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Throughout this video we will address issues regarding Pre-Imperialism
Imperialism, and the effects of Imperialism on China
Although you may have many questions regarding Imperialism in China
We will do our best to address these questions
What was China like before Imperialism?
The origins of Imperial China date back to 221 BC
when the Qin dynasty began
Before they were colonized by Britain
The people of China lived disconnected from the outside world
Although trade existed between China, India, Japan, and Africa
They valued farming over trade
The majority of China’s population during the Ming and Qing Dynasties
in 1368-1911 were farmers
The Ming Dynasty lost all its power
when the Manchu invaded successfully
establishing the Qing Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family
The religions most commonly practiced
were Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism
The average citizen was expected
to support the government in projects
such as building roads or canals
Now that you have been enlightened with information
about Pre-Imperialism in China
You will now be amazed by the
motives which lead to imperialism in China
What led towards imperialism in China?
The British were determined to trade with the Chinese
Demonstrating a strong economic motive
More specifically, they wished to trade *** with China
in exchange for tea and silk
However, the Chinese realized that *** was a detriment
towards China, due to the mass decrease of money
and most of the people had an unhealthy tendency
to use the drug rather than to work
To stop the import of ***, China attempted to
close their ports in Canton and Shanghai in 1836
The Chinese banned *** in 1839
They destroyed over 1.2 million kilograms of ***
Prevented from being able to trade with the Chinese
the British declared war on China
This was known as the first *** War
The British defeated the Chinese, who were not as technologically advanced as the British
forcing China to sign the Treaty of Nanjing
Giving Hong Kong as well as trading ports to Great Britain
In this war, between 20,000 to 25,000 Chinese citizens died
Only 70 British soldiers were killed
The treaty of Nanjing was also known as the Unfair Treaty by the Chinese
for from their perspective they believed they were being stripped of their economy
Since you have learned about the motives for imperialism in China
You will now learn about Imperialism in China
What was imperialism like in China?
Since the Chinese lost the first *** war to the British
China was forced to give Britain privileges such as the opening of 5
trading ports and the restriction the British had over the Chinese
that they can no longer impose tariffs on foreign goods
The Chinese were also expected to pay fines for their resistance
Soon enough, China had waged the second *** war, also known as
the Arrow War, against Britain and France because of a rumoured ***
of a French missionary, and lost again
This time even more privileges were granted to Britain, such as the
opening of 10 new ports, right to foreign travel in China, residence
in Beijing and freedom of movement within China for missionaries
*** trade was also made legal forcibly by the British
However, other nations including France, Germany, Russia, and Japan
constructed their own “spheres of influence” within China
to gain trading power within, nearing the end of the 19th century
This left the Qing Dynasty at a loss of economic control
of their own nation
To gain a sphere of influence of their own, the Qing Dynasty
waged war against the Japanese for control over Korea in 1894
however the Chinese lost. In losing
China also lost Taiwan, Penghu, and the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan
the Qing Dynasty themselves were also Imperialists
The Manchu People were from Manchuria, which is the area located
in modern Northeast China and parts of Russia
These were the people who ended the Ming Dynasty
In the late 16th century and parts of the early 17th century
The Ming Dynasty were weakened by wars with the Mongols
In 1644, the Manchu People captured Beijing, signifying the end
of the Ming Dynasty and the start of the Qing Dynasty
How did China regain freedom?
In 1899, a rebellion known as the Boxer Rebellion occurred
Natives were fed up with Christians in their territory
along with the numerous spheres of influences that existed at the time
By the late 1800’s there was much civil unrest among the Chinese
In 1908, both the Emperor and Empress died in consecutive days
The throne was given to a two year old child
The rebellion that occurred in 1911 was known as the Wuchang Uprising
This uprising was an indirect result of the Boxer Rebellion
After the Europeans had overridden the Boxer Rebellion, they sought this
as an opportunity to build railroads across China
The Qing Dynasty agreed with these constructions, however the
Chinese revolutionaries did not
Revolutionaries had claimed many cities away from the Qing and
Europeans. From that point on, the Republic of China was formed.
Following the Independence of China, the legacy of Imperialism
left a deep stain in the Chinese culture
For one, many people were still addicted to ***
This meant that people were still doing drugs instead of working
and money was invested in *** rather than in other investments
The British refused to return Hong Kong to China until very recently, in 1997
The Hong Kong Dollar Coin facing up shows Queen
Elizabeth the Second. Many Chinese artifacts
are in possession of the British or French.
In conclusion
It took China a really long time to reach where it is today