions. Cutting off all access of trading opium would’ve started issues in the trading network, not just with Britain but with the Western countries as well. Instead of passing laws to completely ban opium, they reverted to only permitting the barbarian merchants to import opium to pay duty as a medication. This made it unacceptable for money to be involved with the product. According to Xu Naiji, smokers of opium were lazy, with no purpose in life and if they were caught smoking it, the only punishment was getting the opium confiscated. However, if any officer, scholar, or soldier were found smoking opium, the would be immediately dismissed from public employ. Yuan Yulin, a minister, believes that the expansion of opium is the government’s fault, being that they cannot decipher right from wrong; he thought it was unfair that prohibition of smoking opium only applied to the officers of the government, scholars, and military but not the common people. The British capitalized on the effects of opium, because many of China’s population were going to put forth their money, goods, etc. for
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
Trade had a positive and/or negative effect on the people who were located in the regions of China and the Americas. People in the world region of China had many positives. The Americas had both positive and negative results. Some positives for China included, a good ripple effect in its economy and a lot of tributes being sent. Positives for the Americas included an expansion of knowledge, as well as discovering more from the world.
British dominance over China- it led to the ultimate collapse of the centuries-old Qing Dynasty, and more than two millennia of dynastic rule. It convinced China that it had to modernize and industrialize. Chinese Economic Hardships- However, the most important reason for Chinese immigration was economic hardship due to the growing British dominance over China in the Opium War of 1839-1842 caused financial problems as well as starved the citizens Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century-
The relationship between China and Britain during the Qing dynasty centered around trade had often be violent. China traded with many foreign countries which often caused problems when such countries intruded on the agreements of trade. One such country was Britain during those times. The Opium wars were a result of the illegal exporting of opium between Britain and China. The imperial government of China often responded to encroachments of the trading agreements of opium by attempting to create bans. China also responded by the emperor writing to King George III. These are a few aspects of the trading that occurred between China and Britain throughout the Qing dynasty.
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
China experiences the pressure of the imperialist’s military which China did not have the knowledge or the experience to match. China went from a superior leader, self-sufficient country, that thought that everyone else were barbarians to a torn country. China accepted foreign trade, but they wanted to control and limit how much and with who the trade was used for, they felt that they European trade was unnecessary. They did not allow the western merchants to have any power or privileges and restricted them to Canton, plus they refused to open their trade system beyond Co-Hong which caused china to not become as prosperous as Japan. (Valentini 2013) Because China the believed that they were the center of civilization and that the Western culture was inferior the Chinese government refused to go along with any of the European’s request and the two nations became hostile towards
Finally, deeply rooted tensions between Britain and China began to come to the surface as the Chinese attempted to crack down on opium use and trade within its borders.
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,
East and west. The relationship between the two has never been truly set in stone. Both Europe and Asia have been through many large-scale power shifts throughout the millennia. Empires have risen – and inevitably been razed. If not by conquerors, then by time itself. These empires were often led by those who yearned to increase their land and holdings, and because of this the tendrils of civilization often stretched to seek uncharted territory. This undying curiosity eventually culminated in what is now referred to as the “Age of Discovery,” which spanned from the 1500s to the 1800s. By the beginning of the 20th century, most of the world’s lands had already been discovered. Trade links between China and Europe had been around since the Hellenic Age. And in the year 1900 it had been 124 years since the founding of the United States of America. Cross the Pacific Ocean, and one would find themselves face-to-face with the United States’ distant neighbor, East Asia. In East Asia, two of the most historically significant nations are China and Japan. For a number of reasons, – which will be detailed further later on – the early 1900s were a somewhat tumultuous time for both of said nations. The 20th century was by and large a time of political and economic power consolidation for both China and Japan. It is arguable that the United States played an integral role in this consolidation. The interactions between the United States, China, and Japan highlight a time when the way that
Both China and India are very important countries not only in Asia, but the world. As the largest and second largest population country in the world, their population policy has great effects on many areas of the world. Such as agriculture, economy, education.