Imperialism in China

Opium War British merchants discovered that they could make a large profit for trading a drug called opium for Chinese tea Chinese became addicted to the drug Chinese outlawed the drug and ordered Britain to stop selling the drug but the British refused Chinese war ships fought with British ships over the trade of Opium The British defeated the Chinese easily because the Industrialized nation of Great Britain had the latest weapons and China, the non-industrialized nation had outdated weapons

Opium War

Sphere of Influence European powers moved quickly to carve out spheres of influence in China Sphere of Influence, an outside power claimed exclusive investment and trading privileges Open Door Policy called to keep Chinese trade open to every country on equal basis

Sphere of Influence

Boxer Rebellion Chinese who were tired of outside control in their country trained to fight off foreigners in their country They were called “Boxers” their goal was to drive out foreigners from China The Boxers attacked foreign communities across China The Boxers were defeated by the Western European powers and Japan

Boxer Rebellion

Review What was the cause of the Opium War? What was the advantage of having a sphere if influence in China? What was the Open Door Policy? What was the goal of the Boxer Rebellion?