 The Qing dynasty was at its height  Its borders were relatively secure  Politically, China was stable and prospered from the long peaceful rule of Kangxi  The increase in Western influence would be one of the main reasons for the downfall of the Quing dynasty

 Opium was illegal in China  The British produced opium in India for sale in China  The operated out of Canton  Chinese officials went into the Canton opium warehouses and destroyed the opium  The British declared war and thus the opium war began and lasted

 British military technology destroyed the Chinese antiquated weapons. River forts and coastal batteries were easily destroyed  British gained Hong Kong and the opening of five coastal ports to British goods  Nothing was said about opium but it continued to be sold by the British to the Chinese

 Peasant uprising  Reasons - peasants were growing increasingly poor -corrupt officials -unjust taxation -decline in government services  Factionalism within the rebellion led to its losing momentum  Deaths: 20 million, mainly due to famine and plague

 Not happy with the results of the 1 st Opium War, the British launched a new series of attacks and took Beijing in 1860  British gained new concessions: the legalization of opium, more territory in Pearl River Delta, and allowance of British warships to patrol any Chinese river

 A period of time where reformers push major changes to try and save China from collapse  Challenged by conservatives and Empress CIXI

 Informal agreement (led by the US) to insure among Western nations the economic openness of China  Helped contain the worry of China’s imminent collapse and the loss of its 400 million customers

 A secret society that rebelled north of beijing.  They were angry over a damaging drought and high unemployment caused by the foreign economic activity  The boxers attacked foreign residents in Baijing and cities near it.  A foreign expeditionary force of eight nations was sent to stop the rebellion which was quickly crushed

 1905, a commission was established to study constituional issues  National Assembly was formed in 1910  These reforms were too little and too late

 The Thomas Jefferson of China was Sun Yat- Sen  Advocated the “three principles” of nationalism, democracy, and people’s livelihood  Process would be a military take-over ending with a constitutional democracy

 The last emperor could not suppress rebellion in the country-side and his trusted general switched sides to support Sun Yat-sen.  In 1911, Sun became the new President of China with the end of the Qing dynasty and the end of 3,000 years of the dynastic cycle in China