Wars, Treaties, and Rebellions
In China, throughout the 19th century, there were many wars and treaties. For a complete list of the wars and battles click here.
Opium War (1839-1842)The first Opium War occurred because Lin Ze-Xu confiscated and burned around nine million dollars worth of opium from merchants and gave no compensation for it (Allingham). The British declared war, and ended up beating the Chinese very badly during the war. The Chinese Navy were composed of weak wooden ships that were outclassed by the British Royal Navy (Allingham). The muskets and artillery that the British had were too advanced for the Chinese army, and the British won decisive victories on land and sea (Introduction to China's Modern History). The war ended with the Treaty of Nanking, which was the first of the unequal treaties (China and the West: Imperialism, Opium, and self-strengthening).
Opium War PreziTreaty of Nanking![]() by Anonymous, used under Public Domain The Treaty of Nanking made the Chinese pay war reparations to the British, open up five ports to trade with the Western powers, and gave Hong Kong to Great Britain (The Opening of China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the treaty of Wangxia). Overall, the Opium War was a big humiliation of the Chinese military by the better trained British troops. The picture to the right depicts a political cartoon showing the western powers dividing and controlling China.
The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864)Boxer Rebellion 1898-1901![]() by Anonymous , used under Public Domain The Boxer Rebellion was organized by the society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists. The Westerners called them "boxers" because they performed exercises that they thought would make them impervious to bullets (Staff). These "boxers" killed Chinese Christians and foreigners, destroyed land, and they besieged the city of Beijing (Staff). Eventually a international force was created, including people from Austria-Hungary, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, Germany, and France. This force of roughly twenty thousand troops took back Beijing and rescued the Chinese Christians and foreigners that were in China at the time (Staff). After the rebellion ended with the signing of the Boxer Protocol on September 7, 1901. The terms of this protocol included the destruction of forts protecting Beijing, the government officials involved were punished and foreign nation were allowed to station troops in Beijing for defense (Staff), and China had to pay over 330 million dollars in reparations to the nations that were involved with subduing the rebellion (Staff).
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Second Opium War (1856-1860)![]() by Emile Bayard, used under Public Domain After the Treaty of Nanking came into effect, the Chinese were having a tough time complying with all of the rules that the British were imposing on them (Allingham). This lead to increased tensions and the so called "Arrow Incident." The Arrow Incident was when the Chinese boarded a British ship that was called "Arrow" and held the crew captive because they were being accused of piracy (Hickman). Britain demanded that the crew be released immediately and that China offer a formal apology. The crew was later released with no apology. The British took this as an insult to their flag and country, so they ordered their warships to bomb Canton (Hickman). France ended up joining the fight as well when one of their missionaries was executed. With the British and French teamed up against them, there was not much the Chinese could do. The first part of the war ended with the Treaty of Tienstin which was signed in June of 1858. This treaty was between China, Britain, France, Russia, and the United States, and it had five major points. This unequal treaty allowed Britain, France, Russia, and the United States to have the right to have a small embassy in Beijing (Hickman). It also opened up ten more ports to foreign trade. It gave the right to foreign vessels to sail on the Yangtze River. It also gave the rights to foreigners to travel to parts of China that had been previously banned because of their isolationism. And lastly, China had to pay war reparations to Britain and France. Although they had just agreed to these terms, in June of 1858 China had an altercation with a British naval force that was trying to get to Beijing by traveling inland through a river. The British and Chinese fought, and the Chinese were able to sink four of the British gunboats and damaged two others. The failure to take Dagu was an insult to the British, who had for the most part won every battle with the Chinese so far. Once again, the British and French fought against the Chinese, and on September 21st, 1860 at Balichiao, or also known as the Eight Mile Bridge, around 10,000 mongolian cavalry were killed after a terrible charge against the British-French forces (Hickman). Unlike the first part of the war, the United States were actually involved in two incidents. the first was a revenge attack after the Chinese attacked a U.S. navy officer. The second incident was during the siege of the Dagu forts, a U.S. Warship called the USS San Jacinto bombed the forts to give covering fire to the British and French ground troops (Allingham). The second part of this war ended with the Treaty of Tianjin which was ratified at the Convention of Peking on October 18, 1860. This treaty allowed the permanent diplomatic presence in Beijing, the Chinese had to pay more war reparations to Britain and France, Britain was given Kowloon, the opium trade was legalized, and Christians were given full rights in China (China and the West: Imperialism, Opium, and self-strengthening).
Treaty of TientsinThe Treaty of Tientsin was signed after the Second Opium War and it ended the first part of the Second Opium War. (China and the West: Imperialism, Opium, and self-strengthening). This treaty made it legal to have foreign diplomats in the capital city of Beijing. This was a big step in opening China up to the world because China had long been practicing isolationism. The treaty also allowed Christian missionary activity, and made it legal to import Opium into China.
Sino-Japanese War 1894-1895The Sino-Japanese War was a rude awakening for China, as a relatively small country with a more modern army could defeat a large country, such as China. China's defeat in this war should have been a wake up call to the world that Japan was a rising power, but most of the countries ignored that sign. The result of China losing this war, was that China lost Korea as a tributary state (Paine, 2003). Japan realized the potential benefits of having Korea being independent. With China not having the ability to move troops through Korea, it would be harder for China to plan an attack against Japan (Paine, 2003). Below is short footage of a naval battle that occurred during the war.
