Conquest of China
From the very ancient time, India and China were the big business destinations for the European powers. European powers came into the region of South-East Asia as the trading company. But their real motives for coming were to establishing their political authority over the region.
When European got the direct sea route to India in 1498, they started searching the route for China. So, in the 16th century, European powers developed their bases in Formosa (Taiwan), Macau, Canton, etc. So, from here Europeans started entering into China.
Chinese society was very conservative. So, the Chinese did not give respect to the Europeans. And Chinese compulsorily demanded Silver as the medium of exchange. In this background, Europeans started promoting Opium trade in China. And this Opium trade proved to be a threat to society and the culture of China.
Chinese Opium Wars
First Opium War, 1846
In 1800 China banned the Opium trade. And in 1839 Chinese military officer Lee was deputed to take staunch action against Opium trade. So, this led to the First Opium War of 1846. In this war, European powers defeated China. And this war culminated in a treaty. This treaty had certain provisions that gave relaxation to the victorious powers.
- Chinese government opened 5ports for European traders.
- Britain got the Hongkong as its colony.
- Chinese government welcomed European traders and officials.
- China agreed to give war compensation to the European companies.
So, the victory of Europeans in First Opium War increased the enthusiasm of European powers. And they thought that First Opium War was beneficial for them so they wanted a new reason to go for the next war.
Second Opium War, 1856-58
Soon they got the reason for another war. When French accused the Chinese government of being responsible for the killing of the French missionary in Peking (present Beijing). Whereas British East India Company accused Chinese of insulting their flag at the Chinese port. This led to the
So, this led to the Second Opium War of 1856-58. Finally, Europeans once again defeated China. This time European powers compelled China to sign a treaty of Tientsin, 1858. The provisions of the treaty were,
- China opened 11ports for the European traders and merchants.
- No restriction on the entry of Europeans into China.
- The Chinese government gave extra-territorial rights to the Europeans.
- China gave war compensation to the European powers.
Along with the Opium Wars, China in the second half of the 19th century was facing big internal trouble. It was Taiping Rebellion.
Taiping Rebellion
This revolt was organized by Huan Hsin Chuan, a protestant by faith. He wanted to eliminate idolatry and nature worship in China. The gravity of this revolt was so strong that rebels controlled the Nanjing region. Nanjing was (and is) the important economic and political center of China.
So, the Opium wars and Taiping Rebellion exposed the weakness of Chinese authority to the European Powers. And in this scenario, the European powers developed the sphere influence in China.
Protection of China
European powers divided China among themselves. This created disintegration of China. So, there were many divisions of China. Like French China, Spanish China, British China etc. Instead of disintegration China emerged as integrated nation in the 20th century because of following incidents.
Boxer Uprising, 1899
Boxer was the secret society of fist fighters. They were against the foreign thing in China. Their attitude and unique warfare compelled Europeans to remain united.
Open Door Policy of the USA, 1899
Along with the Boxer uprising, the United States of America came out with an open-door policy for China. So, in this policy, the USA appealed to European powers to open their door of trade and commerce among themselves in China.
So, this led to economic cum political integration of China. But the exploitation of China by European powers led to the awakening in Chinese society. And this eventually led to the rebirth of China.
We will discuss the rebirth of China and Chinese Revolution of 1912 and 1949 in next coming post. Till then have a wonderful day. 🙂
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