Nationalism And Imperialism

Although relationships between imperialism, nationalism, and racism have contributed to changes in racism in both Europe and North America from the 1750s to present day, there are several areas in which they have stayed the same.

China has 5000 years of history which experienced wars, collapses, failures and successes. The Opium War in the year 1839 and 1856 marked the changing point of China’s trade policy with foreigners, especially with British in opium and tea. China changed from getting tributes to being forced to sign the Nanjing Treaty and Tianjing Treaty with British and French. Due to China’s over confidence and unwelcome attitude toward foreigners and opium, it caused the British to declare the Opium War to China which made Chinese suffer for many years, but at the same time it also forced China to open its doors to the foreigners.

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

Imperialism is a recurring theme in the history of the world. Stronger countries see themselves as superior to other societies and believe their ways are right. They force religion, government, and practices on countless foreign lands. At the very end of the nineteenth

What were some of the political, economic, social, intellectual, and military factors that explained the sudden increase in the pace and importance of European imperialism in the late 19c? The essential impetus was the Industrial Revolution which led to a search for (and control of) sources of raw materials and captive markets to sell manufactured goods, and become a world power with the most colonies and most money.

While most of the Western Hemisphere was undergoing drastic advancements, such as former colonies gaining their independence and transforming into more modernized nations, a lot of mishaps were occurring in the Eastern Hemisphere—China, specifically—a nation that was notorious for its isolation from foreign influences. European nations began to greedily eye China’s abundance of desirable resources, such as tea, porcelain, and silk. However, China had very little need or desire for European goods. In an attempt to resolve the trade imbalance Britain began importing opium into China, which would prove to be disastrous for the Chinese population. The dispute over the importation of the drug eventually led to the

The increase of production and use of opium created many problems for China. An issue that resulted of the opium trade was the illegal opium trade with Britain. While most goods and products were legally traded, opium had increased in the illegal market. Previously China’s emperor had written to Britain’s monarchy about the encroachment of their demand of goods and land within China. The emperor Qianlong, in his letter, states that “porcelain which the Celestial Empire produces are absolute necessities to European nations and to yourselves” (Document 1). This shows that European countries often wanted the products of China. It also provoked the illegal trade of opium a very valued

The standard of nationalism, imperialism, and militarism motivated rivalries between nations resulting in competition in which the weak were at a disadvantage. In the Merriam-Webster dictionary nationalism is defined as a feeling that people have of being loyal to and proud of their country often with the belief that it is better and more important than other countries. Nationalism gave citizens excessive confidence in their nation, their governments and their military strength. Nationalist ideas made other nations look bad, labeling them as hostile, devious, dishonest, reluctant or uncivilized. (Levin & Miller, 2011) It persuaded many people to believe their nation was being threatened by trickery and ambitious imperialism of its enemies.

The effects of imperialism and nationalism brought the world into an unenviable position during the early 1900 's. Colonies began to revolt against their rulers and left civilian unrest behind. The people began to question and change different structures of governments. Wars began to brew amongst nations and revolutions sparked. These events, however, remain far from inconsequential to modern day societies. Certain aspects, specifically, Gandhi 's non-violent resistance, Karl Marx 's The Communist Manifesto, and Pablo Picasso 's Guernica, continue to hold significance in modern day politics and communities.

The Chinese sold many things that European markets were interested in. The British, observing the demand for opium in China, both for legitimate reasons, and by addicts, grew and sold large amounts of opium, and sold it to intermediaries for silver that would eventually sell it on to the Chinese. The balance of trade being upset, and the concern over the growing number of Chinese opium addicts, led the Chinese government to impound foreign ships, destroy cargos, and arrest merchants. Basically suppressing the trade. The British did not like China's decisions. Therefore the British responded violently, they had a couple of bloody battles, the British won numerous times , dominating Chinese armies. China tried fighting back but it made things worse. Another major event that occurred in the Opium wars is the Treaty of Nanjing. This treaty is a big event because it gave Britain a lot of advantages, like the Chinese giving full control of Hong Kong to Britain. Also giving Britain more ports where they could trade Opium, the last thing that the British was given by the Chinese in accordance to the treaty was money. This basically showed that the British won the first Opium war, due to all the privileges the British gained from the Chinese’s peace

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.

In the early years of the 20th century a European war seemed likely due to dissent, distress, and militarism. During this specific time many liberals had thought that if they organized European states that it would remain peaceful. This then had actually led to competition which then led to many rivalries over not only colonial but also commercial interests during an era of imperialist expansion.Which led to any disputes which included land. The rivalries led to Europe's division of allies with Germany and Austria. Also Italy against France and great Britain and Russia. So many states were forced into thinking about creating an empire a army and who they could trust. Which then led Germany to think about making an Empire since France wanted

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

The Opium Wars were a series of three wars between the Chinese and the British; primarily fought in regard to the illegal trade of opium in China during the 19th century. They manifested the conflicting natures of both nations and demonstrated China’s misconceptions of its own superiority. The Opium Wars resulted in the humiliating defeat of the Chinese to a country they considered to be “barbarians”.

Imperialism is when a nation dominates the politics, economy, and society of a weaker, foreign nation. The motives behind this are for economic benefits, spreading of a religion, nationalism, and racism. While this benefits the imperialists, it can do damage to the imperialized country. For example, it can change the social structure, education system, ideology, distribution of wealth or economy in favor of the dominating nation. This is the case when the British exploited India for their resources, calling India the “Jewel of the Crown” for producing a huge profit India’s .state during British rule can be seen in the novel Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya, which follows the lifetime of an Indian woman named Rukmani who had faced many changes and painful experiences due British imperialization. Throughout the course of her life, Rukmani can be seen interacting with a white man named Kenny, who was a doctor that once treated her so she may bear a boy. Kenny is a complicated character, helping the Indian people yet viewing them as inferior and treats them coldly. Rukmani and Kenny’s relationship with each other is a microcosm of the social, economic, and political dynamics between Britain and India around the mid-twentieth century.