L8 & L9: Imperialism in China Agenda Objective: To understand… 1.The history of European intervention in China. 2.The troubled relationship between Britain and China. 3.How China attempted to resist European intervention. Schedule: 1.Opening activity 2.Lecture, Group Work, and Discussion Homework: 1.Consult Unit Schedule for Background Reading on Japan. 1.Reading on Chinese Resistance to Imperialism: Due Lesson 9 (Tues 12/4) A. Be able to describe: Taiping Rebellion, the Self- Strengthening Movement, and the Boxer Rebellion B. Note any themes/trends. 3. Prewriting Check-in Due: Friday 12/7

China under the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty China was ruled by the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty since 1644 What do you remember about China under the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty?

Early Trade Between China and Britain China was largely isolationist Looked down on Europe and didn’t want to interact with them Chinese restricted European trade to a single port city: Canton British hoped to trade manufactured goods for tea, porcelain, and silk from China However, the Chinese were not interested in European goods. They only wanted silver or gold

Chinese Emperor Qianlong’s Letter to England’s King George III (1792) In 1792 the King of England sent an envoy to China to convince the Chinese Emperor to open up northern port cities to British trade In response, the Emperor wrote this letter to the King Task –Read the letter –In your small group answer the questions based on your reading. –Whole class discussion

The British Have a Problem… They want to trade with China, but China doesn’t want to trade with them If you were a British merchant, what might you do about this? How can you get the Chinese to trade with you? –Talk with your group and brainstorm possible ways you could get the Chinese to trade with you…

Britain’s Solution: Sell the Chinese Opium! Opium –Highly addictive drug derived from the poppy plant British grew opium in colonial India Use and sale of opium was illegal in China (and in Britain!)

The Opium Trade British began to forge links with Chinese opium dealers Started to illegally trade opium for Chinese goods By 1820, 80% of all people living in Canton were addicted to opium Britain essentially was a huge international drug dealer

The Opium Trade Discussion What is your reaction to British actions? We see the British encounter a similar problem in China to that which they have encountered in Africa and India: How do we get the goods/resources we want from this region? How did they deal with this problems in (1) Africa, (2) India? Why did they choose the particular methods that they did in (1) Africa, (2) India, (3) China?

The Opium Trade: Discussion How is the opium trade a form of control? What is being controlled? Is this an act of chemical warfare? Is this an act of cultural warfare? Is this an act of economic warfare? Is it terrorism more so than warfare?

Letter from Lin Zexu to Queen Victoria (1839) Alarmed by the epidemic of addiction, the Chinese government attempted to end the opium trade Lin Zexu (ambassador for the Chinese government) wrote a letter to Queen Victoria, the Queen of England demanding an end to the opium trade It is unknown whether the letter ever reached the Queen Task –Read the letter –In your small group, answer the questions based on your reading –Whole class discussion

The Opium Wars Chinese government ordered British merchants to surrender all opium cargo to government officials Britain agreed, but rather than hand it over directly to the Chinese government, the merchants gave their opium to British naval officers in Canton harbor –This made the opium the property of the British government When Chinese officials seized it and drowned 20,000 chests of opium, Britain said they had committed an act of war

The Opium Wars War between Britain and China –British called it the “Trade War” –Chinese called it the “Opium War” Chinese were no match for the British navy and were defeated, despite much fighting

Treaty of Nanjing (or Nanking) Treaty which ended the First Opium War Fundamental purpose of the treaty was to change the trade relationship between China and England Task –Read the letter –In your group answer the questions based on the reading –Whole class discussion

China: Now What? Following the Treaty of Nanjing, what problems is China facing? If you were a Chinese government official, what would you advise China to do? In short, how can China resist imperialism?

Resistance Last night you read about three acts of resistance by the Chinese people and/or government: The Taiping Rebellion, the Self-Strengthening Movement, and the Boxer Rebellion. Today we will discuss these actions and their efficacy and what they mean for imperialism more broadly.