1. Aim: Explain China’s Resistance to Foreigners

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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China’s outdated ships were no match for Britain’s steam powered gunboats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