Aim: Explain China’s Resistance to Foreigners

China and the West Out of pride in their ancient cultures, the Chinese looked down on all foreigners China was able to reject offers from the west because it was self-sufficient Basis was China’s healthy agricultural economy 17th-18th Centuries: Spanish & Portuguese traders brought maize, sweet potatoes, & peanuts from the Americas Crops helped China increase the productivity of its land and more effectively feed its huge population 2

The Tea-Opium Connection Due to self-sufficiency, the Chinese had little interest in trading with the West China earned much more for its imports than it spent on imports European merchants were determined to find a product the Chinese would buy in large quantities Answer was Opium Opium is a habit-forming narcotic made from a poppy plant Chinese doctors used it to relieve pain for hundred of years 1835: 12 million Chinese were addicted to Opium 3

The Opium War Growing supply of opium caused great problems for China Britain refused to stop trading opium Result was open clash between British & Chinese known as the Opium War (1839) The Opium War China’s outdated ships were no match for Britain’s steam powered gunboats Result: Chinese suffered a humiliating defeat 1842: Chinese & British signed a peace treaty Treaty of Nanjing Gave Britain island of Hong Kong 1844: US and foreign citizens gained extraterritorial rights Made them not subject for Chinese law Many Chinese resented foreigners 4