Transcript China and Japan Encounter the Western World

China and Japan Encounter
the Western World
SSWH14 The student will analyze the Age of Revolutions and
Rebellions.
d. Examine the interaction of China and Japan with westerners;
include the Opium War, the Tai Ping Rebellion, and
Commodore Perry.
Chapter 22, Sections 1 and 3
Decline of the Qing Dynasty
• In 1800, after a long period of peace & prosperity,
the Qing were at the height of their power.
• A little over a century later, humiliated & harassed
by the Western powers, the Qing dynasty collapsed.
• Reasons for decline: Intense external pressure
applied by the modern West; Internal change
including corruption, peasant unrest, &
incompetence
• Ships, guns, and ideas of foreigners highlighted the
growing weaknesses and probably hastened the end.
Background of the Opium War
• By 1800, Europeans had been in contact with China for
more than 200 years.
• Restricted however to the island of Guangzhou
• The British did not like this arrangement
• British also imported more goods from China than they
exported to China including tea, silk, and porcelain.
• At first, they tried to negotiate. When that didn’t result,
they turned to Opium.
Background Continued…
• Opium grown in northern India and shipped
directly to Chinese markets. (India is a colony of
Great Britain.)
• Demand for opium (a highly addictive drug) in
South China jumped dramatically.
• Silver was flying out of Chinese hands and into
the pockets of the British East India Company
• British were not the first to trade opium; China
had seen its dangerous qualities and made it
illegal
The Opium War
• Government appealed to the Queen on
moral grounds; British refused to stop
Opium Trade
• Chinese blockaded the port at Guangzhou to
force traders to surrender the Opium
• British responded with force starting the
Opium War.
The
Opium
War
Continued…
1839 – 1842
•
• Chinese were no match for the British
• Treaty of Nanjing in 1842
– Chinese opened 5 coastal ports to British trade
– Limited taxes on British goods
– Chinese would pay the cost of the war
– Chinese would give the British the island of
Hong Kong
• Marked the beginning of the establishment of
Western influence in China.
Tai Ping Rebellion
• 1850 – 1864
• Failure of the Chinese government to deal with
pressing internal economic problems led to a
peasant revolt
• Led by Hong Xiuquan, a Christian convert
who viewed himself as a younger brother of
Jesus Christ
• Convinced God gave him the mission of
destroying the Qing dynasty
Tai Ping Rebellion Continued…
• Joined by crowds of peasants, captured the town of
Yongan, and proclaimed a new dynasty, the
Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace
• Appealed to people because of its social reforms
– Giving land to all peasants
– Treating women as equals to men
– Called for people to give up private possessions
– Outlawed alcohol and tobacco
– Eliminated foot binding
Impact of Tai Ping Rebellion
• Europeans came to the aid of the Qing dynasty
after rebels seized Xianjing, the second largest
city and massacred 25,000 people
• Treaty of Tianjin in 1858
– Legalized Opium trade
– Opened new ports
– Surrendered Kowloon Peninsula
• In 1860, British seized Beijing
JAPANESE CONTACT WITH
THE WEST
An End to Isolation
• By 1800, the Tokugawa shogunate had ruled the
Japanese islands for 200 years
• They drove out foreign traders & missionaries and
isolated the country from virtually all contact with
the outside world
• To the Western powers, Japanese isolation was a
challenge
• West convinced global trade would benefit all
nations
• First foreign power to succeed was the U.S.
U.S. Gain Entry to Japan
• Summer of 1853: An American fleet of 4
warships under Commodore Matthew Perry
arrive in Edo Bay (now Tokyo Bay)
• Sought to bring a singular & isolated people
into the family of civilized nations
• Perry brought letter from President Millard
Fillmore asking for better treatment of sailors
shipwrecked on Japanese islands
• Requested opening of foreign relations
between the US and Japan
About 6 Months Later…
• Tokugawa Shogunate continue discussions on
the pros and cons to American intervention.
• Commodore Perry returns with a larger fleet
for an answer.
• After weeks of negotiations, Japan realized
they were in no position to defend themselves
against a foreign power and could not retain
isolation with risking war.
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Treaty of Kanagawa
March 31, 1854
Return of shipwrecked American sailors
Opening of two ports to Western traders
Establishment of a U.S. consulate in Japan
Friendly relations between the two countries ;
marked the beginning of Western interaction
with Japan
Resistance to the New Order…
• Highly unpopular in parts of Japan,
particularly among the samurai in the southern
territories
• 1863: Sat-Cho alliance forced the shogun to
promise to end relations with the west
• Jan 1868: Armies attacked the shogun’s palace
in Kyoto & proclaimed the authority of the
emperor had been restored.
• End of the Tokugawa Shogunate