Conflict in China essays

Conflict in China essays Why did the centurys long dynastic rule end in china? China is one of the worlds most ancient nations with a recorded history that stretches back more than 4000 years. For centuries, China was ruled by dynasties of powerful emperors and had not had any contact with the western world. Over the centuries, China was able to develop and advanced civilisation, producing amazing inventions and remarkable works of art, Chinas single-minded independence, left it unable to deal with the European world. The Chinese emperors refused to allow any political, social, or economic change and China stood still. In the 18th century, European technology overtook Chinas, and the country was unable to resist the influence of the European traders landing on its shores. China was ruled by five dynasties from A.D. 581 1911, the last one being the Qing dynasty who put their own emperor a six-year-old boy on the throne. The emperors each had their won internal problems. Some were corrupt, extravagant, and like the Manchus, were warriors. They were mean and strict in their relations with their Chinese subjects. People became fed up with the emperors, taxes were too high, and some poor families even had to sell their own children to get money. The Europeans started to come and they brought with them new crops of tobacco and corn. However, there was an imbalance on trade. The Chinese were exploited for their tea, spices, raw silk, sugar, porcelain and jade, and in turn, could only purchase wool and spices from the Europeans. The Europeans did not want to trade in silver for Chinese goods, and opium was introduced. The British exploited the people by continuously supplying more and more opium. In 1839, China attempted to stop the trade and seized more than 20,000 chests of Indian opium and burned them. The British were angry and responded by blockading the port of Guangzhou and ...