The Naval battle has a little controversy about which war it is really from. Cinema became practical in 1895, so even though the video is entitled First Sino-Japanese War Naval Battle, it is probable that it came from a later war because if it was from the Sino-Japanese war it would have occurred in 1894 which was one year too early for cinema.
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References:
Header Images:
Edward, Duncan. (1841). Destroying Chinese War Junks. [Painting]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Destroying_Chinese_war_junks%2C_by_E._Duncan_%281843%29.jpg. Image is in the public domain.
Fxqf. Flowing Flag of the People's Republic of China. [Gif]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Flowing_Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China_2.gif. Available under Attribution-Share Alike.
19th Century China title by Kurt Corsbie used under Public Domain.
Images, Pictures, Videos:
Andsager, M, S. (2014). Opium War. [Prezi]. Prezi is in the Public Domain.
Andsager, M, S. (2014). Taiping Rebellion. [Easel.ly]. Inforgraph is in the Public Domain.
Anonymous. (Unknown). China Imperialism Cartoon. [Painting]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/China_imperialism_cartoon.jpg. Image is in the Public Domain.
Anonymous. (1900). NSW Naval Contingent. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/NSW_Naval_Contingent_
%26_12_pdr_8_cwt_gun_Boxer_Rebellion_AWM_P00417.030.jpeg. Image is in the Public Domain.
Bayard, É, A. (1860). La bataille de Palikiao. [Artwork]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/La_bataille_de_Palikiao.jpg. Image is in the Public Domain.
Platt, J. (1846). The Signing of the Treaty of Nanking. [Painting]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/The_Signing_of_the_Treaty_of_Nanking.jpg. Image is in the Public Domain.
Naval Battle From the First Sino-Japanese War [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og5svzyrvag
Information:
Allingham, P. V. (n.d.). The Opium Trade, Seventh through Nineteenth Centuries. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from The Victorian Web: http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/opiumwars/opiumwars1.html
China and the West: Imperialism, Opium, and self-strengthening. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from Asia for Educators: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/kpct/kp_imperialism.htm
Gronewold, S. (2009). Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864). Retrieved December 7, 2014, from Asia for Educators: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1750_taiping.htm
Hickman, K. (n.d.). Second Opium War: Overview. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from About Education: http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars1800s/p/secondopiumwar.htm
Introduction to China's Modern History. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from Asia for Educators: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/china_modern_timeline.htm#reading
Paine, S. (2003). The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from Slavic Research Center News: https://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/eng/news/no10/enews10-essay2.html
Staff, H. (n.d.). Boxer Rebellion. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from History: http://www.history.com/topics/boxer-rebellion
The Opening of China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the treaty of Wangxia. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/china-1
Edward, Duncan. (1841). Destroying Chinese War Junks. [Painting]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Destroying_Chinese_war_junks%2C_by_E._Duncan_%281843%29.jpg. Image is in the public domain.
Fxqf. Flowing Flag of the People's Republic of China. [Gif]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Flowing_Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China_2.gif. Available under Attribution-Share Alike.
19th Century China title by Kurt Corsbie used under Public Domain.
Images, Pictures, Videos:
Andsager, M, S. (2014). Opium War. [Prezi]. Prezi is in the Public Domain.
Andsager, M, S. (2014). Taiping Rebellion. [Easel.ly]. Inforgraph is in the Public Domain.
Anonymous. (Unknown). China Imperialism Cartoon. [Painting]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/China_imperialism_cartoon.jpg. Image is in the Public Domain.
Anonymous. (1900). NSW Naval Contingent. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/NSW_Naval_Contingent_
%26_12_pdr_8_cwt_gun_Boxer_Rebellion_AWM_P00417.030.jpeg. Image is in the Public Domain.
Bayard, É, A. (1860). La bataille de Palikiao. [Artwork]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/La_bataille_de_Palikiao.jpg. Image is in the Public Domain.
Platt, J. (1846). The Signing of the Treaty of Nanking. [Painting]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/The_Signing_of_the_Treaty_of_Nanking.jpg. Image is in the Public Domain.
Naval Battle From the First Sino-Japanese War [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og5svzyrvag
Information:
Allingham, P. V. (n.d.). The Opium Trade, Seventh through Nineteenth Centuries. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from The Victorian Web: http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/opiumwars/opiumwars1.html
China and the West: Imperialism, Opium, and self-strengthening. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from Asia for Educators: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/kpct/kp_imperialism.htm
Gronewold, S. (2009). Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864). Retrieved December 7, 2014, from Asia for Educators: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1750_taiping.htm
Hickman, K. (n.d.). Second Opium War: Overview. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from About Education: http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars1800s/p/secondopiumwar.htm
Introduction to China's Modern History. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from Asia for Educators: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/china_modern_timeline.htm#reading
Paine, S. (2003). The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from Slavic Research Center News: https://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/eng/news/no10/enews10-essay2.html
Staff, H. (n.d.). Boxer Rebellion. Retrieved December 3, 2014, from History: http://www.history.com/topics/boxer-rebellion
The Opening of China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the treaty of Wangxia. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/china-1